Gaslight Anthem kicks their set off with a banger, the title track from their 2010 album, American Slang. The rocking guitars perfectling align with the rocking drums and the powerful vocals.
They follow with “45” from their 2012 album, Handwritten. “Hey hey, turn the record over / Hey hey, and I’ll see you on the flip side”. This is another great rocker that keeps the energy level high.
Midway in their set, they play “Michigan, 1975”, from their 2024 album, History Books. This mellow song is hauntingly beautiful and slows things down for just a bit.
Towards the end of the night, they play “Great Expectations” from their 2009 album, The ’59 Sound. “I saw tail lights last night in a dream about my first wife. / Everybody leaves and I’d expect as much from you. / I saw tail lights last night in a dream about my old life. / Everybody leaves, so why, why wouldn’t you?” The crowd eats it up as they dance around.
For the penultimate song, they go with “The ’59 Sound”. “Did you hear the fifty-nine sound coming through on grandfather’s radio? Did you hear the rattling chains in the hospital walls? Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over? Did you hear your favorite song one last time?” The song’s title references a 1959 Fender Bassman amplifier that Brian Fallon (the lead singer) built.
They close with a fantastic version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. The opening bands join them on stage in a huge celebration of this legendary song. “Here we are now, entertain us!” yells everyone in the entire Salt Shed.
Red Wanting Blue are from Columbus, Ohio, the 14th largest city in the US. They have been playing their brand of Americana for 27 years.
They are touring in support of their brand new album, Light It Up. They kick off the night with “Hey, ‘84”. “We felt love / We knew love / Before we ever even knew / What love was!” This song frickin’ rocks and instantly proves they are still making great music and it’s going to be a great night.
They follow with the title track, “Light It Up”. This beautiful song has the audience holding up their cell phone lights and waving them to the music. The passion and truth in Scott Terry’s voice is so strong on this one and throughout the night.
Soon afterwards, they play “You Are My Las Vegas”, which is a crowd favorite. It’s a joyfully fun song that puts a smile on everyone’s face “What are the odds that you’re going home with me, real soon?”
“Younger Years” is a great singalong song. “What do you wanna be when you grow up?” “I don’t know! I don’t know!” It gets the crowd going early on and they maintain this energy throughout the show.
Later on, they launch into “My Name is Death”. It’s a fantastically cool tune from the point of view of the Grim Reaper. “I’m the baddest motherfucker you’ll ever meet” sings the audience gleefully.
Towards the end of the night, they play “Audition”. “I’m just a friend / I want a larger role / I’m just a friend / I never told you though.”
Terry says that they love it here in Chicago. “Tuesday night here is like a Saturday night anywhere else!” What a great line! You could also say that any night that Red Wanting Blue is playing feels like a Saturday night!
The film version of Network was released in 1976. Peter Finch, William Holden, and Faye Dunaway all won Oscars for their roles. The play version first premiered in November 2017 at the Royal National Theatre.
Howard Beale is a network television anchor. Due to low ratings, he announces on live TV that he is going to kill himself live on air in one week. This leads to a ratings boom where Beale rants his truth to his audience.
Photos by Aaron Reese Boseman Photography.
James Turano puts on a strong performance as Howard Beale. “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore” he says. Anne Trodden is excellent as Diana Christensen, the producer. Chuck Munro is great as Max Schumacher, the head network executive. The rest of the cast is solid in their supporting roles.
The set is an impressive recreation of a TV studio, complete with real TV cameras and a control booth.
Cost of a ticket: $27.50 (Mondays)
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother
Get tickets now for Network through September 29th!
It’s always something of a homecoming when Umphrey’s McGee plays a show in Chicago, their erstwhile hometown. The six-piece band’s roots are in South Bend, IN, but a few years after their founding they relocated to Chicago and called it home for years. With the band members’ homes now scattered across the country, gone are the days when fans could count on double-digit shows per year in the Windy City. Recent years have seen Umphrey’s play their extended-length, two-night, fan-directed extravaganza UMBowl (2022) and three-night New Year’s run (2023) at the Riviera Theatre in the city’s Uptown neighborhood, but the Chicago Umphreak these days has to “Get in the Van,” as one of their early song titles beckons, and travel if they want to see the band as often as they could have for most of the 2000s and early 2010s in town.
