Ben Kweller takes the stage and sits down at his keyboard. The audience immediately quiets down as he plays “Thirteen”. “Had passionate makeouts and passionate freakouts / We built this world of our own / It was in the back of a taxi when you told me you loved me / And that I wasn’t alone”. It’s a beautiful start to the show. Afterwards he says how he always feels the love in Chicago. “You’ve always been there for me”, he says. “It’s going to be a sing-along tonight!” 

Later in the night, 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 gorgeous 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 is resistant to take a shot of Malort, which he did not enjoy the last time they were at Lincoln Hall. But eventually, he relents when they learn the venue doesn’t have Jager. 

Midway into the set, Ben talks about how his son, Dorian, who passed in February 2023 at the age of 16 (He died in a freak car accident), had started to write a song called “Trapped”. In a tribute, he finsihed writing it and they go on to play it. It’s a very heartfelt moment. The song will be on their upcoming album, Covering the Mirrors, which be released on May 30th, Dorian’s birthday. 

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 thanks a few people in the audience including a local radio DJ who always played his music. He promises they will returns soon, possibly in 12 months, and then jumps into “Wasted and Ready”. This song is his most popular on Spotify with over 4.3 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: $43

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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Quinn Delaney

Ok Go takes the stage and jumps into “This Too Shall Pass” from their 2010 album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. They made a fantastic video for this song featuring a very elaborate Rube Goldberg Machine. During the video, you can see the band members covered in paint, which makes it clear this was not the first attempt at filming. 

Next up is “Get Over It” from their 2002 self titled album. This was their first big hit which came out while they were living in Chicago. They talked about traveling around the city eating ribs at every restaurant that had them on the menu until their doctor said they should stop. 

They follow this with “I Won’t Let You Down”. This is their most popular video on youtube with 51 million views. This impressive video was filmed in Japan, just outside of Tokyo. 

Later on they play “Love” from their latest album, And the Adjacent Possible. The video is full of moving mirrors that creates a kalideoscope of a video. They also showed off the new vinyl, which features a pop-up sphere when opened.  

Afterwards, they play “Upside Down & Inside Out” from their 2014 album, Hungry Ghosts. This video was shot in zero gravity in a plane taking nose dives. To find dancers for the video, they hired aerialists, who were the most comfortable being in the air. 

This live performance was a celebration of their music. During almost every song, they shoot an enormous amount of confetti into the audience. Whether they meant to or not, most of the audience likely took some home with them. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $59

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

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Quinn Delaney

James Bay takes the stage with his band and jumps right into “Up All Night” from his 2024 album, “Changes All The Time”. He recorded this track with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan. “Let’s talk about dreams, let’s talk about lies / Let’s talk about all the things that keep us up all night”. This joyful upbeat song sets a great tone for the night. The lyrics remind many of “Let’s Talk About Sex” by Salt-N-Pepa. “Let’s talk about sex, baby / Let’s talk about you and me / Let’s talk about all the good things / And the bad things that may be”. 

Soon afterwards, they play “If You Ever Want To Be In Love” from the 2015 album, Chaos And The Calm. The crowd erupts after recognizing the song from the first few piano notes. “I’ll come around / If you ever want to be in love / I’m not waiting, but I’m willing if you call me up”. This is such a beautiful song and it makes for a great sing-a-long. 

A few songs later, they play the opening of “Let It Go” and the audience screams. This is his most popular song on Spotify with over 1.29 billion streams. “So come on, let it go / Just let it be / Why don’t you be you / And I’ll be me?” The riff along with the lyrics make this an masterful breakup song. 

For the final song of the encore, they play “Hold Back The River”, which was nominated for “Best Rock Song” at the Grammys. The opening sounds similar to “Let It Go”, which makes sense because they are both on the same album.  “Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes / Hold back the river, so I / Can stop for a minute and be by your side”. It’s a fantastic song to end a superb night of live music. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $60

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Kishi Bashi first played with the Chicago Philharmonic on April 15, 2023 at the Harris Theatre. They invited him back this year, and he happily accepted. 

