Another year, another 12 month of concerts. I went to a concert every single month again in 2019. January through December. That makes me 24/24 and 34/36 for concerts attended / month in the past 3 years. Even though I went to less concerts this year than in 2018 and in 2017, 2019 brought me a year full of fun memories attending many free concerts with good company. 18 concerts at 12 different venues, containing 35 bands and 1 fest. Check them out now:
January
In January I made it to one show in the middle of the month. My buddy Grant invited me to a free show at Old Town School of Folk Music. I walked to the show from our place in Ravenswood and saw the Andre Mehmari Trio for a classical Brazilian jazz show.
Artists: Andre Mehmari Trio
Venue: Old Town School of Folk Music
Date: January 16, 2019
February
Continued my music ways in February, where I ended up attending two different shows. The first show I won tickets to, was Interpol at the Chicago Theatre. Grant joined me for this one again. Seats were in the back of the theatre on the first floor. I just had my foot blasted that day and hobbled to the show from the “L”, but luckily I brought my glasses so I could see Sunflower Bean open up and Interpol put on a great light show. Then just 2 days later on February 9th, Johnny and I saw The Evening Attraction, Twen, and Naked Giants at Empty Bottle. We drove to the show and I pulled off a miracle parallel park in Jmon’s new whip. Rock and Roll with some pain relievers for the toe. The song Green Fuzz had me seeing green goblin face melting solos.
Artists: Interpol, Sunflower Bean
Venue: The Chicago Theatre
Date: February 7, 2019
Artists: Naked Giants, Twen, The Evening Attraction
Venue: Empty Bottle
Date: February 9, 2019
March
I saw another two shows in March. The first was Twin Peaks and Rookie band at Lincoln Hall on 312 day. Both Chicago bands, Jmon joined me again and we celebrated with some 312s, but this time we took the “L” to the show. Damen to Fullerton (the old stomping grounds). Twin Peaks rocked out. Then about two weeks later, Rachel and I met up for a beer at Half Acre brewing company and then hit up Old Town School of Folk Music for a concert. Ian O’Neil of Deer Tick was opening up for Robert Ellis and it was a top notch show. Set in a side room at Old Town School of Folk with stadium seating, I was able to record the full show. Funny thing is I had originally bought tickets to see JS Ondara at Schubas the same night, but Robert Ellis, The Texas Piano Man and Ian O’Neil of my favorite band Deer Tick took precedence. We were able to meet Ian after the show and talked about the possibilities of Deer Tick making a fourth condiment themed record “Relish” with Robert Ellis. Rachel and I enjoyed a quick walk home after the show.
Artists: Twin Peaks, Rookie
Venue: Lincoln Hall
Date: March 12, 2019
Artists: Robert Ellis, Ian O’Neil
Venue: Old Town School of Folk Music
Date: March 28, 2019
April
Johnny and I made it to a show together for a third straight month (my fourth overall) by driving out to The Forge (formerly MoJoes) in Joliet to catch Black Stone Cherry, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, and the Josephines. Suburb concerts have a different vibe to them…. Rocking show regardless.
Artists: Black Stone Cherry, Tyler Bryant and the Shake Down, The Josephines
Venue: The Forge (Joliet)
Date: April 11, 2019
May
May was my busiest month of the year when it came to concerts. 4 total concerts with 2 of them being free shows. It started off at Lincoln Hall on May 3rd. Adam was in town and we were all hanging out at Brian and Megan’s down the street on Fullerton. I asked if anyone wanted to go to the Strand of Oaks show with me and Adam jumped on the opportunity. We drove a mile down Fullerton to the show and arrived just as Timothy Showalter was in the middle of his first song. We stayed the rest of the show, caught some classic Strand of Oaks jams, and went home with a nice poster.
