Been experimenting with the shutter speeds on my new camera. This pic was snapped from my balcony at 9pm with a 2 second shutter. Love the city glow. Really need a tripod or solid surface for this to work well though.
Outside the Vic prior to the show
This is about as far as I made towards entering the Vic before I was told to check my camera. Definitely a downside to having an SLR is that it’s significantly more difficult to get it into a show with. Why did I have to check my SLR camera but not my iPhone which has a camera? The Vic is slowly moving on to my list of shitty venues.
Oh well, I was late to the show anyway and spent most of the performance up in the balcony which is a poor spot to get pics but a good vantage point for a low key show like Loudon. He played a few classics (”Motel Blues” was a fav) but much of the material came from more recent albums such as Recovery, Strange Weirdos, and a couple of albums I hadn’t heard yet (The Krugman Blues and High Wide & Handsome).
The album cover for High Wide & Handsome
High Wide & Handsome is an homage to Charlie Poole who was a well-renowned banjo player and singer from the ’20s and ’30s. The album spans two discs and contains some thirty songs. Some are covers of songs often included in Poole’s repertoire and others were composed by Loudon and Dick Connette for the album. The title track of the album–written by Loudon–is one of the best and a highlight from the show at the Vic as well.
One of the last remaining nice Fall days here in Chicago. Ventured up to the roof with my new camera to snap a few pics.
I finally had the chance to check out the much anticipated new Lincoln Hall venue which opened last week. The guys who own Schubas Tavern renovated the old Three Penny Cinema in Lincoln Park and Langhorne Slim and Dawes came through in just its second week. The venue is truly spectacular. It plays similar to Schubas except it has three times the capacity (just over 500) and has a balcony as well. As expected, and similar to Schubas, the acoustics are awesome.
Bennie at Sterch’s prior to the show.
The outside of the venue.
Dawes was a disappointment in part because the lead singer tries too hard and his lyrics often push right on into unintentional campiness. An example I recall was the verse about being “like a bird that crashes into a window because it sees the reflection of the sky.” They did play “My Girl to Me” (and well) which is the strongest track from their recent album North Hills. It didn’t help that the lead singer reminded more than one of us of George W. Bush with his tics and mannerisms… that or a high school gym teacher.
Dawes on stage.
Langhorne on the other hand kicked ass just as expected. A true showman with a slew of new material to play, he jumped around from his riotous stuff like “Honey Pie” and “Hello Sunshine” to more low key tunes like “Blown Your Mind”, my favorite track from his new album Be Set Free.
At the very end of the show he busted out “Say Yes” from the new album and invited some of the crowd up on stage to celebrate the end of the night. A touching conclusion to a great performance.
Matt walking the Cal State-Chico Campus
I headed to Chico, CA to visit Matt in early October. While Chicago was already beginning its nasty descent into winter with temperatures below 40, it was 80+ and sunny the entire time in California. Cousin Max picked me up from the Sacramento airport on his way up from Berkeley.
Max and Matt at the Polio Pool West
Park in downtown Chico
Matt in downtown Chico
Matt at the Polio Pool West
A license plate we stumbled upon downtown. Matt was concerned someone might think it was him.
The weather does not belie the current mood here in the Windy City. We lost the Olympics (came in dead last actually), it’s shitty weather, and most everyone has the flu. On the upside I got a new camera yesterday — and a damn nice one to boot.