6/26/21 Disco Biscuits @ McHenry Outdoor Theatre - McHenry, IL

 

5/15/21 Umphrey's McGee @ Drive-Inn at Seatgeek Stadium - Bridgeview, IL

 

9/5/20 Umphrey's McGee @ Drive-Inn at Seatgeek Stadium - Bridgeview, IL

 

Over Labor Day weekend I was finally able to attend a concert during this pandemic era.  It was socially distanced in the parking lot of Seatgeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL.  I attended this show with my friend Steve from Wicker Park.  A friend from college, Lindsay and her friend Lauren also rode with us.  The break from seeing live music for me had lasted over 6 months.   This is the longest I've gone without seeing music since 1999.  Ever since they began using this facility for Drive In movies I'd been hoping that Umphrey's McGee would utilize this venue.  I really had a good time but ultimately it felt too soon to be returning to large events of this nature.  When people started drinking they lost focus on safety.  One wonders about the cleanliness of the portapotties.  The PA music was appropriate for a Drive In.  All the songs were related to vehicles.  

Driving into the city I thought about all the time I'd spent on Umphrey's McGee over the years.  In the early days it was a fun excuse to go to Iowa City.  Later it evolved into a hobby that allowed me to visit midwest college towns.  Over time they became a viable act to follow.  I'm proud of the progress they've made as a band.  The music became more danceable and generally more accessible.  1348 as an opener is a nod to the Bubonic Plague that struck Europe in that year.  This was my first Seasons.  That's a quality newer tune.  The Police cover worked well in this setting with its industrial surroundings.   Joel Cummins is from nearby.  Wife Soup made me nostalgic about older days of seeing the band.  

I think the highlight of the show was Hurt Bird Bath in the second set.  It's amazing how far Rocktopus has come as an instrumental.  I wish the sound had been a tad louder but we were towards the back.  It was nice to have so much space to dance.  I could get used to that.  Overall, I liked the energy of the performance.  This has been such a weird time.  After so much isolation it was nice to get out and see a show. 

1/25/20 Mike Gordon @ Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI

It's been almost 10 weeks since I traveled to Madison, WI for Mike Gordon at the Majestic Theatre on January 25th.  It was a Saturday night.  The show had sold out several weeks in advance.  I had just recovered from a horrible cold/flu which now has me wondering if that wasn't the Coronavirus.  The lasting effect from this was an ear infection that left tinnitus in my left ear.  I couldn't hear the nuance of this performance.  Nonetheless, I still managed to have fun.  Madison has always been my favorite college town.  The funky coffee shops along State St. must remind Mike Gordon of Burlington, VT.  I parked my car near the Overture Center.  Then walked to Pizza Di Roma for a slice of subpar pizza.  That place must have gone downhill.  I walked around the capital building to the venue and arrived while they were playing the opening song I Am Random.  My favorite parts of the first set were Victim and Stealing Jamaica.  The whole first set was an I Am Random sandwich.


The second set started off with Angatta and then was followed by a new song called Borrowing Rain.  I heard Trapezoidal Sunshine in Chicago a few years ago.  It has a message of trying to count to ten resolve anger.  Are You A Hypnotist?? was well done.  The Grid was my favorite part of the performance.  I've like that track from the Leo/Mike album.  Next was Steps which is one of the best songs from his 'OGOGO' album.  I watched most of this show from the very top of the balcony.  It was a unique perspective.  I could still feel the bass even though I couldn't hear everything.  I made my way to the first floor during the last song of the set and the encore.  Then I had to get on the road.  Destiny Unbound. 

1/4/20 The Disco Biscuits @ Riviera Theatre - Chicago, IL

I like to see one show over the holidays every year.  The Disco Biscuits have been playing well as of late.  Their NYE run started in New York and featured a 2020 January run at Chicago's Riviera Theatre.  There was a dusting of winter snow on the trees as I made the commute into the city.  I parked near my sister's apartment and visited with my nephew for a while.  Then I walked to Steve's place to watch the Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Texans wildcard game before taking the train to Uptown.  I saw some familiar faces from the Umphrey's crowd at this show. 


The 7-11 triple sandwich was the highlight of the first set.  Little Betty Boop is a tune from the album I had in college that was my first exposure to The Disco Biscuits.  Vasillios to open set 2 was another track from that album that I knew.  The Tractorbeam jam in set 2 was the highlight of the show for me.  Magner was on point with his keyboard work.  The energy was there all night long.  I'm glad I made the trek into Chicago for this performance.  After the show I stopped at White Castle in Bowlingbrook. 

12/4/19 Phish @ Petersen Events Center - Pittsburgh, PA

My roadtrip to see Phish in Pittsburgh was the final concert I'll see in this decade.  2019 was a good year for me.  In May I quit smoking cigarettes.  Later in August I got my career going and became a substitute teacher.  I cleared my schedule out for a couple days to head east for Phish.  I'm grateful that we still have Phish.  Pittsburgh is not an easy city to navigate in the best of weather.  Our family has history in that city and it was good to finally see a show in the city limits.  I woke before dawn and drove by myself to Pennsylvania.  For lunch I had Sbarro Pizza.  It started to snow as I reached eastern Ohio but fortunately didn't really accumulate.  I parked in the garage and the employee at the gate was impressed that I'd driven by myself from Illinois.  I saw some familiar folks in the parking lot.  It was cold and dark.  You could smell the fajitas and grilled cheese being prepared in the lot as the snow lightly fell.  You had to walk down steps to get to the arena from that side.  The aspect of the Petersen Events Center that I liked is that it doesn't have a hockey rink.  This makes the arena more compact.  I met some good people in my row of the upper deck.  At some point they played the Whitney album "Forever Turned Around" that I'd heard before the Eau Claire Trey solo acoustic show.  I bought the Pollack Pittsburgh shirt. 


