Dipping into 2017

When I first started writing this post, 2 months ago, it was a delightful four degrees outside, which was a major upswing from that morning's negative numbers, and wind chills creeping lower beyond that. So this city does what it does best and looked awful whilst trudging around in nine coats and three pairs of pants (it happens to the best of us, but not me because I took an Uber to work).

If I can recall winter 2015, which I definitely can, I remember it being super mild, like, sitting-in-parks mild because it was fifty freakin' degrees in the heart of December. But 2016 it was when this post was being written, which in every other sense was a total bitch, so it seems on par. I also feel like those who had a "good" 2016 are keeping that slice of information to themselves. It would very much be like claiming your adoration for the Cleveland Indians in the final week of October in Chicago. You just didn't do it. But while the weather was rather miserable, there have been some beautiful flurries that momentarily coat the city in wonder and beauty. Luckily today is not one of those days, as the temperature reads in the mid forties.

Whatever, let's get to the good stuff, which is music. I feel such a large shift lately. I will FOREVER be an XRT girl. That is where my core base of music is and it will never, ever be neglected by my musical soul. I just find that I'm gravitating towards an array of other things I haven't been into in a long time, or have been, just haven't properly shared. I know I briefly touched on this topic in my last post, but music transitions are huge, and perhaps hit me harder than they would most. I typically have about two or three each year; where I listen to particular groupings of certain genre's. I never know what it's going to be, but usually it's something I already love and have completely neglected for at least a year, as if it's a musical Rolodex, and there are somethings that just stay in the background for longer than you intend them to. I guess it's all about the mood, and the mood always has the ability to change.

This particular set of music has come to me at all different times, from numerous sources. Some old, some new. I've been listening to these particular jams and the albums they belong to, quite a bit over the past two months. I have been in such a whirlwind, that it leaves me little time to write, but so much time to listen.

{Heavy in Rotation}

Wolf and I by Oh Land

Legend Has It by Run The Jewels

Okay, sidenote; I've been a RTJ fan for a minute now, and a month or so ago

my cab driver asks me which radio station I would like for him to put on.

Obviously, I chose XRT. It's The Big Beat with Jason Thomas. He plays

'Noise Pollution' by Potrugal. The Man (solid jam), and THEN PLAYS THIS SONG.

I lost my mind in the back of this car. Chicago's Finest Rock bringing my

other finest choice into the mix. HOT DAMN! What a moment. Also, this song solidifies

my final decision in needing a pair of nunchucks. I need to just throw down to this song.

and every other Run The Jewels song.
Demon Days by Gorillaz
Outlier by Bonobo
Say Something Loving by The xx
Obsessed upon first listen.

Adorn by Miguel

Holy. Shit.
Oui by Jeremih
My girls were bumpin' GCI in the back at work one day, MONTHS AGO, I heard this song AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. I had no idea who it was by, all I knew was "ah ah yah" and that apparently helped no one. I hadn't heard it again until 5 days ago. I thoroughly flipped out and was finally able to find out who it was by and it's title. THE SATISFACTION WAS REAL. This is an album I've been listening to in full. Another rather sexy jam off Late Nights: PLANEZ (ft. J. Cole). If this guy needs a dancer for any show or tour he ever does, he can contact me.
Hard Liquor by SOHN
Hot Thoughts by Spoon [NEW SPOON! YES!]

Déjà Loin by Yann Tiersen

I put 'Fervier' on my Halloween mix a couple posts ago because it was

extremely appropriate. However, I've been listening to him for years. I even

went to see him live hoping I'd get to hear some of the songs I love most. 

Nope. Anyway... his album, C'était ici, has to be one of my all time favorites.

He's behind the music for Amelie, which hopefully helps familiarize his work.

I listened to this album straight through twice in a row a few weeks ago whilst decorating cookies.

Houdini by Foster The People

Shades of Cool by Lana Del Rey

All in all, 2017 has been an interesting array of emotions compacted into what feels much more than two months in. Overall, things have been going well. There's always room for improvement and progression, and right now I need a lot of both. There have been a lot of great things going on and ways I've been keeping myself plenty busy. Dan and I celebrated the incoming of 2017 at Scofflaw (seriously, GO THERE) - one of our favorite places and had an amazing time. I attended the XRT Listener Poll in the first week of January, The people that I surrounded myself with that evening were exquisite. I had a really lovely time and am so glad it was able to happen. I've been spending plenty of time at Bitter Pops, Dan and I checked out the Art Institute last week and tried Terzo Piano, Tony's latest - verdict is out, it was delicious.

