Went to an awesome show on Friday. Bands: The Get Up Kids - Straylight Run - Lucero Venue: House of Blues Chicago (HOB).
HOB Chicago is one of my favorite venue's in Chicago. It is big, but also intimate, almost anywhere you stand, you can see the band pretty well. Unless of course those 6" 5' fatheads stand in front of you (which pretty much happens at all standing room only shows, doesn't it?). For being a good venue, they really jack you for drinks though. $4.50 for a can of beer? Thats right we paid $27 for a six pack. Ouch. Luckily, no fatheads on this night! Now for the good part (very long review ahead):
We drove downtown right after work. 5:00. That is right, for all those people that know, 5:00 is not the time you want to be driving in Chicagoland, anywhere. The doors opened at 6:00, show at 7:00. We figured, OK if it takes us more that 2 hours, we'll just miss the first band, Lucero, who I have never heard of before that day, and listened the 5 songs that you can stream on their website. The drive was as perfect as a rush hour drive could ever be. There was little traffic going through the I88 construction, and even the Hillside/Oak Park traffic wasn't horrible. It was stop and go for a few minutes, but it was less than 10, so a trip to downtown was actually close to the 50 minutes a 40 mile drive should be!
We arrived about 10 minutes to 7:00, driving by the HOB, we can see that the sold-out-show was a little late opening the doors to let people in. It was about 15 minutes to showtime and there was still a line around the building. We parked nearby (parking garage) and stood in line. 10 minutes or so later, we found a nice cozy spot at the bar and waited for the show to begin. The curtain opened and the band played. I wasn't too excited, after listening to the 5 songs, and reading their bio, I kind of thought they were a mix of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Nirvana. Kind of different for sure. Their bio was something like "Lucero was started by someone that wanted to play country at a punk show". I have never liked country, and this wasn't something that interested me. They were very slow and I wasn't that impressed, but I can say it didn't hurt my ears, so it wasn't bad either.
Next up Straylight Run. My brother is a pretty big fan of this band, and he even let me borrow the CD. I think I listened to it once or twice, but never gave it a chance. I can tell you this, if you are a fan of The Get Up Kids, or any other emo band, you should definitely see them live. I have a ton more respect for this band after watching them, and am a little disappointed that I didn't give them a chance so I could "sing along" with them (I try not to sing aloud, ask anyone who has heard my sing). They put a lot of EMOtion into their music, which I felt, and it made me all warm inside. I have since listened to their CD, which is now much better!
And finally The Get Up Kids. I have seen the Get Up Kids and one of their various side projects before. They have announced this as their final tour, 14 shows, 2 of them in Chicago. I guess they have a connection to Chicago, recording one of their CDs here, and playing countless shows at The Fireside Bowl, the Metro, and of course HOB. I was very excited to seem them, even if for the last time (reunion?!). They did not disappoint. I was so glad we decided against our new theme of not driving to Chicago for anything during the week, i.e. Cubs games, Concerts, etc. They played all the old favorites and 2 songs off their latest CD that I had not heard (but have now!). They played for over an hour without delays, and finished with the Favorite "Don't Hate Me". Amazing performance, great stage presence and the crowd was great. I haven't been to too many EMO shows, but it wasn't smokey, and there weren't a lot of crowd surfers (allowing the Body Guards to stand in front of the band so you can see them), quite impressive. Guess I am getting old, but it was a great night, except for the vast amount of money we spent, but we came home with 2 T-Shirts that I'll get some use out of and a CD full of music that I'll definitely get some enjoyment out of!
Well that ends the review... Not sure what is next, nor when it will be. Thanks for reading until the end!
Waj
