Category Archives: Music

The Hold Steady at the Metro.

The Hold Steady at the Metro.The Hold Steady at the Metro.

Last night I went with Dom & Kelley and Emily to see The Hold Steady at Metro. Being my first time to the Metro I was surprised by how small the place was. We ended up in the balcony and it felt like we were right on top of the stage. The place was packed but considering it was Halloween the only costumes I saw were on the band. I take that back there was a midget taking tickets at the door that had his face painted.

Towards the end of the show.The Costumes are falling by the wayside.More Hold Steady.More costumes.From my view in the balcony.The Hold Steady in Costume.

We missed the first band but the second opening band, Art Brut, is a stalwart of my annual Top Ten List. ‘The Brut’ (as I like to call them) were decked out and all sorts of costumes that were in many waysappropriate . They also had a running slide show of the lyrics to their songs on the back of the stage which was helpful for those who are new to tidal wave of sound that is Art Brut. If nothing else in went well with the singalong vibe that the crowd was excreting all night.

I missed The Hold Steady at Lollapolloza this past year but I’ve been listening to their albums the last couple of months leading up to this show. My favorite being Almost Killed Me. The band showed up on stage in Pancho Villaesque attire which included ‘bullet belts’, mustaches and cowboy hats. It was pretty bad ass.

The Boss at the United Center.

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Last night I went to see The Boss for the first time and the show was awesome. I knew a good portion of the songs which was good considering I’m not a Springsteen fanatic like some one I know. I opted out of waiting in the rain for the numbered wristbands for the pit but the rest of the floor was still general admission. My view of the stage was pretty good and besides a douchebag taking photos with his Blackberry all night it was a great spot. I was surprised by the crowd which was mostly middle aged men. I figured middle aged but not men.

The sound was great and I got to see Clarence so I can’t really complain. The highlight of the night for me was ‘Spirit in the Night‘ which of course reminds me of driving to Montreal.

Here’s the review from the Tribune.

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Rilo Kiley at the Rivera Theater.

Rilo Kiley at the Rivera Theater.

After about 9 hours of watching College Football in various venue’s I headed to Emily’s place where I was subsequently talked into going to see Rilo Kiley at the Rivera Theater. The show wasn’t bad, the guy next to me seemed to be at his first concert ever which is always good. He was under the impression that he could ‘hold a spot’ for some one in a 2,500 seat general admission theater. Myles Tersnak made an appearance on the weekend, well not Myles but you get the drift. There were several attempts at pubic transportation, most were failures, I blame the government. Some one almost got stuck in a turnstile.

A good time was had by all.

Myles and Emily.Rilo Kiley at the Rivera Theater.My view.