The Big Fun Trio is Elvin on guitar and vocals, Willy Jordan on cajon and vocals, and Bob Welsh on guitar and piano. Bishop lived in Chicago for a while on the south side. He played blues with many of the artists on Alligator Records and he is a true Chicago bluesman.

Early in the set, he plays “Old School” from his latest album, 100 Year of Blues, which he recorded with Charlie Musselwhite. He sings “No foolin on Facebook. No Twitter and tweets. Call me on the phone if you want to talk to me.” The audience cheers after this great line. They also love this one: “I go to the club, I don’t want no DJ jive. I like my real music up close and live!”

In the middle of the night, he plays “My Dog”. “My dog don’t have to work at all. He’s got it made.” This is such a fun song that put’s a smile on everyone’s face. Also, this line is awesome: “My dog’s name is just My Dog”.

He plays Ann Peebles’ hit, “I Can’t Stand the Rain”.  “Bringing back sweet memories, I can’t stand the rain, against my window, ’cause he ain’t here with me.” Wow, this one is a true classic and fits very well in his set.

To introduce the next song, he says, “This song is 100 years old.” Then he plays the instantly recognizable melody from “Fooled Around And Fell In Love”.  The song was released in 1975 and was his biggest hit. It has over 122 million streams on Spotify. It was also featured on the Boogie Nights soundtrack. “I must’ve been through about a million girls. I’d love ’em and I’d leave ’em alone.” It’s an honor to see this legendary song performed live and everyone soaks up the moment.

See photos by Janet Mami Takayama here.

Cost of a ticket: $45

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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

Quinn Delaney

Tall Tall Trees is Mike Savino. He plays an electric banjo that he created that sounds more like an electric guitar than a banjo. He is also joined on stage by the drummer.

Early on in his set, he plays “Expectations”. It starts off “I’m giving up on my expectations. Let them go and see where it takes us.” This song is from his album, A Wave of Golden Things, which was released in February 2020. He comments that the timing of the release of this album was not the best.

He also plays “Seven Shades of Blues”. The whistling in the song is excellent.

Later in the night, when Kishi Bashi takes the stage, Mike Savino returns to the stage with the drummer. They are in the band! All together, they put on a great set!

Cost of a ticket: $30
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

EXit4 – 2013

Choreograper: Ronen Koresh with Joe Cotler

This dance features intense emotions and loud screaming. In the current climate, it feels like the dancers are expressing extreme frustration with the world. It contrasts well with Retroverse.

Retroverse – World Premiere

This is a very fun piece that features the cast running and dancing around in all white costume that looks like underwear. It’s joyful and fun. In these times, it feels like a celebration of the end of Covid lockdowns.

The Man That Got Away – 1990

Choreographer: Sherry Zunker

The Man That Got Away is the best piece of the night. Judy Garland sings as a woman dances dramatically while Michael McStraw, the Executive Director, dressed in a tuxedo stands still looking off to the left. He doesn’t react at all as she dances around him or even when she runs and jumps on him  The emotional singing by Garland is perfectly matched by the dancing of Ashley Downs. At the end, she embraces the man, who slips away and walks off stage as the audience erupts in applause!

Feelin’ Good Sweet – 2014

Choreographer: Ray Leeper

To start the second half, “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé plays as the dancers move slowly around the stage. The lyrics slowly build: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me. And I’m feeling good!” Then, the band comes in on the recording and the dancers burst to life. It’s an expertly choreographed dance to the song and the crowd goes wild. It’s an incredibly exciting performance and it’s a surprise that it is only taking place this weekend. It could surely sell out a week of a shows!

Catch Giordano Dance Chicago next for their Summer Show at The Auditorium Theatre on June 11^th.

Cost of a ticket: $20 – $90

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

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Quinn Delaney

Tonight, Daryl Hall plays a lot of songs from his latest record, BeforeAfter, which was released today. This includes “Sacred Songs” and “Laughing Down Crying”.

At the end of his set, Daryl plays his 1981 hit “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”. It’s a fun song that shares a theme with Meat Loaf’s 1993 hit, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”.

In the encore, Daryl brings back the opener, Todd Rundgren. It’s like a mini episode of Live From Daryl’s house. First, they play a Daryl Hall song that Todd choses. Then, they play a Rundgren song, “Can We Still Be Friends?”. This is such a heartbreaking song. It is used very well in both Dumb and Dumber and Vanilla Sky.

This performance was much different than a Hall and Oates show. See our review of Hall and Oates in May 2017 here. Check out Live From Daryl’s House, especially the Grace Potter episode.  

