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Occasionally I broaden my horizons and venture out to a performance not being held at my usual haunts.  In this case I visited the Harris Theater to catch a contemporary Latin ballet performance put on by a work client (site hasn’t gone live yet).  I gathered that photography was heavily frowned upon by the both the show and the venue so I held off until the encore bows to snap a pic.  The performance was a nice change of pace from what I’m accustomed to and the Harris is quite impressive (minus the lobby area which is comprised of horribly cold flourescent neon lights and lots of cement).

Two shows in one night… a rarity even for me.  After seeing Calexico perform at Millenium Park, I biked my way back to the house, made some grilled cheese (I’ll get by this second Great Depression just fine) and set out for Schuba’s to see Damien Jurado.  I had never seen Jurado before, although I’ve been a fan of his stuff since I was first passed Rehearsals for Departure a few years back.  Not unlike Calexico, Jurado has a new album out which the majority of the show focused on.  Aside from the aforementioned Rehearsals I feel confident in declaring his new album – Caught in the Trees – his best work in a while.  If you’re undecided on the album I highly recommend listening to #1, #2 and #7.  If those don’t grow on you I doubt the rest ever will.

Jurado performed with two additional musicians who jumped between drums, keyboards and guitar over the course of the show.  Jurado is a soft and subtle performer so I recommend getting up close if you get a chance to check him out.

Calexico visited to Chicago last week to bring a close to the free summer concert series at Millenium Park.  They brought along some friends including Salvador Duran (who was featured on the Calexico/Iron & Wine EP In The Reins from 2005) and Mariachi Luz de Luna Grupo Zazhil from Mexico.

Much of the material covered over the course of the evening was culled from the recent Calexico release Carried to Dust. The on-stage lineup – which I counted at eleven – jumped around from song to song even prior to bringing out the 7 piece Mariachi band.  If you missed them don’t fret – they’re back in Chicago this fall at the Metro 11/21.

I turn 30 tomorrow.  Shoot me now.  Well at least I got to have party and you better believe Lep made his way in from the Brew.  Not to mention my parents came in from Madison and even Josh and Nick from Neoteric made it out for the occasion.  It was the most fun I’ve had in a long while.  The end of the evening is a bit hazy but I know Lep and I ended it up on my roof at the wee hours of the night with an 18 pack.

Reisch managed to get the night off from his new gig at Bistro 110.

The fam minus Matt

A more composed pic of Lep and I

My brother who kindly planned the party

I’ve found my new summer home.  It’s in Beverly Shores, Indiana.  I am super excited but also a slight bit disappointed that I didn’t make this discovery until the end of summer.  Oh well, I’ve already started to mark up my calendar for next summer beginning with Memorial Day.

This is my pool.  The polio pool has lost all it’s charm.

I can still see the city from my deck.

Across the street from the beach.  My biggest conundrum of the weekend was whether to jump in the pool or hit the beach…

Here’s my beach.

Here’s my pool.

My houseguests.