Next up was the concert of the year, Deer Tick at Thalia Hall. Beth, Rachel, Johnny, and I headed out to the show early and managed to get second row. We met up with John’s friend Kenny and peeped the merch before the show as well. A mom and son duo in front of us had clearly drank too much and had to leave even before Deer Tick came on. The sea had parted and the front row opened up to us. We settled in next to a guy who was seeing Deer Tick for the first time, but was super friendly. Courtney Marie Andrews opened the show and then Deer Tick put on a legendary show at Thalia Hall that night. Jmon almost got in a fight near the end of the show. Some guy kept bumping him and then they got in a shoving match. Johnny threw down 2 dudes to the ground, luckily it didn’t escalate past that. It was amazing to be in the front row and not have to look past any heads to catch a glimpse of John, Ian, Dennis and Chris. We were even lucky enough to go home with 2 of the set lists from the stage! This was my 10th time seeing Deer Tick and I can’t wait for them to come back to Chicago!
The month of May continued just 3 days later with Matthew Logan Vasquez, lead singer of the band Delta Spirit, who has been doing solo albums for the last few years. I once again won tickets to the show. Grant met me at Schubas for the show and we snagged a drink while the opener was on and chatted with two nice ladies who were there for the cat raffle, not for the concert. We entered the sold out show and were able to snag a couple drinks and enjoyed the standing room in the back. After MLV finished up his rocking set, I had drove to the show after work, so Grant and I stopped for some tacos on the way home. The month closed out a couple weeks after that with a concert at Bottom Lounge. I met Jmon, Dino and their buddy at Bottom Lounge after work one day for the Sum 41 show. We actually saw one of the members, Brown Sound eating lunch right outside the venue. The band Assuming We Survive opened up. There was a couple with a child who couldn’t have been more than 5 years old. The band was more a scream-o type of band, but sang happy birthday to the little girl which was fun. My first ever Sum 41 show and it was awesome! Tons of moshing, singing and dancing around. They played all the classics and rocked out. Johnny almost lost his new phone as it got blasted out of his pocket during the mosh, but luckily someone found it and returned it to one of the merch tables where he picked up the phone. It was a super sweaty show in a small and packed bottom lounge room. I drove home shirtless after the show. Check out the pics from the shows below.
Artists: Strand of Oaks
Venue: Lincoln Hall
Date: May 3, 2019
Artists: Deer Tick, Courtney Marie Andrews
Venue: Thalia Hall
Date: May 7, 2019
Artists: Matthew Logan Vasquez
Venue: Schubas
Date: May 10, 2019
Artists: Sum 41, Assuming We Survive
Venue: Bottom Lounge
Date: May 26, 2019
June
In June, I only made it to one show with Rachel. Another show that I won tickets to. Man am I on a hot streak this year with the concert wins. A couple days after our anniversary, Rachel and I drove over to Schubas and caught the two person band Luluc all the way from Australia. Great set.
Artists: Luluc
Venue: Schubas
Date: June 12, 2019
July
With the summer officially here, Chicago fest season was in full force. We decided to check out Square Roots Fest this year. Rachel, Beth and I caught The Wild Reeds, Los Vicios De Papa, and Son Volt play at the fest. Son Volt is headed by Jay Farrar, lead singer and member of former alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. It was nice to be able to stand back and enjoy the music on a beautiful summer day. We walked to and from the show, being down the street at Lincoln Square.
Artists: Son Volt, The Wild Reeds, Los Vicios De Papa
Venue: Square Roots Fest
Date: July 14, 2019
August
Another month, another free concert thanks to Lincoln Hall + Schubas. I won tickets to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Danielle Durack. CYHSY played my favorite song of theirs, The Skin of My Yellow Teeth, listen to it below! Rachel and I drove to the show and enjoyed a night of drinks and jamming.
Artists: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Danielle Durack
Venue: Schubas
Date: August 26, 2019
September
I’m sure you’ll be shocked, but in September, I was able to attend another free concert. Daniel Norgren and Jake Xerxes Fussell came to Lincoln Hall to play a show. After work I drove to Lincoln Hall and met Grant at the show. Daniel Norgren, all the way from Sweden, put on another awesome show. We had seen him 2 years ago at Schubas and this was his second ever show in Chicago. Although he didn’t play his new single Let Love Run The Game, he did play the classic Moonshine Got Me. Check it out below. Jake Xerxes Fussell opened up and has an awesome song Jubilee. Find it on my Top songs of 2019.
