To begin, Dan Layus takes the stage, bows, and sits down at the piano. He then goes on to play about four songs from his latest album, Everyday an Eternity: Solo Piano Works. He doesn’t say anything to audience before or in between the songs. It has everyone wondering if he will speak at all. Finally, after the last one, he says hello to the audience. He says that was the first time he played those songs for a crowd. They sounded great and are definitely audience ready, but a short introduction to them would be better than none.

Layus also plays some songs from his other album that came out this year, “Yourself Yesterday: A Rarities Collection”. One of these is “Looking for the Door”.

Later on he plays “Fire”. Layus only recently learned that this song almost didn’t make it on the album because the producer and the label didn’t think it fit in well. This album, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt (2008) hit #2 on the charts. Tonight, he is playing his old songs a bit slower and quieter than usual, which makes them fit in nicely with his solo piano songs.

Dan says they decided to make their third album self-titled because it really felt like who the band really is. This self titled album (2011) also hit #1 on the Billboards chart for Top Independent Albums. He plays the opening track from this album, “Steal Your Heart”. It sounds a lot different in this slower solo version, but still solid.

“Oh, and I forgot this one” he says as begins the closer, his biggest hit, “Boston”. This single from 2005, hit #10 on the Adult Top 40. The audience is delighted as they sing along. “She said I think I’ll go to Boston / I think I’ll start a new life / I think I’ll start it over / Where no one knows my name”.

“See you next year!” he says as he exits the stage.

Cost of a ticket: $25 to $35

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Quinn Delaney

Próxima Parada, which means next stop in Spanish, are from San Luis Obispo, California. Having an opportunity to speak with the band prior to the show, they displayed such warmth and created a welcoming and relaxing environment. Their devotion to music and their fans was felt immediately and throughout the night. At the beginning of the evening, the lead singer, Nick Larson, picks up on the energy of someone in the audience in the front and instantly forms a connection with his fans.

His voice is fantastic, full of emotion, and resonates with everyone in the room. It is similar to the great soulful Leon Bridges. This is especially true on, “Time in a Circle”. “I decided to tear my house down / Now begins some reconstruction”. It’s a beautiful song and the crowd eats it up.

Larson at one point shares with the fans that two of the members had a crush on the same girl in college. So, they wrote a song about her titled, “Hannah Hannah”. The lead singer encourages everyone to shout out “Hannah” in the chorus, or any name they want to really. The lead guitarist says he likes to shout his own name. So, a large portion does just that, and yells “Josh,” which creates a connection among the fans. In another similar instance, Larson introduces a new song which they wrote in Spanish and when the audience passionately sings along, “me gusta” (the only part they knew), hecannot contain his laughter and acknowledges the love from their fans – a beautiful moment of the evening.

The lead guitarist, Josh Collins, makes great use of a talk box. He uses it well to create an excellent groove on stage that has everyone dancing along. Their energy makes them a great match to tour with Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers.

Cost of a ticket: $30

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Quinn Delaney

Peg lives alone in rural Wisconsin. Her husband died one year ago. Ryan, a local young man who she has known since he was six, is her only friend. She paid the taxes on his house while he was in prison for three years. In her will, she plans to leave her house to him. One day, Peg notices that some of her late husband’s tools and gun are missing. The local sheriff immediately lists Ryan as the top suspect. Her new deputy isn’t so sure and makes a great good cop to counter the sheriff’s bad cop personality. Who took the gun and what was Peg planning to do with it?

Rebecca Gilman has written a great play about a widow’s life in rural Wisconsin. The title is misleading, as there is only one line about politics. It is much more about Peg’s friendship with Ryan and her relationship with the police. These are explored in a very natural way to starts off light and funny and leads to being dramatic. At an hour and 45 minutes, it quite long to not have intermission.  

Mary Beth Fisher (Domesticated) is excellent as Peg, who is struggling to get through each day and find meaning in her life. Bubba Weiler (The Good Fight) is great as Ryan, who is also barely hanging on as he tries to adapt back to life outside of prison while also deeply worrying about Peg. Kristen Fitzgerald (Sweat, Mary Page Marlow) is intense as the sheriff who is looking to solve the case, even if Peg doesn’t want her to. Anne E. Thompson (Twilight Bowl) is so kind as the new deputy, who has finally found a job she is good at.  