 Roamin' with the Lions outside the Art Institute and  The lovely ladies at Bitter Pops/2nd home

NEW YEAR'S EVE at Scofflaw

I recently made this concept for my shoppe - based on Run The Jewels 3. I was super stoked when I found these yarns and knew right away I needed to utilize them properly. I am in love with the album and wanted to make an inspired, yet wearable piece. LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM HERE.

XRT LISTENER POLL!

A groovy group of us that can usually be found sending off righteous tweets pertaining to XRT, gathered, and took over the front table at City Winery. We listened to the finest DJs from the finest station lay down what went down on their station in a year's time.

It's a night where you feel like you're best friends with everyone in the room.

It's always nice to meet with those you interact with on a different platform. An inviting group of people where everyone just seems to "get it".

WXRT Chicago ‏@93XRT  Jan 6

@Tessa_SMASH We are enjoying your treats from @DinkelsBakery this morning and you're a very good dancer.

and the morning after you get some Twitter love. Treats earn tweets. As does dancing well.

And here I am. In the thick of transition, which seems to be my favorite place to reside. All that I care about right at this very moment is getting outside and soaking up some of that sun that will only be here for an hour or so. I've been nothing but productive today, but as always, I've got some extra energy to burn. A Monday afternoon stroll is exactly what I need. TG

[REVIEW] The Musical Journey: Joan Armatrading

Last Wednesday night, the musical glory was all mine.

I saw THE Joan Armatrading at City Winery. It was the first show of her three scheduled for Chicago. I believe it was her 197th show of this tour. Also, THIS TOUR IS INSANE. I doubt I will ever see a concert shirt like this again.

The anticipation for this show was incredible since I had bought my ticket so far in advance. I never thought that would happen. I remember tweeting;

tessa ♫ ‏@Tessa_SMASH  Dec 6

@93XRT can we please rally for a Joan Armatrading concert??

12:27 PM - 6 Dec 2014 · Details

I had NO CLUE she was on tour. I assumed she would remain on my artist bucket-list and that I would never have the glory of seeing her perform live. When I decided to see if this was a possibility and then saw that she was actually on tour, I lost it a little (okay, a lot) and frantically looked up tour dates. However, her Chicago shows in April had already been sold out and I could not afford what they were going for from other sources. I also expressed this anxiousness via twitter (yeah, I know) and was informed by Ryan Arnold (THANK YOU!) over at XRT that she would indeed be coming back to City Winery in October. Assurance was mine and I realized that this could actually happen. I snagged the ticket when they went on sale and let the excitement build. I had planned to go solo to this show for a multitude of reasons, which really just consists of the fact that no one I knew had really ever heard of her or wanted to spend the money to do so, but also, I figured it was something I needed to do on my own. I knew it was going to be an emotional night and wanted to just soak it all up without any distractions. 

Six months later, the time had come. October was just getting into gear and the 7th rolled around as quickly as I had wanted it to. I was absolutely over the moon for this show. I had been excited for plenty of other shows and artists before, each one holds their own bit of magic and unique talent. This felt different. I never thought this would happen. I had grown up with her music and then came back to it at a later age and re-connected with it. The songs that were once words and melodies became entangled with meaning and emotion. I needed to see her play those songs live before me. I needed to have that musical closure, the pleasure of seeing it happen.

If you haven't noticed, shows mean A LOT to me. For some people, it's just something they do. For me, it's some serious shit. I want to experience the hell out of that band. I want to dance, I want to feel the vibe of the crowd, and capture the energy in the room. I want to dress according to artist and venue. It's a lot of preparation, mentally and emotionally. So while I'm already rather giddy about shows in general, having a bucket-list show is something I can't necessarily put into words, but here's me trying.

I had never been to City Winery before this event. I had no idea what to anticipate or really where or how I'd be sitting. First of all, I don't like sitting at shows. It's just...sad. Initially, I had purchased a ticket near the back of the venue so I COULD dance. I thought "Perfect, this way, I will only disturb this back group of people!" I arrive and find that the seating is extremely close together, like, airplane style. I was squeezed in there pretty good and knew that this would simply not be my thing. I immediately asked where I could stand or if there was some sort of "groove spot" because dancing, or, well, moving, would not be happening in that seat. She pointed me to an area and I decided to check it out (don't worry, I ordered wine first). It was the most ideal space; tons of room, groovy lighting, and high-top chairs lined along the sides. It was also way closer and had a killer view of the stage. I decided this would be my spot for the show. I had gotten there much too early, it started later than I anticipated, but that's my own fault for not actually looking. When it's Joan Armatrading, you don't have time to read, you just find out a date and a location, and you just show up there. I had two glasses of wine, a fantastic staff, and a lovely crowd of people to keep me company in between sets.

