8/26/17 Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band @ iWireless Center - Moline, IL

This morning I made the spur of the moment decision to buy a ticket to see Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band at The Mark of the Quad Cities.  That is the venue where I saw my very first concert which was Jethro Tull in 1996 with my parents.  On that occasion it was a half house setup.  This was a full arena setup with chairs on the floor. By showtime it appeared to be sold out or very close.  You can tell that concerts are a much needed shot of business to downtown Moline.  I thought about parking near Bad Boyz Pizza but the lot was full and it was getting close to showtime so I ended up parking near 16th St. and 6th Ave. in a public lot.  I felt like George Costanza driving around refusing to pay to park.  With time being of the essence I settled for a Slim 5 at Jimmy John's.  This was a new location for me located on the same block as Bent River Brewery. 


The opening act was forgettable.  Seger hit the stage about 9.  The older beer drinking crowd sat the whole show.  The Quad Cities is lucky to have such a wonderful arena.  I still remember when it was built in the mid 90s and the hey day of the Mallards shortly thereafter.  There are lots of great memories for me associated with that building.  Bob Seger is far from my favorite artist but his music has been with me a lot over the years.  His voice is like a familiar friend that has been with me on my journey.  It's a certain type of Midwestern soul that I can relate to.  He's just a special songwriter and singer.  For a guy his age he was dancing around like James Brown at times.  It was impressive.  The Silver Bullet Band is a nuanced and tight musical outfit.  At one point there was 15 people onstage.  The 5 piece Motown horns brought a full sound for the beginning half of the show.  Several songs he played piano.  For a couple he sat and played acoustic.  His drummer was a driving force in the band.  The young electric guitar player was highly skilled and knew his parts.  Fire Down Below was expected and appreciated with the Moline reference. Mainstreet is a favorite of mine.  Like a Rock was emotion filled even its been tained by the Chevrolet commercial usage.  He said he got the idea for We've Got Tonight from the movie The Sting.  The saxophone on Turn the Page was a major highlight.  Her Strut was probably about as rocking as the show got.  Ramblin Gamblin Man was a song that I appreciate more now.  Against the Wind and Hollywood Nights are amongst my favorite Bob Seger tracks.  I liked watching one of the security ladies put down her guard and dance during Night Moves.  Rock and Roll Never Forgets wrapped up a fun experience.   It was nice to be home 30 minutes after the show ended.  My drifter days are over now.  Deadlines and commitments.  What to leave in?  What to leave out?  I'm still running against the wind. 

7/23/17 Umphrey's McGee @ The Landing at the Riverfront - Peoria, IL

With me working full time these days I had to get rid of my August 1st Phish ticket at Madison Square Garden.  I gave it away to someone who we went on an adventure with back in 2010.  I turn 36 on Tuesday so it's got me thinking a lot about getting older.  For my birthday my parents bought me a ticket to see Umphrey's McGee the previous Sunday in Peoria, IL.  Had I still been going to Phish I'm not sure I would have gone to this.  That's how I'm framing the narrative for this.  The show in Peoria made me rethink of what Umphrey's McGee currently is.  Just when you think you've gotten something totally figured out they throw you a curve ball that changes the game completely. 


This was my 157th time seeing the band over a span since 12/5/01 Union Bar in Iowa City.  With the band moving to different regions of the country and having families its somewhat changed the dynamic.  I burnt myself out on the band around 09-10.  That's when I scaled back on my involvement and have been able to keep interested from afar.  It seems like they've gone back to focusing more on the progressive rock side of things and eased back on the dance songs.  I liked how this Peoria show had plenty of danceable moments but stuck to a heavier sound overall. I'm not the best at estimating crowds but this wasn't a huge crowd by any means.  500?  The weather was gorgeous in the mid 70s.  The stage was now positioned underneath the 74 bridge.  That would be the third location on the property that I've seen Umphrey's McGee perform.  I liked how you could easily walk over next to the Illinois River.  It was a pretty sunset.  Scheduling outdoor concerts in the Midwest is a dicey proposition but this wasn't Jay Goldberg's first rodeo.  I saw him before the show.  This was a great experience for me.  He and his son have put on a lot of amazing nights of entertainment for me over the years.


On the way to the show I stopped at Culver's in Geneseo and had a Double Bacon Deluxe.  The Eat opener was appropriate.  That has always been the Umphrey's homage to King Crimson in my eyes.  The band took the stage to the track titled War by Vince DiCola on the Rocky 4 soundtrack.  They played most of that album during the setbreak.  Push the Pig with Peoria's finest in attendance kept the energy going.  That was the theme of the evening.  The show was like a geyser of energy.  Pony's new wooden colored bass has the best tone of his career.  The song wound down and Joel had a piano solo before they kicked into a hip hop sounding jam.  I wasn't familiar with the next two.  The first was an instrumental tune Cut Off and next was Onward and Upward during which you could tell something special was happening.  The inclusion of The Pequod was a nice breather moment.  It showed a maturation of the Umphrey's McGee setlist writing.  Conduit was a strong finish to a cohesive set.  I talked to NickMo for a while during setbreak. He's a good guy within this music community. 


This evening made me appreciate the Umphrey's prog classic All Things Ninja.  Attachments is a great newer addition to the catalog.  2 x 2 was a nice call and harkens back to some of the earliest days of the band.  Utopian included a Rupert Holmes cover in the middle and the second part had a jam that sounded a lot like the Around the Horn theme song.  Kula reminds me of the Davenport '08 show.  Wappy Sprayberry had a synthy jam led by Joel.  Cochise by Audioslave was a major highlight and was totally unexpected.  This was a great way to pay tribute to the recently departed Chris Cornell.  End of the Road again provided an effective juxtaposition.  Out of Order finished off a great show.  I grabbed the event poster and was out by my vehicle by the final notes.  I was home by 12:30. 

