This New Year’s Eve seems to be a tradition-breaking holiday as not only have Umphrey’s McGee moved their usual celebration from Chicago to St. Louis, but now comes word that
Chicago, Chicago that toddlin’ town.
Frank Sinatra certainly sang it straight up about The Windy City.
Words cannot express how thrilled Chris and I were when our favorite band Phish announced they were playing three nights at the famous UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois, this year. We have friends in Chicago that we don’t see nearly enough and the prospect of Chicago eats for a week had us salivating. We had many fun culinary experiences during our stay, but three restaurants topped the pack. I will tell you about our adventures in eating at Hot Doug’s and The Purple Pig this week. Stay tuned for next week’s article about our fantastic meal at Girl and the Goat.
HOT DOUG’S
While planning for the Phish run, one theme came up repeatedly: SAUSAGE! Chicago is well known for its tubular meat—whether it be in the form of the famed Chicago hot dog, Polish sausages or the more creative gourmet sausage sandwiches—and we were determined to try them all. Chris insisted that we spend at least one lunch at Hot Doug’s – otherwise known as “The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium.”
Hot Doug’s is a bit of an enigma. It is a tiny space by Chicago standards, and their hours are 10:30am – 4:00pm six days a week. You are almost always guaranteed to wait in line—sometimes for hours—while you drool at the thought of eating these encased masterpieces. Doug Sohn creates all of his sausages in-house, and each sandwich receives careful consideration in pairing the ingredients.
- Previously: Jon Hochstat’s Chicago Hot Dog Trip
READ ON for more on Hot Doug’s and The Purple Pig…
Not even two weeks after it started, the current leg of Phish Summer Tour 2011 came to a close tonight at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
[Photo by Joel Berk]
Phish came out of the gates strong with the first Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird opener since November 3, 1989 (1,249 shows). While the Super Ball IX Forbin’s/Mockingbird contained a narration for the first time since the hiatus, tonight’s version did not. Next, Gumbo saw its first action since Merriweather back in June, while a typically fierce Possum was the fifth of this brief nine-show run. The group was clearly focused on reaching deep into their bag of tricks and in the middle of the set they came out with the Mike Gordon-penned Weigh, a song they’ve only played five times over the past 13 years.
There’s a special connection between the UIC Pavilion and Divided Sky. In 2004, guitarist Trey Anastasio told Charlie Rose that one of the most special moments of his Phish Experience happened during the Divided Sky pause on June 18, 1994 – a feeling perhaps re-created during this evening’s take on the classic tune. Alaska broke up the old school vibe before Bathtub was played on the 14th anniversary of the legendary Went Gin. Though they stuck “in the box” for this Gin, Trey brutalized his Languedoc throughout a hard-rocking, high-energy solo. The fretboard fireworks continued through Maze, beyond Cavern and into a perfectly placed First Tube set closer that fed off the energy provided by the frenzied crowd.
READ ON for a recap of the rest of the show along with tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
After a barn-burner last night, Phish returned to the UIC Pavilion in Chicago for the second of three shows at the 9,250-capacity indoor venue tonight.
[Photo by Joel Berk]
Night two of the UIC run started with a few of Phish’s more silly and short rarities – Dinner and a Movie and Ha Ha Ha. A scorching Chalk Dust Torture gave the audience their first taste of tension and release during Trey Anastasio’s solo. A pair of songs off Round Room – Mexican Cousin and Walls of the Cave – came next and was followed by the old school pairing of Runaway Jim and Foam. I Didn’t Know saw its first action of 2011 as Phish continued to dig deeper into their repertoire. Another well-played Ocelot, the fifth Ginseng Sullivan since the hiatus and a somewhat shaky Wedge led into a Limb By Limb that deliciously moved away from the tune’s main structure. To close the first set, Phish covered The Rolling Stones’ Let It Loose for the first time since they covered Exile On Main Street at Festival 8.
While the opening stanza was light on improvisation, a 20-minute Down With Disease that kicked off set two set a different tone. Disease quickly veered off its standard track, as the band explored a number of interesting spaces, eventually settling into a lengthy transition jam that seemed to zig towards a number of different songs before finally zagging into Twist. Put this Disease at the top of your “must download” list. The group toyed with the beginning of Twist, both in tempo and vocally, during the choruses. Backwards Down The Number Line continues to chase Possum as most played song of 3.0 and after getting the call mid-second set tonight is only two versions behind. A straight-forward Theme led into a Golden Age that contained a spacy end segment that eventually led into a cover of A Day In The Life by The Beatles.
Most of Trey’s You Enjoy Myself solos have been short and to the point over the past few years. For this evening’s second set-closing YEM, Anastasio showed much more patience and built up the pace methodically leading up to a big finish. Sure a three-song encore doesn’t grab the attention last night’s five-song monster did, but the Slave To The Traffic Light that followed Heavy Things was a beaut, while Rocky Top gave the crowd one more chance to get their ya ya’s out. The UIC run and the current leg of Phish tour ends tomorrow. READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
Phish pulled into Chicago tonight for the first of three shows at the intimate UIC Pavilion that cap off this section of Summer Tour 2011. The group last played at the indoor venue back in 1998 for a memorable three-night stand on November 7 – 9.
