To begin the show, they show a video of Ben Kweller 20 years ago when Sha Sha was released. He is in Osaka, Japan, playing a show at a Tower Records. After the show, he is signing records for a huge line of fans. Then the video says “Are you ready?”. Kweller and his band take the stage and launch into “How it Should Be (Sha Sha)” and the audience immediately begins dancing and singing along.

After a few songs, he breaks the high E string on his guitar. He decides that he will still play the next song with it, because it doesn’t need that string. Afterwards, he goes to the his keyboard while his guitar is fixed. There he plays “In Other Words”. “The butterflies are passive aggressive /And put their problems on the shelf but they’re beautiful”. This is such a beautiful song and it sounds great tonight.

On bass today is Christopher Mintz-Plasse. He plays a right handed bass upside down. Many fans recognize him as an actor from Superbad and Kick-Ass. He says just one bit of self promotion. “This album is 20 years old, so I know a lot of you have kids. Go see Trolls 3!”

Midway in the set, Ben talks about how his son, Dorian, passed away this year in February at the age of 16 (He died in a freak car accident). In a tribute, they play one of his songs, “How I Am”. It’s a very heartfelt moment.

Later on, they play “Starz” from his 2021 album, Circuit Boredom “’Cause I can’t find my thoughts when the lights go out (They shut off the lights momentarily here) / I see stars / Brighter than the Milky Way / I see stars / Wishing that one day / They would be ours.” This is great new rocker that proves he can still write great songs.

To close out the set, they play “Penny on the Train Track” from his self titled 2006 album.  “I’m just a penny on the train track / Waitin’ for my judgement day / Come on baby girl let me see those legs / Before I get flattened away”. This is such a great song with a driving beat. The energy in the room is fantastic.

To end the night, he talks about how Chicago has always been one of his favorite cities to play. He says that Q101 was a huge key in his success as they were the first to put “Wasted and Ready” in their playlist. This song is his most popular on Spotify with over 3.6 million streams. “She is a slut but ex thinks it’s sexy / Sex reminds her of eating spaghetti”.  He plays it with great passion and makes it a perfect finale.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $40

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney