2017 has been by far my most musical year yet. I went to over 28 concerts at 19 different venues (including 1 festival), and saw 72 bands play. In fact, I saw a concert every month of the year except January and November. This summer, at a street festival in Ravenswood, I bought a map of concert venues and am making it my goal to attend every single venue in Chicago. I am currently at 21/42 on the map, in addition to a few extras that are not on the map. I even got pretty into vinyl, check out my MUSIC page to see my Vinyl Collection.
I kicked off the very musical 2017 with a show on February 12th at Space in Evanston. Robert Ellis was playing and Jenny O opened up for him. You may remember this from my last monthly blog & last vlog of the year. Check it out.
I took about a month off from shows as lacrosse started up, but returned to my second show of 2017 on Thursday, March 16th with The Orwells at the Metro. Unfortunately I was coming from lax practice and missed some quality openers including The Walters, but I arrived just in time for The Orwells to take the stage. I was blown away by the sold out crowd and energy from front man Mario Cuomo. I was situated in the back, but watched many a people mosh pit and crowd surf for some quality rock and roll. If you haven't seen or heard The Orwells, then you definitely need to, as they are one of the up and coming bands from the local suburb, Elmhurst, Illinois!
Only two days later, on Saturday March 18th, after winning a lacrosse tournament and going out to dinner for Rachel's Mom's Bday at Quartino's, I saw Strand of Oaks at Thalia Hall with John & Melissa. Twin Limb opened up for him and put on a solid performance as well. Timothy Showalter, head of Strand of Oaks played my favorite jam, JM, and even brought his mother out on stage for a song. John had only listened to their older and slower stuff, but his newer stuff & the show absolutely rocked. My first time seeing Strand of Oaks, and won't be my last!
After about another month of concert silence, Rachel and I saw Lucky Boys Confusion at House of Blues on Saturday, April 15th. It was their record release show for their new album Stormchasers. First new album in 10 years and also 20 years of great music. If you don't know, LBC is from Downers Grove & Naperville and was listened to an insane amount during youth & HS for me. Lucky Boys never let's us down, as you can see in the action below. No surprise we ran into Dan Shoeman from summer camp at this show, I've literally seen him at every LBC show I've ever gone to I think. Lucky Boys are starting to play a lot more around the Chicago area, so be on the lookout!
Only 8 days later, Sunday April 23rd, after attending church, hanging out with John and Melissa at the Lincoln Park Zoo and J Parker Rooftop for drinks, Rachel and I grabbed some seats in the balcony of the sold out Lincoln Hall to see Coin. They had so much positive energy and gave off such a 'go for it' attitude, as seen by their record title, "How Will You Know If You Never Try". I only knew one of their songs going into the show, but came out loving all of their music. Energetic indie rock for those who are interested.
Just a little over a week later, on Thursday May 4th, I traveled solo to see Matthew Logan Vasquez play a solo show at Subterranean. MLV is the lead singer of Delta Spirit, and one of three members of Middle Brother, and has been doing some solo work lately. David Ramirez, a folksy artist from Texas opened up and played with such heart and emotion. It was an exceptional show for both musicians. May the Fourth be with you.
The next month, on Tuesday May 16th, Rachel and I walked over to The Vic Theatre and caught the Mac DeMarco show. We were once again able to snag some seats in the balcony and enjoyed the chill concert. Mac is a hilarious and awesome musician who really has his own style of music. He put on a super dope show full of hits in front of the sold out crowd.
On Sunday May 21st, after celebrating my niece's bday by doing flips on her trampoline to impress young children, I traveled back to the city to see The Weeks play at Lincoln Hall. John & Melissa joined me for the fun that night. The band The Lonely Biscuits opened for The Weeks, and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. The Weeks played my favorite song, Mississippi Rain, right into my second favorite track, Buttons. What a show! Definitely check out these southern rock boys from Mississippi. They're on the same label as Kings of Leon and opened up for them earlier in the year.
A couple of weeks later, on Friday June 2nd, Beth and I caught Lucky Boys Confusion at Do Division street fest. My second time seeing Lucky Boys this year, Beth's first time seeing them ever, and another great performance. Midwest Hype played before them, a reggae ska band with some rap.
Just a day after the second LBC show of the year, I bought tickets on craigslist for the Sigur Ros show at The Auditorium Theatre on Saturday June 3rd. I met up with the woman on a random street corner and got the tickets I was hoping would not be counterfit. They seemed real though, so Squid and I headed to the show. After waiting in line to get inside, we headed for our seats, which ended up being the last seats in the entire venue. A beautiful and magical, 2 set show, even from the last row! Sigur Ros is an experimental rock band from Iceland and make fantastically beautiful tunes. The lead singer, Jonsi, also has some solo stuff that is featured in many movies like We Bought a Zoo and 127 Hours. Give it a listen to relax.
Sunday, June 11th, our 1 year wedding anniversary, Rachel and I explored the Old Town art fair, Wells street art fair, Buckingham fountain, Maggie Daley Park, and finally Millennium park to catch some live blues music at the Jay Parker Pavillion.