The run’s first set got off to a high energy start with another sizzling version of Back On The Train. Guelah Papyrus and Scent of a Mule kept the old school vibe going and led into a fitting cover of ZZ Top’s Jesus Just Left Chicago. Wolfman’s Brother gave us our first jam and what a Wolfman’s it was. While it didn’t stray too far from the usual territory Wolfman’s explores, this take featured a call and response segment from Mike Gordon and Page McConnell, melodic riffing from Trey Anastasio and a funky backbeat provided by Jon Fishman. Seek out this Wolfman’s, you won’t be sorry.
A tender Anything But Me gave the crowd a cool down period and was the first ABM in two years. Next up was the Phish premiere of Babylon Baby, a staple of the Mike Gordon Band’s repertoire since its debut in March. A typically beautiful Reba led into a powerful Alumni Blues closer that from the looks of the tweets blew the roof of the place and included a rough attempt at Letter To Jimmy Page in the middle. In looking at the reports coming in from Chicago you see one mention of “energy” after another as there’s nothing like indoor shows where the fans surround the band.
READ ON for the recap of the rest of tonight’s show as well as the setlist and The Skinny…
Dave Matthews Band Caravan @ Lakeside Chicago – July 8-10
The Dave Matthews Band’s roving music festival Caravan made its second stop at Chicago’s Lakeside on July 8 – 10. The festival featured 38 bands spread over three days and three stages, and the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) closed out each night with three-hour performances. For DMB fans I am sure the experience was heavenly; as for the rest of us Caravan was exhausting, yet it had its perks. I was drawn to Caravan for primarily two reasons: The Flaming Lips were performing The Dark Side of the Moon and the festival was at a new, never-before used site on the south side of the Windy City.
Chicago geography is strange in that one side of the city may as well be a different state from the other. Those who live anywhere north of the Loop, aka downtown, rarely venture south of the Loop and vice versa. Caravan was stationed at an old U.S. Steel Plant near 83rd street off Lake Michigan, roughly nine miles south of downtown. The festival’s location was a great tactic to draw life and money into the under served community.
Initially I was pumped about Caravan; Flaming Lips and a south side adventure! Being a Chicagoan I tend to travel by bus or train. The press release for the festival read “easily access Lakeside” by public transportation. Alright, sounded easy enough. The first red flag was when I Googled directions, the site did not register on the map. Weird, but no problem, I thought. I would just hop on the train and hope for the best. The second red flag raised when it took me two to three hours each way to get to and fro the grounds. I participated in a pilgrimage revolved around a band I did not necessarily care for.
READ ON for more of Allison’s take on DMB Caravan Chicago…
First off, I want to wish everyone out there a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. For everyone up at Watkins Glen for Superball IX, have a blast and bring back some great stories!
As for me, I will be in the windy city, hanging with some friends and knocking a couple of things off of my bucket list.
More on Wrigley field in a bit. The main reason for my visit to Chicago this time is to have dinner at Alinea. For those who don’t know, Alinea was named best restaurant in North America (for the second straight year) and 6th best restaurant in the world in the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2011 (up one from #7 in 2010). Dining at Alinea is one of the items on my bucket list that I will be crossing off on this trip.
Here is what S. Pellegrino had to say about Alinea:
Alinea represents one of the most radical re-imaginings of fine food by any chef in American history and has propelled Grant Achatz to chef superstardom.
Everything about his restaurant is unique, from the deconstructed food, unfamiliar flavour combinations and theatre to the tableware, with dishes served in and on all manner of implements: test tubes, cylinders, multi-layered bowls that come apart. It’s boundary-shifting stuff.
I had a chance last year to dine at Alinea and was unable to due to logistics and timing, no way I was passing up the chance a second time! READ ON for more on Jon’s trip…
The lineup has been announced for Lollapalooza, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year on August 5th-7th at Chicago’s Grant Park.
At the top of the bill are Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse and HT favorites My Morning Jacket. Other HT favorites Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Ween have also successfully snuck their way into a mostly indie-centric lineup.
This year’s lineup for ‘Perry’s Place”, the electronic-themed stage, features festival mainstays Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi and many others.
Three day passes will run you $215. READ ON for the full lineup…
The North Coast Music Festival will return to Chicago’s Union Park this Labor Day Weekend with a lineup that will eventually feature over 50 acts. Today, event organizers announced the
Chicago-based sextet Umphrey’s McGee kicked off UMBowl II last night at Park West around 8PM and by the time the band left the stage for the last time nearly five hours later, the audience had been treated to four “quarters” of music, each with a different theme, they had a hand in creating.
[When Harry Met Sally Parody]
During the first quarter, which was billed as a “Choose Your Own Adventure experience,” fan voting via text message determined the direction the band would go. The audience voted for guitarist Brendan Bayliss to sing the lyrics to In The Kitchen in Spanish, had the band embark on a “Daft Punk-esque” electronica jam out of a cover of Bonafide Lovin’ and even had Umphrey’s finish All In Time from last year’s UMBowl within Q1. The second quarter was a Stew Art event that featured Umphrey’s jamming on descriptions provided by the crowd including “Classical Regulate,” “Tool Meets Umphrey’s” and “I’m In A Video Game.”
For the evening’s third set, Umphrey’s debuted a concept called the “Special Teams Quarter” that saw different lineups on each song performed. While most of the formations stuck to current members of the band, former drummer Mike Mirro replaced current drummer Kris Myers and Jake Cinninger sat out for Much Obliged as done by the group’s 1998 lineup and stuck around to augment the current lineup on the rarely played In Violation of Yes that ended the set. READ ON for more on UMBowl II including the setlist…
