Chicago 6-19-2010

[Koala]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...,5738182.story

[GlennLover]

As Glenn indicated when I saw the Eagles in Moncton, N.B. in the "festival" format, they keep the chatter at a minimun in the shorter shows so they can sing as many songs as possible.

Grr, oh those reviewers. I'll wait for Soda's review to get the real story.

[Koala]

I'll wait for Soda's review to get the real story.

Me too!

[sodascouts]

Well, it's obvious who that guy is into, huh? Keith gets a dismissive line about his looks and the implication his fans are all women hot for him; the headlining Eagles serve as a little more than an opportunity for him to praise the Dixie Chicks doubly - once on their own merits, once on how much better they are than the Eagles.

It's an opinion and if this guy likes the Dixie Chicks best, fine, but don't cut everybody else down in order to make your favorites look taller.

I'm working on the review now - it's gonna be a long one!

[GlennLover]

Looking forward to it. I know that it will be worth the wait.

[bernie's bender]

Man,

Henley looks like my grampa!

Honey, where'd I leave my theeth?

[EagleLady]

Man,

Henley looks like my grampa!

Honey, where'd I leave my theeth?

Henley still looks good thank you very much

[sodascouts]

As I was writing and writing and writing this review, I thought, "Wow, this is crazy long! I need to break it up." So, what I've decided to do is put all the pre-Eagles stuff in this post, then another post with my Eagles review. That will also make it easier for folks who don't care about this stuff to skip it and go straight to our guys! So, here's Part 1 - everything but the Eagles! And the Eagles are coming up as soon as I finish that segment.

Nancy's Adventures Pre-Show
As some of you may know from reading the "Pre-Concert Anticipation" thread for the Chicago show, I got a last-minute front row D section off of Craig's List. While everything looked legit, I was still scared it was too good to be true, which made for a stressful morning!

I was to meet the lady selling the ticket in Merrillville, which is about an hour and a half away, at 10:30 am to do the exchange. I ran out the door so early I forgot to get jdubfan's number and was unable to meet up with her at the show, to my disappointment.

I had FeedTheFire's number, however, and I'm so glad I did! She and I had met previously at Tim's Chicago show a few months ago. We hung out for the majority of the day, since I got there so early due to the ticket deal. The exchange went off smoothly - the lady seemed nice, her story as to how she got the ticket made sense, and I was almost positive the ticket I had was legit (although a very small part of me was still paranoid). I wound up heading off from Merrillville at 10:45, looking to be in Chicago at 12:30 or so.

FeedTheFire wanted to come early to beat the traffic, so we made plans to hook up for lunch and hang out. I had never been to Soldier Field before so I was clueless as to the way the area was set up around there. I was to receive a very UNPLEASANT surprise when I pulled into the only parking area I could find - the price said $46! I thought there certainly must be cheaper lots further away, so I kept driving. NOTHING. To make matters worse, I got turned around and wound up back on a parking lot of a highway misleadingly called the "Expressway," and folks weren't being too nice about letting an out-of-towner over as she tried to navigate the confusing fork-offs of various lanes to, what, five different highways?

FeedTheFire had found that the Planetarium parking was only $20, although it was about a mile away. Heck, I could walk a mile for that kind of savings! She was already there, and via cell phone talked me to the area. I pulled up to where the parking lot was around 1:00, only to be instructed to "return in 10 minutes" by the attendant. Confused, I did as I was told, driving a bit further and parking by a parking meter, then pulling back around 10 minutes later.

I was told that the price for THIS parking lot was now $46 as well! When I complained that my friend has said it was only $20 here, the guy said, "Yeah - we changed it ten minutes ago." TEN MINUTES AGO! But I had arrived ten minutes ago and was told to come back! "Yeah, well, you arrived at just the wrong time. We had just started changing the registers over, which took about 10 minutes. You must have arrived just as we'd started changing them."

Well, I comforted myself that the mile hike in heels would be worth it still, because I was able to meet up with FTF and bask in the absolutely lovely summer day as we waited for the doors to open.

The sun was shining, the sky was a clear blue, and the lake sparkled as it reflected the light. The whole area between the planetarium and Soldier Field is a park overlooking the lake, and people were everywhere - swimming, boating, picnicking, enjoying the day. The occasional breeze made the heat bearable and I didn't regret driving to the Planetarium parking at all.

