David Byrne + St. Vincent // Chicago // The Full Story

"I know, I like, BEHOLD AND LOVE THIS GIANT!"

So for those of you who were not fortunate enough to make your way over to The Chicago Theatre on the night of 9.18, then here's the low down on what went on inside that venue on that magical night. The woman in me needs to give you the back story though, so buckle in for the full review.

The Look:

Me about to board the train for the city.
Sported my Pendleton Coat, spunky shirt, and a pair of
rad Ralph Lauren Pants that I scored at the thrift. Of course
I keep the red going with the shoes-ready for groovin!
This was a good concert outfit for sure.

THE MAIN EVENT!

So it all started when I was old enough to hear music... ha, no but really. Talking Heads have always been on my list of favourite bands. I used to groove and sing along to 'Burning Down The House', 'Psycho Killer', and 'Once In A Lifetime' on a weekly basis in the car (or outside of the car) with my mom as a kid, thanks to XRT and her spankin' collection of cassettes. My mom is definitely the epicenter for my David Byrne adoration. So growing up on the tunes and then really coming around to them later in life was an awesome progression. Then of course, there was the whole thing where my eyes fell upon Stop Making Sense and that sealed the deal for me entirely. I'm 100% shocked I don't have that playing on my TV at all times. The way he moves, his e n e r g y- watching it is so sensational! I almost felt like in a way, that I had found my dancing counterpart, that ball of funk he is! I've been wanting to Dance on stage with David Byrne for way too long now. You see, I never thought I'd ACTUALLY get to see David work out his funky moves on stage or have his voice penetrate every ounce of my soul as I stood adoringly in the same room. This was one of my DREAMS. He's one of those "childhood artists" for me, someone I grew up on, who has made an influence on my life for a great period of time. I just can't believe I had the opportunity to see this artist on stage, which was very much my same feeling when I saw Natalie Merchant a couple years back. It meant that much more having this almost life-long connection to it. It seemed like an honor to just listen to the music David Byrne created; either solo, in collaboration, or with Talking Heads. When I heard that he was putting out an album with St. Vincent, I was sort of, um...OVER. THE. MOON and then when XRT announced that it would be part of their amazing concert series they are hosting right now, I freaked out, especially when The Chicago Theatre was announced as the venue. Here was my chance; my chance to see yet another artist that I love and admire, within the walls of The Chicago Theatre. Tickets were purchased (thanks to Dan!), the date was planned, and off to the city I went to delve into pure funk and love that David Byrne & Annie Clark would bring.

We enjoyed a fine meal at Elephant & Castle and supplemented ourselves just fine before the show started just after 8. So here's the thing, Dan and I were not sitting together, not even close, which was a bummer. I had main floor, he had balcony. Honestly though, I moved around way too much for anyone to keep up with me. So I was in row R...well, that didn't really work out for me. I never even really sat in my seat; as soon as I knew where it was, I just bolted for the front of the stage to snag a few pictures;

Look at all that brass just waiting to be played!

I was over the moon at this point. Absolutely revved.

What I was really stoked about was upon getting the album, Love This Giant, I was really pleased with it. Sometimes, new albums can be so hard for me to dive into, even if I know I'm going to see that artist live and need to gear up. This one was so easy for me to melt into and have a lot of emotion towards. It made me feel so many things at once, but mostly I just wanted to dance. Those horns man, they sound SO good live. It's such a funky collaboration; like it almost seems like...too perfect, but something you would have never conjured up in your head. To have both of these artists lay down vocals and instrumentals on one CD is absolutely awesome.