Cost of a ticket: $80 (Back Orchestra)
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Half Price +
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

The Darkness formed in Lowestoft, England and tonight they are playing Park West in Chicago. For the second song of the night, they play “One Way Ticket” and the rock and roll evening officially begins with some sizzling guitar riffs.

At bit later on, Justin Hawkins, the lead singer, notices a cameraman in the front row. He proceeds to take the camera and take a picture down the front of his pants along with a few shots of the crowd, all while continuing to sing. After the song, he explains that large cameras are only allowed for the first three songs and that is why the camera now has a picture of his penis.

The lyrics of so many songs are just freaking great to sing along. One of the best is on “Solid Gold”. “We’re never going to stop shitting out solid gold!” Everyone is gleefully singing along.

Hawkins is a master of falsetto. “Get Your Hands off My Woman” is an excellent showcase of this skill.

He is also a great showman. A great example of this is on “Barbarian”. He grabs the mic with both hands and howls. Also, Justin wears three different outfits throughout the night including two that have tassels that fly about as he dances across the stage.

After starting “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”, he stops the song abrubtly to request that audience members put away their phones and just live in the moment. It is very effective and leads to a mostly phone free excellent grand finale.

See the full setlist here.

The Dead Deads are the opener on this tour. They hail from Tennessee, Alabama. They present some solid rock songs and they are all talented musicians. Their 30 minute set is enough to show they are off to a promising start to their career.

Cost of a ticket: $48

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It+

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

Quinn Delaney

Oscar Levant was committed to Mt. Sinai Hospital by his wife. He suffers from schizophrenia. One day, his wife tells the hospital that he needs to leave for four hours to attend his daughter’s graduation. However, he is actually going to appear on the Tonight Show with Jack Paar. On the show, he talks about all the things the network executives want him to avoid: politics, religion, and sex. Afterwards, they want him to play piano, but he really doesn’t want to.

This play is fantastic. It is definitely Tony Award worthy. Doug Wright has written a masterpiece that explores this complex character.  The show runs 1 hour and 40 minutes. They should add an intermission just to give the audience a breather from the nonstop laughs and action. The perfect time to add an intermission could be when the curtain drops before the start of the Tonight Show.

Sean Hayes (Will & Grace, SmartLess) does a suburb job portraying Oscar Levant. It’s an amazing award-worthy performance! Ben Rappaport (Outsourced, The Good Wife) is truly charming as Paar. He makes for a great television host. The role of the network executive is nailed by Peter Grosz (Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Stranger Than Fiction). He delivers some of the funniest lines of the night. Emily Bergl is spectacular as Oscar’s wife. She plays the character with such passion and conviction. Ethan Slater, Ramell Tillman, and John Zdrokski are all solid in their supporting roles.

Cost of a ticket: $55 and up

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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

Get tickets now for Goodnight Oscar through April 24^th!

Quinn Delaney

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee premiered on Broadway in April of 2005 and ran until January 2008. It won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Featured Actor. In Chicago, a run began in April 2006 at the Drury Lane Theatre, Water Tower Place, closing on March 2007. And now, in March of 2022, it opens at St Bonaventure.

Tonight is the 25^th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee. All the contestants here won their local spelling bee. Well, except for Coneybear. He finished in third, but the winner is having his bar-mitzvah today. Also, the runner up needs to attend the bar-mitzvah. As the contest continues, more details about all the contestants are revealed. There are also four members of the audience that have become spellers. They each get a very funny one-line introduction.

The four audience members do a great job on this evening. They all get the easy and medium words correct. Then, they all get the difficult words wrong, except for one speller. After she gets this hard word correct, the vice principal is amazed and motions for her to take a seat. He then calls her name right away and gives her an even harder word, which is actually three words, “lysergic acid diethylamide”. After she pauses for a long time getting lost in the middle, he rings the bell and she is dismissed.

The entire show is very fun and hilarious. Rachel Sheinkin wrote the book with the Music and Lyrics by William Finn. It was conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. All together, they created a show that is a big hit.

Kay Rower is great as a former winner so excited to be hosting this event. Sean Michael Barrett is hilarious as the grumpy vice principal who delivers the best lines of the night. Peter Kattner III is so funny as the baseball player who has an unfortunately biological event during the bee. Drew MacCullum creates an impressive speech impediment for the cute irish schoolgirl character. Sam Peterson is so goofy as Coneybear. Adam Hoak nails the big dorky kid role. Alice Woo is splendid as the kid forced to be perfect by her parents. Lili Galluzzo is great as the lonely child wishing her father would show up. Lastly, Kaela West is confidently cool as the comforter for the losers.