Two weeks later on June 25th, after catching some of the Pride Parade down Clark, Rachel, Beth & I headed over to Ravenswood Beer Fest where I picked up a couple of Chicago posters. One being about all the breweries in the city, and the other about all the music venues. Pretty neat.
Just a few days later, on Thursday, June 29th, Rachel surprised me with two tickets to see Tom Petty at Wrigley field. The seats were in her company's box and we were super excited to be seeing the legendary Tom Petty. Tom Petty put on an incredible and amazing show which we enjoyed thoroughly with free food and drink from the boxes of Wrigley. Classic rock and roll. Songs like"Mary Janes Last Dance," "Free Fallin'," "Refugee," and "American Girl." We, and the rest of the world, would have no idea that Tom Petty would pass on just three months later. I feel very lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to see him, and see his last show in the city of Chicago.
On Sunday July 2nd, after filming Ashley & Cory's Wedding in Wisconsin; Rachel and I stopped at the World's Largest Culver's on the way home, then spent some time at the beach. My parents picked us up and took us out to Lou Malnati's for dinner to celebrate my birthday. Later that evening I walked to Beat Kitchen to meet up with Jmon to see a screamo band called, Set to Stun. They were pretty crazy and wild. Not super my style of music, but it was a wild show!
Fast forward to the end of month, on Saturday July 29th, after priming our living room furniture, Rachel and I drove out to Tinley Park to catch a show at the Hollywood Casino Amplitheatre. Jmon met us at the show and we snagged some seats in the lawn. Judah and the Lion played first, which Rachel was most excited for, as they played their song, "Take It Back." Jimmy Eat World played second and played their hits including "Sweetness" and "The Middle." And finally Incubus put Rachel to sleep with their majestic song "Aqueous Transmission." They also played "Drive," "Stellar" and some other jams. A great show that brought back some great memories from middle school and high school.
Next up on the music list is Lolla. I already covered this in quite some detail, but it was my first time to Lollapalooza and I really enjoyed it. For me it spanned from August 2nd to August 6th. My favorite act of the entire weekend was probably Cage the Elephant. If interested in more, check out all the videos I took below, or go ahead and read about it here: LOLLA BLOG
Just about a week later, on Saturday August 12th, Rachel and I drove back out to Tinley Park to catch Kings of Leon at Hollywood Casino Amplitheatre. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats opened up and played my favorite song of theirs, "SOB". Kings of Leon played an amazing show, despite not playing my favorite "revelry," they still played a bunch of jams including "Sex on Fire," "Taper Jean Girl," and "Knocked Up." During the last song, we were struck with a scary injury as Rachel slipped on the cement as she went from the dew covered grass to the asphalt. She tore up her knee and foot pretty bad, so bad that we had to go to the doctor and get it checked out....road rash!
After nearly another month, I finally got to see my favorite band of all time, The Offspring. They were coming to town to co-headline a tour with Sublime with Rome. Johnny, Dino, and I grabbed a cab and headed over to Northerly Island on Friday September 8th. Once at the venue we made our way toward the front of the crowd. We had a pretty good spot and awaited the boys to come out. Once the Offspring took the stage the place went nuts. We chilled in our spot for maybe half a song and then made our way into the mosh pit. Dexter and Noodles jammed out and had jumping around. Every single song was amazing and brought me back to my childhood in the 90s. One of the most memorable parts of the show was when they played "Bad Habit." The crowd was calm until they spoke the lines, "You stupid dumbsh!t, Goddamn Mother F$%^er! And then everyone went absolutely nuts. I remember playing this song super low during that part in my room with my bro growing up, so my parents wouldn't hear. This was my first time seeing The Offspring, and first time in a mosh pit, and I loved it. It was so amazing signing along and bouncing around with people just like me who were feeling the music. Jmon also crowd surfed for the first time ever, although I was separated from him when it happened. Check out the wild action from the pit below. Sublime with Rome played after and we headed toward the back to chill. They were fine, but no where near the energy and amazingness of the Offspring. Rock & Roll!
After that wild night, I returned to Northely Island the next night, Saturday September 9th to see Cold War Kids & Young The Giant. The temperatures had dropped significantly, and it got a lot more windy. For this show, Rachel and I also had seats in the second row of the seats section which was behind the pit area, so no moshing tonight. I was surprised when the Cold War Kids played first, but they played jams like "Miracle Mile," "First," and "Hang Me Up To Dry." I really enjoyed one of the last songs they played, "Something Is Not Right With Me." After a short intermission and some tacos for Rachel and I, Young the Giant took the stage. The lead singer had a ton of energy and they played their popular songs, "Mind over Matter," "Cough Syrup," and "My Body." They even played a cover of R. Kelly's Remix to Ignition. Solid, but chilly show!
Just a little less than a week later, on Thursday September 14th, I met up with Melissa at Space in Evanston to see Strand of Oaks play for the second time this year. In a more intimate setting than Thalia Hall, he put on another rocking show, and even covered You Get What You Give by the New Radicals. One of his band members, Jason Anderson, opened up for him. Great show.
