Welcome to the second annual Seeing Them Live Year End Concert Review show, where a panel of returning guests shares their favorite live music experiences from 2025. Eric Green discussed notable concerts he attended such as seeing Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton's side project band Close Enemies, Kim Deal's solo performance, and seeing Joe Perry of Aerosmith in his side project. Jessica Catena covered her experiences, including attending a Samara Joy jazz concert, watching 'Moulin Rouge' on Broadway, and attending iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball. Summer recounted her experiences at Lollapalooza, a Yungblud concert, and a special operatic rendition of Smashing Pumpkins' music. Art Gregg shared his delightful encounters with Burton Cummings of The Guess Who, Michael Schenker of UFO, and Robert Plant at a small venue, highlighting the intimate and memorable nature of these performances. The episode concluded with mentions of upcoming concerts in 2026. Charles rounds out the discussion by mentioning his own concert experiences at new Chicago venues including Space in Evanston where he saw Mdou Moctar and The Old 97s, the female-focused Motoblot festival at Beat Kitchen, an incredible Buddy Guy performance at the Rialto Square Theater where the 89-year-old blues legend walked through the aisles playing guitar, shows at the new Garcia's venue and City Winery, and his anticipation for an upcoming Iron Maiden show. The episode concludes with a teaser for part two, which will feature Dawn's private jet experience with the Rolling Stones, Andy's Bonnaroo adventure, and Steve's concert highlights.
Welcome to the second annual Seeing Them Live Year End Concert Review show, where a panel of returning guests shares their favorite live music experiences from 2025. Host Charles brings together an eclectic group of music enthusiasts including award-winning documentary filmmaker Eric Green, podcast host Jessica Catena, nurse practitioner Summer, antique shop owner Art Gregg, executive assistant Dawn Fontaine, accountant Steve Pothel, high school teacher Andy, and producer Doug Flozak to discuss the concerts that defined their year.
Eric Green kicks off the discussion with an impressive lineup that showcased both legendary side projects and emerging talent. His year began with Close Enemies featuring Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton at City Winery Boston, followed by Kim Deal's solo tour at the Wilbur Theater. He caught Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame doing an intimate VH1 Storytellers-style performance, and witnessed Shane Hawkins honoring his late father Taylor Hawkins with Chevy Metal at Brighton Music Hall. Eric also saw the Joe Perry Project's supergroup lineup featuring Chris Robinson and Robert DeLeo, enjoyed a nostalgic double bill of Billy Idol and Joan Jett at the Xfinity Center, caught the rising stars Wet Leg at a packed Roadrunner Boston show, experienced Jeff Tweedy's multigenerational band at Royale, and closed out his year with Throwing Muses at the new Racket venue in New York City.
Jessica Catena attended three memorable indoor concerts that kept her dry after previous years of rain-soaked shows. She saw young jazz sensation Samara Joy at the newly renovated Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut with her uncle, experienced the Broadway spectacle of Moulin Rouge featuring Wayne Brady and Taye Diggs with updated contemporary songs, and capped off her year at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden, where she saw Ed Sheeran, Laufey, and a diverse lineup of pop and folk artists while dealing with some challenging sightlines.
Summer's concert year included the intimate Metro show with Bridget Calls Me Baby where her son met the bass player's parents, a record-breaking night at Lollapalooza featuring Olivia Rodrigo's surprise Weezer collaboration, an energetic Yungblud performance at the Riviera that included some crowd drama, and a unique operatic interpretation of Smashing Pumpkins' Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness at the Lyric Opera of Chicago during a snowstorm.
Art Gregg had a remarkable year highlighted by three unforgettable shows. He saw childhood hero Burton Cummings of The Guess Who at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts after accidentally meeting him in the lobby without recognizing him, caught Michael Schenker's 50 Years with UFO celebration at the Desplaines Theater, and scored a last-minute ninth-row ticket to see Robert Plant at the intimate Vic Theatre, where the Led Zeppelin legend performed six classic songs including an electrifying version of Ramble On that earned a rare standing ovation.
Charles rounds out the discussion by mentioning his own concert experiences at new Chicago venues including Space in Evanston where he saw Mdou Moctar and The Old 97s, the female-focused Motoblot festival at Beat Kitchen, an incredible Buddy Guy performance at the Rialto Square Theater where the 89-year-old blues legend walked through the aisles playing guitar, shows at the new Garcia's venue and City Winery, and his anticipation for an upcoming Iron Maiden show. The episode concludes with a teaser for part two, which will feature Dawn's private jet experience with the Rolling Stones, Andy's Bonnaroo adventure, and Steve's concert highlights.
BANDS: Aerosmith, Alex Warren, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Belly, Benmont Tench, Billy Idol, Black Crows, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Bridget Calls Me Baby, Burton Cummings, Chapel Rowan, Chevy Metal, Close Enemies, DJO, Dogs in a Pile, Ed Sheeran, Elastica, Elastica, Elvis, Foo Fighters, Foghat, Foster the People, Gary Newman, Generation X, Gigi Perez, Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden, Jeff Tweedy, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Joe Perry Project, Johnny Cash, K-pop band Monsta X, Katy Perry, Kim Deal, King Gizzard, Laufey, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin 2, Liz Fair, Mdou Moctar, Metallica, Michael Shanker, Miles Smith, Ministry, Neil Young, Nelly, Nine Inch Nails, Olivia Rodrigo, Ozzy Osborne, Pixies, Psychedelic Furs, Radiohead, Robert Plant, Rolling Stones, Runaways, Samara Joy, Sarah Larson, Shonen Knife, Smashing Pumpkins, Soraia, Stone Temple Pilots, Taylor Hawkins, The Babies, The Beatles, The Black Crows, The Boudines, The Breeders, The Guess Who, The Old 97s, The Police, The Scorpions, The Velvet Underground, Throwing Muses, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, UFO, Van Halen, Walk the Moon, Wayne Brady, Weezer, Wet Leg, Wilco, Wrought Iron Soul, Yungblud.
VENUES: Aragon Ballroom, Barclays, Beat Kitchen, Box Center Wang Theater (Boston), Brighton Music Hall (Boston), City Winery (Boston), City Winery (Chicago), Credit Union One Amphitheater, Desplaines Theater, Garcia's, Grant Park, Great Woods (Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts), House of Blues, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison Square Garden, Metro, North Shore Center for Performing Arts (Skokie, Illinois), Penn Station, Racket (New York City/Chelsea), Ravinia, Rialto Square Theater, Ridgefield Playhouse, Riviera, Roadrunner Boston, Royale (Boston), Salt Shed (Chicago), Sonia (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Space (Evanston, Illinois), Thalia Hall, Tweeter Center, Vic Theatre (Chicago), Wilbur Theater (Boston), Wrigley Field, Xfinity Center (Mansfield, Massachusetts).
[00:00:23] Art: And what was really funny was I was in the lobby of the theater, on the phone, and this little guy walks across in front of me, stops and is talking to somebody and he's got a Midnight Special T-shirt on. I didn't think anything of it. And I go, Hey, cool T-shirt. So the concert starts and it's Burton Cummings. I didn't even recognize him. He's this little dude, he's in his seventies, but I didn't even recognize him.
[00:00:50] Charles: This is our second annual Seeing Them Live Year End Concert Review show. We've assembled a panel of guests who have appeared on previous episodes of [00:01:00] this podcast. As I mentioned in the intro last year, this idea was conceived separately by two previous guests, Eric Green and Jessica Catena, who are both with us today on this show. So, without further ado, I'll briefly introduce all of our guests, and then we'll hear about their 2025 concert experiences.
[00:01:18] So we'll, start with Eric. Eric is an award-winning writer, director and producer of documentary films, features and shorts. His films have been screened at film festivals and independent cinemas all over the world, broadcast on television, and streamed online. In 2022 his documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66 was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame library and archives, and you definitely want to check out his blog called Green's Party on Tumblr. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute.