The show ran 1 hour and 45 minutes tonight. They should add an intermission. There even is a perfect time to do this right at “snack time”. Their current Covid policy includes a mandatory vaccine check, but masks are optional.

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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Get tickets now for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee through April 3^rd!

Quinn Delaney

The Score is an alternative rock band from New York City. The band was formed in 2011 by Eddie Anthony Ramirez (guitar and lead vocals) and Edan Chai Dover (keys and backing vocals). The Score’s last concert in Chicago took place in 2018 at Schubas and following a long break due to the pandemic, fans beamed with excitement as The Score took stage this past Thursday at Lincoln Hall to promote their latest album, Metamorph.

From the beginning of the show, until the very end, The Score continued to uplift their fans with each song and created an energy within the venue that only the power of great alternative rock can bring to life. This unique characteristic of instilling inspiration and motivation within their lyrics is what sets this band apart and allows their fans to feed off this electrifying positivity. Furthermore, their style of writing encompasses a universal theme which allows fans to truly connect to their songs as it can be applied to navigating any aspect of life from overcoming a break-up, financial hardships, or conquering life while living with a chronic illness.

For this tour, fans are treated to an eclectic set list featuring both older tunes and songs from their new album. From their ATLAS album, a couple of highlights included, “Higher” and “Revolution.” From their Carry On album, The Score had fans singing at the top of their lungs to “Stronger” and “Glory.” The audience erupted as the band sang “Head Up,” a song from their newly released album, Metamorph. All hands were in the air as fans sang along, “I gotta keep my head up, up, up, up. Up above the water, up above the water. Gotta keep my head up, up, up, up. I’m never going under, never going under….”

This song alone allowed the audience to release their daily stressors and obstacles as they are navigating the pandemic, along with all of the uncertainty in our world and find strength to move forward. This positivity carried through the end as they did an incredible job closing the show with ‘Legend” and “Unstoppable”, two songs from their ATLAS album which left fans walking out of the show eagerly waiting for the next tour!

For tickets to their next show for the Metamorph Tour, please click here: http://www.thescoremusic.com/tour

D

Matt is looking to sell the remainder of his season tickets for Lebron’s rookie season. He wants to sell them in person to a long time Cavs fan. Shawn is such a fan and wants to buy them, but doesn’t have the amount that Matt is asking for. After Matt receives word that another offer fell through, he decides to sell them to Shawn for his original offer Shawn is so excited to go to the games that he didn’t even think who he would bring with him. He decides to bring Matt and a new friendship is born.

Flash forward seven years. Lebron has just announced that he will be playing for the Miami Heat next season. Matt and Shawn are devastated. Shawn also has some big news to share. He has been accepted to grad school and is going to move to New York for the 2 year program. Matt is shocked that this is the first time he is hearing about this. They are best friends and Matt shares everything. Shawn says that he is shy about sharing things related to his writing.

The story continues to jump forward as we follow Matt and Shawn along with Lebron’s career. It’s a great story of male friendship and how they bond over sports. It is also about how they support each through different stages of their life. After each jump forward, they are in much different places professionally. It’s a true bromance.

The set is world class. Todd Rosenthal designed a fantastic set. Also, it’s an impressive moment when the set spins on stage to reveal the second scene.

Chris Perfetti (The Night Of) is excellent as Matt, who dreams of owning a classy downtown bar. Glen Davis (Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older)  is super as Shawn, who aspires to be a professional writer. They have great chemistry together as they support each other’s careers and talk Cavs basketball. At times, they also have more difficult conversations about life and race that bring them closer together. Ensemble member Rajiv Joseph (Guards at the Taj), a native of Cleveland, has written an exceptional story that will be a hit.

Cost of a ticket: $20 -$88

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value (For the Discounted $20 tickets)

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Get tickets now for King James through April 10^th in Chicago or from June 1^st through July 3^rd in LA.

Quinn Delaney

Cydeways has a great reggae rock groove. They are all solid on their instruments and the lead singer, Dustin Park, has a great voice for reggae.

They are already collaborating with great bands such as “We Won’t Run” with Pepper and “Sun Goes Down” with Kash’d Out.

They play an excellent cover medley that includes “Loser” by Beck and “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage The Elephant. These songs are rarely covered and they sound superb.

Check out their website here!

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

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

Quinn Delaney