Late in the set, they play “Icarus IV” from last year’s album, Kantos. It sounds much different with an orchestra than on the album, but it’s still a great performance. “I want to fly a littler higher, a little lighter, I want run away / I want to float a little farther, a little faster with you”. It’s an epic journey song that would fit right in on a video game soundtrack. 

They didn’t play the best song from his new album, “Lilliputian Chop”. Here’s hoping that he plays it the next time he is in Chicago. 

Next up, they play “Honeybody” from his 2016 album, Sonderlust. This is such a fun song that has everyone bouncing around joyfully. “Oh Honeybody whatcha doing Sunday?
maybe sipping the coca cola with me, babe.”

In the encore, they play “This Must Be the Place” by the Talking Heads from their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. “Hi yo, I got plenty of time / Hi yo, you got light in your eyes / And you’re standing here beside me”. This is a fantastic choice and it sounds amazing with the philharmonic. 

For the final song of the night, he plays “Violin Tsunami” from 2019’s Omoiyari. He loops his violion to create, just as the title says, a tsumani of violin! It’s a great close to an excellent night of music!  

Check out our review of Tall Tall Trees opening for Kishi Bashi in April 2022 here. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $96

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

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Quinn Delaney

Tonight’s headliner is San Fermin from Brooklyn, New York.  This seven piece band fills the large stage with style.  The band consists of two lead singers, a violinist, saxophone player, keyboardist, guitarist, and a drummer.

San Fermin is the creation of Brooklyn composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. This tour is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of Jackrabbit, which is their second album. It features the track “Emily”, which is the most popular song on the album. Allen Tate’s vocal performance is impressive and sounds similar to the lead singer from The National. 

The band truly fills Thalia Hall with their vibrant sounds.  Claire Wellin displays her vocal talent during “Jackrabbit”. Many songs feature fantastic brass that energizes the band and the crowd.  The rendition of “Sonsick” brought the house down.  During a lively instrumental, the saxophone player enters the opera box for a solo to the cheers of the audience. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $33

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

“I do stand-up comedy, obviously, for the irony” says Neal, who is in a wheelchair. After his set, Lee approaches him and says she liked his set better than the headliner, Sarah Silverman. They grab drinks and she asks him for advice about standup. He directs her to a local open-mic and thus begins their friendship.

Neal says “it doesn’t matter if the audience is laughing, as long as they are listening.” The bits of humor are mixed with a lot of drama, darkness and tragedy that are riveting. For both characters, comedy is not just a passion or a profession.  It is their coping mechanism for dealing with the trauma that they have been dealt with in life. It might be the one thing keeping them going and this is something that brings them together over the course of the play.

Andrew Hinderaker has written an excellent piece of theatre that explores the world of stand-up. He specifically wrote the piece for these actors as they are all ensemble members at The Gift Theatre. His comedy knowledge is clearly displayed in the comedian references (Mitch Hedburg, Beth Stelling, Neal Brennan) and the character’s standup sets, which are absolutely hilarious. The opening set is indistinguishable from a regular standup show. The audience is really expecting Silverman to come out after his set. 

Michael Patrick Thornton (Doubt) is fantastic as Nate, who is a hilarious comedian who has been through some traumatic times. Cyd Blakewell (The Locusts) is so funny as Lee, who also has experienced dark trama, which bonds them. 

Overall, this is a fantastic blend of theatre of stand-up comedy that should not be missed!

Cost of a ticket: $40

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for Obliteration through May 4th!

Quinn Delaney

Henry Johnson is asking his boss to hire one of his old friends. This friend needs to get a job as a condition of his parole. The boss questions Henry as he tries to understand why he would ask such a big favor for a friend that he wasn’t that close to. The scene changes, and suddenly Henry is in prison without explanation. He’s talking with another prisoner who is warning him about the counseler that he is talking to. 

This David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag The Dog) play is hard to follow. A lot happens in-between scenes that is not clearly explained. Also, they have seats on the stage, but it’s not a good idea to sit there unless you like to have the actors face away from you. 