[00:01:53] Jessica Catena is the creator and host of the Music Notes with Jess podcast, [00:02:00] a weekly show featuring the latest trending news in the music industry. Jessica began her podcast six years ago and has recorded over 300 episodes covering a wide range of topics and music genres.
[00:02:14] Summer is a PhD nurse practitioner and an avid concert goer.
[00:02:20] Art Gregg owns two antique shops in Chicago, specializing in 1950s through 1970s Furniture.
[00:02:27] Dawn Fontaine is an executive assistant in the neurobiology department at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. She likes watching horror movies and listening to vinyl records, cooking, hanging out with her cat, and seeing lots of live music. She's been to 55 concerts this year, and Dawn will also talk about her new role with the Philadelphia based band Soraia and a special trip she took on a private jet with the Rolling Stones.
[00:02:57] Steve Pothel is an accountant and a live music [00:03:00] fan. He's featured prominently in my book, ticket Stub Stories, A Memoir of Live Music in the chapter called The Tender Trap.
[00:03:08] Andy is a high school teacher and an avid live music fan. I've known Andy since seventh grade and we've seen lots of concerts over the years, and 2025 was no exception.
[00:03:19] Doug Flozak is the producer and co-host of this podcast and plays bass in the band Wrought Iron Soul.
[00:03:27] I think that is everyone on today's episode. And Eric, we'll start with you and go through your list and people can chime in as we go along. But one thing I wanted to mention Eric, was, I really love reading your blog because it's actually written by you, a person.
[00:03:45] Eric: Not an AI created review or something.
[00:03:49] Charles: God, if I like, especially on LinkedIn, I can't bear to read another AI generated post. It's just brutal. So I love your voice of your pieces, your point of view, your [00:04:00] opinions. You cover TV, film, albums, concerts, interview musicians, you do remembrances of celebrities, et cetera. You have a newsletter too, right?
[00:04:10] Eric: Thank you so much, Charles. Yeah. It is just really me sharing my thoughts on all things pop culture. It's greensparty.tumblr.com and I've been doing it few years now, and I've gotten to review albums and concerts so yeah, sometimes I just get opportunities to review some concerts and then, because, I've gotten to that point. If I don't get a press pass, sometimes that question comes up. How bad do I wanna see them? How much am I willing to pay? And those sort of questions that I'm sure we all have, you know, how far are you willing to drive, those sort of questions. So, I've always, been a music geek and stuff, and, I think, this podcast you do, I think is great hearing people's personal memories and stories and, getting to do this.
[00:04:52] I was part of last year's year end interview, and I think every year for live music changes, it's all about the number of really great bands that are touring [00:05:00] and the number of great concerts you yourself get to see and everything like that. So, yeah, it was another good year of live music and everything. So, I guess, we'll jump right into it, Charles?
[00:05:09] Charles: Yeah, and think too, you're working on documentary right now too, right? Eric? You can't say what it is.
[00:05:13] Eric: It's kind of too early for me to say, but it is based in the world of music, so, I'm happy to come back on the show once, once we have a formal announcement. But yes, I've gotten to talk to some really, cool people, this year and I wish I could say more to you right now, Charles, but there'll be some news in 2026 for sure.
[00:05:29] Charles: Cool. Yeah. So why don't we start with Close Enemies, January 10th at City Winery in Boston.
[00:05:36] Eric: In 2024, Aerosmith announced that they were retiring as a touring live band. They kind of meticulously phrased that to leave the door open for recording or for one-off concerts. But, since then, you know, the members have kind of done their own thing. So, yes, January 10th, I got to go to City Winery Boston, to see this band Close Enemies.
[00:05:57] It's the side project of Aerosmith Bassist, [00:06:00] Tom Hamilton. And, this was kind of a cool, concert because there wasn't anything released. There wasn't any albums released. Barely any recordings. It was just announced, hey, Close Enemies featuring Tom Hamilton. That was it. So it was really kind of going in blind and learning about the music.
[00:06:16] And they did a few covers, of Aerosmith songs here and there was other band members. One of the guys from the Babies was in the band too they did one of their songs, but really it was just the excitement of, hey, a new supergroup, go see them. And yeah, so I got to go to that.
[00:06:30] And I do enjoy seeing bands at City Winery just 'cause it's more of a smaller space. I know we have people all over the country, and I know it's a national chain of music venues and stuff, but it's always cool to see a band in that setting. So that was that was a really great show.
[00:06:44] And then March 10th, I went to the Wilbur Theater in Boston to see Kim Deal. I had previously seen Kim Deal with both the Pixies and the Breeders, and in late 24, she released a solo album. And so this was really cool [00:07:00] that it was her front and center performing and, not just performing, what you would expect from her with a band and everything, but also seeing kinda string instruments and, brass instruments behind her and everything. And she did some covers of The Breeders songs and covers, but she did some of her songs and even though she's from Ohio the Pixies were a Boston band.
[00:07:21] So it was a lot of hometown love for her returning to Boston and everything. So it was really cool to see her, front and center. And I've loved the times I've seen her with The Breeders and with the Pixies. So this was a really cool experience to see her do the solo album on tour. And then let's see, I actually kinda had a drought for a few months, and then June 26th I went to City Winery Boston. I saw Benmont Tench who is most famous for being the keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And he's done guest appearances with, I don't even know how many artists. The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, the list goes on and on.
[00:07:59] But he [00:08:00] had released a solo album and was doing this solo tour. And this really reminded me a lot of the old VH1 Storytellers show where, somebody would perform and tell a story before each song. So he did you know, a few Heartbreaker songs. He did some covers. He did Velvet Underground. He did a whole bunch of other stuff. But it was really cool seeing him and I got to talk to him very briefly after the show. And that was really cool. It's cool when, a backing band can sometimes be thankless. It's the star of the band was Tom Petty, but I think, credit were credits too.
[00:08:29] There, there was a lot of really keyboard and piano driven songs in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Benmont Tench was the secret weapon. So it was really cool seeing him do a solo show there. Then on July 23rd, I went to Brighton Music Hall in Boston. I saw a Chevy Metal. This was a side group of the late great Taylor Hawkins when he wasn't in Foo Fighters.
[00:08:51] He had a lot of side projects and one of them was this group, Chevy Metal, a trio that just did a lot of like classic rock covers. [00:09:00] And after he died in 2022, I guess their future was uncertain. And they decided to tour this past year with Shane Hawkins Taylor's son, who's now 19. And I had seen him do a few guest appearances with Foo Fighters. And so he toured with with Chevy Metal. And that was great because they don't really have original songs. It was all, classic rock Black Sabbath, Van Halen, The Police, all music that Taylor was very much inspired by. And now seeing him pass the baton to his son was really a beautiful thing, 'cause he's actually a really great drummer too. So that was terrific to see that and see it upright in music hall. More of a smaller rock club than some of the other venues I had been to.
[00:09:40] Then skip ahead. On August 19th, I went to the Box Center Wang Theater in Boston. I saw the Joe Perry project. Getting back to what I was saying about Aerosmith and all the side projects Joe Perry has had his side project, the Joe Perry project many times over the years and the lineup always changes and this lineup that he had [00:10:00] for a mini tour over the summer was him with Aerosmith guitarist, Brad Whitford. And it was really a cool super group. He had Chris Robinson of the Black Crows as the singer. He had Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. So when they tour, it's not just Joe Perry solo songs, they do Aerosmith, they do Black Crows, they do Stone Temple Pilots they do Led Zeppelin. They did a whole bunch of stuff.
[00:10:25] And getting back to what I was saying Charles, about how bad do you want to see this? I didn't get a press pass, but I managed to score a ticket. Was it StubHub? something under $40. I got to go. And I was so excited about that and that lineup was really great. I am glad I got to go to that one.