Jump forward to the month of October, I met up with Grant at Schubas to catch Daniel Norgren on Friday October 3rd. This is a Swedish artist who was touring North America for the first time ever. He pulled a small crowd, as he is not that known, but I highly recommend checking out his music. "Moonshine Got Me" is a jam. This was my first time at Schubas, which is a very small venue in the back of a bar front, but great for an intimate setting. Although I would say his live music is better than his record that I picked up and he signed, I would still check this Swede out!
On Tuesday October 17th, I stopped by Bottom Lounge on my way home from work to catch the Beach Fossils show. This small band with a girl lead singer called Snail Mail opened up. Another new venue and new artists for me. Much larger than I thought from the outside, and also my first time seeing a concert with glasses. Wow! No wonder people don't mind standing near the back. Beach Fossils put on their Indie style show which included an engagement, a kickflip on stage, crowd surfing, and plenty of hipsters like myself. Pretty great indie music. Check em. out.
Just two days later, Thursday October 19th, I drove up to Grayslake to meet up with John & Melissa. We then carpooled up to Madison after jumping John's car that broke down. There is only one reason to head to Madison for a show if you know me, Deer Tick. I did the same thing just over a year and half ago. Before the show we stopped at The Old Fashioned to have some cheese curds and old fashioneds. Yum. We got to the show halfway through the comedian opener and made our way to row 2. Great view for a Deer Tick show! This was their Twice as Nice Tour, so they would be playing an acoustic show, then taking a short break, coming back out and playing an Electric set. The show was amazing of course. Classic Deer Tick rocking our socks off. I was able to get a setlist from the first set, and Melissa was able to snag Deniss's lyric sheet from the second set. After the show we headed back to our hotel to chill.
Back at the hotel, we made a couple of Instagram posts. And then all of sudden the night got crazy. John McCauley liked Melissa's drawing of him, and then I made a post about Ian being most likely to be abducted by aliens. Then all of a sudden Ian had commented and liked my post. Then he regrammed my post, and minutes later, the official Deer Tick Instagram had regrammed my post as well! We couldn't stop talking about how great it was and how we should make all these other posts. I felt like a little school girl gossiping/gloating over some boy (as if I know what that is like...). We were up super late, but eventually went to bed.
The next morning we drove back to Grayslake, then I met up with John for a Twisted burger at Lunch. Then I drove back to the city. To my luck, Deer Tick was coming to Chicago in just a day.
The next day on Saturday October 21st, Rachel and I went to her company outting at Whirley ball. After having a couple of drinks and some food and whirley ball, we came back to our place. Later that night John, Beth, and Brian came over before the Deer Tick show. We headed out to the show and got there mid comedian set just like Madison. Chicago was much more crowded though so we made our way up the left side and got to maybe 5 rows back. Deer Tick played another amazing 2 sets. This time Rachel was able to snag the setlist from the second second set after the show ended.
Somehow during the entire month of November I didn't go to a single concert, unless you could include Austin and Christine's wedding where Austin played some Rush cover songs!
On Saturday December 2nd, Rachel and I won tickets to see David Ramirez at Schubas. My second time at Schubas this year and ever! Molly Parden opened up for him as a solo artist, as he did when he opened for Matt Vasquez. This time, David Ramirez had a band with him and put on a stellar and heartfelt performance.
Just 5 days later, on Thursday December 7th, I caught another show with Grant. This time it was the Barr Brothers at Lincoln Hall. After we got a free Heineken from some Heineken chicks, we were able to catch the amazing and folky show that the Barr Brothers put on. I found out later they were missing one of their original three members, the girl who plays the harp, but they still performed the heck out of Lincoln Hall. I would expect them to play a larger venue next time they are in town. I once again got a little Instagram fame, as the Barr Brothers regrammed the photo I took of them at the show at Lincoln Hall. Heck yes! Spectacular performance, and if you are into folk or indie folk, you definitely need to check these guys out.
Just the next day, Friday December 8th, I headed back to Lincoln Hall with John, Jmon, and Melissa and saw The Weeks perform. After having some Papa John's at our place, we headed to the show. I snagged my third concert poster before heading in. We were situated a few rows back off to the left as usual, but about 25 minutes or show into the concert, I realized John was getting drinks and Jmon went to the bathroom, so I booked it to center stage. I then moshed and got super sweaty with a few fellas up front. My second time moshing and I can't get enough. The Weeks put on the second killer show of 2017, again at Lincoln Hall. If you like alternative or indie, be sure to check these dues out. I got nice and wet in that Mississippi Rain and bounced up and down for the next hour until the show was over.
So that concludes my entire concert experience of 2017. By far my most musically focused year with the most concerts attended and my first Lollapalooza. I think I'll be back in 2018 and want to ensure I hit a show every month, although not sure I'll reach the 72 artists I saw in 2017. Hopefully I can reach my goal of all 42 venues as well.
Happy New Year everyone, listen to music and love life! Which of the above artists would you love to see? And if you have any must see artists in person for next year, PLEASE let me know!
Josh