It sounded like Trey was playing with an extra bit of energy on this occasion.  He shredded out about every song in the first set.  This was some quality arena rock.  It had been ages since I'd heard Cars, Trucks, Buses which is perfect for any roadtrip.  Water in the Sky was a nod to the snow falling.  Everything from Funky Bitch onward crushed in the first set.  Wolfman's was another strong version.  Halley's actually included a Sand/Tube-like jam.  Circus Comes to Town is a cover that really worked in that slot.  Victim from Gordo's OGOGO album was totally unexpected but was a welcome addition to the Phish repertoire.  Antelope rounded out a fun, high energy set of Phish arena rock. 


Cavern to open set two was out of the ordinary.  Research shows that's only the third time they've done that.  Runaway Jim was the highlight of the show for me.  The "cruise across the country in my old sedan" part got to me.  The improvisation was a superb example of full band interplay.  Slowly this morphed into Ghosts of the Forest.  That segueway is the type of Phish I love.  ASIHTOS led into a Prince Caspian that was played at too fast of a tempo.  That was about my only complaint of the night.  Fuego got things going again.  YEM was well received by the crowd.  This was an above average rendition.  CK5 was showing what he can do during the vocal jam.  Mesmerizing stuff.  It appeared that would end the set when Trey unexpectedly picked up his guitar and ripped into Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times".  The crowd reaction was amazing. 


Humor has long been a part of the Phish equation.  It was good for the soul to see the greasy little troll do his thing during the encore.  Terrapin reminds me of the Moby Dick show at Deer Creek so many moons ago.  Fishman jumped on top of the piano during his antics.  Julius sent us off into the cold winter night.  I thought of the steps outside the arena during the lyrics.  This shredding arena rock was a fitting end to a fun evening on the Pitt campus.  After the show I drove a little ways out of the city to Beaver Falls, PA and stayed at the Super 8.  The next day I drove home in time to watch the Bears game.  This was my 163rd Phish show. 

10/21/19 Trey Anastasio @ Pablo Center at the Confluence - Eau Claire, WI

Back in October my mom and I drove to the Madison, WI area on a Monday morning.  I'd cleared my schedule for a few days.  It had been a few years since mom and I had gone on a roadtrip.  We stayed with our friends, The Behrs, in Middleton.  It was great to see Margaret and Fritz again.  Whitney joined us for lunch.   It was good to eat a nice meal before I made my way north to Eau Claire.   The portion from Middletown to the Wisconsin Dells was scenic.  The leaves were turning and the corn that remained unpicked was golden brown.  In November of 2000 I'd driven from Madison to St. Paul to see Widespread Panic.  This drive brought back memories of that day.  Wisconsin is one of my favorite states.  The agrarian/owl theme of the poster made me buy it despite having no more room for wall art.  It's the same artist who did the UIC 2011 poster.  I was able to find free parking.  It was rainy and dreary by the time I got to this new futuristic opera house, The Pablo Center at the Confluence.  They let us go back to our vehicles after buying the poster and tshirt.  The venue served coffee which I appreciated.  I dug the chill music before the show.  My seat was in the 5th row for this intimate acoustic evening with Trey Anastasio. 

This show was almost like going to a church service.  At this point these songs have become our hymnals.  I envision these acoustic shows being Trey's end game once Phish is done.  I really liked the song selection.  All of these Dreams and Sweet Dreams Melinda followed a story that Trey told about going to a Tool concert.  Twenty Years Later works for me with my first Phish show having been in 1999.  Wolfman's was extended a little.  Inlaw Josey Wales is Trey's best acoustic tune.  That was the only time during the tour that he played Fluffhead.  That was probably my highlight.  Ruby Waves drew a reaction from the crowd.  Presumably many in attendance were also at Alpine Valley this past summer.  Winterqueen, Till We Meet Again, Ghosts of the Forest, If I Could was a great stretch of tunes.  Sand was also jammed a little with the help of some loops.  Life Beyond the Dream was cool to hear stripped down.  Billy Breathes was great to hear though I'm greedy and would have liked Bliss >.  Strange Design included a story about having children.  Towers was a well executed Bon Iver cover.  Earlier in the night Trey had mentioned how Eau Claire reminded him of Burlington, VT.  I've been to both places and I'd have to agree they both have good vibes. Limb by Limb has always been a song I've liked from The Story of the Ghost album.  The final three songs got the crowd excited.  Wingsuit, The Lizards, More was a solid encore.  After the show I drove back to Middleton.  Seeing Trey acoustic is a different experience.  By the end of it I was ready to think about Phish in Pittsburgh.