The band’s first-ever show at the Salt Shed Fairgrounds on Friday also marked their first outdoor summer concert within the city limits since a 2019 appearance at the now-closed Lakefront Green. Announced as a single-set performance occupying a two-hour-and-fifteen-minute time slot, the show would mark, by the band’s own count, the 173rd Umphrey’s McGee performance in Chicago since forming in 1997. On an evening marked by perfect weather conditions at the Salt Shed’s riverside setting, fans were first treated to a performance by Stolen Gin, followed by the soaring, blues-based improvisational rock of New Haven-based quartet Eggy.
Experienced Umphrey’s fans knew to expect that, unlike a standard two-set-plus-encore performance, the 10pm cutoff and single-set format would lead to a family-friendly atmosphere (guitarist Brendan Bayliss at one point between songs joked that “all” the kids from his own childen’s sports teams and classes were there as guests) but also a narrower range of the band’s improvisational abilities on display. There would be no 27-minute version of any song, such as the extended “Attachments” that was unleashed on fans in St. Louis the previous night. That show also opened with the aforementioned “Get in the Van”, an instrumental tune that has become a rarity in recent years and whose title once served as a rallying cry for fans who had to travel in order to see the band play.
By contrast, Friday’s performance was heavy on old, nostalgic favorites like “All in Time” and “Hajimemashite”, soaring rock anthems whose lyrics express the uncertainty and yearning of young adulthood, and “In the Kitchen”, the band’s ode to their former hometown of Chicago. The most inspired stretch of improvisation occurred within one of the band’s newest songs, a dreamy, haunting bit of pop rock called “Staircase”. Effortlessly evolving from a sparkly, spacey sound to driven jazz-rock, and then into a dark, industrial metal sound that included a reprise of guitar riffs heard earlier in the jam from guitarist Jake Cinninger. Umphrey’s improvisational game was as tight as ever. But maybe too tight for fans who enjoy seeing the band at its most exploratory. Other show highlights included the second-ever full performance of The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” and the intricate progressive rocker “2nd Self”, a song that, while mellow by Umphrey’s standards, seems to dazzle no matter how many times they play it. While there was no half-hour jam, nor was there a rare original tune that might have numerous long-time fans scratching a title off their list of unseen songs, Umphrey’s McGee brought the same danceable energy and musicianship they have been known to consistently deliver for a quarter-century. It’s what keeps the band’s loyal fanbase coming back to show after show, year after year. But it’s helpful to know that during the summertime, to see Umphrey’s push themselves to the limits of their abilities, break new ground, and play their rarest songs, you need to “Get in the Van”.
Colin Hay was born just south of Glasgow in Scotland. When he was 14, he moved to Melbourne, Australia, with his family. After Men at Work called it quits, he moved to LA.
Early in the set, he says the next one is a very simple song with just a few chords, which is true of most of my songs. This song is about all the extra time I had after I quit drinking. He goes on to play “Beautiful World” from his 2000 album, Going Somewhere.
Colin says that in the original, it is saxophones playing the melody at the start of “Who Can It Be Now?” On guitar, it sounds much more eerie. It sounds like the music they play before going to commercial on Forensic Files. This is great example of the charming and funny stories that he tells about the songs before playing them.
Next is another one from the Men at Work time, “Overkill”, which was on their 1983 album, Cargo. “People seem to still like this one”, he says. 20 years after the release of the song, he ran into someone who said they he really likes the song about the goats. The lyric goes, “Ghosts appear and fade away”. Colin thought it was quite funny that this guy thought the song was about farm animals. This reminded him of a story about when he and his housemates bought a goat because the grass in the yard was getting out of control. It turns out that goats don’t eat grass and it just came inside at night and watched TV with us!
He often gets asked by people if they should go into songwriting. He responds that he wrote this one song in 40 minutes, and it has kept him going for 40 years, so, Yes! He goes on to play “Down Under”, from their 1981 album, Business As Usual. It’s Men at Work’s most popular song on Spotify, with over 878 million streams.
Fun Fact: Zach Braff featured Hay’s music in his 2004 film Garden State and his sitcom Scrubs, which gave Colin a bump in is popularity in the early 2000s.
Super American begins with “Manager Haircut” from their 2024 album, Gangster of Love. “We should be PCH pulled over trading tongues in the back / But I’m on my Robinhood app / Seeing how the stocks are doin’ / You should be putting my hands where you want them / Waited this long to feel somethin’ / But I’m playing nine holes of golf with an old ass man”. These are some great pop punk lyrics and a great way to start off their set.
Later on they play “how big is your brain” from their 2021 album, SUP. This is their most popular track on Spotify with over 3.6 million streams. This song is incredibly catchy and the crowd happily sings and dances along.
