Don't Stop Believin' in Rock of Ages: Def Leppard, Journey and The Pretenders Make for a Fun Night at the Friendly Confines -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Def Leppard

Journey

w/ opening act The Pretenders

July 14, 2018

Wrigley Field, Chicago

Composite rating: @@@@

In my early teens, Def Leppard were among my five favorite rock bands in the world.

I loved their 1981 second album, High 'n' Dry--with lead single "Let It Go" and then "Bringin' on the Heartbreak"--and 1983's terrific follow-up, Pyromania, made the British quintet true superstars.

Although I was starting to go to rock concerts around then, I still recall ruing that Def Lep--who merited a poster on my bedroom wall and my owning a logo-emblazoned sleeveless Union Jack t-shirt--never played a headlining show in Chicago in the wake of Pyromania (merely a slot opening for Billy Squier, which I didn't attend).

Like many fans, I waited anxiously as the band--whose drummer, Rick Allen, lost his left arm in an car accident on New Year's Eve 1984, but remains in Def Leppard to this day--took 4+ years to return with Hysteria in August 1987.

Although it was the first newly released album I ever bought on CD and became a huge hit with several singles--"Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Love Bites," "Armageddon It" and the title track--I didn't like it nearly as much as the preceding albums.

I finally saw Def Leppard live at the Rosemont Horizon in October 1987, but really haven't care much for or about any of their subsequent material.

Still, they've impressively remained a sizable concert draw, and I saw them with my main concert pal, Paolo, in 2009.

Although we didn't initially jump on getting tickets to their co-headlining show with Journey last Saturday at Wrigley Field, the combination of my favorite place on Earth and $26 tickets on StubHub prompted our eager attendance on what turned out to be a beautiful night.

Adding considerably to the appeal was "special guest," The Pretenders, who took the stage to a half-empty stadium at 6:00pm.

Sporting blonde hair these days, a sixty-something Chrissie Hynde--truly one of the greatest women in rock history--sounded great out front of the five-piece band.

Although I don't know that Def Leppard and Journey are a perfect match for each other, The Pretenders wouldn't seem to quite fit in any real way other than chronologically.

I think they're the best of the three bands--historically and, albeit in the sunshine without any visual accoutrements, on this night as well.

Of course, they only got 45 minutes of stage time--about half of each headliner--but made good use of it, with largely a "greatest hits" 10-song set.

Hynde, original drummer Martin Chambers and a trio of more recent members began with "Message of Love" and powered through "Kid," "Back on the Chain Gang," "My City Was Gone," "Don't Get Me Wrong," "Talk of the Town" and "Middle of the Road," among others. (See the Pretenders setlist here.)

I would've liked to have heard "Brass in Pocket" from the band's terrific 1980 debut album, but despite feeling a tad dwarfed, the performance was pretty special nonetheless. (Although we were seated in the upper deck, the acoustics were rather solid all night long.)

Next up, still in bright daylight at about 7:15pm, was Journey.

Now, the first thing I--and perhaps others--think about with Journey is that Steve Perry, the lead singer from their heyday, remains out of the band, as he has for the past 20 years.

To his great credit, vocalist Arnel Pineda--who joined in 2007 after lead guitarist Neil Schon found him singing for a Philippines cover band on YouTube--sounds just like Perry.

He is also a highly amiable and energetic presence, and from the opening notes of "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," the set was full of Journey chestnuts that sounded swell on a beautiful night with a great friend in my favorite place (a few nearby asshats not withstanding).

Although Journey was hugely popular back in my teen years, they--like contemporaries REO Speedwagon and Styx--were on the wrong side of cool for me to really embrace them. Or more likely, I was.

But tunes like "Lights," "Open Arms," "Any Way You Want It," "Faithfully," "Wheel in the Sky" and "Don't Stop Believin'" are rather indelible, and all and more were well-delivered at Wrigley. (Full setlist)

This was my first live Journey experience, and I sufficiently enjoyed it.

Along with founding member, Schon, bassist Ross Valory, drummer Steve Smith and keyboardist Jonathan Cain all date back to at least 1980 (though some have been in and out over the years).

Yet still, though I hold nothing against the terrific Pineda and can't claim any devout allegiance to Perry, it still felt like I was watching the world's best Journey tribute band.

Journey had put out three largely forgotten albums in the mid-'70s before Steve Perry joined the band and co-wrote and originally sang most of the hits that the crowd relished on Saturday.

Perry was part of the band's 2017 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but didn't perform any songs with them, so whatever squabbles led to his excommunication, it's quite possible he's no longer able, willing or wanting to tour with Journey.

Pineda really does seem like the next best thing, and he and the band sounded as good as one could hope (see the video I shot of "Don't Stop Believin'" below).

But it still doesn't quite feel like I've seen Journey, in a holistic, historic sense.

As for Def Leppard, most of the classic quintet remains intact--save for the late Steve Clark, long replaced by Vivian Campbell--and just shy of 59, singer Joe Elliot's still sounds pretty good, gravelly voice and all.

With the benefit of the sun having set, and all kinds of lights, lasers and video backdrops, the band put on a show as strong as its best material (for me, the three Pyromania tunes: "Foolin'," "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph") and as weak as its worst.

Though much of the Hysteria stuff is rather dumb--the show-opening "Rocket," the bad pun of "Armageddon It," the pole-dancing anthem that is "Pour Some Sugar on Me"--I'll grant that it's crowd-pleasing and sufficiently fun.

