Rosemont - Chicago, IL 11/9/09

[luvthelighthouse]

As expected, Don was great. I didn't take notes and I have no memory for song lists. (Nancy or Joe will have to fill you in on that). Also, this is not going to be detailed by any stretch... just some notes that are floating in my head.

He had an opening act. IMO, they sounded like a bar's house band. Not bad, but not excellent either. During the opening act, I went to the lobby to talk w/Nancy and Joe for a bit. Around 9:15ish we took our seats. I had fourth row and Nancy was a row ahead of me on the aisle. All in all, great seats and I'm not complaining! The band comes out, followed by Don, the spotlight shines on him and he begins singing. He tells a couple of stories, one about a cover song he's doing. (don't ask, I don't remember) and of course the Jack Nicholson story. Some women held up a sign and he said, (paraphrasing) "1972, huh, did we go to school together? Are you from my home town? Do I know you? Oh, I know your sister, well then" Then he gives a suggestive grin and chuckles. It was funny. Yes, Don inserted humor!

I was bummed that he didn't introduce his band. There were those we know, like Stuart, Scott and Will. (At least I think it was Scott, he was kinda blocked from my view) There were various others, but the two I want to know about were the young guys (in their 20's) playing rhythm guitar and bass. You could tell the bass player was into the jazz scene. He had the shaved head and fadora, playing a stand up bass. (sorry, don't know the real name for it) His whole look told a story, I liked it. The guitar player, OMG, what a cutie!!! At first I didn't think too much of him, until he played some lead on Life in the Fast Lane, he was good! I was telling Nancy, he reminded me of what a young Timothy was probably like. He was very relaxed and thin framed. He got into his music and you could tell, he just thought being out on that stage was so freaking cool! I'd love to know his story. He was wearing what looked like all black Chuck Taylors, but I don't think they were. In any case, I thought the shoes w/the suit were sexy as all get out! EDITING TO ADD: At the end of one song, Don does say something like, and that is Pete about the guitar player. Now if I recall correctly, it's Pete Thorn.

The first half of the show was relaxed, but once he played Dirty Laundry, everyone stood up and danced... we did more standing after that. It was cool. No My Thanksgiving, but he did give us two encores, yep, I said it, two!!! HC and Desperado... then he came back and did I Will Not Go Quietly and Please Come Home For Christmas. I thought that was awesome!!!

No photo's were allowed, but I tried to take some... w/out a flash though, they were all garbage... this is the best I had. Sorry.

[sodascouts]

Just got back from my killer drive - yikes!

I don't have the best memory either and I'm tired, but I'll try to come up with a few additional details as they occur to me. Please forgive typos and misspellings as I really am very tired!

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. I was very lucky. In my section, there was no first row so I was second row although my ticket said third - and since I was on the middle aisle, I was basically catty-corner to Don's microphone! I had no idea my seat would be that good. I was THRILLED!

He was in a great mood tonight, which makes such a difference. I was a little worried because it seemed his throat was bothering him a tad, but as the night progressed it wasn't noticeable.

The show started off VERY slowly, then built in pace until it was rockin' at the end. The first song he did was I Put a Spell on You. As an opener, it perhaps wasn't the best choice because it lacked energy until about halfway through, when Don started singing "I can't STAND it" with some fire. The next song, One of These Nights, made up for it, though. Everyone was rockin', including Don of course!

He called that the "Halloween" portion of his fall show. I expected him to pull out Witchy Woman, but instead he moved on to a cover of September Song. I recognized the song because Lindsey Buckingham covered it on his album Law and Order, but I wasn't sure it would play well live. Don's smoky voice worked it well, but it still was perhaps not the best choice for a live show. However, I do very much appreciate that he is trying new things!

He sang barely audibly the line "Chicago, my kind of town" while snapping his fingers at one point, but sadly did not go further.

Lots of chit chat tonight, which I adored. He talked about the fact that he loved the fall, the holidays, sports.... he named several, but made a face when he said "football" - perhaps no longer a Cowboys fan? He was also interactive with the audience in the sense that he responded to people who would call out funny or cute things. For instance, while he was listing sports, some guy hollered "HOCKEY" and Don grinned and said "Yes, hockey." Little things like that made him come off as very charming and fan-friendly. No chastisements tonight!