Soon afterwards, they play “RIP JEFF” from the same album. “I named my ego Jeff / Fuck you Jeff / Go die a brutal death / Yeah / It’s no sweat / Glad to get you off my chest”. A fan right next to stage is holding up a sign that says “Fuck you Jeff”. This is an audience favorite.
This is their first tour headlining anywhere outside of Buffalo, NY. The crowd was on the smaller size, but they were very enthusiastic. They’ll surely draw more people next time as everyone at this show tells their friends about this great performance.
Barns Courtney and his band kick things off with a bang on “Fun Never Ends” from his 2019 album, 404. It’s a full throttle rock song with a driving beat and he keeps his foot on the gas pedal for the entire set.
Later on they play “Supernatural”, their 2022 single. This one is a fantastic rock ballad similar to the alternative rock style of Welshly Arms.
Next up is “Glitter & Gold”, which is his top track on Spotify with over 188 million streams. This one is a real rocker and it’s no surprise that it is a massive hit with it’s great sound.
To close out the night, he plays “Fire”. Everyone sings together “Oh give me that fire / Burn, burn, burn” as he launches his body into the crowd. Yes, you too, can stand in the splash zone and hoist his sweaty body above the crowd. In this engaging and interactive performance, he also clings onto the second level railing and stabilizes himself with the hands of supportive fans. It’s a fantastic closer that had just as much energy and passion as the opener. It definitely left the audience wanting more.
As soon as The Struts take the stage, it’s clear this is no ordinary band. It’s a full on glam rock band in the vein of The Darkness about to put on one hell of a show.
Luke Spiller, the lead singer, comes down into the crowd and instructs everyone to make a gap down the middle. He pits the left side against the right side in a loudness competition followed by a call and response segment where everyone sings what he just sang. It’s the same style that is used in Put Your Money on Me. Oh yeah! This highly interactive environment is maintained for the entire show.
To end their set they play Could Have Been Me as the crowd dances and sings along. The song sounds strong and fresh and yet still similar to classic rock songs. It’s the sign of a fantastically written song that is timeless.
The combination of their over-sized stage presence and excellent songs is skyrocketing their well deserved popularity. Catch them on tour now in middle sized venues now while you still can!
The film version of Back to the Future was released in 1985. The musical stage version first premiered in February of 2020 in Manchester, England. It opened on Broadway in August 2023 and now it opens at the Cadillac Palace in August 2024.
In the musical version, Marty McFly accidentally goes back to 1955 driving the DeLorean time machine to the hospital to save Doc Brown from dying of radiation poisoning. He needs to find the younger Doc to him get back to 1985. He also needs to fix the mess he created by interrupting his parent’s first meeting by getting them to meet and fall in love again.
This production uses projections very well, especially during the climactic scene at the clock tower. It’s reminiscent of The Bourne Stuntacular show at Universal Studios Florida with the great interaction between the live actors and the projections. Alos, the lights, videos, and sounds playing before the show give the feeling of the wait to ride a roller coaster at a theme park.
The cast does an excellent job with special mentions going to Burke Swanson as George McFly and Zan Berube as Lorraine Baines.
Overall, it is a fun nostalgia trip to revisit this ’80s movie, but this musical doesn’t fully capture the spirit of the film or add anything new and interesting to it.
Cost of a ticket: $139 (Orchestra)
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted –
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother
Rachel Bloom (Rebecca Bunch on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Hannah on Reboot) begins very joyfully. She jokes about trees that smell like cum and have white flowers that fall from them. She even has a whole song about it. She says she is doing the show that she started to work on in 2019. That is, until she is interrupted by Death, played by David Hull (White Josh on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). He insists that she talk about him.
So, she talks about her daughter being born with fluid in her lungs, resulting in her spending a while in the hospital. She also talks about Adam Schlesinger, her writing partner, who died from Covid on April 1, 2020. Bloom manages to balance humor and seriousness while talking about death.
Later on, she describes her experience going to a psychic who says that Adam has two ideas for TV shows. One is to do a show about the pandemic. The other is do one about USO shows in the 1960s. This second one seems oddly specific, until she recalls that this was a major plot point in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This just deepens her non-belief in psychics.
Rachel Bloom is very funny and vulnerable in her performance. As she says, it’s her version of a Mike Birbiglia special. The surprise of David Hull makes this not completely a one woman show. Some of the best moments comes from their interactions, and Hull’s performance is excellent.
Cost of a ticket: $99 (Main Floor Sides)
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother
PlaylistHQ 