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Cool aerial shot of the Evanston campus [via McCormick School of Engineering]
I miss it, a bit.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbl42vCkp61qcgbb0o1_500.jpg)
Cool aerial shot of the Evanston campus [via McCormick School of Engineering]
I miss it, a bit.
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Let me tell you about the male vocal harmonies from Ha Ha Tonka.
If it weren’t totally blasphemy, I would almost say that they are better than The Avett Brothers. Almost. 4 parts of resonant hotness. Pipes, serious pipes.
They sang this a cappella and filled up the room at Lincoln Hall and I highly recommend you seeing them live at your earliest convenience.
Hey Ken, remember when I didn’t buy this?
I’m retarded. This concert poster guy is amazing. Can’t wait to see what he does for the Ryman Halloween show this year.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Paris (Ooh La La).
At Martyr’s with Hacienda June 18. I’ll be there and I am dragging as many people as I can muster with me. Her new album is a yes.
Hawks craziness.
Barleycorn in LP right after the win and outside my office an hour and a half before the parade.
"She didn’t mind Chicago. She thought of it as a cross between London and Queens, with a dash of Cleveland."
— Lorrie Moore, “Willing” (via tylercoates)
On Free Energy and Beauty Bar.
Saw these guys Friday at the new Beauty Bar in West Town, which was a gloriously good time. I mean, Clayton Hauck was there, so clearly it was very cutting-edge and kewl. But, more importantly, it was just raucous, carefree fun.
Note on Beauty Bar: Despite being a primarily hipsterish locale, the cover on a Friday night, with a couple of great DJs and an indie band playing, was only $5. But yes, you do see the dreaded PBR tall boy in this photo. You will pretty much have to drink one there.
Also, they do actually give manis and pedis at the bar, so if it smells likes nail polish when you walk in, don’t assume you’re in the wrong place.
The guys played on the floor, so it really did feel like a house party. A loud, sparkly, sweaty, 21-&-up house party.
I first heard the band here, amidst a playlist of other summer bro-rock anthems. I suggest you check them out the same way and see them in June. I believe they’ll be at Lincoln Hall.
The Playlist Project on Thrillist!
So I have posted this on like every social media-type outlet I subscribe to, but I am super proud! Me and Danny’s new project wound up on Thrillist Chicago!
Check it out. And like they said, rock some tunes or submit your own!
Chicago, Downtown Loop Section Street Scene — Rae Russel, 1948
Hazy and wind-whipped. Could be a Chicago spring.
A Playlist and a Story, Everyday: Hayley Wells, April 2nd
Submit a playlist! The goal is to have a new playlist and story everyday. You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook (coming soon).
What is it about the weather in Chicago this week that has all of us making playlists to accompany it? Whatever it is, it’s also…
Today’s playlist on The Playlist Project. Holler.
Murder in the City at the Chicago House of Blues.
So, yes, this will be the final-for-a-while Avett Brother post, given they don’t release any new music or do anything super cool anytime soon. (I give it a week.)
Regarding the show, how do I convince you that it was better than an average concert? Or that it was so phenomenally good because these guys are talented and gracious and all around stage an amazing show, and not just because I am the uberfan?
I can tell you that the floor was shaking so hard that it felt like it was going to cave in. Let you know about how the crowd and band were so incredibly kind to one another. Say how the show almost felt like a collaboration between us and them. How their voices sounded purer in person, a break from the pattern these days. And how they broke several instruments in their mission to entertain.
The band had their thumb to the pulse of the crowd and gave us, ultimately, everything we asked for when it was the time to give it. Boot-stomping rock that would make the neighbors’ yard die, harmonies that would make your mother (and once, really did make my mother) cry. They even closed with a request, impromptu and beautiful.
I’m gushing, I realize. But here’s the truth of the matter— whether you are, like me, predisposed to love everything these guys play because you are already a fan, or whether you are simply interested in good songwriting, technical excellence, hard work onstage, or the human emotional experience, you would have enjoyed this. The authenticity of what The Avett Brothers do is undeniable.
Here’s some of what we saw: Seth sums up what I was feeling and what I told my roommate was happening to me hours before the concert— face pained from smiling, so happy it hurts. He sings what is, to be fair, one of my least favorite songs of this band. He tries to get that low E string in tune, and can’t.
This video cuts out, but moments later, he goes a capella and finishes the song unaccompanied, and says “Well, that was a first.” And predictably, it was better than it would have been with the guitar. Flaws and instrumental failures made the night all the better, and watching the guys work through the problems happily and still succeed in doing something gorgeous was and is gush-worthy. If I do say so myself.
Here’s some of the a capella bit.
That’s enough on these fellows now. My enthusiasm about them alone, all other arguments failing, should encourage you to give them a listen.
When my come time comes.
Avetts & Co.,
You should really cover this song by Dawes when you play Chicago’s House of Blues on Sunday. I know, it’s short notice, I know. But I think you could get really punk, yelly and awesomely harmonic on this song. I’ll be there, and I’ll cheer real loud.
-Punk.
-Yelly.
-Awesomely harmonic.
Plus, it would rule with a banjo. And I know you guys like a song with some kickdrum.
Look at those handsome jerks (Dawes). They are trying to upstage you with harmonies! And unbuttoned shirts! Don’t let it go down like that.
(Uhhh…Yeah. So, I’m so excited about The Avett Brothers show on Sunday that I am having delusions that I can communicate with them, and that, when I communicate with them, they will learn and play songs that I want to hear.
But that’s okay, because despite my craziness, I am glad that I can still get really, really little kid-style excited about the small things in life. Like shows!)
