After an opening set by Special Guest, Band of Horses take the stage to a grand applause. Many in the audience notice that Brett Nash, who plays guitar, was also in the opening band! 

Early in the set, they play “No One’s Gonna Love You” from their 2007 album, Cease To Begin. After just the first few notes, the crowd jumps for joy.  “But someone, they should’ve warned you / If things start splittin’ at the seams and now / The whole thing’s tumblin’ down”. It’s such a beautiful breakup song. The voice of Ben Bridwell, the lead singer, sounds fantastic on this one. 

Later on, they play “Is There A Ghost”. “I could sleep, I could sleep / When I lived alone / Is there a ghost in my house?” This song features excellent guitar playing that has the whole audience dancing along. 

They close their set with “The Funeral” from their 2006 album, Everything All The Time. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 435 million streams. “At every occasion, I’ll be ready for the funeral / At every occasion once more, it’s called the funeral”. This fantastic song still rocks and sounds just as good as when it was released. 

They end the encore with “The General Specific”. While many of their songs have a touch of melancholy, this one is pure joy, which makes it a great one to close with. “In time I’d find / A little way to your heart”.

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $65

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Quinn Delaney

Tonight is the largest headlining show that Andrew McMahon has ever played. The outdoor capacity for the Salt Shed is 5,000 people. 

Early in the set, they play “The Mixed Tape” from 2005’s Everything In Transit. “And this is my mixed tape for her / It’s like I wrote every note / With my own fingers”. There is so much nostalgia in this song about creating mixed tapes on cassettes. It’s a beautiful piano rock song. 

Later on, they play “Bruised”. Andrew McMahon, the lead singer, said that he has already cried on stage twice during this tour. There is so much emotion in these songs and especially in this one. “Hours pass and she still counts the minutes that I am not there / I swear I didn’t mean for it to feel like this / Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised”. It sounds fantastic tonight. Also, they are selling a “Bruised” t-shirt that has a picture of a beat-up teddy bear. 

Midway into the show, Andrew comes into the audience to say hi to a bunch of kids scattered throughout the audience. He gives a special message to a 12-year-old in the front row who has been singing every lyric: “I was only 2 years older than you when I started writing songs. You can do whatever you want. Dream big!” 

Afterwards, they play “The Resolution” from 2008’s The Glass Passenger. “And I’m alive / And I don’t need a witness / To know that I survived / I’m not looking for forgiveness / I just need light / I need light in the dark as I search for the resolution.” In 2005, McMahon was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia. He was able to beat this cancer thanks to a lifesaving bone marrow transplant from his sister. Andrew now strongly advocates for registering to be a bone marrow donor. 

To end the night, they play “Dark Blue”, which is their most popular song on Spotify with over 45 million streams.  “Have you ever been alone in a crowded room? Well I’m here with you / I said the world could be burnin’ / ‘Til there’s nothin’ but dark blue”. It’s emo rock perfected. Everyone in attendance happily sings along and the smiles are still on everyone’s faces as they exit. 

Cost of a ticket: $69

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See the full setlist here. 

Quinn Delaney

Kate Peytavin takes the stage with her guitarist, Flynn Tanner, who is from Canada. Early on, she sings “Cecilia”, which is an unreleased song that personifies her anxiety. It’s a great one that hopefully will be released soon. 

Midway in her set, she sings “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus, which was released in 1999. It’s a very fun moment as the entire crowd joyfully sings along. 

Later on, she sings “Louisiana”, which is also unreleased. It’s a great one about missing home, which is Baton Rouge. She now lives in LA. 

She ends with “ever fallen?” “Ever fallen in, in love with someone / You shouldn’t have fallen in love with”. It’s a very ominous song and the lyrics perfectly match the music. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Afterwards, James Arthur crushed it. Check out our review of him from May of last year here. 

Cost of a ticket: $61

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Quinn Delaney

–

“This is one of the first songs I wrote when I was 18”, says the lead singer, Nic Cester. Jet then play “Look What You’ve Done” from their 2003 album, Get Born. On the recorded version, he plays piano, but tonight he plays it on acoustic guitar. “Oh, look what you’ve done / You’ve made a fool of everyone / Oh well, it seems like such fun / Until you lose what you had won”. This is such a beautiful song and it’s amazing to think that one of the first songs he wrote is now their second most popular song. 