[00:10:39] And then on August 23rd, I went to the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. This venue will always be known as Great Woods to me. It's changed names many times over the years. It's an outdoor shed. And it's in Mansfield, Massachusetts, about an hour outside Boston. Growing up as a teenager in [00:11:00] suburbia, you thought nothing of going there. It was just like, oh, that's where the band's playing. I'm gonna go there. But now that I live in Boston and bands come to Boston, I gotta really ask myself, how bad do I want to go all the way to Mansfield or somewhere else? But I got press passes. I got to go see Billy Idol and Joan Jet and the Blackhearts toured together.
[00:11:18] And both of them obviously, started with bands Generation X and then Runaways and became superstars on their own in the MTV era in the early eighties. Have continued to do really great work since and I actually had not seen either artist in concert up until now.
[00:11:36] So getting to go, that was that was really great. Joan Jett is obviously fantastic, and then Billy Idol came out. He had Steve Stevens his longtime guitarist with him, and that was cool. Steve, he took front and center stage a few times. He did his score his theme song from Top Gun there, and he did a few other hits too. And I think both artists have been doing this long enough. They give the [00:12:00] audience what they want, they sprinkle in some new songs that they've had and then, play their their classic hits and everything. So that was that was really a fun, made me feel like it was 1984 all over again, concert.
[00:12:12] And then let's see, September 14th, I went to Roadrunner Boston and saw Wet Leg. And yeah, of all the bands that have emerged in the last, five, six years I'd say they're definitely one of the, one of the best out there. I was a huge fan of their debut album, and I got to review their second album that came out this past summer. And when they toured, yeah I got to go to Roadrunner and see them and yeah, that was packed. That was, I don't know if it was exactly sold out, but it may as well have been.
[00:12:41] Charles: Yeah. The one in Chicago, I went to see them at the Salt Shed that was sold out and yeah, they were fantastic.
[00:12:47] Eric: Yeah. I was just gonna say the first album, I think I've listened to that, I don't even know how many times. But the second album is really a grower. It's really growing on me, and I thought they were great as a live act. Chicago is a great show too.[00:13:00]
[00:13:00] Charles: Yeah. It was awesome. And yeah, the nice thing about the Salt Shed too is it was sold out, but they don't really overpack the place, so it was still, it wasn't like crazy up 'cause we were right, like up front on the rail for that one. And it was nice. But yeah, they were super entertaining and just great to see live.
[00:13:18] Jessica: They're funny too.
[00:13:19] Eric: Yes.
[00:13:21] Jessica: They have a really interesting sense of humor.
[00:13:24] Eric: Yeah. A lot of lyrical play on words and things like that. Did you see them, Jessica
[00:13:30] Jessica: No I didn't, but I listened to this great radio station in New York. It's called 107.1, the Peak. It's an adult alternative station, and that's the morning DJ's favorite band. And he has literally had no sleep where he will just go to the concert at Madison Square Garden or Barclays and he'll just come the next day.
[00:13:46] And I was like, I saw a Wet Leg. So I'm I'm very familiar with the music and they're very talented bunch of girls. That's cool that you both saw them this year and they were nominated best new artist a few years ago at the Grammy, so I think that helped too [00:14:00] because they're a kind of rock where you can't tell if they're for a younger generation or just all rock fans and they just click all the boxes for everybody.
[00:14:11] Eric: I definitely, interpreted an influence of Elastica and, Liz Fair and that kind of thing. But then I think the modern generation would think, oh, this is our band. They're in their early, they're in their twenties, they're, or whatever it is, and they're speaking to us. Yeah, no, absolutely.
[00:14:26] And yeah, then on September 21st, I went to Sonia in Cambridge, Massachusetts and saw Shonen Knife. The last time I saw them was in 2016. They played a show in Boston the day after the presidential election. I just felt like seeing, them on a bill. It was three, all female or female fronted bands, just sticking it to the man. And that was exactly what I needed that day. And then seeing Shonen Knife come back and playing, there. And, they've been around 40 something years and they were great. [00:15:00] They're a band I've actually learned more about over time. I've never had, you know, the nineties or, or something. I've slowly gotten more and more into them and I've actually gotten to interview one of the members. I've gotten re review some of their albums and stuff, and there's a pop element to their punk rock that's really fun to see live.
[00:15:17] And then, on October 18th, I went to Royale in Boston and I got to see Jeff Tweedy. And, I've gotten to cover Wilco a little bit, some of their albums and some of Jeff Tweedy solo stuff. And the last time I had seen him was in 2008, Wilco was at Madison Square Garden opening for Neil Young.
[00:15:37] And at the time, Jeff Tweedy brought out his son, who was only about, I don't know, 12 at the time. And now I bring that up because now in this tour, both his sons are now grown and in their twenties and they're part of his band. And that's such a great passing the torch thing to see that Jeff Tweedy is such a skilled singer songwriter and, [00:16:00] really putting together this great band of all musicians that he made some reference to how he's known everyone in his band since there were small children or earlier. And it was really great to see. I think he, his new triple album is off the charts and he's always such a skilled instrumentalist and singer. So it was really great to see him. Charles, did you see him as well?
[00:16:22] Charles: I saw them at the Salt Shed, inside. And yeah we were real close to the stage for that one too. And yeah, he was great. He played so many songs and, like you were saying, Eric, the musicians are all significantly younger than him because he said that he knew them all as children when they were growing up and stuff, and then his two sons. So, yeah, it was really cool how an artist of his stature could put together that kind of band with these young people was really cool.
[00:16:50] Eric: Absolutely. So yeah. Then on November 8th, I was in New York City. I went to this venue called Racket. I believe they're a Bowery Presents venue. And I [00:17:00] saw Throwing Muses who I had actually never seen before. I'm actually a little bit more familiar with a former member, Tanya Donnelly.
[00:17:08] I'm more familiar with her post Throwing Muses music she did with like Belly and her solo stuff. So I definitely have an appreciation for Throwing Muses, but my friend, was a bigger fan. So went and yeah, they were, really impressive, really great especially in that venue. Sort of a mid-size club. It was really great to see them and definitely good when I feel like I'm the youngest person in the audience.
[00:17:32] Jessica: Did you take the train down to New York City?
[00:17:35] Eric: Yeah. Oh yeah. I drove down. I was in New York for a weekend. My friend lives in Queens. And then after we were finished working on a project, we went that night. Then yeah, the subway to get to Chel, Chelsea. Yeah, it was in Chelsea. Yeah.
[00:17:49] Charles: Was that the first time you've been to that venue? Then Eric?
[00:17:52] Eric: Yeah. It's relatively new. Jessica, I don't know if you know much about Racket.
[00:17:56] Jessica: I haven't actually, and I know I'm pretty familiar with [00:18:00] some of the venues in Manhattan, so I'm wondering if it could have been maybe under a different name or maybe it could have just been one of those secret places.
[00:18:10] Eric: A speakeasy to get into.
[00:18:12] Jessica: Exactly.
[00:18:13] Eric: Yeah. From what I understand, it's somewhat of a new venue. I don't know if it changed names or ownership or something recently, but, It's right there by Chelsea Market, that, that general area.
[00:18:22] Jessica: Oh, okay. Yeah. I know what you're talking about. It's nice over there.
[00:18:25] Eric: Yeah, so it was a decent size. I don't know the exact capacity, but yeah, maybe I don't know 1500 or so, maybe a thousand capacity. It was pretty cool going there. And I lived in New York for many years, and so it, it was cool to get to incorporate New York into my annual concert list as opposed to just what's nearby and stuff.
[00:18:45] And I know I think you've talked about this a lot on your podcast Charles the act of traveling. Like a destination concert. Hey, I'm gonna, my big trip this year is this festival or this show that isn't playing in my area, or something like that. [00:19:00] So I think that can be exciting. That wasn't exactly what this was. This was more like a after afterwards. Hey, let's go, all right, great, kind of thing.
[00:19:07] And that was a lot of fun. But yeah, I think it can be fun to go to a new venue in a new city that you haven't been to before and that kind of thing. So yeah. Yeah, looking back, I thought it was a pretty good year. In the past I've also incorporated in additional clubs, stadium shows.