Here's the thing, I dance. I dance a lot at shows. In places or times where that restricts me when I'm at one, is a definite issue. So I started out standing off to the side off my seat, in the aisle. Yes, that's right, The Chicago Theatre is a seated venue, which has its huge perks and some downfalls. When 'Who' started floating through my surroundings, I got INTO THE GROOVE! I cannot even fathom staying seated for any point in that show. I peeked at the setlist for the St. Louis show that happened before ours, and I freaked out, I literally screamed when I saw that they had incorporated Talking Heads songs into the setlist. I knew what to expect song wise. See, I've done this before. I know you're not supposed to dance in the aisles of The Chicago Theatre, but I cannot abide those rules. I know that I have to stay back for x amount of time before I start really making my way down the aisle dancing. Of course, this could only really be contained until the fourth or fifth song that was rolled out; 'Strange Overtones' & 'I Am An Ape'. This was all going very well by the way, me aisle dancing. I wasn't bumping into anyone, I was rackin' up high fives from awesome audience members, and I was workin' up a sweat until, well, of course I got yelled at by security. That wouldn't be the first time that night. So in the meantime, I slowed my roll (hardly) and took more time to really admire the awesomely cheesy choreography that was being carried out on stage. The overall amount of movement and placements throughout was fantastic. It was all rather divine, along with the best of the brass being projected through the theatre. It was such a neat album to hear carried out live. The lights were fantastic too, the whole layout of the whole concert was something my brain wants to have on repeat forever.    I love it when after a few songs in David chuckled in reaction to something an audience member said and Annie chimed in with "We didn't choreograph laughter..." I love her and her adorable wit.

When 'This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)' came on, I just about lost it. I went real close to the stage this time and tried to soak up every ounce of what was happening (and then of course I got yelled at by security). Was this REALLY being played in front of me?! I mean, yeah, I knew what to expect in terms of song choice, but seeing it on paper and having your eardrums soak up the sound are two different things here. It was delightful. The rest of the setlist was delicious; (some of this I'm a bit fuzzy on)

this was a great sum-up of the show that I found on YouTube.

It's not mine and it's not even from the same show,

but it is on pointe to what happened and is definitely worth the watch!

Setlist: Who, Weekend In The Dust, Save Me From What I Want, Strange Overtones, I Am An Ape, Marrow, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), The Forest Awakes, Optimist, Like Humans Do, Lightning, Lazarus, Cheerleader, Lazy, I Should Watch TV ♥, Northern Lights, The One Who Broke Your Heart, Outside of Space & Time.

Encore 1: Cruel, Burning Down The House

Encore 2: The Party, Road To Nowhere

Me under the magical little lights at the magical venue! I love The Chicago Theatre!

David was conducting me in dance...or so I'd like to think.

Of course, I knew that I wouldn't be able to continually dancing around in the same area that I had been, so I was on a hunt for a new spot. Which is so disappointing. IT WAS DAVID BYRNE! LET THE PEOPLE DANCE! I knew there had been a handful of seats closer to the stage, but I wanted to get into the middle of this crowd, I wanted to be in front of Byrne & Clark. So I made sure to wait for the perfect moment to head over and out into the next aisle. Before I knew it I was in row MM, CENTER, on the aisle with a 5 empty seats next to me. Can you say "PERFECT"?! A few people joined in there to dance with me, which is always nice. The song I was most excited for, besides the big Talking Heads hits, was 'I Should Watch TV'. This song rocked me to the core the first time I heard it and continues to do so (no seriously, I have to listen to it, like, 8 times a day). I knew I had to be scampering down the aisle when it was on as well as exhibit some dance moves I had thrown along with it. I love how David went into it with a little story, making the anticipation that much greater. I am so glad they played it so I could expend so much energy into 3 minutes and 09 seconds. I was sort of shocked at the amount of people NOT really moving. A lot of people were standing on the main floor, but no one was really getting down with the tunes. Did they know which concert they were at? Really? It's DB, you should just get up and dance if he's just standing in front of you.

"HEY, WAIT! WAS THAT A THEREMIN?!"  YEAH IT WAS! - AWESOME.

Here was 'Burnin' Down The House', which was just UNREAL.
Again, this is not mine, it's from the show before mine, but same feel!

But seeing 'Road To Nowhere' was exquisite, especially for the last tune. Wow. WOW!

I cannot believe I actually got to see him on stage performing this song or any Talking Heads song for that matter. The energy they exuded was absolutely beyond. Annie and David had such a nice chemistry on stage and he sounds so, so good still. He hit every note so well and just really took command of the stage. He is such an artist and it was an honor to be in his presence and have his eyes catch mine in a groovy tune that night. I can tell you that my shirt was soaked with sweat for a good hour and a half after it was over. And Annie? To see her play that guitar is righteous. She can create sound on that thing, it's not just a guitar for her. She's truly amazing and hard to take your eyes off of, even with someone like David Byrne standing next to her.

