Everything is Alright

Date: 31October2010

Venue: House of Blues

Guests: Carmen

Tickets: $35

I stumbled across Motion City Soundtrack when searching for a Jem song from the show Wonderfalls six years ago. I felt in love with the "Commit This to Memory" Album the summer of 2005. The band is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Scott and I caught a show in Seattle in February 2006 when we were dating, and then again when they came to Edmonton in 2008. I jumped at the chance to see them again when in Chicago for their Halloween show. They played with Say Anything, Saves the Day and Valencia on this tour. I found another Muppet at this show also.

Set List:

Everything is Alright

Broken Heart

Her Words Destroyed My Planet

My Favorite Accident

Antonia

Last Night

Hysteria

The Red Dress

A Lifeless Ordinary

Stand Too Close

The Weakends

The Future Freaks Me Out

Pulp Fiction

Make Out Kids

This is For Real

LG FUAD

Hold Me Down

Disappear

The Hallowieners took the stage after roadies dressed as condiments set the stage. The band stayed in costume the entire set and during a brief meet and greet afterwards.   The show was great! They had great energy on stage, and the crowd was into the show and generally having a great time. I would have liked to have heard my favorite song off of "Even if it Kills Me", Calling All Cops, but they were promoting their new "My Dinosaur Life" Album, and there is only so much time to get to old favorites and new material in an 18 song setlist. I suppose it's a good thing, to be kept wanting more. The band also played the night before. the setlist included "When you're around", "Better Open the Door" and "Don't Call it a Comeback", all of which I wanted to hear also, but in comparing the two set lists, I'm glad I heard the show that I did. 

Venue:

I was incredibly disappointed in the House of Blues venue in Chicago. Initially entering the venue, the bouncers were abrasive and a little rough with the pat down. They had three floors of viewing space, but all along the sides of the second and third floors were private rooms that you could rent for a couple hundred dollars on top of ticket prices. The rooms were mostly empty, with 6 or 7 people in each on average, but took up a ton of floor space. It's an interesting concept, but it felt like a bit of a money grab. The only seats available were wooden stools around the main floor which were available to rent for $30 for the night. The merch booth was set up late and difficult to get to, so I was planning on picking up a vinyl after the show. The booth was closed down by the house of blues staff before the show was finished, so unfortunately, no vinyl for me. The bouncers were very pushy getting the place cleared out immediately after the show, and even kicking out the Hallowieners who were mingling with the crowd. I understand that the venue is large and there are a lot of people to move, but I've never felt less respect at a venue than I did at House of Blues.

All in all, I was happy with the show and thought the band did a great job. The venue left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth after the evening was complete, but the set up was unique with the three tiered viewing area and decor. The band was friendly as always, and met up outside to chat with fans after being evicted from the venue.

Gotta Have You

Date: 29 October 2010

Venue: Space

Guests: Carmen

Tickets: $20

I was first introduced to The Weepies in the spring of 2010, after my friend Meg mentioned they seemed up my alley. I was immediately hooked once "Gotta Have You" found its way onto our iPod during a trip to Vancouver. Wikipedia says it best, describing this California-based band as "subtly intoxicating folk pop". They recently started a family, and cut their touring dates down drastically to fit this new lifestyle. When I found out they were playing in Chicago when I would be there for a course for work, I wouldn't let a sold out show stand in my way. After  an added adventure of getting horrendously lost in the rental car on the way (Chicago Ave stops and starts all OVER Chicago... I ended up paying 30$ in roaming so my phone could get us back on course). Thankfully, there were two shows, and we were an hour early for the late show. Once there, through patience and some mild eyelash batting, my good sported coworker Carmen and I sneaked in to the small back room where the show was playing just in time.

The Weepies:

Fantastic set. The band started off dressed up as "The Creepies", although slowly, one by one, in a last man standing type challenge, costumes were shed to reveal the band. (I would like to say that quite a few audience members really were in the Halloween mood! I love how enthusiastic Chicagoans are!)

 

Set List:

Please Speak Well of Me

Hideaway

Can't Go Back Now

I Was Made for Sunny Days

Orbiting

Riga Girls

Gotta Have You

Painting by Chagall

Hard to Please

Nobody Knows Me at All

Be My Thrill

Citywide Rodeo

Hope Tomorrow

Antarctica

World Spins Madly On

Just Blue

Not a Lullaby

When You Go Away

Love Doesn't Last

I really love the variety of the music as the songs switch between Deb and Steve on lead vocals. They are so sweet and complementarity to each other, vocally and on stage.  They prefaced the songs with cute stories (how "When You Go Away" was written for their son, how upset he gets when playing peek-a-boo, or how "Riga Girls" was inspired by email spam). If you ever have a chance, these two put on a wonderfully balanced set. Fun fact: Can't Go Back Now was used by Obama during his 2008 Presidential run. I guess the Chicago connection comes full circle.