[00:19:22] There wasn't any real big, go big or go home, Metallica, Foo Fighters or any of these other kind of shows. But I thought it was a pretty good year looking ahead to next year. Obviously we're not even into 2026 yet, but, or whenever this airs. But I think fingers are crossed. Radiohead did a European tour and I'm hoping that they will do a US tour. I saw them last in 2018, and I would love it if they could just fit in even a mini tour or something into the us. That would be amazing. So that's my hope prediction for next year.
[00:19:54] Charles: Yeah, and I was thinking the same thing, Eric. It's like I've never seen them and from what I was reading, it was the [00:20:00] first tour they'll do without releasing any new music,
[00:20:03] Eric: Yeah.
[00:20:04] Charles: And I was like. I don't care. I wanna see them. It would have no bearing on whether or not I would go. So yeah I'm hoping as well that they'll play, they'll stop in Chicago or have a North American tour of some sort.
[00:20:16] Eric: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:20:17] Charles: All right. Anybody have any follow up questions for Eric before we move on?
[00:20:22] Andy: No, I'm just, I'm with Eric where the whole thing of I just going to smaller shows this last year seemed to be the thing that really resonated where I've just likened the smaller places over to bigger ones. Even though, yeah, I had a couple destinations, ones I'll talk about, but it's just the smaller spaces are just seeming so, so much more accommodating to me now that especially this year, it seemed.
[00:20:44] Charles: Yeah, for sure. And Andy will talk about it, but we went early this year to see Mdu Moctar at this place in Evanston called Space, Evanston, Illinois. I'd never been there before. And Andy and I think we paid like $35 a ticket or something, [00:21:00] and the place holds, I think 300 people.
[00:21:03] It's one of those places that has tables and then there's standing room. And we were so close to the band, like I felt like I was getting away with something. Like I can't believe I only paid like 30 some dollars and I'm standing like. 15 feet away from these guys, because we'd seen 'em the year before at the, I think it was Thalia Hall, maybe Andy.
[00:21:24] And it was a bigger venue. Not a huge place, but yeah. So the small clubs, man, and Dawn, you'll probably, I'm sure you'll talk about that a little bit, but yeah, and I'd never been to a City Winery either, so this was the first time I saw the Bodine's a few weeks ago at the City Winery, which was, it's very similar to Space tables and such. If you guys have been to City Winery.
[00:21:45] Andy: It sort of like Garcia's Charles. Again, that was just a killer new venue that you know we're lucky to have here in Chicago.
[00:21:52] Charles: Yeah. Garcia's was awesome too. Along the same line. So we'll let Andy talk about that one. All right. Jessica, you [00:22:00] went to a few things here on your list and, I'd like to just point out with your podcast, I always enjoy it because there's always these dots that get connected no matter what artist you're reviewing. I always get, more information than I thought I would out of listening to certain artists and how they're related to all these other people and songs and et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, definitely check out Music Notes with Jess podcast when he can. So you went to see this jazz musician, right?
[00:22:31] Jessica: So, first of all, thank you Charles and Doug for inviting me back to Seeing Them Live. I always have a blast talking with you guys here and off air. So I appreciate the support you've given. Not only me, but also my podcast Music Notes with Jess. And I got inspired last year where I've definitely wanted to attend more concerts and I was lucky to attend three this year.
[00:22:53] And we know the going gag where anytime I would go to a concert it'd be raining. So this time all three concerts [00:23:00] were indoors. So that way they could actually happen this year for me. And I have to say, they were all pretty special and they happened to also go along with family each time, which was cool.
[00:23:12] So the first concert I went to was with my uncle. We went to go see jazz singer, Samara Joy. She's a young jazz singer from the Bronx, which is where my parents grew up, and that's where most of my family still lives in. And my uncle had gotten an email from this venue called Ridgefield Playhouse, where he got a markdown ticket price if he wanted to go.
[00:23:36] So he originally bought two for he and my aunt, but my aunt couldn't make it last minute, so he texted me, being that I was familiar with Connecticut, I used to work at the radio stations near there. And so we went instead. And the funny part is when I was telling him how to get there, 'cause he lives, and he actually lives right across from when I went to my first festival [00:24:00] in Dutchess County.
[00:24:00] He was commuting about an hour away. So I gave him a heads up and I said, why don't we get some dinner? Because where the venue is, the lobby is very tight and they only open the doors when it's time to sit down and the show is gonna start. So first we go to the barbecue restaurant and it was delicious.
[00:24:17] And then we walk into the venue and don't you know that they renovated where we didn't have to worry about standing so close to each other, standing room only, but it was beautiful. I wanna shout out Ridgefield Playhouse 'cause they're nonprofit and the way that they get these celebrities come, it's just incredible.
[00:24:36] They just go by the hard work of their staff and they depend upon the sponsorships of local businesses to just stay afloat. And they had their 25th anniversary this year, and as a thank you for the business, they renovated the lobby where they opened it up into a lounge where you can sit before the show starts.
[00:24:59] And they [00:25:00] also displayed some of the artifacts of artists who've been there. So it's almost like a museum when you first walk in and then go see these comedians and singers and all these different acts that they get. It's really incredible. I highly recommend going there. So where my uncle and I sat, what they did was for anybody who wants to try to get a ticket there. You don't have to worry about burning a hole in your wallet anymore. They actually set it up where you go to the upper mezzanine, they give you real chairs and you're able to see the stage so nice. I felt like I was standing up looking over at the stage and I was literally all the way in the back row and it was such a really nice time.
[00:25:48] I really liked Samara Joy's band, the way that they were just cooperative with each other, just musically. Everybody had a solo and they were just all very cohesive the way [00:26:00] that they performed. It was a really nice concert and very quick. I was out by eight o'clock and I couldn't believe it was just her performing, but it was perfect. And it was a nice just one-on-one with my uncle too. So it was a nice bonded time for the two of us for the first concert that I went to this year.
[00:26:16] Charles: Yeah. Didn't she win or is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal album or something like that?
[00:26:23] Jessica: Yeah. In fact, she actually won Best New Artist a few years ago at the Grammys and that's where I first heard about her. But yeah, she keeps doing very well. They keep awarding her with these jazz albums and now she wants to take the time where she's going back locally to New York and Connecticut 'cause now she's homesick. So, this was like a nice kind of start for her to do that for herself.
[00:26:47] Charles: Cool. Yeah, it sounds like a great venue too.
[00:26:49] Jessica: It's great.
[00:26:49] Charles: So then you saw this Moulin Rouge, July 26th.
[00:26:54] Jessica: Yeah, so I think this might be like my first cheating where I'm putting in a Broadway show [00:27:00] instead of a concert. But I have a reason for that. This occasion that I went, my cousin had got married this year and I was in her bridal party and, the uncle who I just talked about, his daughter was the maid of honor and she couldn't make it to go with the Moulin Rouge crew with us, 'cause she was also planning the bridal shower the next day. So the rest of us went and my cousin's future mother-in-law and sister-in-law, they joined us, which was a nice kind of part of a celebration to make for the weekend. We went to go see Moulin Rouge and my cousin is a huge fan of Broadway and usually I am okay with it.
[00:27:39] Sometimes I feel like they exaggerate a little bit too much, but I love the Mouli Moulin Rouge. So I was thinking at least they have the cancan dancers. They could definitely shake up the music and the cool thing that I saw was they actually modernized the music compared to what's in the movie.
[00:27:57] They do have some of the [00:28:00] songs that they do, the rock stuff, but then they also threw in Katy Perry Walk the Moon, CeeLo Green. So, that I thought was a nice twist. And as most Broadway shows are doing now, they have celebrity appearances where you see them certain days. The show that I saw, I actually had two celebrities that I saw.