The cast is very talented. Keith Kupferer (The Great Leap, If I Forget) is superb as the blue collar prison guard with unclear intentions. Thomas Gibson (Dharma and Greg) is great as the prisoner trying to teach Henry about manipulation. Al’ Jaleel McGhee (To Catch a Fish, Breach) is very good as the skeptical boss. Lastly, Daniil Krimer is sold as the straight man of the play, Henry Johnson.

A film version starring Shia LaBeouf is planned to be released online on May 9, 2025. See the trailer here: https://youtu.be/_5u0INUpDBU?si=olNb6tjdfzymKALm

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $64

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Get tickets now for Henry Johnson through May 4th. 

Quinn Delaney

This is the story of the Ravens, who become The Kinks. It begins in London where they first gain a following. They set up their first record deal with four managers taking 10% each. Soon afterwards, they embark on their first tour of the US. The Teamsters and other unions immediately demand they pay their dues. At first they comply, but eventually they refuse. This results in them being banned from playing in America. 

The choreography by Adam Cooper is excellent. The dancers bring the stage and the whole theatre to life.  

The sound of the full concert scenes is much too loud for a musical. They hand out earplugs before the show, which work great for the loud parts, but make it too quiet for all the other scenes. Decreasing the volume of the concerts would be the best solution, but as it is, something easily removable such as noise-cancelling headphones is the best option. 

The music is the highlight of the show. They split their most popular song (over 380 million streams on Spotify), “You Really Got Me”, into two parts of the show. 

The final concert scene has “Lola”, which they releasd in 1970. “Well, I’m not the world’s most masculine man / But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man /  And so is Lola!” This is such a fantastic song that Weird Al Yankovich released a fantastic parody, “Yoda”, in 2009. 

Overall, it’s a very fun experience that showcases the music of The Kinks. 

Cost of a ticket: $97

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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Get tickets now for Sunny Afternoon through April 27th. 

Quinn Delaney

A young man comes home to attend his father’s medal ceremony for his work as a border patrol officer. They don’t get along very well. The father used to beat his mother and threaten her with a large hole he had dug in the backyard. The father is now controlling his new wife, Grace, with the same tactics.

Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog / Underdog) has written a a very dark and dramatic play. It takes unexpected turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The first act is a bit slow, but it really picks up in the second. 

Namir Smallwood is great as the son who has a secret plan for this visit home. Brian Marable is superb in the tough role of the father, who lives by strict military roles. Zainab Jah is excellent as the stepmother, who is so kind and caring towards everyone. 

Cost of a ticket: $82.50

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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Get tickets now for The Book of Grace through May 18th. 

Quinn Delaney

Claire is a suburban high school teacher. She hears a constant hum that really plagues her. She eventually learns that one of her students also hears the hum. He invites her to a community meeting of people that also hear the hum. As time goes on, it becomes clear that it’s more than just a support group. 

This opera is based on an original story by Jord Tannahill. The libretto was written by Royce Vavrek and the music was created by Missy Mazzoli. The result is a very unique opera. It has moments of hilarious modern humor. It also has very dramatic operatic scenes. This production includes scenes with video cameras on stage where they project the captured video on large screens. One scene features people commenting on the video, which is hilarious.  

It’s a bit hard to hear, even on the main floor. There is an announcement over the speakers before the show starts that is very easy to understand, but then the speakers are turned off for the performance. In the meantime, listening devices are available at the coat check for free. It would also be helpful to have the surtitles be much lower. 

Kyle Ketelson is superb as the charismatic leader. After seeing his great performance, it may be hard to see him play anything other than a cult leader! Daniela Mack is great as his number 2, fully supporting his efforts.  Nicole Heaston is excellent as Claire, who displays a great range of emotions on stage. Jonas Hacker is great as the student who pushes Claire to seek help with the meetings. 

Overall, it’s a very interesting production that definitely has the audience talking afterwards. 

Cost of a ticket: $99 (Main Floor Sides)

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Get tickets now for The Listeners through April 11th!

Quinn Delaney