Before September Song, he talked about how time passes and sometimes you think - "Hmm, maybe I could have spent that time more productively." He mentioned that he tries to tell that to his 13 year old daughter but that it's impossible so he figures he'll wait until she's 30. Then he laughed that having a 13-year-old means you're surrounded by insanity! Someone hollered something about him looking young and he joked, "You should see me before they put the makeup on."

Many of us have heard his Last Worthless Evening story before, and before he started it he actually said "Have I told you this already? At my age, I'm very concerned about repeating myself." Folks yelled "No" or "Yes" - I yelled out "probably" lol - and he joked "Well, I'll just make up new stuff and add it in so it won't be boring." He did give a kind of "expanded" version that I hadn't heard before.

Paraphrase: "One night I went to a Hollywood Party" - some people hooted - "Well, they're not that great, actually." [everyone laughs] "Especially now." [everyone laughs more]. "So, I go to this party and I see this beautiful actress from across the room, whom every man in the room was madly in love with. She looked miserable. Maybe she was shy, like some actresses are. She was sitting with Jack Nicholson, who she'd just made a movie with, or was making a movie with, or something like that." He made a face and did a Jack Nicholson imitation at this point, causing much laughter! "I decided to ask her for a cigarette because, unfortunately, she smoked. I didn't smoke, but I thought, 'I do tonight!'" [more laughter] "I had had a couple drinks by then - instant courage - and I went up to her and said, 'Excuse me, may I have a cigarette?' She rolled her eyes, sighed, got it out, and handed it to me like this" - he demonstrates her looking away and handing him the cigarette over her shoulder, to much laughter. "Nicholson looks at me and says 'Excellent work, Henley.'" I laughed pretty hard at that! Don was so cute.

New York Minute hit pretty hard emotionally, and after he finished he said something like "That's enough gloom for now" to lighten things up a bit.

His cover of It Don't Matter to the Sun was well-done, and though I was a bit puzzled as to why he chose it, it's again good to see him doing different things.

He brought back that lovely arrangement of The End of the Innocence with the slow opening... oh, that's so affecting. LOVE it. He introduced it with something like "This is a political song that I wrote with my good friend and fellow baseball fan, Bruce Hornsby. You know, politics used to be so much more fun. Now, they're just mean. I remember when Nixon was running against Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Nixon had a slogan - 'Nixon's the one!' - so Humphrey's campaign decided to hire a bunch of VERY pregnant women to march outside his rally holding signs that said "NIXON'S THE ONE"! [Audience laughs] "See, you don't get stuff like that anymore. Now all you get is Karl Rove. Anyway, this was about politics but also about families and paternalism."

I thought his best vocal on the night was Heart of the Matter. He went high on "I'm learning to live without you now" and his voice sounded so heartfelt throughout... I gave him a standing ovation for that one, it was so terrific.

There was a great response to Everybody Wants to Rule the World. It seems so incongruous to hear Don doing Tears for Fears and yet it worked!

The audience got up for Dirty Laundry and never sat down again. After that song, it was hit after hit. Boys of Summer, All She Wants to Do Is Dance, Life in the Fast Lane... we were just getting down!

The first encore was Hotel California and Desperado, both of which were excellent as usual.

I had forgotten that he did a second encore, so after Desperado, I really thought it was over. When he came back out, I was so freaking excited - I finally understood the purpose of a second encore, lol. I Will Not Go Quietly brought the house down, it rocked so hard. Please Come Home for Christmas was such a treat, and I loved hearing that live.

My only disappointment: No My Thanksgiving. Still, we got Please Come Home for Christmas, so that made up for it.

All in all - terrific night! I only wish more of you guys could have come and joined us!

Now.... off to bed. I can't keep my eyes open a minute longer.

[RamboIV]

I'll post a full review tomorrow, but I thought I would just quickly mention that I have the entire show recorded -- at least the audio. I have VERY good video for Dirty Laundry, Boys of Summer, All She Wants to is Dance, Life in the Fast Lane, and Hotel California. I have decent video of End of the Innocence, Desperado, I Will Not Go Quietly, and Please Come Home for Christmas. Everything else (including his stories!) are audio...

I'll also post the full set list.

[Troubadour]

Sigh! It sounds like it was a wonderful night. I wish I could hear Please Come Home For Christmas. Glad you had a great time, and that your seat was in prime position, Soda!

[TimothyBFan]

Sounds like a pretty good night but OMG---Please Come Home For Christmas!! How cool is that?