7/14-16 Phish @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island - Chicago, IL

This has been a bit of a cruel summer because I've had to sit on the sidelines for the Baker's Dozen yet I've had the resources to make it happen.  Such is life sometimes.  However, I am grateful I was able to attend the opening run of Phish's summer tour in Chicago.  I worked a fifty four hour workweek but was able to leave Davenport, IA by 3:30.  I knew with Friday traffic it was going to be pushing it.  After parking in the Soldier Field garage I emerged from the staircase to hear the opening notes of What's the Use?  Fitting indeed with today's political climate.  The band had been practicing at the former Bradley Center all week in Milwaukee and it showed.  Breath and Burning came next as I made the walk around Burnham Harbor.  This was my 141st time seeing Phish.  As I entered the venue they started up Wolfman's Brother and it was on from there.  They did an acapella tune that paid tribute to the summer time.  It was great to see them use Everything's Right from the TAB tour as a jam vehicle.  Nellie Kane and Limb by Limb kept things going.  Theme was a little shaky at times.  Blaze On wasn't explored per se but brought the energy to a peak before the setbreak.


I moved up a bit closer for set two.  The Phish engine room of Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman was firing on all cyclinders during that No Men in No Man's Land.  Fuego and MFMF are a little too structured for my ideal second sets but it worked.  The surprising highlight was My Pet Cat > Golden Age > My Pet Cat.  Leaves is a new Anastasio/Marshall ballad.  The ending of Harry Hood was better than usual especially for a tour opener.  Shine a Light seemed like it might end the set but they tacked on a fiery Julius.  I wasn't familiar with the first song of the encore.  It had a reggae vibe.  Golgi Apparatus send the masses off into the Chicago night to The Impressions "People Get Ready".  This tour was going to be special.  I drove my vehicle to Wicker Park and took the blue line back to the Pittsfield Hotel where I stayed with my friends Ryan and Heather from Auburn, AL.  I liked our accommodations on Washington just off Michigan Ave.  I thought about going to see Karl D at the Concord when I was out in Wicker Park but I was exhausted from a 9 hour work day, the drive to Chicago, and a concert. 


It was nice to enjoy a wonderful day in the city.  The weather was in the 70s which is unusual for the middle of July.  I ran into the same bunch of guys I was with for the first night of Wrigley Field 2016 as I walked down Michigan Ave towards the venue.  I saw them again at Umphrey's McGee the weekend after in Peoria.  The Hilton always reminds me of the end of The Fugitive.  I saw Travis Darby in the parking lot who I played high school soccer with.  It was nice to see him.  He's a good guy.  This show started rather pedestrian but really picked up right around Yamar.  They actually lowered the lighting rig during Martian Monster and then raised them again.  It was a use of technology that I had never seen before.  Party Time seemed extended more than usual. Wingsuit had some patient work by Trey towards the end.  After a well played Bouncin' Around the Room they wrapped up the set with my first time seeing More.  I like the lyrics to that one. 


I loved the choice of Corona from Trey's Traveler album to open set two.  What came next was unquestionably the highlight of the whole three day run.  It was Simple.  With skyscrapers literally behind the band they unleashed a 27 minute adventure.  After wrapping up a normal version they locked into what seemed like a composed heavy metal jam that eventually became what to the trained ear appeared to be a prolonged segue into Timber (Jerry).  The transition never happened as they stuck with the percussive jam and milked this for all this was worth with great success.  It was an amazing jam that foreshadowed the improvisation we've heard at Madison Square Garden since.  Winterqueen was a nice choice as the cooldown ballad and then they actually extended the ending which led into Light.  This was a short version with a somewhat awkward segue into Scents and Subtle Sounds but that was like a pitcher losing a perfect game in the 7th inning.  That's how good the second set had been.  The city shot off fireworks from Navy Pier and you could see them from the venue during Cities and the beginning of Slave to the Traffic Light.  See the city.  I called the Loving Cup encore.  After a second set like that it was the only way to go.  The sounds of Faces "Oh La La" was the postshow music.  This show made me remember what it felt like when I was younger.  After the show I walked back to the hotel along the lakefront and enjoyed the view of the greatest skyline in the world.


The Sunday show was in the shadow of Saturday's masterpiece.  I knew that wouldn't top that for a while.  We watched Tropic Thunder on Netflix and I went downstairs for some Dunkin Donuts.  The weather became almost too cold during the show.  I bought the long sleeve summer tour shirt just to stay warm.  Before the show I went out to Wicker Park and got my car and moved it to the Soldier Field for a quick getaway.  Possum was a fitting start with me getting on the road right after.  I had to be at work the next morning at 5:55 so again that was appropriate.  I liked the Stash from this set.  Run Like an Antelope was a strong way to finish the first set.  For the second set I found Scott and Adam from Champaign.  The guys from the day before.  Carini was the highlight of the show it modulated from a dark nasty jam into a blissful uplifting exploration.  20+ minutes of top shelf Phish that made the show worthwhile for me.  The segue into 20 Years Later had me thinking how I've been seeing the band for 18 years.  Piper was a solid choice at that junction.  At this point they debuted a new song Thread which has potential moving forward.  After Bathtub Gin I had to get on the road for home.  It sucks I had to miss the end of the show but I took what I could get.  I made it to work the next day.