But tunes like "When Love and Hate Collide," the saccharine ballad "Two Steps Behind" and especially "Man Enough" exemplified why I haven't considered myself much of a Def Lep fan for 30 years, if not more like 35.

I was glad they reached back to High 'n' Dry for "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Switch 625," but would've relished hearing "Let It Go," "You Got Me Runnin'" and another Pyromania song or two.

As my @@@@ (out of 5) composite rating attests--roughly covering my assessment of both headlining bands, and the Pretenders great-but-brief set--this was a show I enjoyed, especially for the low price.

It won't go down as one of my favorite concerts, even this month, but given my relatively middling levels of fandom for Def Leppard and Journey, I wouldn't have expected it too.

If you love either or both bands, and thought they were fantastic, I wouldn't argue.

Neither did anything to disappoint, and largely delighted. Their performances just didn't make me any more fervent a fan than I was in arriving at the Friendly Confines.

I'm glad I didn't have to sit through any thunderstorms to see it, but--while bringing out the over-zealous and over-served, never a great combination--the triple-bill made for a swell wrock 'n wroll show on a summer night at Wrigley.

---
Here are videos I shot of "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Photograph," which closed the sets for Journey and Def Leppard, respectively.

 

The Reshaping of Water: Michael Shannon & Co. Elevate Ionesco's 'Victims of Duty' in A Red Orchid Reprise -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Victims of Duty

by Eugène Ionesco

directed by Shira Piven

A Red Orchid Theatre, Chicago

Thru August 5

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The late French playwright Eugène Ionesco was known as one of the pioneering and principal practitioners of Theater of the Absurd.

If a Wikipedia description can be trusted, in absurdist plays, "logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech."

Although I love surrealistic paintings and theoretically appreciate things that "are different," I admittedly struggle with the avant garde, overly interpretive and/or non-linear when it comes to movies and live entertainment.

While I've enjoyed several plays by Edward Albee and, generally, Christopher Nolan's abstractions--e.g. Memento, Inception--too much confusion has left me cold about works by Samuel Beckett, a rather incoherent Tennessee Williams' play called Camino Real, performance theater such as Fuerza Bruta, films like Mother, Melancholia and The Tree of Life and a dreamlike modern ballet recently done by the Joffrey.

Photo credit on all current production photos: fadeout foto

Basically, if I "don't get it," I don't love it, and once I find things hard to follow, my focus tends to wander.

I realize this may sound rather simplistic, but even if not so proudly, my proclivities are for the more easily digestible.

So although I believe it important to occasionally challenge yourself, the opportunity to see an Ionesco play is not what drew me to the 80-seat A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago's Old Town.

No, quite candidly, I was excited to attend Victims of Duty because I wanted to see Michael Shannon act live on stage.

I won't pretend not to be star struck, fascinated by celebrity, beguiled by local heroes, etc.

But my answer to the question "Who is the world's best actor, right now?" would--with deference to Mssrs. De Niro, Hoffman, Duvall, Pacino and other legends of that ilk, and still ruing the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman--most likely be:

"Michael Shannon."

So it isn't just that the soon-to-turn 44-year-old, Evanston-bred actor has starred in numerous notable films--favorites of mine include Take Shelter, 99 Homes, Midnight Special and 2017's The Shape of Water--and been Oscar-nominated twice.

With no disrespect--and plenty of admiration--meant to his longtime and current A Red Orchid colleagues, I'm not sure there is anyone (especially if were only talking men in this sentence) any better at his craft, both on film and in theater, which he clearly still loves.

This was actually the fifth time I've seen Shannon, dating back to 1993 in Tracy Letts' Killer Joe at Evanston's Next Theater Lab, before I had any clue who he would become.

I also saw him in one of my favorite plays--Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, at Steppenwolf in 2006--and in Craig Wright's Lady the next year at Northlight.

And even after he became a major film star, in 2013 he came back to A Red Orchid to star in Sam Shepard's Simpatico with Guy Van Swearingen and Mierka Gierten--both also in Victims of Duty--and I felt lucky to get a ticket.

Lest you think I'm the only one largely drawn by Shannon, the entire run of Victims of Duty is already sold out.

As such, I realize this review barely even matters.

But Michael Shannon, at times less than a foot away from the audience, is--without ever hogging the spotlight--every bit as good as you'd hope he'd be.

Also quite superlative are Van Swearingen and an astonishing Karen Aldridge as Choubert and Madeline, a married couple who begin Victims of Duty casually chatting among each other as he reads a newspaper. (A full bathtub sits amid them, but neither is in it, yet.)

Along with other topics, they discuss contemporary entertainment--Ionesco wrote this play in 1953--with Choubert opining that "there has never been much evolution in the theater" and that "all plays are the same," typically involving a detective and a readily-solvable riddle.

Soon, an actual detective--played by Shannon--is in their midst, asking if they know a man named Mallot or Mallod, with T or D at the end key to the inquiry.

The interrogation continues, and Choubert is pushed deep into the recesses of his memory. With disturbing recollections about his father and mother, lines of reality get considerably blurred.

Not only did I occasionally wonder, "Is this real?" but even just, "What the heck is going on?"

I can't tell you that I found the storyline itself either clear or fantastic, though per the definition of Theater of the Absurb, my confusion was probably part of the point.

