Day of the Dowd; November 8, 2015; Fitzgeralds, Berwyn

Gerald Dowd gave me plenty of time of to get a one dollar bus ticket when he told me about his monolithic plans for a CD release show, unfortunately he told me two days after I spent a lot of money on a Bob Dylan ticket for the same day.  I couldn't skip the Dylan show, but I decided to see as much of the Day of the Dowd as I could.  And I was there at 10:45 to see the show kick off at 11 with Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players.  A friend was excited to see them as she'd never seen them before.  Since I've seen them a bunch, I asked why not, she replied "I don't have kids."  When I mentioned that to Justin later he responded, "Neither do I."  Excellent point.  I was able to stay through the much-anticipated Frisbie reunion (with the help of some ringers), but then I split for the Cadillac Theater.  Dylan was great, if a little mellower than usual, and I cursed the fancy theater setting that seemed to necessitate an intermission, but I rushed out the door and made it back just as Gerald took the stage with his band, and for the first time all day he wasn't behind the drum kit.  Sure I missed Kelly Hogan, Chris Mills and Robbie Fulks, and that was heartbreaking, but you know what?  They've all played in my basement.  I'd never seen, and maybe will never see again, most of the bands who played that day.  I knew Gerald was a great drummer, but I really had no idea until I saw him go from playing kids music to salsa to technical jazz to glam to power pop, and a bunch pf other stuff in between.  It was remarkable.  I'm glad I could be there for most of it.

Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players

Dave Sills

Bill Ohern's Model Citizen's Big Band

The Regulators

Nora O'Connor

The Hoyle Brothers

EXO

Dave Ramont

Frisbie

The Gerald Dowd Band

Chuck Prophet/John Murry; November 7, 2014; Fitzgerald's, Berwyn

I keep hoping that Chuck Prophet will play the House of Righteous Music again someday, but in the meantime I'm not going to miss any opportunities to see him other places.  Next to Schubas, Fitzgeralds is my favorite Chicago-area venue.  It looks like a house from the outside and it feels like home inside.  It was another awesome set from one of the tightest bands working now.  And of course Chuck was the best dressed man in the room.  The show was really great, but the best part may have been after the show when he said "Hey, when am I gonna play your deal again?  Email my booking guy so he knows you're in!"  Now I just have to wait, patiently.

Adam Levy with Brian Halverson; November 4, 2014; The Brink Lounge

I had been hoping to have Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy play the basement on this solo tour, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.  Instead he ended up in the Brink Lounge playing a free show in front of a handful of folks, only a few who seemed to be there specifically for the show (ie me, Bill, Michelle).  I hadn't seen the Honeydogs in years, and had missed their last Madison show because I was hosting Ian Moore at the house.  That would be the first time he played, way back in 2007.  After that they gave up on Madison, but had still been playing their hometown of Minneapolis and the occasional out of town show in Chicago.  It was good to see Levy, but even better to see guitarist Brian Halverson who joined him for half of his set.  Apparently Halverson hadn't played many of these songs in years, but he never missed a beat.  He may be the key to getting a Honeydogs show at the house, since he was super enthusiastic about the idea.  Maybe someday.

Robbie Fulks with guest Gerald Dowd; November 3, 2014; The Hideout

With Gerald's ambitious Day of the Dowd coming up just a few days later I was surprised he was Robbie's guest tonight.  I guess I shouldn't have been, it was a good warm-up to to his day long CD release show in which he was planning to play for 13 hours with 16 different bands.  No really, that's the plan.  A friend was surprised that Gerald wasn't playing drums at all tonight.  Not me, I knew he'd be playing all the hits from his new record.  And they are.

I forgot my camera, so my apologies for the photos taken with my iPhone from the back of the room.

Robbie Fulks with Jon Langford & Sally Timms; October 20, 2014; The Hideout

Robbie Fulks recently joined the Mekons on a tour of the UK playing some truly unique and out of the way burgs, one of which was apparently only accessible by boat.  They returned with some great stories and a bunch of pictures.  So basically everyone at the Hideout tonight paid ten bucks to see their vacation photos, and no one was complaining.  There was lots of talk, and some singing.  "What was that, seven songs?" I teased Jon Langford after the show.  "It was nine," he replied mock indignantly, "as was agreed upon in the contract."  Add to the enjoyable company the fact that tour sponsor Lagunitas was supplying free IPA to everyone in the audience who wanted one (or more), and it was a pretty awesome evening.  Of course.