Cost of a ticket: $55 (Main Floor)

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Get tickets now for Swing State at The Goodman Theatre through November 13^th!

Quinn Delaney

Joe Satriani comes to The Chicago Theatre on his Earth Tour to support his latest release, The Elephants of Mars. Early on in his first set, he plays two tracks from the album, “Sahara” and “The Elephants of Mars”.  It is immediately clear he is still writing great music and his playing is still fantastic.

The solos on “Flying in a Blue Dream” are face melting. Behind the band on 3 screens, there are visuals of flying across beautiful landscapes. Another song features a spaceship flying through an asteroid field which matches the otherworldly guitar playing.

For one song, he says he pictured Nicholas Cage on fire on a motorcycle escaping the devil (like his character in Ghost Rider). He has to keep playing rapid notes so that he can survive.

To open the second set, the drummer, Kenny Aronoff, plays an extensive solo. It’s very impressive and is met with a great applause at its conclusion.

After jamming on “Shapeshifting”, Satriani says, “Woah, I don’t know where I went on that one. I need to calm down for the next song, which is a serious one called “Teardrops”.

He was right. This one was serious as it explored some dark and sad emotions.  

There are more shredding electric solos on “If I Could Fly”. No lyrics are required. Like classical music, the emotion is in the notes.

See the full setlist from the St. Louis show here, which was very similar.

Cost of a ticket: $114 (Main Floor Middle)

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Quinn Delaney

P.S. Satriani gave lessons to Steve Vai, who will be playing in Chicago next month.

Marcella and Cynthia have been dating for eight months. Tonight is a big night for them as Cynthia finally allows Marc into her house. Marc is very excited about this and before long she mentions the possibility of moving in. Cyn jokingly calls her out for being a U-Haul lesbian. After some time, Cynthia gets around to telling Marc the truth about why it took her so long to invite her in. It’s a thrilling story about love and loss that will have you at the edge of your seat.

Paloma Nozicka has written a fantastic psychological thriller that has a lot of love and humor. After 80 minutes, the audience is left wanting more.

Lisandra Tena (Fear the Walking Dead, The Good Place) is fantastic as Cynthia , who truly believes the wild story she tells. Gaby Moldovan is excellent as Marc, who is so excited to be in love again and also has some secrets to reveal. Together, they make a very loving couple who have some major hurdles to deal with.

If after seeing this play, you’d like to hear an idea about an alternative ending, please reach out via our Facebook page.

Cost of a ticket: $38

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Get tickets now to Enough to Let the Light In through October 23^rd!

See the program here.

Quinn Delaney

It’s a cool 60 degrees outside tonight, but inside Subterranean it is hot as it is filled with a sold out crowd. Everyone is excited to see Taylor Cameron Upsahl, aka UPSAHL, from Phoenix, AZ. She last played in Chicago at Park West with K. Flay and corook in February of this year.

“I wanted us to end up as friends, But you fucked it all up. You’re a douchebag, And I can prove that.” The entire audience dances and sings this along with UPSAHL. It’s such a fun and catchy song.

The singalong continues on “Thriving”. “La-la-la-la life is a bitch!” This lyric rolls off your tongue perfectly and the crowd is eating it up. Taylor sings this one with great enthusiasm and energy.

To close out the night, they play their biggest hit to date, “Drugs”, which has over 110 Million streams on Spotify. “I just came here to the party for the drugs / (Drugs), drugs, (drugs), drugs, (drugs) / I’m not tryna make a friend or fall in love.” It’s such a fun and snarky song. Taylor also released a version with Two Feet that is excellent.

See the full setlist here of her show in Austin a few days ago, which is very similar to tonight.

Cost of a ticket: $20

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Quinn Delaney

It’s a 60 degree night in Chicago, but it feels much colder on Northerly Island tonight. Surrounded by water with a constant breeze, it feels more like 50 degrees. The weather is no issue for The Head and the Heart, an indie folk band from Seattle.