And while how I can see how the play's totalitarian themes are quite resonant today, I thought overt touches--such as waving small American flags and at one point depicting a member of Trump's cabinet in the video backdrop--felt unnecessary.

But not only was the acting outstanding, with both a bathtub and small pool onstage everyone--including acclaimed movie star Michael Shannon--winds up absolutely soaked.

To the point that, at a matinee I wondered if they wouldn't catch cold and have to miss subsequent performances.

Victims of Duty is a one-act play of about 90 minutes, and much of the way through do two other characters appear.

One is a mysterious woman played by Gierten, and the other is the rather philosophical Nicholas d'Eu, embodied with bristling outrage by the always stellar Richard Cotovsky.

With my @@@@ (out of 5) rating, I am trying to incorporate a fair assessment the play itself, including my understanding and appreciation of it.

But I believe it both true and valid that one can attend and enjoy live theater for reasons that go beyond the particular merits of the piece being performed.

Here you had the chance to see a famous actor as close up as can be, and he was phenomenal.

But this wasn't just Michael Shannon doing a play in a small room, this was him--along with Van Swearingen and director Shira Piven--reprising a play A Red Orchid had done back in 1995.

And as A Red Orchid is celebrating its 25th anniversary--still in its original location at 1531 N. Wells--that two of the five cast members are holdovers, a third (Gierten) is also an ARO ensemble member, the luminous Aldridge brings tons of great local & Broadway credits and Cotovsky--long the artistic director of Mary-Arrchie Theater--is a local legend, well all that too makes this something special to behold.

If I was confused, so be it.

I was also mesmerized, astonished, appreciative, a bit concerned for the actors' health and perhaps just a bit more embracing of the absurd.

Killer Performances: Marriott's 'Murder for Two' a Farce to Be Reckoned With -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Murder for Two
a musical comedy
Marriott Theatre
Lincolnshire, IL
Thru August 26
@@@@

The question with Murder for Two--beyond "Whodunit?"--seems not really to be "Will you like it?" but "How much?"

Reflected by the rabid standing ovation awarded on the show's opening night, it's hard to imagine anyone not being considerably impressed, at least by the performances of Jason Grimm and Noel Carey.

The only two people in the cast, both men act, sing and play the piano. 

With music by Joe Kinosian, lyrics by Kellen Blair and a book credited to both, under the direction of Scott Weinstein at Marriott Theatre Carey embodies Marcus Moscowitz, a cop who stumbles upon the murder of mystery novelist Arthur Whitney and begins to investigate.

He enters the crime scene, Whitney's mansion--here, a spiffy, rotating set by Scott Davis--and begins to interview the suspects, each a house guest played by Grimm.

Yes, while Murder for Two is a musical, comedy, mystery thriller, detective story, farce and something of an onstage film noir, most emphatically it is a 12-character showcase for an extremely talented actor--in this case Mr. Grimm.

It would probably be funnier for you to come across these characterizations without being all too aware, so I will only note that among those Grimm rotates through are Whitney's widow, an all-too-eager niece named Steph--who sings "He Needs a Partner"--and a (presumably) beautiful ballerina.

Unlike Marriott Theatre's stock in trade, the 90-minute Murder for Two isn't a first-rate Broadway musical, yet Carey and Grimm's vocalizations and piano playing are terrific throughout.

And songs like--the presumably titled, as there is no songlist in the program--"A Friend Like You" and the wickedly funny "We've Seen a Lot Worse" are quite enjoyable.

As already noted, Murder for Two should be entirely likeable to almost anyone who sees it, including Marriott's vast subscriber base. It is unique, clever and wonderfully performed.

It was nice for a change of pace--and one friend dubbed it fantastic--but I didn't quite like it on par with a sensational full-fledged musical. 

And while it may remind of Sunset Boulevard--both the Billy Wilder film and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on it--as well as Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and Humphey Bogart film noirs like The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon, it only really achieves greatness as a whimsical performance piece, not a musical, murder mystery, character study, etc.

None of which means "don't see it."

Grimm and Carey themselves are worth the price of admission.

But it's summer in Chicagoland and there are lots of things to do, not just including theater to see. 

So while Murder for Two is sure to delight, whether it's worth killing yourself--let alone anyone else--to get to it is a mystery only you can properly unravel.

Best Face Forward: In Its Chicago Premiere at Steep, 'Linda' Addresses Feminine Aging (and Much More) with Considerable Depth -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Linda
a recent play by Penelope Skinner
directed by Robin Witt
Steep Theatre Co., Chicago
Thru August 18
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As Penelope Skinner's 2015 drama, Linda, begins, the title character--wonderfully played at Steep Theatre by Kendra Thulin--has a life many would likely find enviable.

She is a highly-successful, "award winning" senior executive with the Swan Beauty Corp., where she has long championed marketing campaigns focused on holistic beauty across all ages and appearances.

Proudly wearing the same size as 15 years earlier, she has great clothes, plenty of poise, an attractive young assistant, Luke (Omer Abbas Salem), a handsome, literate husband, Neil (Peter Moore), two intelligent daughters--teenage Bridget (Caroline Phillips) and twenty-something Alice (Destini Huston)--and a killer kitchen in a posh home, presumably somewhere in England (as everyone employs a British accent).

But within a matter of days, things start to unravel and existing fissures are further revealed.

