Robbie Hearts Cheap Trick; June 16, 2014; The Hideout, Chicago

I'm not  huge Velvet Underground fan, but "Robbie Hearts the VU" was one of the best of his longstanding Hideout residency shows that I've seen.  I am a fan of Cheap Trick, so I couldn't wait to see what happens when he "hearted" them.  Turns out that it's really bass player Jason Narducy who loves them most of all.  Though if you follow him on Twitter or are friends on Facebook, you probably already guessed that by the Cheap Trick hoodie he wears constantly.  He not only rocked the bass parts (even pulling out his twelve string bass for one.  Yep, he brought it along for one song), but also sang many of the songs, ones that he had chosen.  But in fact, the stage was full of people who were having a great time playing songs by their Rockford neighbors to the north.  Drummer Gerald Dowd was up to the task of filling Bun E Carlos's seat, and even sang the classic "Hello There" and its partner "Goodnight" to start and end the show.  Steve Frisbie had several excellent turns at the mike, playing the Robin Zander part perfectly.  For his part, Fulks stayed in the background, stepping up to sing only a couple songs.  He may have not played as big a part as he usually does, but he couldn't have put together a more perfect evening.