Sorry to see the suit I must say but I figured that's what you would get.

[Prettymaid]

Hey you guys, thanks for the early reviews. Sounds like Don was funny and charming. Can't wait to see your videos, Rambo.

[Koala]

Thanks for the reviews and the pics! Sounds it was a fantastic night.

[Peekaboo]

About the time I started work last night was when I figured Don would be taking the stage and I kept wondering what song he was singing at the moment. I soooo wish I could've been there with you all. Sounds like it was a great concert. I'm glad to hear that he was in good spirits and was in a chatty mood. I love hearing his stories even if they may be the same ones every time. I just love hearing him speak. How awesome that he did that beautiful version of EOTI. I wish he would re-record that song that way. Too bad that he didn't do My Thanksgiving but very cool that he did Please Come Home For Christmas. What a treat to get to hear that song. So glad that you all had a good time last night.

LTL, the pics are fabulous. Thanks so much for posting them.

Rambo, I can't wait to see those videos. I especially look forward to seeing the EOTI video.

[AmarilloByMorning]

I experienced difficulty forming coherent thoughts yesterday after arriving home at 1:15 and waking at 5, so all apologies for docking the ship a bit late. My predecessors basically canvassed everything, but a few notes:

Perhaps due to my Crosby and Sinatra allegiance, I found “September Song” extremely disappointing by way of covers. However, he did provide fodder for his reputation as a walking encyclopedia, unfurling a completely accurate (and only slightly truncated) back story before unleashing his completely milquetoast version of it. He just didn’t make it his own, which (as proven by “Unclouded Day”) he’s absolutely capable of doing. On the same theme, I don’t like “It Don’t Matter to the Sun” any better when Don sings it. That’s basically the extent of my criticism. I entertained a complete ambivalence for EWTRTW until he cut into it, and have played it about twenty times since the show; so, I have to hand it to him.

I really appreciated hearing the LWE story in person, because words cannot really convey how insouciantly the woman responded to him until he demonstrates it – she apparently swiveled her arm directly overhead as a Barbie with limited mobility would, forcing him to retrieve it somewhere behind her head. His imitation of Jack Nicholas merited several giggles, as well as the offhanded observation that he “crawled back to the other side of the room.” Tee-hee. I’m unsuccessfully trying to imagine someone turning him down in the ‘80s… Anyway, after coursing previous reviews, I really did not expect anything by way of humor – he proved he certainly has it in him. The way he said “You’re from my home town? Do I know you?” reminded me of something I can’t really place - very high-pitched and cute, completely incongruous with the persona he’s typically afforded.

On a shallow note, Pete Thorn is absolutely gorgeous. I also had a difficult time believing Don is 62. Perhaps it’s the “insane” 13-year-old’s influence. J

He had an opening act. IMO, they sounded like a bar's house band.

The opening act… “a bar house’ band” is immensely polite; after enduring two songs we wandered out into the lobby to gawk at the porcelain figurines. But we had the most fantastic drunks behind us, who formed their own little peanut gallery – “Who the hell is this guy?” “Some reject Henley met at a bar and his fantastic toupee. Maybe if we remain polite and attentive he’ll adulterate Margaritaville.” I wanted to give them a standing ovation . . . It’s the little things in life.

Perhaps the ticket price proved an impediment, but the venue seemed at sixty percent capacity, perhaps sixty-five.

Didn’t the girls bear a remarkable resemblance to Palmer’s? It seemed so peculiar, the exact same steps and arm motions with every appearance they made, plus the high collars on their dresses. I made every effort not to pout when he appeared in a suit instead of flannel, but I suppose Emily Post’s ghost would have haunted him had he emerged in the latter at a theater. Great night.

[luvthelighthouse]

ABM, we must be channeling each other! I didn’t really care for his cover songs either. Having such a huge collection of solo material, by bother with covers? However, EWTRTW has been in my head for the past two days!

So, you agree w/the Palmer girls, eh? Just bizarre, IMO. I think Peter Thorn may have some new fans in us! He was directly in front of me. Since there was no first row, I was really three rows back… so my view of him was amazing! He was so smokin’ hot. We made eye contact twice and I had to divert my eyes, because I felt like I felt like a cougar on the prowl. You didn’t mention, where were your seats? You probably walked right past us in the lobby during the opening act!