After the great Bulls win on Saturday and super bummer news about Derrick Rose, we walked over to The Mayne Stage for comedian Nick Thune’s 8pm show. I have enjoyed Thune’s interviews with Marc Maron, Riki Lindhome, and Pete Holmes on their podcasts. Thune is lanky and shaggy and charming, and the set–stories, one liners, and bits with guitar accompaniment–was great. Afterwards, Pete and I watched the White House Correspondence Dinner. While the president and Jimmy Kimmel were very funny, our favorite part is the arrivals. We love to catch candid moments and bizarre pairings. What were Leon Panetta and Diane Keaton chatting about?
Yesterday was Stickers’ sixth birthday. We celebrated with a lovely SociaBulls walk, a bath at Soggy Paws, and a few treats. Happy Birthday, pretty girl!
JC Brooks is an entertainer. A lot of the shows we attend the band will play its songs faithfully, say a few words to the audience, and 45 minutes later it’s over. Sometimes that is exactly what you want. That is not what you get when you go to a JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound show. You get excellent music, yes. But you also get dancing, sing-alongs, audience participation, costume changes, and a lot of sweat. The Uptown Sound is as fine a backing band you are likely to see providing tight musicianship that keeps the show focused. But JC Brooks is the man you can’t take your eyes off of up on that stage. And he just might have the best hair going right now. Playing songs of the excellent Want More, they also had a few surprises up their sleeves with a great version of The Clash’s “Brand New Cadillac” during the encore.
Openers Blah Blah Blah and Gold Motel both provided excellent tunes leading up to the headliner.
If you are looking to catch some live music tonight I recommend you head on over to Metro for a great double bill featuring two great local bands. JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound’s most recent record, Want More, was my favorite local release of 2011 and Gold Motel’s last album, Summer House, was one of my favorites from 2010. The Uptown Sound play high energy soul music that should have the Metro crowd in a frenzy while Gold Motel will make you wish it was sunny and 80 degrees with their brand of summery pop music. While I expect JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound to perform songs from Want More, I’m looking forward to hearing Gold Motel play songs from Gold Motel, their sophomore record that is due in July. See you at Metro tonight.