[00:28:20] Guest Star, Wayne Brady was the owner of the club, Harold, and he rocked it. I'm a huge fan of his, I've watched him on Whose Line is it Anyway, for years. And his improv was just perfect. I'm hoping he's getting nominated Tony next year 'cause he was fantastic. And then the second star who was there was Tay Diggs.
[00:28:41] He plays Benny in rent and he's done a couple of acting movies as well. And he played the Duke, the villain. And he usually has that kind of role whenever you see him acting in. And he did very good. I felt specifically because [00:29:00] he's the big star in Broadway as he is, it seemed like they may have rewritten the script a little bit more so you could see more of him act. 'cause if you've seen the movie Moulin Rouge, they really don't show the Duke so much. They just have him as an antagonist where he's just so needed because of his money trying to save the club. And so that was a nice touch that I appreciated and my cousin did too, as a Broadway fan. And the cool twist at the end.
[00:29:30] Now, I don't wanna spoil Moulin Rouge, but has any, have any of you seen the movie Moulin Rouge?
[00:29:35] Andy: Yes.
[00:29:36] Jessica: You have. Okay. So I won't give away the ending too much, but it's not a happy one. So what they did for us to leave us all on a high note, 'cause a lot of people were crying, I think they weren't expecting it in the way it did.
[00:29:49] But what they did instead was when they were bringing out everybody to do curtain call, you saw Wayne Brady go stage right And all of a sudden shut off the switch and all the lights [00:30:00] went off and then you saw the entire ensemble come out and they all did a version of Lady Marmalade so that everybody could just have fun and sing along and we could all just leave happy and not so depressed. So I thought that was a beautiful touch 'cause we really needed that kind of happiness. Just, in general, let alone at the show.
[00:30:21] Charles: Yeah. That's a cool twist. Yeah, I love watching that movie. My wife's a big fan, so every once in a while we'll, turn it on and check it out. But yeah it's a great movie.
[00:30:31] Jessica: It's very well done and I think it's ahead of its time. Charles, with the way that they did the cover songs like that, no movie has really done that before. I don't think we would have Glee or any other of these movies where they could just pick rock songs, especially rock songs or any kind of those standards and put it into something new. I always liked that twist as well.
[00:30:51] Charles: Yeah it's A great,, production. So then Jessica, you went to this iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, and you were talking about that in your most recent episode of your [00:31:00] podcast. You did a concert review of that.
[00:31:02] Jessica: Gee, I wonder where I got that from.
[00:31:04] Charles: Yeah, because the last time you were at Madison Square Garden was to see George Michael, is that's correct.
[00:31:09] Jessica: Yeah. Yeah. It was 2008, so it was a long time ago. Since I've been there last time.
[00:31:15] Charles: Yeah. And so that's one of your episodes, George Michael Sings to Jessica, I think is a title. But yeah, so you were back for this Jingle Ball thing, so yeah. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that.
[00:31:25] Jessica: Sure. IHeartRadio does this end of the year festival called Jingle Ball, and they market it with their pop radio stations and they go national basically. So I wanna say they do about maybe about 10 shows in December where they get a lot of the singers that they played on the radio or just some, remember when artists and then they all basically just put this big end of the year concert and it's a blast and it's goes with a lot of their other. Concerts that they're trying to do [00:32:00] just to keep radio afloat. They do an iHeartRadio music festival in Vegas in September. They're even doing a country one now between June and July. So I think it's great that they're trying to just get music to be heard 'cause it's so hard to try to get people's attention with modern and music.
[00:32:18] And that's why I actually base my podcast on that because there are certain artists where once you get to hear them, you could get excited about music. You don't always just have to think, oh, this is not gonna be as good. There are good ones. So I was lucky to get a chance to go to Jingle Ball and I had an in.
[00:32:38] My mom actually works for a hospital and they were one of the sponsors for the shows. So that's how I was able to get the tickets and an auction that she put in. And the two people I originally invited couldn't go, but I luckily had some backups. I took, so my uncle who I spoke to before I took her daughter and I took her best friend and they [00:33:00] accompanied me that night.
[00:33:01] In fact, it was recently, it was just December 12th. It was practically a week ago when I just went and it was great. It was my first indoor festival where I was just sitting the whole time and they really moved everybody quick backstage. It was very well done. I have to say I feel like I was part of an award show, but it was taped.
[00:33:21] ABC, and Hulu are streaming A lot of the performances that I saw, the only complaint I had was that my seating that they gave me, it only faced backstage. I could not see the front of the stage. And you know how sometimes when you go to concerts you can't see, they at least have a screen or a projector. So that way you see something. That's one good part of modern concerts, Charles, where you don't have to feel like, I can't see who is that?
[00:33:52] Charles: Yeah.
[00:33:53] Jessica: Well, so for me, for some reason where I was sitting, the projector was backwards. So it was facing, it was, the [00:34:00] screen was facing correctly for everybody front stage. But anybody in my section, it was like a mirror. We had an asymmetrical side of how we were looking on who was on stage. So basically every act who came on, anybody who wasn't sitting closer to where we could see, we just kept shifting over so that way we could see the front of the stage of who we were trying to see. But that was, the only issue I had. But they had a great amount of artists and I should have listed the names. I didn't give you them, did I, Charles?
[00:34:33] Charles: No you didn't, but who was a standout for you? As far as all the people that were there?
[00:34:39] Jessica: They had Ed Sheeran, they this jazz artist Laufey, who's very cool. They had Miles Smith, Alex Warren. They had K-pop band Monsta X and they had a sing along for the K-pop Demon Hunters, I think they're called. And so they had a nice group of artists. They had Sarah Larson, [00:35:00] a good mixed band, Nelly.
[00:35:01] So it was a good pop mix and had folk. It was a little bit of everything, which I like, 'cause that's what iHeartRadio tries to do. They like to try to fill everybody where you're not just focusing on one genre. But I liked it a lot. And the Madison Square Garden, it definitely changed since the last time I was there.
[00:35:21] It was all renovated and now it has like this beautiful food hall and it's right above Penn Station. And that's why I asked Eric before if he took the train before, because you could take the train up from Boston or Philly, all along the east side of the US you can take the train up to Penn Station. And I'm wondering if anybody goes to see shows that way. It's so convenient.
[00:35:42] Charles: So you, you went to two places that have been renovated.
[00:35:45] Jessica: Yeah. Apparently.
[00:35:46] Charles: That's your theme for 2025.
[00:35:48] Jessica: That's right. Hey, it's better than rain. I'll take it.
[00:35:51] Charles: Yeah. No, every time we're at a show and it's raining I think about you. But Andy and I have these nice ponchos now from the Salt Shed that we bought during [00:36:00] this King Gizzard show where it was like downpour. So we always bring those with if it's gonna rain. But are you looking forward to anything right now in 2026?
[00:36:10] Jessica: I know that there's nothing really posted yet as far as concerts, but I do have a mini announcement as far as Music Notes with Jess. I'm actually gonna be changing formats into the new year and I'm gonna be changing under a different name. So that way, even though as much as I love talking about music, I've been getting a request where there's been other people who've been wanting to be on the show and I'd love to have you and Doug back on.
[00:36:34] So I'm going to be just changing things a little bit where it's more conversational and I can have some wiggle room, 'cause music definitely took a long time to get popular this year. I don't know if it was because it was political stress or maybe it was just, we had a lot of bad things happen this year, but there weren't too many people listening to music as closely, and that's where they even had to have billboard [00:37:00] change the charts so that way they could have more people get a chance to be popular and say I'm number one or anything.
[00:37:07] So a lot of inactivity, there's been a lot of extra pressure where everybody has to help each other out. So the more that we go to concerts, that's how we're just helping everybody and talking about it.
[00:37:20] Charles: Yeah, and I don't know if it's the economy perhaps.
[00:37:22] Jessica: It could be.
[00:37:24] Charles: But like I've noticed in the last few months, I get these notices from the Salt Shed in Chicago giving me half price tickets or there's a lot of other venues discounting tickets, which I've never seen that before. I don't know what to make of it, but I guess it's maybe a financial thing. They're trying to get more people into the venue. 'cause when I go to the Salt Shed and spend 35, 40, 80 bucks on a ticket, I usually spend $40 in parking and
[00:37:52] Jessica: It's a commitment.