FTF and I had a nice lunch at the Planetarium with a great view of the lake, then walked alongside the lake to get to the venue. Except for the nagging doubt about the ticket, I was already feeling great and the show hadn't even started! The only issue was the heat, but FTF kindly lent me her Keith Urban baseball cap to keep my brains from frying. I am now sporting a bit of a sunburn though, as we were out in that sun for three hours!

As we got to the venue before the doors opened at 4:30, we passed the time talking to some fellow Urban lovers FTF found near the ticket booth, where she hoped to unload an extra ticket she had bought. The ticket was in section B, row 12... and she had upgraded to Section D, row 1, seat 20! That's right, she would turn out to be just a few seats down from me (seat 12)! This was getting better and better!

Three of the "Monkeys" as Urban fans call themselves had a pass to meet him, and the excitement of the Monkeys made me even more excited to see Keith Urban. We were talking to some serious hardcores whose escapades following Keith around from city to city made me look like an amateur! lol! FTF is also very hardcore and when she told me how many shows she'd been to and the way seeing Keith gave her a lot of joy that made it all worth it, I told her I could totally relate.

Finally, it was time for the big moment... would my ticket scan? I held my breath as the man took the ticket and whipped his little reader over it. It checked out! FINALLY, I could breathe! After that, I could barely contain myself with excitement. After dropping by the merchandise table to pick up tourbooks and a shirt with the new photos on it, We headed to our seats.

My seat was a bit far down the row - I was about in the middle of Section D, in front of the speakers on the side of the stage, and the Eagles would be standing in the center. The high stage was also separated from us by a barricade about a yard in front of the stage, and our seats were about a yard from the barricade. Luckily, the barricade was not going to impede our view at all. I think it might have been set up so that it would be clear to Urban fans that for this show at least, they would not be up at the stage at the feet of their idol.

FTF was about eight seats down further, but I told her until whoever had the seat next to me arrived, she should sit next to me. To our astonishment, that seat was never filled. We got to sit together the whole show! (Except for when FTF snuck even closer during Urban's set - and I wouldn't call what we did for the Eagles "sitting together" - more like "dancing together"!)

So we were set to go!

JD and the Straight Shot

We arrived in the middle of the set, as Dolan was telling jokes and asking the crowd "Who's been married once? Twice? Three times? Four times?" From far away, at the back of the field, all I could see was his face on the big screen. Not recognizing him, I thought he was a warm-up comedian! Then the camera pulled back and I could see his band as they started playing a song about a second chance at love. I realized who he was - and it occurred to me that the man knew at least one person who'd been married over four times.

They're not bad and I actually enjoyed some of the lead guitarist's solos, but there's nothing that really makes them stand out from the pack. Still, I grabbed one of the CDs they were giving out and decided to give it a few listens later to see if I changed my mind.


Keith Urban

Keith walked out onto the stage in the bright sunlight as the place was filling up, and a wave of excitement hit as there were a lot of folks there especially to see him. He was wearing a dark red and black top with the first few buttons undone to reveal some chest, and I have to say, that is one good-looking man.

I was really impressed by his guitarwork; his sound reminded me of Lindsey Buckingham, whom I adore. He also had a lot of catchy tunes and thanks to some pre-show "research" listening to Keith, I was familiar with some of them. Several songs had extended guitar solos - it was great. I also enjoyed his voice, but it's the guitar that really made me go "wow!"

Keith's very dynamic and not only worked the stage - he at one point came into the crowd to perform "You Look Good in My Shirt." By then, everyone was on their feet and into it, dancing around, including myself. As a result, it was also at this point when I realized that sitting in the front row, no matter how far down, has the EXCELLENT benefit of allowing you a great deal of room to dance around.

At one point, Keith donned a Blackhawks jersey for a song, to the huge cheers of the crowd. At the end he took it off and threw it into the crowd. I didn't see who caught it but I heard high-pitched shrieks of delight - safe to say it was a female Urban fan!

Towards the end he asked us to sing Happy Birthday to his wife - "Her name is Nicole," he told us with a grin. He said she wasn't there, but he was going to film it and give a video of what was at that point about 20,000 people singing Happy Birthday to her as a birthday present. He then quickly added that he would give her other stuff too - "I'm not that cheap." And so we did!