I'll be circumspect about specifics, but Linda is demoralized and demeaned by her boss, Dave (Jim Poole), patronized by Amy (Rochelle Therrien)--a beautiful young subordinate who professes admiration while aiming to pass her by--haunted by circumstances of her past and parents, rocked by Neil's rock star fantasies embodied by a singer named Stevie (Lucy Carapetyan) and dealing with being a woman of 55, summed up by her espousing:

"I feel invisible."

With Alice damaged and depressed due a high school incident a decade earlier--she now dresses daily in a onesie with a tail--and Bridget largely ignored or disparaged, Linda is also clearly not Mother of the Year material. 

Under the fine direction of Robin Witt at the consistently stellar Steep, the British playwright Skinner--considerably younger than her main character--nicely contrasts Linda's professional aplomb with her maternal aloofness, while also reflecting how the "embrace the real you" conceit of her cherished True Beauty marketing campaign doesn't carry through to her conversations with her own daughters.

On various fronts, Linda isn't a perfect person, but I sensed that she's a pretty good one.

And while Linda--which feels a tad overstuffed across 2-1/2 hours--isn't quite a perfect play, it's definitely an estimable and thought-provoking one.

Per Steep executive director Kate Piatt-Eckert, this play was slated months prior to the rise of the #MeToo movement, but although it deals with many issues beyond sexual assault/harassment, it couldn't feel any more relevant or resonant.

I've often said that one of the most compelling aspects of theater is in the way it helps you see the world through someone else's eyes.

And much as I've valued plays chronicling people of races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations and identities different than mine, Linda abetted my understanding of what women often face.

Most overtly it concerns itself with the personal and professional challenges of females over 50, while smartly observing belittling double standards and patronizing male perspectives.

Bridget, who dares to approach a school drama audition with proud audacity--"Hamlet is a wankfest for boys," she declares--relays how a male teacher told her that it's most important for women "to be likable."

I very much also valued how slyly powerful Linda is in addressing the complicated subject of feminine beauty.

Though still an attractive woman at 55, Linda vents in a couple of scenes about her waning desirability, while noting the dichotomy between her and her husband, who had "married up" but has become the more striking and "fuckable" of the two as they've aged.

And while Alice and Amy are both beautiful women in their twenties, as the latter plays up her appearance, the former has felt so objectified that she now does everything she can to make men not notice her looks.

Pretty interesting stuff, enhanced by Linda--who has made quite a living marketing beauty products--arguing with Dave and Amy about the future direction of Swan Beauty Corp. and how they should promote themselves.

Not as a marketing slogan but as a wry observation as her life is falling apart, Linda at one point ruminates:

"If you look perfect, everyone thinks your life is perfect."

And smartly, Linda isn't only a dissection of feminine aging--as shrewd as it is about it.

It is a multi-faceted piece that offers powerful insights about, and for, women--and men--of all ages, with perceptivity that goes far beyond skin deep.

Sugary-Without-Much-Filling Pie: Despite Strong Performances and Some Nice Moments, Musical 'Waitress' Feels Half-Baked -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Waitress

a recent musical

First National Tour

Cadillac Palace, Chicago

Thru July 22

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I would be hard-pressed to tell you many specifics about it--or my reaction to it--but I know I saw the 2007 indie film, Waitress, at some point and seem to recall it as enjoyable enough if largely forgettable.

What, sadly, hasn't been forgettable is the real-life tragedy accompanying the movie.

A few months prior to Waitress' premiere at Sundance in 2007--which preceded the May theatrical release--the film's writer, director and co-star, Adrienne Shelly, was murdered in a Greenwich Village apartment she used as an office.

I don't think I heard about the movie--which starred Keri Russell between Felicity and The Americans--until it came out on DVD, but I know I knew of Shelly's death when I watched it.

Shelley, who was married with a young child, was killed by a construction worker with whom she seemingly had no connection, other than him having access to her building. 

So although it is difficult to watch Jenna, the central character in Waitress--both the movie and the
musical based on it--deal with an unhappy marriage to an angry husband who berates and presumably abuses her, the sad reality of Shelly's death doesn't really impact one's viewing of the musical, now in Chicago on its first National Tour.

Marketed in part around its all-female creative team--noted singer Sara Bareilles wrote the music & lyrics, Jessie Nelson the show's book (based on the film), Diane Paulus directs (as on Broadway) and Lorin Latarro is the choreographer, though there isn't much dancing--the Waitress musical could conceivably appeal to women more than it did to me. 

It was great to see the Cadillac Palace balcony packed during the show's second week in town, and if you loved it, I'm genuinely glad you did.

But the quality of a great show should be readily apparent across a wide spectrum of audience members, and though Waitress is a mostly genial affair, little about it screams, "This is awesome."

Certainly, with understudy Emily Koch ably handling the lead role of Jenna in Desi Oakley's stead on the night I attended, the performers in this tour cast are first-rate. 

While I found most of the songs by Bareilles--whose pop canon I do not know--to lack the wit, charm and memorablility of great showtunes, all were well-sung, including quite demonstrably by Koch on "What Baking Can Do" and the late-in-show "She Used to Be Mine."

As a quick synopsis, Jenna is a prolific, highly-imaginative--both in terms of ingredients and names of the concoctions--pie maker for Joe's Diner, where she also works as a waitress alongside sassy Becky (Charity Angel Dawson) and reserved Dawn (Lenne Klingaman). 