I tried waiting outside the venue for a good hour to try to snag a shot of the dynamic duo, but no such luck, only good conversations with other people waiting. No such luck even snagging a set list from that show, man! I was one of the last people away from the stage at the end begging [yes, begging] for that musical list. A few people mentioned that they thought it seemed more sided towards St. Vincent, but I thought David had a lot of shining moments that did not include Annie. The album is well divided, too. I think they both bring something different to the table and those things they brought were mucho importante. In the interviews I watch with them summing it up, it seemed like so much back and fourth, and even Annie said that he was really able to turn her ideas into songs and music. I can see how some people might not receive it, but if you even remotely like Talking Heads or St. Vincent, you must check it out. It is a great, distinguishable mix between the both of them, with this otherworldly brass element that makes it ROCK.

The best part is that even after the show, I'm still bumpin' the album like CRAZY. I literally almost feel odd listening to anything else. Some shows are like that for me, where I'm swimming in the album for weeks after the show is over. Sometimes I have a hard time listening to it because I want to keep that memory there, in that venue. I hope my excitement towards this show has got you excited to sample the album, or buy it and love it 'till the end of time. Let me know your thoughts! If there are tickets available for your town- SNAG THEM UP! Try to avoid security if you're dancing in the aisles!

-T

Pictures that belong to August.

I never have a witty way to go into these types of posts. If I had some sort of direct subject, something like this would be much easier to follow along with. Except I don't have something direct. I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures that include some witty caption because I have no desire to really place my life in writing form right now. It's something I haven't had any desire to do for some time now. While it seems that I've taken a lot of steps forward in the past few months, and that's just the truth of it, I know that in certain aspects, I have gone backwards. I'm just stuck in that shit rut of being 24 and not knowing where life is going to take me from here. It happens to the best of us. Anywho, here's what happened throughout August;

Sunrise shots were still possible as the sun came up before I had to be inside. Now, not so much.
I will miss snapping these photos, it was always a nice view to see.

This was from one round trip into the city. I sported my funky Fresh Prints (ha ha...get it?) threads, put down a few bites of one of my favourite desserts [baked to order Apple Pie from Grand Lux], and got to experience a Gotham City feel on Chicago later that night. This was a great night once the downpour of rain subsided, but at least it gave off that sweet effect in the sky.

Cupcakin'! These were takin in the shoppe, first one is our 'one of each' for that day
Pink Poodle was something that we came up with for fun; strawberry frosting, vanilla base,
stuffed with chocolate buttercream.

Me with my Red Mango, red hair tips, and 'Kiss With A Fist' ring. SCORE!

Well, wasn't Dan just full of aces when he popped this dude in his online cart to give to me.

My robot is top notch and holds his tea like a champ. Go ROBOTS!

Ah, what a deliciously combined two-fer! It was my mother's birthday and a little Greek Islands to go along with the grand occasion is always in order. Saganaki? Count me in. I drew up this butterfly for my mom because she loves the flybutters.

The look I went with that same night for her birthday. I love the shoes for sure.

I didn't get to try one of these, but let's go with, "looks delicious".

This is just so you guys don't get worried that I'm not getting my share of Portillo's.
No worries, I'm still gettin' the top notch noms over here!

Yeah, check this jam out, it's pretty good;

Superhero cupcakes that we did for a special order. This one was crazy, but  I like the way it turned out,
Sometimes custom orders are way intimidating, but doing this was good. Transferring over from cookies
to cupcakes has its learning curve, but it's a process I'm enjoying more and more.

Sometimes when I meet up with people downtown Naperville, I suggest that we meet up at 'The Shaking Hands'.
This is Robbie & I throwing down a little imitation factor. I have a few shots of this with different friends.
This is when I met up with Robbie, Renee, & Kristy to play a little frisbee and catch up. It was a great day for sure.

