On Saturday I slept most of the morning. I watched some of Arsenal v Chelsea and the Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals. We learned via Facebook that most of the band was at Wrigley. I chose not to go to the Friday performance because I feared I'd be tired after working all day. Originally I was going to skip this run altogether so I suppose this was a compromise. Part of the appeal was that I'd never been to this venue situated between Wicker Park and Logan Square. One of the things I've tried to attempt this year is to visit some new venues. However, in this case the venue turned out to the be a bummer. The gestapo search and presence really put a damper on the vibe.
The drive into the city on I-80 and I-55 was uneventful. I parked where I typically do for Chicago shows in Wicker Park. Before the show I had Big Al's #1 Italian Beef on Milwaukee. This always reminds me of seeing shows at UIC and staying with my cousin on Taylor St. The weather was perfect for the walk down Milwaukee to the venue. It was a modern, clean venue but was kept too cold and I've already discussed the security. This show had several highlights and was well played but my favorite part of the experience was seeing my friend Craig and his brother Curt. I don't see Craig very often. It was also good to be reunited with my partner from the Colorado roadtrip, Frank. We watched from the middle of the floor. Preshow PA was Styx. I was disappointed with the sound at first but it improved over the course of the night. It wasn't quite loud enough during moe. However, during the opening act Mungion's set it was almost to the point of the being too loud. The bass was rattling. Billy Goat was extended as the opener and made its way into the first part of meat. I was particularly happy to hear Montego for the first time live. This was my 80th moe. show and I've been enjoying them more lately. I really like Chuck's guitar tone. He is currently sporting a beard. During Puebla I went outside to the smoking pen and met some good people. That was a theme of the night. Everyone we met was pretty nice. Setbreak PA was The Police.
The segue from Spine of the Dog into Plane Crash was the highlight of the show. It had heavy Buster hintings. Letter Home was another song from Tin Cans that I've always liked. They had cut Thorazine Shuffle the previous night so this wasn't a shocker. Rob sounds great on that bass part. Chuck did a good job on the guitar and vocals. She was explored continuing the trend of improvisation during this show. This wasn't my favorite moe. show but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. The "now you were gone" ending of Down Boy was repeated more than usual providing the beginning of a slow return to the end of meat. Threw It All Away sent the crowd into the night. I've seen moe. in most of the venues in the city and this was one of my least favorites. After the show I made the relatively easy cruise home. I heard The Chain by Fleetwood Mac driving through Annawan which Rob had jokingly teased between songs in the second set. Coming on the heels of the spectacular Phish Dick's 2016 run this event had a distinctively junior varsity feeling. I enjoy seeing moe. but I've come to terms with the fact that they are basically a bar band.
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