[00:37:54] Charles: $50 a drink. Yeah. So once they get you in there, you're gonna spend like another 50, [00:38:00] a hundred dollars on stuff, t-shirt, whatever. But yeah, that's been my observation again in the last months with live music.
[00:38:07] Jessica: Yeah. And it's like I said, it's very hard that people don't realize that sponsors really run a lot of, I don't wanna say planning, but basically just any capability, you need money for it. So when there's short assets of that, you have to unfortunately make cuts and you also don't wanna lose the customers, plus a venue to even have these places still go. We wanna make sure that they're still around. There's nothing like live concerts.
[00:38:36] Charles: Yeah, exactly. Anybody have any questions for Jessica as a follow up?
[00:38:41] Steve: I'm just. And I know she said it like, my wife loves going to see Moulin Rouge whenever it all comes through. And just to agree, they do update that set a lot with modern songs. 'cause I was like, she went to go see and she came back and she was all happy and I was like, aren't these the same songs [00:39:00] from the movie, which were 20 years old back then.
[00:39:01] She's no, they incorporated this and that. And I think her version had the Katy Perry and she's no. I think the only song that was really in there from the original movie was maybe Lady Marmalade and one other. So yeah, she said they updated it a lot, so just made it a lot more current and people had a better time with it because it was just such classics. Classic, for lack of a better word, songs.
[00:39:25] Charles: Yeah. No, that's a great idea. All right. Summer. How's it going? Summer.
[00:39:30] Summer: Good. Good. How are you?
[00:39:32] Charles: Good. Yeah, you went to a few concerts. We went to Lollapalooza together, so you talk about that a little bit, but Yeah. But the first one you went to is Bridget Calls Me Baby, June 2025.
[00:39:45] Summer: Yeah, you and I actually saw them at Lollapalooza in 2024. They were on a smaller stage on the side, and they really captured I don't know our interest. A lot more side stage acts that we saw [00:40:00] last year or in 2024. Then this year, to me made a big impact. And you mentioned probably in April or May that they were coming to town, to the Metro, but you guys were going to be outta town.
[00:40:12] So I actually got tickets to go with my sister and unfortunately the day of the concert, she wasn't feeling great. So I was left with another ticket. So I took my son, he's 16, he's been to concerts with me before, and, he was a little reluctant, I think he remembered the band, but he said, you know what, the only reason I'm gonna go is because I really like the bass player.
[00:40:38] He really stood out from the previous year. So we got there, it was at the Metro. Great crowd, easy to manage. We got there a little early, get in and a couple next to us started chatting with us. And the lady asked about Warren, why are you here? Do you like the band? Tell me a little bit more.
[00:40:57] And Warren said, yeah, I really like the bass [00:41:00] player. I remembered him from Lolla. And she's oh, that's funny. He's my son. We met the bass player's mom and dad, and they're from Chicago, very kind. She was interested in what Warren was doing in the jazz band at high school, and he talked about playing the bass and she said, you should keep going. Gave him some good words of advice, and it was, it actually turned out to be a really inspiring and fun time. So we were excited.
[00:41:26] Jessica: There was a reason your son had to be there then.
[00:41:29] Summer: Yeah. And now he's doing, he's still in jazz band. He's actually thinking about doing jazz band in college, so I'm glad he's gonna stay on that path. And then after that we went to, oh, the band itself was really good, by the way. They're a mix between Roy Orbison, Elvis, this mid-century Euro vibe. So I just wanted to put that out there if you guys were interested.
[00:41:53] Charles: The lead singer's voice, incredible. I can't even describe it. You just have to hear it. Yeah, he's fantastic.[00:42:00]
[00:42:00] Summer: Fantastic. And then we did Lolla and we went on the Friday, August, I think first at Grant Park and saw some of the standouts for us this year, or at least for me. Definitely was Joe, DJO, Foster the People, I really like them. Gigi Perez, fantastic singer songwriter. And then Olivia Rodrigo performed final set of the night, and she brought out Weezer. I know you were gonna maybe mention that in your lineup, Charles,
[00:42:31] Charles: No, go. Go ahead.
[00:42:32] Summer: But, we were packed in. I guess we did break the record for a single show, 115,000 people that night. So the record the previous year was by Chapel Rowan. But for that set we were packed in pretty, pretty tightly. And she brought out Weezer and they played Buddy Holly, Say It Ain't so it was a full circle moment for, the nineties fans.
[00:42:57] Charles: Yeah, because they took a little break and [00:43:00] Olivia Rodrigo starts talking about all the young faces in the crowd, and this is probably one of their first concerts. And so she led up to it. It's cool. She's yeah, my first concert, I always remember that. And so they're here today and I'm like, who's she talking about?
[00:43:16] And all of a sudden the guys from Weezer come out and they start they played those two songs with her. So, that was her first concert was seeing Weezer. So I thought that was a really cool tie in, like what this podcast is all about or part of it, who your first concert and the impact it has on you. So yeah, that was cool. My daughter was there and she was going crazy.
[00:43:37] Summer: Loving every, recording, every minute of it.
[00:43:39] Charles: Yeah. it was A lot of fun. But yeah, that, that was a cool surprise.
[00:43:43] Summer: Yeah, and we were lucky. We had no heat, no oppressive heat. But Charles was a little under the weather, and the next morning he texted and you were COVID positive.
[00:43:55] Jessica: No.
[00:43:57] Sorry to hear that.
[00:43:59] Charles: I didn't have any [00:44:00] symptoms or anything, but I was just feeling really tired.
[00:44:03] Jessica: Well, It's funny you said that because as I was leaving Jingle Ball a few days later, I emailed you Charles, that I had the flu and I'm pretty sure I came from the concert uh, but my guests weren't sick, so it must have been, you know, just one of those things where we would just, we got a speck. It got us.
[00:44:19] Charles: It was all good. It was a good show. We saw lots of bands and like Summer you're saying that weather was not oppressive, hot and humid like it usually is in Chicago.
[00:44:28] Jessica: I'm glad I was wondering about that being out there as long, the hours.
[00:44:33] Charles: It's a long day when people are like, oh, I've gone all four days. I'd need a steady drip of ibuprofen. And I, and now I just, there's no way I could do four days of that.
[00:44:44] Summer: No. never.
[00:44:45] Charles: It's a commitment. But, yeah. You saw this guy Yungblud at the Riviera.
[00:44:50] Summer: The Riviera. Saw them with my cousin and her husband. She was more into him than me, and then I got to know him a little bit more as all the press came [00:45:00] out about Ozzy's tribute concert in July before he passed. Yungblud did open or did a final show tribute with the song Changes and it's actually nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock performance. So that's exciting.
[00:45:17] And they came to Chicago and it was packed. We had a little tussle with one of the girls in the crowd. I'm not like, big into keeping my space or anything like that, but this girl was just like, in a panic, don't get into my area. This is my space. And I'm like this is the wrong place for that.
[00:45:36] Charles: Especially that club. If you're on the main floor.
[00:45:39] Summer: Oh.
[00:45:39] Charles: Good luck. It's like a, it's like a sardine can in there.
[00:45:42] Summer: Yeah.
[00:45:43] Charles: It's packed.
[00:45:44] Summer: And we, I guess I got some what too close. And another girl got too close and she got into our face and started screaming. I'm like, I'm too old for this. This is ridiculous. And my cousin's about a foot taller than me, and she got in [00:46:00] her face and then the husband, her husband came and broke it up.
[00:46:03] And we moved out of the way. We're like, we gotta get away from this girl. This is too much. It didn't really distract from the great show he put on. Fantastic performer, great vocals. He's this mix between punk rock very much a showman. So hopefully we'll see more of him in the years coming.