His backing band was excellent, and he gave two of them the opportunity to sing a bit on their own. Guitarist Brian Nutter (?) sang a few lines of Journey's "Open Arms" flawlessly, and bassist Jerry Flowers did a great few lines of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone."

My two favorites were his two closers, "You'll Think of Me" and "Somebody Like You." I was on my feet for him - he was terrific!

I'd happily go see a full Keith Urban show now. He's a great performer and I thoroughly enjoyed his set. Having him open for the Eagles was a great idea - his style is really reminiscent of theirs and he got the crowd really worked up... just what an opener should do!

I want to add that it was especially fun seeing Keith with a die-hard fan like FTF next to me. She was rockin' out!!

Side note: because seeing my favorite bands/singers costs so much, I save all my money for the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc. and almost never go to other concerts unless they are really cheap. It felt odd not to know every word of every song that was being played for once, to be that "casual fan" who only knows a few songs but gets really excited to hear those few songs. It makes me appreciate why the Eagles dropped so many new songs for their shortened setlist; the songs you know and love are the songs you look forward to hearing, and I can see how a lot of fans would feel gypped if they'd been looking forward all night to hearing "Take It Easy" and it was never played because the Eagles exchanged it for a new song.


The Dixie Chicks

After a break to set up equipment, the Dixie Chicks came out. As they come onto the stage, the first thing everyone notices is Natalie Maine's hairdo, and I was no exception. It's off-putting in the sense that it makes her features look very harsh, so even when she's singing a ballad or telling a joke, she always looks slightly pissed off. On the angrier songs, she looks downright scary.

Unfortunately, Natalie seemed angry most of the night, even during "Landslide," but I wasn't sure if she was in a bad mood or just doing the trademark "I'm so defiant" routine. There were some moments of levity, but too few!

None of her abrasive stage presence affects her voice, though, which was as strong as ever. The tight harmonies I looked forward to weren't lacking. I was especially impressed by Marie Maguire, who in addition to hear gorgeous voice plays a mean fiddle. Emily Robison also sounded great and with her banjo in the mix, the Dixie Chicks sounded the most country of all the acts. Ironic, eh?

The first number, "Wide Open Spaces," is a song I really liked and they nailed it vocally, as they nailed all their songs. These girls can sing! When they pulled out "Landslide," which Natalie called "one of the best songs ever written" (to my delight), I gave them a standing ovation. I don't love many Fleetwood Mac covers but this one was amazing.

While the Dixie Chicks' fans enjoyed every number and gave them a standing ovation for "Not Ready to Make Nice," the biggest responses of the night from the crowd overall were to "Landslide" and "Soul Sister," another cover they did a great job with. Since the original is by Train, a group I really like, I was doubly pleased.

Those were two of the highlights for me, in addition to "Long Time Gone," which is very catchy. I just ignore the fact that the song is sung from a male perspective and rock along to it. I sat for most of their set but I got up for that one. (Of course, Dixie Chicks fans are accustomed to Natalie singing songs written by men and from a male perspective - I'm not a huge fan but I know at least three songs where she does that. It's a bit jarring when she sings about having a wife, but again, I just concentrate on how great the vocals are or, in the case of "Long Time Gone," how great the tune is.)

BTW, their drummer looks so much like Dave Grohl I did a double take!

The Dixie Chicks are in a tough position being between Keith Urban and the Eagles. Keith Urban is current, energetic, and very crowd-interactive; he gets everybody excited. When the Dixie Chicks play, there's not as much energy; the Keith fans settle down and the Eagles fans have started getting itchy for their favorite band to come out. The Dixie Chicks have their fans but they are not as numerous or as passionate (at least not the ones I saw). The Chicks were also somewhat hampered by a poor sound mix for their portion of the set where the bass occasionally drowned out their great vocals. Still, the Dixie Chicks did a good job and I enjoyed them.


Next up...

EAGLES!!!

[FeedTheFire]

Soda, it was a GREAT day yesterday.............your review is very accurate..........looking forward to the Eagles review!!.


Looking back there were many great moments but I think seeing Timothy that close was really a "Once in a Lifetime"................

[Brooke]

Soda, glad to hear you enjoyed Keith! I knew you would! Can't wait to hear the rest!