Unavoidably--and perhaps purposely--conjuring up the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye, Earl" for anyone who knows that song of a battered wife's revenge, Jenna's awful husband is, yes, Earl (Nick Bailey). 

Early in the show, Jenna fears that thanks to a drunken night, she is pregnant with the couple's first child, and in one of the more clever songs, her gal pals urge her to focus on "The Negative" as she takes a home pregnancy test in the diner restroom. 

The boss at the diner--whose locale is unstated but seemingly somewhere in the American South--is the belligerent Cal (Ryan G. Dunkin), while the elderly, wealthy owner, Joe (Larry Marshall) is also Jenna's best customer. (In the movie, Andy Griffith notably played Joe.)

Joe encourages Jenna to enter a local pie making contest in hopes of winning a $20,000 grand prize that would supposedly allow her to extricate herself from Earl, but why Joe wouldn't otherwise help her toward that end--especially as the pies she bakes seem to account for most of the diner's income--is one of those "don't think too deeply" plot holes. 

Having joined "Club Knocked Up" early in Act I, Jenna goes to see her longtime doctor, pie in hand, only to discover that Connecticut transplant Dr. Jim Pomatter has taken over the practice. 

The doctor is also married, but this doesn't seem to matter to anyone, as Jenna and Jim sing some decent duets--"It Only Takes a Taste," "Bad Idea"--and well, yada, yada, yada. 

Romance also strikes for Dawn, with a fun nerd named Ogie (the superb Jeremy Morse), and also for others at the unapologetically adulterous diner. 

That's as far as I'll explain the plot, mostly genial if underwhelming as it is. 

And while Bareilles puts considerable pathos into her songs, they just--per the oldest and tritest musical critique--need to be catchier. 

I listened to the Broadway Cast Recording--featuring the wondrous Jessie Mueller--on Spotify a good bit before attending Waitress on Tuesday, and still am hard pressed to name, and absolutely not hum, any of the songs a few days later. 

And though, as I noted in a review just a few days ago, musicals can come in many forms and need not heed age-old tropes, Waitress seems to suffer for its lack of production numbers, dancing, universality, or many of the things that make musicals truly special. 

My pal alongside opined that it basically felt like a play with songs, not a full-fledged musical.

As Jenna might note--especially as Waitress features some rather provocative sexual innuendo, particularly during an Act II reprise of "Bad Idea"--some pies turn out so delicious as to be positively orgasmic, while others are just "OK," despite the best of efforts and intentions.

Same with musicals, and while I think it was logical for Waitress to be adapted for Broadway--where it's been running for more than two years--and applaud it simply for making more people aware of Adrienne Shelly and the movie she made, ultimately the end result isn't mouth-watering, but really just an amiable serving of "just so-so."

Arcade Fire: Is Today's Best Band "Go to Milwaukee" Great? -- Summerfest Concert Review

Concert Review

Arcade Fire

w/ opening act Manchester Orchestra 

American Family Insurance Amphitheater

Milwaukee Summerfest

July 8, 2018

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A few months ago, a friend was telling me about some appealing bands he had seen at South by Southwest in Austin.

Without doubting that he had taken in some stellar shows, I tried to elicit whether he considered any of the acts truly great in the way I tend to judge such things, asking:

"How many bands would you see again if it meant driving to Milwaukee [from the Chicago area] and paying at least $60 for a ticket?"

My buddy was a bit taken aback by the question, seemingly dubious that there were any rock acts meriting clearing such a barometer, not just for him, but me as well.

I assured him that, including Ticketmaster fees, $60 was pretty much the low-end buy-in for most of
the theater, arena and stadium concerts I attend.

And that over the years, I had gone to Milwaukee--from my home in the Chicago suburbs--specifically to see dozens of cherished rock artists. 

With the latest excursion on the last day of Summerfest 2018, the tally seems to be 75 rock concerts by 50+ different artists--counting only trip-motivating headliners, not opening acts or the gamut of artists I've happened to catch on Summerfest side stages--that I've seen in Milwaukee (or Alpine Valley, Madison or Green Bay; I've also traveled to many non-Wisconsin locales for concerts, but am not including such shows here).

Yet while this isn't such a high bar, at least for me, it is getting a bit higher.

Though I still love rock concerts and don't mind attending many solo, my eagerness to schlep up to Milwaukee to do so has largely waned.

Last year was the first in many I hadn't ventured to brew town at least once, and yearly attendance at Summerfest is no longer automatic.

Truth be told, I don't love the drive up and down I-94, especially in returning late at night, usually by myself.

So while I'm glad I caught several cherished legends in Milwaukee--Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Paul McCartney, Prince, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Rush, AC/DC, etc., etc.--enough for it to have long felt like a second home turf, I assume I'll be far more sparing moving forward.

But also increasingly sparse are contemporary rock acts that I love--i.e. not "legacy acts" whose members are past 50, or 70, although many of those are still great live.

Though they themselves have been around since 2004, Arcade Fire has become--since I first saw them in 2011--my favorite modern band, especially live in concert.

They were awesome last October at Chicago's United Center--upon which I declared them still the world's best rock band--and their ongoing Everything Now Tour found them booked into the American Family Insurance Amphitheater (long the Marcus Amphitheater) on the closing Sunday of Summerfest.

I had bought a pavilion ticket when they went onsale in March--though as it turned out, I could've gotten a good seat with just $21 general fest admission, as the venue was half-full at best--and rather than drive, I opted to take an Amtrak from Glenview and stayed at a Milwaukee hotel after the show on Sunday night.