They follow this with “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”, which is their most popular song on Spotify with over 737 million streams. “Now you don’t need that money /  When you look like that, do ya, honey?” This song absolutely rocks and even those with seats in the premium section stand up and dance for this one! It was very surprising they didn’t save this one for their closer. 

Soon afterwards, they play “Cold Hard Bitch”. This song features fantastic guitar work along with exception singing. “Gotta leave town / Got another appointment / Spent all my rent / Girl, you know I enjoyed it, yeah!” 

To start the encore, Nic plays “Shine On” solo on acoustic guitar as a tribute to his father, who has passed away. “Everything will be okay / We will meet again one day / I will shine on, for everyone.” 

To end the night, they play “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” by fellow Australian rockers, AC/DC, who just played Soldier Field on May 24th. It’s a fun cover, but it would be better suited in the middle of their setlist. 

In total, they played 9 of the 13 songs on their debut album, Get Born. Overall, it was a fantastic night of music that left all their fans with big smiles on their faces. 

 See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $95 (Premium Section)

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Quinn Delaney

Kimberly, a 16-year old girl, has a disorder that causes her to age four to five times faster than normal. She wants to go on a big road trip before her condition worsens, but her family doesn’t have the money. So, she decides with her friends to go along with a plan hatched up by her aunt to come up with the money. 

David Lindsay-Abaire has written a hilarious and heartfelt musical. It truly captures the awkward experiences of being a teenager with lines like “If you ever want to practice kissing, I’d be up for it.” It’s also inspirational as Kim refuses to play it safe and strives to go on the Six Flags Great Adventure trip while she still can.  It’s no surprise that it won the Tony for Best Musical in 2023. Also, Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Blue) did a great job with the music.  

Carolee Carmello is great as the very likable Kimberly. Miguel Gil is absolutely hilarious as Kim’s crush, who is very interested in anagrams. Jim Hogan is excellent in the tough role of the father. Laura Woyasz is very funny as the mother. Emily Koch is superb as the Mellisa McCarthy style crazy aunt. Pierce Wheely, Grace Capeless, Darron Hayes, and Skye Alyssa Friedman are all so funny as Kim’s friends. 

Cost of a ticket: $98 (Orchestra)

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Get tickets now for Kimberly Akimbo through June 22nd! 

Quinn Delaney

Early in the set, The Unlikely Candidates play “Someone To Remind Me” from their 2022 album, Panther Island. This is an excellent pop rock song and showcases the vocals of lead singer, Kyle Morris. 

Soon afterwards, they play “High Low”. It’s about losing touch with friends over time. “Sometimes I get so high, so low / Where did all my good friends go? / I keep on looking for somebody like me.” It’s another great alternative rock song.

Late in the night, they play “Oh My Dear Lord”, a 2018 single. The guitars on this one sound absolutely fantastic. It has an anthemic rock sound similar to Welshly Arms. 

They end the night with their biggest hit, “Novocaine”. It has over 66 million streams on Spotify. This is my ex-girlfriend’s favorite song, says Morris. Midway into the song, he comes down into the audience to jump around and sing. “I can’t change / Guess you could blame it on my left side brain / I should know better but you know I know, I know / I ain’t ever gonna change”! This is a fantastic rocker and the perfect choice to end their set with. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $27

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Quinn Delaney

Often when a lead singer of a popular band tours solo, they play unknown solo material or deep cuts from the band’s catolog. This is not the case for Marc Roberge of O.A.R. He plays a lot of the hits. 

Early on he plays “Shattered (Turn The Car Around)”, which is O.A.R.’s most popular song on Spotify with over 73 million streams from their 2008 album All Sides. “How many times can I break ’til I shatter? Over the line can’t define what I’m after. I always turn the car around.” This song is truly a crowd favorite. He says he wrote this while sitting on his front porch writing about the people who walked by. 

