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 +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don t Bother

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 –

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

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 +

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

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 +

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

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

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

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

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 +

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

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 +

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

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)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

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

Get tickets now for The Listeners through April 11th!

Quinn Delaney

After playing two songs from his solo career, Glen Phillips says “Hey, isn’t this the guy from Toad?” He then launches into his first Toad the Wet Sprocket song, “Windmills”, from their 1994 album, Dulcinea. 

Soon afterwards, he plays “Walk on the Ocean” from the 1991 album, fear. “Walk on the ocean / Step on the stones / Flesh becomes water / Wood becomes bone.” This is such a beautiful song. It would fit right in with a Jars of Clay set.

His latest solo album is “There Is So Much Here” from 2022.  He plays a few songs from this album including “The Sound of Drinking” and “Call The Moondust” 

There was some timely political commentary from the Toad song “Old Habits Die Hard”. “It’s a new day in the District / after 4 years off the rails / want some checks and balances / not just the same rich old white males”.

Towards the end of the night, he plays “All I Want”, which is Toad’s most popular song on Spotify with over 58 million streams. “All I want is to feel this way / To be this close, to feel the same / All I want is to feel this way / The evening speaks, I feel it say”.  It’s easy to hear why this one was such a big hit in the 90s. 

During challenging times, music can provide comfort, hope and community, to help us carry on. Glen Philips delivered a little of  that to the people of Chicago tonight.

See the full setlist here. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket are still touring together. Catch them with Semisonic and Sixpence None the Richer on August 7^th at the Salt Shed!

Also of note: City Winery started a new policy that requires a $25 minimum spend per person. You can spend it on food, beverages, wine, or City Winery merchandise. See the FAQ here. 

Cost of a ticket: $38

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It  

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

Quinn Delaney