So this set the bar that much higher.

The question wasn't "would Arcade Fire be good?"

Based on four prior experiences, I was pretty certain the answer to that would be, "Yes."

But were they so good as to be worth going to Milwaukee, by myself, for not only a good deal more than $60 for the concert ticket--including Summerfest admission--but the cost of a round-trip train and downtown hotel?

With the caveat that I could afford and justify the expense, enjoyed my time and some other music at Summerfest--though unfortunately missed Cheap Trick, whose entire set on a nearby stage fell within that of Arcade Fire--and had a nice time on Monday, taking in Milwaukee's Basilica of St. Josephat, Public Market and Public Museum, my answer would again be a definitive:

"Yes."

While the amphitheater didn't allow for Arcade Fire to maintain the tour's arena set-up of playing in the middle of the floor within a boxing ring, following a solid opening set by Manchester Orchestra--a five-piece rock band from Atlanta, with whom I was unfamiliar--the headliners rather thrillingly reached the stage by walking through the pavilion crowd.

During the show, lead singer/guitarist Win Butler and his wife, multi-instrumenalist/vocalist Régine Chassagne, would both take turns performing from a perch in the pavilion, not far from my seat.

As has been standard, the first song played was the kinetic title track from 2017's Everything Now album, showcasing the 9-member band at full power.

While unlike Springsteen or Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire doesn't drastically revamp its setlist every night--of the 21 songs played in Milwaukee, 19 were heard last October in Chicago--it does rearrange the order a good bit from show-to-show.

On Sunday night, "Here Comes the Night Time" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"--the latter from the band's 2004 debut, Funeral--kept things on high blast from the outset.

Another Funeral song--"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"--would forcefully follow, but not before Butler noted that the band hadn't played Milwaukee since the year of that album's release, promising it wouldn't be "another 14 years."

With my heart nearly exploding due to the truly thunderous sound and propulsive lighting accoutrements, I was actually glad the band then slowed things a bit with 2010's piano-driven "The Suburbs," rather than another supercharged Funeral song, "Rebellion (Lies)," which I suspected might come next.

"Ready to Start" amped things back up before a couple songs sung by Chassagne--"Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" and "Electric Blue"--again varied the pace, nicely.

Arcade Fire's latest album isn't their best, and "Put Your Money on Me" and "We Don't Deserve Love" from it threatened to slow things a bit too much, but I was glad we got a nice double shot from 2007's Neon Bible--"Keep the Car Running" and "No Cars Go"--and even that album's title track as the encore opener. 

"Reflektor" was also a joy, enhanced by Chassagne dancing both onstage and halfway up in the pavilion. 

The pacing wasn't quite perfect throughout--you can see how the full setlist--but the vast majority of the band's 2+ hours onstage was positively thrilling. 

As the main set wound down, a superb lighting extravaganza pumped up "Creature Comfort" before "Rebellion (Lies)" really revved things up again.

And closing the show, per the norm but never disappointing, was a full-throttle romp through "Wake Up," with the crowd singing along heartily, even at song's end. 

All in all, another remarkable show by Arcade Fire, proving yet again that they are the best rock band of relatively recent vintage, by a wide margin. 

Nothing I hadn't seen before, but I was nonetheless quite delighted to once again. 

Even if it meant driving--err, Amtraking--to Milwaukee.

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This is a clip of part of "No Cars Go" that was posted to YouTube: 

An Interstellar Burst: Saturday Night in Chicago, Radiohead Largely Delights, Despite Some Static -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Radiohead 

w/ opening act Junun

July 7 (also played 7/6)

United Center, Chicago

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Per more than a few--though hopefully not enough to cause permanent damage--perusals of the divisive and derisive netherworld known as the internet comments section, it would seem there are but two prevailing opinions about the British rock band, Radiohead.

Either they are absolutely brilliant and can do no wrong or they are infinitely overrated and deathly boring.

So I guess in writing this review of their concert Saturday at Chicago's United Center--their second of two sold out shows--I should apologize upfront to the outrageously aggrieved on both sides of the spectrum, for it would seem my perspective is not in fact permissible.

Especially as, in these hyper-polarized times, it seems we are not allowed to espouse any negative thoughts about the things we "love" nor positive ones about that which we "hate."

As I intrepidly charge ahead, I--theoretically--much more fall into "Radiohead rules" camp than the "Radiohead sucks" crowd.

And yet, some of my thoughts--that the band can be dour, self-indulgent and dull--would likely get me thrown out of the former camp, like a gypsy radioheaded to the vast but forboding middle ground.

Even more taboo, seemingly, would be to openly admit that I like pre-21st century, guitar-driven Radiohead more than the endlessly experimental new millennium version.

I've liked, even loved, the band enough to have now seen them live 10 times over the past 20 years, yet their penchant for filling setlists with--what I consider--discordant, somewhat esoteric material while eschewing low-hanging glories from Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer has posed something of a fence-straddling problem.

And I imagine there's nothing more heretical to the Radiohead acolytes than to gripe about Thom Yorke & Co. almost never playing "Creep," their 1992 debut single, first hit and--with great regard for much of their catalog, even the more recent albums--still my favorite song of theirs.

I've never heard it live, and per a check of Setlist.fm, the band hasn't played the song in Chicago since 1996.