The opener, Kristina Train, was quite fitting for Joan Armatrading. I love when opening bands blow me away. It's such an unexpected feeling, because you're pretty much just there to be there, and then you walk away getting wrapped up in a new artist. Satisfying feeling for sure. That girl was great.

It was requested that no photography took place, and I figured I'd respect that. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the actual concert, but I'm glad didn't have my phone out. I've learned to leave that to the professionals and to just enjoy the experience as it is. Take it in as it's happening.

Once the opener left the stage, Joan's guitars were polished, and the lights were dimmed, the show was ready to start. Joan took the stage to the sound of worthy applause and I dropped to my knees in excitement. That's just some of the random occurrences that will happen for me at a show ("I'm up here!", "I'm down here!", "I'm crying!", "I'm dancing!"). She was about to strum and sing her way into magic.

I had been sincerely hoping that she'd come out and play 'All The Way From America'. It's just the perfect intro song and what I always imagined she'd open with. AND SHE DID. It was absolutely what I had wanted. It reminds me of when I listened to it as a kid, a musical comfort for sure.

She continued to play all of my favorite songs, especially 'Love & Affection', 'The Weakness In Me', & 'Down To Zero', with the exception of 'Prove Yourself''. It was a killer set and it consisted of her doing it all herself. I would have loved to have seen her with a band, but it was nice seeing her up on stage, cranking it out solo. As expected, I cried, I danced, and I sang along. 'Down To Zero' was the one that tugged at my emotions the hardest. I was not expecting that, which made it even better, cathartic even. The range of emotions this show took me on was just as I expected. I'll refer to it as the emotional slap"I was in complete awe the whole time. I could not grasp the fact that it was happening, but I am so glad that it did.

Set-list chocked full of stellar tunes. I was so happy she played 'Rosie' and 'Drop The Pilot' back-to-back. That was a righteous little groove session. We all sang along to 'Willow' for the closer and it was a beautiful experience from beginning to end. Her fans are lovely people and I had some marvelous encounters. I always meet the best people at shows and it's an experience I am grateful for; great conversations about music and life, which for some, is one of the same.

I do have to say, that this time, unfortunately, I did NOT get the set-list. I was caught up in conversation with an awesome woman who stood next to me during the show and missed the chance. And so it goes... There was only one set-list and it belonged to Joan. The guy who got it was just as into the set-list game as I was and beat me to it. While it would have been the cherry on top, it was easy to be happy for him, for I knew how much it had meant to him. I even went to the sound check booth before the show started to see if they had one available and if they'd put it aside for after the show. No such luck. Oh the downfalls of technology (as I write an ONLINE blog)...

Once everything had fully wrapped, my t-shirt was purchased, and the building had cleared, I decided it would be worth it to stay after and try to meet her. I had gotten lucky at shows before and met some of my absolute favorite musicians by doing this. I went out by the tour buses to discover, luckily, that there were a few other people waiting already. I really didn't want to wait that out by myself, but figured that no one there would be into it. I believe I was the youngest one there. People literally came up to me after the show and thanked me for being there and for dancing (my pleasure, folks). I waited amongst some really rad people for a solid 90 minutes with no such luck. She seriously snuck out of that building stealth-style. There were so few of us, so it was a bummer that there wasn't a quick hello or a meet n' greet, but I completely understand that some artists are simply not into that vibe at all. While I understand it, I still wanted it to happen. I do not regret the time waiting one bit. The people I shared that time with made it so much fun. I love the bonds that come from the shared love of music and shows and hearing about show experiences from other enthusiasts.

A top-notch occurrence! At this point, it's like, "Who do I see now?!". I have seen so many musical artists that I never thought I'd get to see live and now I'm just filling in spaces. Trying to see any show and add on to the long lists of artists I've seen. Here's to the next wave of show excitement!

ON DECK;
Oct 21. Sweet Spirit @ Empty Bottle
Nov 20. James Bay @ The Riv
Jan 22. Vance Joy @ The Riv

-T