[00:46:25] And then the last concert we went to, my cousin and I, again, got tickets to go see at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, A Night of Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness. It was actually the night of the big snow storm that happened. So we were a little worried about getting downtown and ended up getting a hotel to stay after just because we didn't wanna drive during this winter storm advisory that was there.
[00:46:53] It was a good show. It was a little unexpected. I've never personally seen an opera in [00:47:00] person, but and I guess it wasn't technically a true opera, it was more of a tribute with operatic performances. They had a live chorus, a symphony orchestra, and then Billy Corgan did come out for about five songs where he did the vocals along with the operatic singers.
[00:47:20] So it was interesting. Now my cousin she recognized every single song and maybe I just hadn't listened to that album 'cause it's the two part album. And so it was a little bit difficult to correlate the songs with the actual pieces. But overall it was a pretty stunning interpretation. I thought it was worth it. And just a night in the city with a good friend and we were able to, have a hotel night without the kids. And so it was worth it.
[00:47:49] Charles: Cool. So Yeah, I was wondering how he interacted with that whole production. So he just, he sang like a handful of songs with them.
[00:47:57] Summer: He came out, he sang, [00:48:00] people applauded that they were super excited. A lot of people dressed up for not only the opera, but then they had their old Smashing Pumpkins gear on. It was a good mix of like young and older people. Yeah, it was fun. It was a good time.
[00:48:15] Charles: Yeah, it sounds interesting. Any follow up questions for summer on any of that?
[00:48:19] Jessica: So I've been getting really into Yungblud. I think it's so cool that you saw him live and the tribute he did for Ozzy Osborne at the VMAs. They even had Eddie Trunk saying, wow, like this kid is amazing. And for him to bring out Joe Perry and Steven Tyler out on stage and do this new album that they just did together. I really wanna believe that Aerosmith wants to be back on tour and on stage, but just for him to have this big moment in 2025. You really witness history this year, Summer.
[00:48:57] Summer: Yay. I hope so. It was a great show.
[00:48:59] Charles: [00:49:00] Alright, Art. Let's talk about your list. I was looking at the three shows that you attended. And it looks like you started with Burton Cummings in July.
[00:49:08] Art: Burton Cummings in July.
[00:49:10] Charles: Was he the lead singer of The Guess Who, I guess?
[00:49:13] Art: He's lead singer. Yeah. Him and Randy Bachman. They, those were the guys for The Guess Who. And Randy Bachman, when they split up started Bachman Turner Overdrive, which had a lot of great hits when I was in high school. But, Burton Cummings, with The Guess Who. Chuck, I had a stereo when I was in high school and I had a phonograph when I was in seventh and eighth grade.
[00:49:37] And I was listening to The Guess Who on my alarm clock radio, like I was in fifth or sixth grade. And since that long, and I listened to them. Until they split up. And they were always one of my favorite bands. And I couldn't believe he was touring. He did all the hits, I almost knew every song [00:50:00] for, I sing along with it.
[00:50:01] Charles: Sure.
[00:50:02] Art: Yeah. And what was really funny was I was in the lobby of the theater, on the phone, and this little guy walks across, in front of me, stops and is talking to somebody and he's got a Midnight Special t-shirt on. I didn't think anything of it. And I go, Hey, cool T-shirt. So the concert starts and it's Burton Cummings. I didn't even recognize him. He's this little dude, he's in his seventies, but I didn't even recognize him. I'm used to see him on stage, at the Midnight Special or Don Kirschner's Rock concert and I would talk to him, but I didn't, I did not recognize him. I didn't know who he was. So anyway he just, he played the songs and he was great. He did all the hits. I don't know if you know The Guess Who, the big hit was These Eyes. That was the first one. And then, all the American Woman, he did everything. And it was a great concert, I was sitting up in the balcony 'cause I found out about the concert later, and they only had a few tickets. And that venue [00:51:00] there's no bad seats.
[00:51:01] Charles: Yeah, that's the North Shore Center for Performing Arts in, I believe, Skokie, Illinois.
[00:51:07] Art: In Skokie, right.
[00:51:08] Charles: I looked up the capacity. It's I don't know, 860 people or something. So still pretty, small size, a great place to, to see someone you know.
[00:51:18] Art: Oh yeah. And I mean he, I guess he's touring with Randy Bachman before the holidays in Canada. The band is from Canada and he got together with them and they were doing some concerts. That's almost like one of my bucket lists to do all those great songs from the sixties, late sixties, early seventies.
[00:51:37] Charles: Yeah. No that's hilarious. Yeah. You're standing right next to the guy and, but yeah, he is what, how many years older than when you were following him and seeing him? You know?
[00:51:46] Art: Right.
[00:51:47] Charles: It's like we all might be a little unrecognizable to some because it's seen us in 30 years or whatever.
[00:51:53] Art: But I, listening to him on my alarm clock radio in fifth or [00:52:00] sixth grade, that's just yeah.
[00:52:01] Charles: Now you guys go way back. Right?
[00:52:04] Art: Anyway.
[00:52:05] Charles: And Art, I know when we interviewed you last time, I think you were a guest on Season 1.
[00:52:11] Art: Yeah.
[00:52:11] Charles: You were at the infamous Led Zeppelin show on 1977, April 10th, I think it was, maybe. Where Jimmy Page could not finish the show.
[00:52:23] Art: He couldn't finish the show. He had to bring a chair out because he was very wasted.
[00:52:27] Charles: That's a great episode. If people want to check it out, Jimmy Page Calls in Sick and Art can tell you all about Jimmy Page and that whole thing. And we'll get to a little bit of Led Zeppelin stuff here in just a second with this o ther band you saw. But if we go in chronological order, I think you saw Michael Shanker, yeah.
[00:52:45] Art: Yeah. Michael Shanker. You know, I saw him a couple years ago on my birthday over at the Desplaines Theater and he had two shows over there this last year. And it was my 50 years with [00:53:00] UFO. So he did all UFO songs. He had a lead singer that was great. I can't remember his name. But, UFO and Led Zeppelin are probably my favorite bands, you know, and I got to see part of them, both of bands this last year. Yeah, it was sold out. I believe it was sold out, both nights.
[00:53:19] Charles: I think when we talked the last time, we had determined that for some reason UFO is a real big following in Chicago. They had huge fan base in Chicago. 'Cause he was part of The Scorpions, right?
[00:53:32] Art: Yeah. I, it's the third time I've seen him solo and one time at the House of Blues he did Scorpions, Michael Shanker Group, and UFO. And then last time it was just my 50 years of UFO. No other songs. Not even his one of my favorite songs from Michael Shanker is Armed and Ready and he didn't even do his own stuff. It was all UFO songs.
[00:53:56] Charles: Huh? That sounds interesting. I think I'd mentioned before I saw [00:54:00] UFO, gosh, like early eighties, I think. Like when I was in high school. Yeah, that was, a crazy, show. It was awesome.
[00:54:07] Art: One of my favorite concerts was the UFO warming up for Foghat at the Aragon Ballroom. And UFO had just come out with their Lights Out album and Foghat came out with their Fool for the City album, which are two my favorite albums but that was a great concert.
[00:54:24] Charles: Yeah. Fool for the City. I had that album. I love that album. That must've been a great show at the Aragon. That's a small venue. Art, your last show was, and this must have been a hard ticket to get, I would imagine, Robert Plant. At the Vic Theatre in Chicago on November 12th, I think.
[00:54:44] Art: Yes. Let me give you a little background on how I got the ticket, because I'm pinching myself because of it. I was on Instagram just fumbling around on Instagram and I see this, little gal with picture of her and [00:55:00] Robert Plant and said, well, my bucket list, I get to play with Robert Plant.
[00:55:03] And I'm like, play with Robert Plant. What are you talking about? So I Google Robert Plant and it turns out he's on tour, right? And I go, well, let's see. When's he gonna come to Chicago? It was 10 o'clock and he's playing Chicago the next day.