For the record, I've also seen Radiohead in Montreal, Alpine Valley, Indianapolis and, last year, Kansas City.

Likewise part of their tour behind 2016's A Moon Shaped Pool album, I found the KC show outstanding, and though I didn't write a full review, considered it a @@@@@ (out of 5) concert.

Though also quite light on '90s material, it--like Saturday's UC show--dazzled with an impressive audiovisual display.

So good in fact, I thought it cured me from worrying about what I wanted to hear vs. what the band wanted to play.

And let me be clear, far more than not, I loved Saturday's show. (I did not attend Friday's gig, where 20 of 25 songs were different, but its setlist was actually lighter on early material, although "Paranoid Android" and "Fake Plastic Trees" were played.)

The concert Saturday opened with an intriguing set by Junun, which features Radiohead
guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood along with Israeli singer Shye Ben-Tzur and the Rajasthan Express, a group of Indian musicians.

As best I can describe, the mix of Indian and Middle-Eastern music was enchanting, and though it didn't sound like Radiohead, it did suggest where the band--and particularly Greenwood--draw some of their musical inspiration.

As with most of the shows on this tour, including Friday's, Radiohead's set began rather demurely with "Daydreaming" from A Moon Shaped Pool, which was abetted midway through by a brilliant lighting display (see the first photo above).

"Desert Island Disk" and "Ful Stop" are similarly new songs enhanced by exciting lighting, and after the enjoyable "Myxomatosis" from 2003's Hail to the Thief came "Lucky" off of 1997's masterful OK Computer.

Compared to some prior Radiohead shows I've attended, I heard a relative lot of tunes from that album, including also "Exit Music (for a Film)," "Climbing the Walls," "Airbag" and the closing "Karma Police."

Two more came off The Bends--"My Iron Lung" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"--so while there were a few songs that tested my patience, I can't really complain about what was played.

"The National Anthem" and "2+2=5" in the first encore were also great highlights, and pushed a show I might have given @@@@ up an extra 1/2@.

Though it felt like "Creep" would have been an idyllic way to close a pair of sold out Chicago arena shows 25 years after Radiohead first played the Metro, "Karma Police" was sweet, and my not quite being blown away--to a full @@@@@---wasn't really about the setlist.

Perhaps my hearing what it once was, but from my seat in Section 303 of the United Center, the sound seemed a bit muted.

Songs like "My Iron Lung" and "Airbag" just didn't blow my head off like they should have.

And some of the more esoteric stuff--"Feral," "Separator," "The Gloaming"--likely also suffered sonically.

Yes, I had a far away, high up seat at the lower of two price levels, but my vantage point for Depeche Mode a month ago at the UC was even worse, and they sounded phenomenal.

So while I'm not really too concerned with what the Radiohead lovers, or haters, may think, this review reflects my personal experience on this particular night.

If you were at either Chicago show--or both--and found it absolutely phenomenal, I'm glad you did.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a great band once again, but not only do I suggest they get in touch with Depeche Mode's sound engineer, but--damn the torpedoes--I sure wish they had played "Creep."


---
Here's a clip of "Lucky" that was posted to YouTube by godieinhell2:

Theater as Therapy, or Vice-Versa: At Goodman, Ellen Fairey's 'Support Group for Men' Entertains Without Quite Enlightening -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Reviews

Support Group for Men

by Ellen Fairey

directed by Kimberly Senior

Goodman Theatre, Chicago 

Thru July 29

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If you're looking for a "good play" to see, Support Group for Men should fill the bill.

I didn't quite find it great, brilliant or--given the title--particularly therapeutic, but at the very least it was entertaining, and often quite funny, across 90 minutes. 

And to a point, it should appeal to almost anyone.

For it revolves around four men, two or three of whom easily into the theatergoing demographic, age-wise, and one who's younger and hipper. 

At least as cast at the Goodman, under the direction of Kimberly Senior, two of the four main characters--who hold a weekly support group get-together at which the play's action takes place--are white, one is black, one Latino.

At least one character is gay, or possibly pansexual, and LGBTQ issues are discussed, particularly by Roger (Keith Kupferer), an average Chicago Joe who "wants to understand" yet somehow has lived nearly 50 years without doing so.

The main quartet could generally be described as working class, with a middle-ager named Brian (Ryan Kitley) being "the oldest employee at the Apple store," yet the the meeting within the play takes place at his well-heeled Wrigleyville apartment (with Steve Jobs, Neil Young and Roger Ebert represented on the bookshelf).

Along with Delano (Anthony Irons) and Kevin (Tommy Rivera-Vega), Brian and Roger are forward-thinking enough to have been holding these weekly gab sessions--with each participant comfortable enough to openly share their current challenges, to an extent--yet they are compelled to insultingly co-opt Native America rituals and monikers (Sleeping Hawk, Floating Squirrel, etc.).

While this may all sound quite testosterone heavy, Support Group for Men is written by Ellen Fairey--who boasts impressive TV writing credits--and she clearly has fun in poking at men's odd inconsistencies.

Without going into further detail, the support group--which is humorous and fairly compelling in itself--is interrupted by a ruckus in the alley, which introduces a pair of Chicago cops (Eric Slater, Sadieh Rifai, the latter the only female cast member) and Alex (Jeff Kurysz, in a role reminiscent of one he played in Northlight's The Legend of Georgia McBride).