Soon afterwards, he plays “Love and Memories” from their 2005 album, Stories Of A Stranger. “Love me (faster than the devil) / Run me (straight into the ground), yeah / Drownin’ (deep inside your water) / Drown in love and memories.” This is a great love rock song that puts a smile on everyone’s face.

In between songs, he talks about how the band started playing together in 8th grade. They have been touring relentlessly ever since.

As a request, he plays “Hey Girl”, which was their first single. It is on their 2003 album, In Between Now and Then. They made the music video on a budget of $17.

He ends the night with “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker” from their 1997 album, The Wanderer. “I had three Jacks and a pair of nines / My mind is turning, just two shots more / There’s not much left to play.” At a length of 8 minutes and 42 seconds, it is quite long for a hit song. It’s a fantastic jam that has everyone singing along louder than him for a great finale to his excellent set.

Cost of a ticket: $93

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Quinn Delaney

“Line”

Five people are waiting in line. They are all doing various tricks to get the others to step out of line and take their place. Their ideas are simple at first, but they eventually get quite ridiculous. 

Israel Horovitz has written a funny and absurd play about waiting in line. On the negative side, the way the men treat the woman is pretty terrible and has not aged well. 

Derek Preston Ray is hilarious as the man who spent the night at the line in order to be first. Annalie Ciolino is great as the women who takes a lot of heat from the men, but also dishes it back. Jason Pavlovich is solid as her husband, though it’s clear they have an usual relationship. Caleb Petre is great as the guy who first starts to take someone else’s spot in line. Grayson Kennedy plays a man who has the most out of the box tricks. 

“The Dumb Waiter”

Two assasins are waiting for their next assignment. Through the dumb waiter, they receive orders for food. This thoroughly confuses them as they try to figure out how to respond. 

Harold Pinter has written a comedic play that has a great twist. Caleb Petre is great as the more seasoned hitman, who bosses around the other. Kason Chesky is solid as the one who is the most concerned about the food orders. 

Cost of a ticket: $45 (3-play pass)

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Get tickets now for Theatre of the Absurd through May 25th.

Quinn Delaney

The Antiquities is a series of exhibits about humans created by AI beings. It ranges from the 1860s to the 2070s. It captures key moments in the creation of AI such as the first machines, the first robots, the early internet, Alexa-like devices, and more. 

Jordan Harrison has written a very thought-provoking play about the evolution of humans and AI. It has some very funny moments along with a very strong warning about the dangers of AI. 

At 100 minutes, it is quite long to not have an intermission. There is even a perfect time for one, right after the “central exhibit” scene. Or, even better, would be to have this exhibit displayed for the audience to come and look at closely during an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.   

This play joins a great list of other stories on this topic including A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Companion.

The entire cast is great, especially the performance by Kristen Sieh.

Cost of a ticket: $50

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Get tickets now for The Antiquities through June 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

A man has just been fired, so he gathers his things. “Seperate Ways” by Journey starts to play. Then, he rips an apron off one of his coworkers. Then, he grabs a wig off another. “Hey, that’s my real hair” he exclaims! Next, he pulls off a black shirt from another coworker, who is wearing an identical shirt right under it. This scene continues in an epic slow-motion montage which has the audience roaring with laughter. 

This Too Shall Slap is full of hilarious scenes likes this one. Also, there is very little mention of politics, which is a nice break. 

Jordan Stafford is hilarious as the grandma calling all the numbers she has written down (without names next to them) to wish Darlene a Happy Birthday.  Adonis Holmes is outstanding as the kid who goes absolutely nuts after being eliminated from a game of musical chairs.  Hannah Ingle is so funny as the daughter of two black men, who needs to be introduced to white culture.  

Adisa Williams cracks everyone up as the kid who is so embarrassed by her father interrupting play time.  Bill Letz is absolutely hilarious as a father more focused on his X-rated crossword than on his three daughters picking out a wedding dress for one of them.  Leila Gorstein is outrageous as the body builder going through a tough workout. 

Cost of a ticket: $75 (General Admission)

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Get tickets now for This Too Shall Slap on the mainstage! 

Quinn Delaney