Here's all of us after we got done tossing the disc around. I hadn't seen Renee in about 3 years
& Robbie and I had just started hanging out again a few days before this shot, but same went for him.
It was great to hang out with these people again, we used to all work together. It's nice to still have
those older groups of friends who knew you in a really specific period in your life. Plus, we all look real damn
good in this picture, if I might add myself.

shots of Downtown Naperville. The bottom shot is right in front of where we played frisbee.
The top shot is a slammin' picture I got of the river that flows through the 'Riverwalk'.
Naperville is a really great town, but sometimes it just requires pictures like this to remember that.

yet another city adventure! I really do loves these moments where I can bop around in the city with someone awesome.

It's been such an amazing summer and I hope times like this don't have to come to an end because of the cold.

Of course, 79+ layers will be required in order for me to tolerate that winter chill...damnit.

...and another Caribou adventure. The fun never really ends.

Some of the best times come in the form of the teeter-tauter.
Me with my "little sister", Julie. We take quite a few trips over
to the park for talks. I'm glad I met someone younger than me
that parallels my life to a tee. I definitely like having older girls
in my life to seek out advice from and turn to and I hope that I'm
providing the same thing for her. It's rather important to me.

Ah. The organization process came into play. Since I moved back with my parents,
I never really got around to cleaning out and organizing my stuff once it was all placed
somewhere. Here's the before and after. REGAL ORGANIZATION! GLORY GLORY GLORY!

Obviously, I'm always about listening to 'Spectrum' and the Lunchables purchase

was quite the throwback. Apparently my fifth grade self was present on that

shopping journey.

I piped our employee's names on a sheet of wax paper...cause I'm a winner!
I did this for no real reason. I love doing any writing when I have a frosting bag in my hand.

BIRD: OBLITERATED!

Ha. This is a pretty typical conversation between me and Meredith.
I really, really, REALLY can't believe I've gone a whole summer without
her being here. I hate that she had to move right at it's start.

Portillo's and Mix CDs. Some of the best gifts you can give, right?

Cupcake case lookin' fly at work!

this is life.

OBVIOUSLY!
I was in Portillo's heaven!

This is a pretty bomb sweater that I thrifted. ACES.

Honestly, this song gets me so revved.
She performed this song for the first time
live at The Chicago Theatre show on Dec 4.
YOU KNOW, that legendary day and all...

Special order cupcakes that we did over at the shoppe. I really like how these turned out!
We do some really cute stuff, but the wedding orders are always class.

Ran into these two groovy dudes whilst hanging out downtown
Naperville. Could not resist taking their pictures! I always dig a good
sighting when it comes to birds or bugs, as long as they are in their
own environment, I can dig it for sure.

Some awesome new stuff that I scored. I needed new shoes and leggings are always in order.
I plan on buying a big ol' bottle of Fame soon. I hope. KIEHLS! I notice a huge difference in
my skin when I stop using this for a hot minute. Luckily, it's back in my life. Shoes; OBVIOUSLY!

FINALLY!

For those of you who know me personally, you may know that I sport Zed around.

He's my big two-fingered zebra ring that goes on all my "big adventures". Well, over

time, I've been seeking out other Zeds because I've gotten SO many compliments on him.

[I snagged that little jerk over at Forever 21, knowing I was making a GEM of a purchase]

My friend, Brooke, found me "melted Zed" which is just the plain zebra ring with his same

striping. The other day, I found just his head! I was so excited! I now have a whole Zed

set (unless just his ass is out there somewhere). I also picked up these Zebra tights to make

it official. All in all, VERY good purchases. Sometimes I really guilt the hell out of myself when

I go shopping like this. I'm a huge thrifter, so going to the mall is always annoying because the

amount I'm willing to pay for clothing/purses has dropped significantly because of this.

Luckily, I still know how to get down with the mall goods...ya know.

September has rolled out pretty nicely, I suppose. I don't know. I'm anxious. Whenever fall hits I have this overwhelming urge to have Angela Chase and Daria accompany me on my fall feelings. While normally I'm ultra inspired and chipper in the fall, I love the moods of these characters to pull out that other side of the season. I have to order Netflix, so when the chill DOES hit, I'm way prepped to stay inside, hibernate, and watch plenty of Arrested Development, Studio 60, and My So Called Life. Here's to hoping the rest of the month is something I can tolerate, also to; sleep, the beautiful fall chill in the air, health, and good company.

remember that YOU are awesome.