Kupferer, who was also in that Northlight production, has seemingly cornered the local market in playing (mostly) lovable schlubs, and he does good work here.

Support Group for Men moves well, and should satisfy, at least at face value.

But ultimately, it didn't much move or illuminate me, and it seems a bit contrived.

We're to believe that Kupferer's Roger demonstrates considerable growth in just a few hours, but for a guy like him to have been attending these therapeutic sharing sessions for (presumably) weeks on end would seem to already represent considerable personal development.

So I had a hard time seeing his initial (within the play) small-mindedness and/or his overnight enlightenment as particularly realistic.

And most of the other characters feel under-developed.

Irons as Delano has a nice line about not being comfortable with "being the black friend," but other than some ill-defined frustrations with his wife, it's not clear why he's there.

Kitley well-plays Brian as something of a smarmy charmer going through a mid-life crisis, but aside from Rivera-Vega's Kevin being an Apple Store colleague of his, the latter's reasons for attending the support group are also vague.

And maybe I'm missing the point, but "manly references" to Dirty Harry and Robert Plant feel like Fairey making cheap fun of manly references. 

But these critiques are more just rationale to explain why, despite liking Support Group for Men, I didn't love it.

As I stated up top, it's good, and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from seeing it.

But just a few days after I did, it's already fading from memory, and I imagine it will continue to do so.

I often find theater to be quite therapeutic, but despite some nice laughs and perhaps a couple of keen insights, Support Group for Men was really only fleetingly so.

The Freewheelin' Neil Young: Seemingly Haphazard Set Happily Provides Thrills and Chills -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Neil Young

Solo acoustic tour
w/ opening act John Hammond, Jr. 

Auditorium Theatre, Chicago

June 30 (also played 7/1)

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If, prior to arriving at the Auditorium on Saturday night, I hadn't taken a gander at what Neil Young had played two nights earlier in St. Louis--the first stop on his brief solo acoustic tour--I imagined I could've easily believed the living legend was just winging it.

For even as the performance largely hewed to the same setlist--click here to see what was played at the first of Young's two Chicago shows, which was mostly matched the next night as well--Neil himself often didn't seem to know what he might play next.

Frequently he ambled, paused and/or oscillated between several acoustic guitars, one electric one, a banjo, other stringed instruments, three pianos and an organ before seemingly making a decision and delivering his next tune.

Let me be clear, given that at some point over the past year or so I had read suggestions that Young may have been experiencing serious health issues--and I do not know if this was ever true, nor the possible ailment(s) or severity--I never sensed that the 72-year-old Canadian was impaired or addled.

Photo credit: Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune

Belying the brilliant incisiveness of his lyrics, for years "Uncle Neil" has struck something of a bemused, disheveled and/or bewildered chord in his onstage demeanor.

And while on Saturday, he expressed gracious appreciation to be playing music for a full house of loyal fans nearly 5 decades after first coming to Chicago, his general good spirits warmed my heart more than made me wonder if he was reflecting on life's darker roads.

Given those fears--acutely legitimate or not--made me overtly glad just to be seeing Neil Young once again, singing any songs, to whatever degree of planned structure or connective thread.

So while I could readily imagine some in the audience thinking this wasn't the most demonstrably professional of concerts, or that Neil Young was somewhat absent-mindedly picking songs out of the air, or that he didn't play this or that classic they really wanted to hear, I genuinely loved it.

And not just sentimentally.

Few rock artists, ever, can claim a catalog on par with Neil Young, and even with the St. Louis outline vaguely in mind--and generally followed--it was pretty cool not knowing what he might pull out next.

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

For despite the somewhat laconic approach, just about everything he played sounded great, instrumentally and vocally.

Delights included gems I knew well--"Only Love Can Break Your Heart," "There's a World," "Are You Ready for the Country," "Tonight's the Night," "Out on the Weekend," "The Needle and the Damage Done," "Heart of Gold"--but also some I didn't, including a nice trio from 2010's Le Noise album ("Angry World," "Love and War," "Peaceful Valley Boulevard").

Alluding to the show's loose construction, Young admitted that he "just kinda walks around and sees what happens," but noted that it had worked well "the other night" (i.e. in St. Louis).

But though he did have something more of a plan than it may have seemed, the fifth song on Saturday--1969's "Cowgirl in the Sand"--deviated from the prior setlist.

I thought it might have taken the place of something I wanted to hear even more, but after strapping on an electric guitar following "Mellow My Mind," Young began casually introducing a song he had written "at my friend's Crosby's house" before ripping into "Ohio," one of the most potent protest songs ever written.

It was phenomenal.

Also bringing me close to tears was an organ-driven rendition of another classic not in the St. Louis set: "After the Gold Rush," perhaps my favorite of all Neil Young songs.

All told, the man played 22 songs--4 more than he did in St. Louis, and 2 beyond what he'd perform at his second sold-out Chicago show on Sunday night.

We even had a terrific opening act: noted bluesman John Hammond, Jr., the now 75-year-old son of the famed record producer who had discovered and/or signed Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and other legends.

So sure, Neil Young's latest concert--the 7th time I've seen him beyond a guest spot--was more a haphazard, or haphazard-seeming, affair than a meticulous one.

And for whatever reason, it didn't quite equal the solo show I saw him deliver at the Chicago Theater in April 2014.

But on a variety of levels, due to the music itself and not just, it still felt pretty damn special.

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Here's a clip of "Ohio" someone posted to YouTube: