ms. yvon Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 *this is a cut and paste of my post on the mmj forum. as ever, the smilies don't translate from board to board, so if you see a weird word in the middle of the post, it is likely an unedited smilie. it was fab to see all the familiar vc peeps at this show, too!i'm hoping to get a review of the sunday night and nye's shows up this week. not that anyone is looking for them. ** again with the specialness. now sitting in my friend's apt, green holiday lights illuminating the dining room. freshly showered with a cup of genmaicha tea (from metropolis coffee. oh, how i love them), watching the wind blow the powerlines around outside the window. the chicago theatre is gorgeous. gilded and baroque and luminous.there were two new e.u. owl banners hanging behind the stage. i got to my seat a bit early: watched the crew going through their set up, listened to the crowd filing in. when the bears came out, i noticed that pooch was on the left side and the girl bear was on the right. thought, "huh. new places for the bears." about 10 min before the show started, a couple of the techs came out and did a quick bear-position swap. putting the previous poster's set list in vertical form...band came out at 8:05, according to wendy. --evil urges--touch me pt 1--otr--aluminum park--i'm amazed --thank you too--sec walkin--way he sings--why does my mind blow to bits, indeed. (at this point some people in the row in front of us left for a few minutes and the very friendly guys in front of us grabbed my hand and pulled me into the front row. he said, "someone should be here while they're gone." thanks for sharing!) --jim greets the crowd, thanks chicago for all that chicago has given the world, including some mention of balki and "perfect strangers"--mahgeeta--ARE YOU READY TO GOOOOOOO? jim's guitar looked chrome. crazy shiny. bo was sporting the biggest smile this entire song. --jim tells crowd he was serious about all that chicago has given the world...--golden--this was the first time i took a moment to take in the big picture: the band, stage, lights, the crowd. --where to begin--first suprise of the night: BEAUTIFUL!--librarian--again, the delicacy of this song in performance is stunning.--evelyn!!--as the band got ready to play this carl, tom and jim gathered around the drum riser. jim counted out the 1! 2! 1, 2, 3, 4! on his fingers and they launched in. right before the last words of the song the band froze in position...the longer they held their poses, the more the crowd hollered! sometimes at these shows i just laugh from all the momentum and the crowd fervor. fantastic! --war begun--SWEET JESUS. Shocked wendy asked me if the name of the song was, "oh, fuck!" b/c it was all i could manage to say when they started playing it. Grin --DAMN. wonderful to hear this live!!(worth mentioning the tennessee fire songs in order moment here...still holding a torch for an appearance of "it's about twilight now" in a show ) --lay low--cape and strobes! quotes of the evening from my friends re: lay low: allison, "i don't know what happened. i couldn't stop dancing." --phone went west--my note says, "jim, where are you going?"--they opened the song up in the middle. i think the new arrangement disarmed me a bit b/c when they brought the song back around for "THERE'LL BE A KNOCK ON YOUR BACK DOOOOOOR" it broadsided me emotionally. whoof. --gideon!--dondante--where didn't this song go?! there is a physical phenomenon with this song: while the music and vocals are blowing your body back, that bass keeps your feet rooted to the spot. kind of fucking fantastic. damn. --smokin from shootin--build! WHAT ARE YOU WAITIIIIING FOOOOOR? ANYYYYYWAAAAAYYYYYYY!--touch me pt. 2--DANCE PARTY ---------------as the band came out for a few more songs, jim talked about having to cancel the chicago shows last oct. b/c of his accident. said that he wasn't 100% but was feeling pretty good. also said he was disappointed to have not performed the benefit for barack obama at schuba's. more excited words about the election, chicago and obama, then, "Let's do this shit!" --wordless chorus!--nothing but love coming from the crowd at this point.--highly suspicious--DANCE PARTY, PT. DEUX! --anytime!--jesus, these men were throwing down tonight!(here i got a cramp in my side. and i ate light, dammit! )--one big holiday.--as patrick started this song the crowd roared. SO GOOD TO SEE THESE MEN AND THEIR CREW, making music, kicking our boo-tays and filling our hearts. OH, THIS FEELING IT IS WONDERFUL! and...it is late and my computer battery is toast for tonight. hope to see more of you tomorrow! hey, great to meet you alady! --on the facial hair front: jim is indeed clean shaven, and carl is sporting a well established moustache. also: if you saw a couple of women throwing down some funky moves under the heat lamp on the lawrence el platform in the wee hours, it was likely renic and myself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bold992003 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 awesome....I went to MSG for NYE and it was the best show I think i've seen in my life. These guys are amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ms. yvon Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 forgot to mention this was the first show mmj had played since jim j. was injured in his iowa accident. you could see each of the band members getting looser as the show went on. when off the record started it had a feeling of "getting back on the bicycle". probably just me, but at the end of that song i felt like a weight had been lifted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
renic Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 you weren't the only one. i think i'm still decompressing from the shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Great review, Evonne! It was such fun being with you and Allison and MMJ in Chicago for the weekend -- both shows definitely superb in every way. The perfect end to 2008 for me. And it was special for me, too, that my nieces got to share in the MMJ excitement after their wild night with "lil' Wayne" at United Ctr. I am still hearing "Off The Record" in my head and really don't mind its extended stay! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Papillon Parade Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Wow, great review. Makes me want to go right out and see them live...if only that was an option. Glad you had a blast! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DougoBlue Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 This show was great. My first MMJ concert and I was very pleasantly surprised. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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