Artists: Daniel Norgren, Jake Xerxes Fussell
Venue: Lincoln Hall
Date: September 18, 2019
October
In the month of October I made it to 2 shows. One was free again! Insane right? That makes 9 free shows on the year. Johnny joined me at Lincoln Hall for a show with one of my favorite bands, The Weeks. Spendtime palace and The Vernes opened up for them. It was actually really funny because Jmon got lost while trying to park and had no idea where he was. I was running all over the streets trying to find where he was at. Eventually he made it and we got in to catch a bumping Weeks concert. Three days later, after a weekend of camping in New Glarus, I took the “L” and met up with Johnny at The Vic Theatre with Dino, Nina, Marissa and their friend to see Sum 41 for the second time in 2019. We waited a song or two in the back, then I led the group forward into the pit and it got wild. Jamming show that got a bit sweaty once again.
Artists: The Weeks, Spendtime Palace, The Vernes
Venue: Lincoln Hall
Date: October 3, 2019
Artists: Sum 41
Venue: The Vic Theatre
Date: October 6, 2019
November
It seems that every November I have to squeak in a show. This year, on November 26th, I made it to the Elbo Room one day after work. This was actually one of the last shows ever at the Elbo Room as they sold the property and the building will most likely be knocked down. Instrumental Jazz may not be my thing, but the old folks wearing glow sticks and with blow up aliens supporting their kids were so sweet… or maybe just a bunch of stoner old folks enjoying their night. This show was hosted by a DJ dressed up as an astronaut and oh, I also saw a quick set in the cocktail room upstairs before the Not of This Earth show… Goodbye Elbo Room. Solid venue for up and coming artists! Would loved to have seen more shows here. PS: This was the only show I saw solo in 2019. What a year of attending shows with other people!
Artists: Galaxxu, Absolute Terror Field
Venue: Elbo Room (basement)
Date: November 26, 2019
Artists: Sarah Van Hecke
Venue: Elbo Room (cocktail lounge)
Date: November 26, 2019
December
That takes us to the twelfth month of the year, December. I ended the year with Cage the Elephant and Angles and Airwaves at the Aragon for night one of the 101 WKQX Nights We Stole Christmas. I took an Uber to the show with Rachel. Randomly ran into Aly & Ryan while in line for security. We ended up hanging with them for the show. It was a pretty sick show, but hot as usual in the Aragon. Rachel and I decided to walk home after the show since we were so hot. Just a straight shot down Lawrence for about 20 minutes. Classic Aragon Ballroom though, venue is fine, but just one level, so when a tall SOB stands in front of you, you don’t have much of a choice, but to try and lean around him. We were closer for AVA, but then had to go to the bathroom and got stuck farther away for CTE. Still a good show and good sound. CTE is sick! The lead singer Matt Shultz is a wild man. I love his energy and stage presence, probably the best I’ve ever seen. They had me jumping and singing all night long. What a way to end the year! Thanks for attending shows with me everyone (mostly Rachel, Johnny & Grant).
Artists: Cage The Elephant, Angels and Airwaves
Venue: Aragon Ballroom
Date: December 11, 2019
And that concludes my music concerts for 2019. Don’t forget to look at my 2018 concerts and check out my 2017 experience if you haven’t already! 9 out of 18 concerts in 2019 were free to me, which is super amazing. Let’s hope for more free shows in 2020.
Although a goal of mine for 2019 was to film less at shows, and I feel I did that, I still want to do less in the future. I just get caught up in wanting to capture the action… So maybe no videos in 2020? We shall see though, I always get the itch when I am there!
Also I have less than a year left in Chicago most likely. So I want to finish off hitting up every venue I can. I have been to a show at 29/42 venues on our Chicago music venue map (we got in summer of 2017). These are the venues I want to get to in the first half of 2020 that I have never been to before: Buddy Guy’s, Cobra Lounge , Fitzgeralds, Green Mill, Logan Square Auditorium , Martyrs, Mayne Stage, Radius, The Township, The Whistler, UIC, Uncommon Ground, Underground Lounge & the United Center.
HMU if you know a show at one of these venues and let’s make it 42/42 venues in the next 9 months.
See my MUSIC page to see my vinyl collection and all the concerts I have been to.
Who should I go see in 2020?? I already have a few shows lines up, but am always ready to go to more… let me know and let’s go to a show!
Josh