[00:55:17] Okay. And I'm like, how am I gonna get tickets? Oh man. So I got on StubHub. I've never used StubHub before. I got ninth row. it was amazing concert. And I paid up for it. I figured I might never, ever get to do this again. I paid probably three or four times the face value the ticket.
[00:55:40] Anyway, he's got an album called Amazing Grace. He did a lot of songs off of there. The third song he did Ramble On, and I've never seen a standing ovation ever at any of my concerts. The standing ovation people jumped out of their seat and we're like, it's like [00:56:00] seeing the Beatles. I even, I was like.
[00:56:01] Charles: Yeah.
[00:56:02] Art: It was amazing. And his and one of the gals in his band, Suzy Dion, who did a lot of solo duets with, she stood there and she was like, you could see the amazement on her face. And she's in the band, and she's oh my God, these people are just like nuts over this guy, and for real. Yeah. Anyway, they did a lot of songs off the, his new album and six Led Zeppelin songs. You know, I saw him at Ravinia and he did Black Dog, but he gave a different slow version of it. Man. He did Ramble On, Four Sticks, Friends. The encore, he started out with The Rain Song and then he went into Gallows Pole.
[00:56:45] Charles: Oh man, that's just like one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs.
[00:56:49] Art: Yeah. And then he stopped in the middle of Gallows Pole and started Black Dog. I mean, this was just crazy. You know, he would sing the Black Dog. He'd go hey mama, said, the [00:57:00] way you move. And then he pointed the microphone at us and we'd sing the other lyrics.
[00:57:05] Charles: Okay.
[00:57:06] Art: Said, the way you moved is gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove. And then he sang the next verse, and then we sang that next one. I mean, that was one of the best concerts I can tell you anyway.
[00:57:18] Charles: And that place is so small. It's not a big venue. That must have been great, 'cause you sent me some pictures and I was like, man, Art. You must have been really close.
[00:57:28] Art: You know what, the Vic, usually when you go to a concert, they don't put seats down, but they put seats down. I was in Row J, which is like ninth row. And yeah, I was really close. It was great. When he went on stage it was exhilarating just to see the guy walk up on stage, you know?
[00:57:44] Charles: Yeah.
[00:57:45] Art: Anyway, for me it was probably like seeing Elvis, you know? So.
[00:57:49] Charles: Right. You get your Led Zeppelin fix Again from the source, right? Wow. That's cool. You Got anything in 2026, Art yet that you're kind of thinking [00:58:00] about?
[00:58:00] Art: You know, if Guns N Roses make it I go see them again over at Wrigley Field. But maybe Led Zeppelin 2. We'll see. They'll be at the House of Blues soon. Yeah. But yeah that's it for now. So how about yourself?
[00:58:13] Charles: Yeah, I check new venues, which I, I'd never been to like Space up in Evanston. Yeah, I mentioned, we went to see Mdou Moctar, this band from Niger, an acoustic set. He's a phenomenal guitar player, usually electric. So, in this iteration of it, they had tables. Like a seat at a table and it's right up on the stage. It holds 300 people. And we bought standing room tickets, which we were amazingly close. Then, this past weekend I went to see this band, The Old 97s also at Space, and they had no tables, so it was just all standing room, which was still really cool. But, it's a neat place to see a band up close. It's again, 300 capacity but those were [00:59:00] both fantastic shows. And then, I went to this thing called Motoblot. Have you ever been to the Beat Kitchen?
[00:59:06] Art: I was at the Beat Kitchen 40 years ago when it was almost like a little dive bar. Yeah.
[00:59:11] Charles: Still, you know, There's a bar up front and then the stage in the back, but I'd never seen a show there and it was mostly female bands or female fronted bands. And they usually had two nights, two or three nights at the Beat Kitchen. But then this past year, they had one night at the Beat Kitchen and then the other night at the Salt Shed outside, they had some pretty big names, as well. And then that was June 27th. And then the next night I went to the Rialto Square Theater to see Buddy Guy.
[00:59:38] Art: Oh wow. Okay.
[00:59:39] Charles: Which was nuts. At the time, he was, a month away from his 89th birthday.
[00:59:45] Art: Wow.
[00:59:45] Charles: I swear if you closed your eyes, you could not tell the difference that he was gonna be 89 years old or he was gonna be 40 years old. Towards the end of the concert, came down the stage, and the venue, the [01:00:00] main floor, it's all seats, an old movie theater, where it has aisles on it either side, and then seats to the right and left of that.
[01:00:06] He comes down the asle, the far aisle, and we have aisle seats, but on the other side. And he walks down playing guitar. He goes into the lobby, comes back out and comes right down. He's right next to us playing guitar. And there was this older guy in front of us and he went up to him and had him like strum the guitar. This is happening right in front of my wife and I, like right at our seat. It was insane.
[01:00:37] You know, it was one of those moments where the dumb luck we just happened to be sitting on the aisle and he would, he was right there. It was really cool.
[01:00:44] Art: He is an icon.
[01:00:45] Charles: And then, I went to a City Winery show. I'd never been there before. S aw the Boudines. and, previously I saw this band Dogs in a Pile at Garcia's, which I guess Jerry Garcia's daughters either gave permission to use the [01:01:00] name or they're part owners or something.
[01:01:01] Very similar to City Winery as far as the vibe. It's got tables mostly there's some standing room. Also kinda like that Space place in Evanston. So if you see somebody playing Garcia's, highly recommend going there. It's a beautiful place. Very nice inside. It's a great bar and the sight lines are all, it's like terraced, you know? So the front of the stage is lowest and it goes goes up like four terraced sections.
[01:01:30] My friends and I in high school were big Iron Maiden fans.
[01:01:33] Art: Oh sure.
[01:01:34] Charles: So Iron Maiden, they're coming back to play the Credit Union One amphitheater, which was a Tweeter Center, back in the day. It's in September. So I got some good tickets to see Iron Maiden. Some of my buddies from when high school are gonna come with.
[01:01:49] Art: Oh, sure. I'd go to that one. I've seen 'em before. Yeah.
[01:01:52] Charles: Yeah, oh my God. They put on an incredible. I mean, it's like one of those bands where you don't really even have to be an Iron Maiden fan to [01:02:00] be like blown away by it. They're fantastic.
[01:02:02] Art: I heard just from a couple people on my satellite radio that Nine Inch Nails has an unbelievable show. I don't know if they're coming to Chicago though, but I'd go check that out.
[01:02:13] Charles: Yeah I saw them on the first Lollapalooza. Yeah, that was, God, the date of that now, 91 or 90. Yeah, early nineties. I hear they put on a great show. And, and what, what's, you mentioned Nine Inch Nails now, my wife's favorite band is the Psychedelic Furs, and I mentioned, this earlier here, Gary Newman, who has that song Cars.
[01:02:34] Art: Oh, I saw him two years ago. Yeah, he warmed up for ministry.
[01:02:38] Charles: I had no idea. I read later after the show 'cause I'm like, he sounds just like Nine Inch Nails. Yeah, and the guy is in such great shape for like 67 years old. He's around and jumping and doing all this stuff. But he was not expecting that kind of a show.
[01:02:56] Art: I was really surprised too. He was, really, really good.
[01:02:59] Charles: [01:03:00] Yeah, I could see a matchup with Ministry and Gary Newman's Cars song. But, yeah, I don't know. There's so many concerts, Art, and a lot of times not enough time. I think we all have to pick and choose. Get out and see live music right whenever you can.
[01:03:14] Art: Love, peace, and rock and roll.
[01:03:18] Charles: That's right. Thanks, for sharing your list and, something pops up, man, send me a text. I might, tag along with you. All right, Art, thanks.
[01:03:26] Art: Sounds good. Thanks.
[01:03:28]
Charles:
Well, that's it for part one. Make sure to join us for part two and hear Dawn talk about her trip on a private jet with the Rolling Stones. Andy's disastrous experience at Bonnaroo and Steve's 2025 concert review.