Early on they sing “All We Ever Knew” from their 2016 release, Signs of Light. It’s a great fun song that is perfect for starting the energy off high in their set.

Midway into the set they play “Lost in My Mind” from their self titled 2011 release. It’s such a catchy song that is so fun to sing along to and the entire audience does.

Later on, the lead singer comments how this is the first time he and his wife have to returned to Chicago since they met here 7 years ago, at Lollapalooza.

The penultimate song, Virginia (Wind In The Night) features some fantastic work on the keys. The keyboard player is met with a great applause when he is introduced.

To close out the night, they play “Rivers and Roads”, their biggest hit to date, which has 198 million streams on Spotify. It’s such a great slow build to the climactic chorus: “Rivers and roads / Rivers and roads / Rivers ’til I reach you!” It was a fantastic close to a great season at Northerly Island.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $45 (200 Section)

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Quinn Delaney

Mac McAnally is from a small town in Northern Mississippi. All the tourists who come there are lost, he says. During his show, he has long introductions for his song.

He talks about how before he turned 40, he thought he had plenty of time to do everything. But after turning 40, he realized the fuse on life wasn’t infinite and that he should be more intentional about how he spent his time. He put these thoughts into the song “Meanwhile”.

He wrote a lot of songs that he gave to other bands to play. He plays two of the songs he gave to Sawyer Brown tonight, “This Time” and “Cafe On The Corner”.

Mac talks about how Kenny Chesney one day just called him up and asked him to come into the studio to record any song that he had written.  In just 30 minutes, they recorded “Down the Road” which turned out to be a huge hit. It has over 8.4 million streams on Spotify.

McAnally’s day job is playing in Jimmy Buffet’s band, the Coral Reefers. He says it’s a fantastic job to have and that Jimmy will be better soon and they’ll be back on the road. The drummer playing with him tonight is also a Coral Reefer. They play a few Buffet songs that he wrote including “Changing Channels”, “A Pirate Looks At Forty”, and “It’s My Job”.

Cost of a ticket: $55 (Mezzanine)

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Quinn Delaney

Wicked first premiered on Broadway in 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre. It won three Tony Awards including Best Actress in a Musical for Idina Menzel. It ran at the Oriental Theatre (now named The Nederlander Theatre) from June 24, 2005 until January 25, 2009. It returned for limited runs in 2010 and 2013. A film version is in preproduction to be released in 2024. And now, in September of 2022, it opens back at the Nederlander Theatre.

At the entrance of Nederlander, you are immediately reminded of the effect this storyline continues to bring to audiences of all ages throughout the years as fans are handed green “I’ve Seen Wicked __ Times!” pins with a wide range in numbers as they eagerly enter the theatre. As you glance around, you see friends, couples, families, children, and grandparents, all present to witness the magical power of this spectacular theatrical production.

Wicked presents the history of the witches of Oz. The plot begins back in school when Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (Glinda The Good Witch) are assigned as roommates. The story unfolds and we learn about Elphaba’s early family dynamic and the various factors that unite and separate the bond between Elphaba and Galinda, including a mutual attraction toward Fiyero, the newest student at the school. Also, the origin of the Tin Man, Straw Man, and the Cowardly Lion are explored.

The cast in this production truly bared their hearts into these characters and the story which resonated with the audience members as you heard various emotions throughout the evening. Lissa Deguzman was captivating in her performance as Elphaba who displays such a deep and caring nature to her personality and fights for what she believes in. Jennafer Newberry was vibrant and full of life portraying Gilda in a hilarious fashion that kept the audience entertained the entire night. Jordan Litz, who played Fiyero, beautifully executed his role supporting the good fight and following his heart.

Along with the storyline, the music and visuals in this production is what keeps fans coming back for years to come. “Defying Gravity” is a true showstopper towards the end of the first act. The singing is incredible along with the lighting as Elphaba flys high above the stage. It left both adults and children in awe! During intermission, fans were heard discussing the characters, their purpose, and counting down till the second act. It is a must see!

Get tickets now for Wicked through December 4^th!

Cost of a ticket: $25 (Digital Lottery) to $277 (Premium Seats)

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Quinn Delaney