house of blues

one of the oddest looking buildings in chicago, in my opinion, is the house of blues. it looks alike so:




despite it looking like a fish, the joint can put on some pretty good shows as well as a sunday gospel brunch (any takers?)

so far, i've gotten to see 2 free shows at the house of blues. first i was invited by a friend to see the b-52s in their comeback tour/new album tour. the show rocked and we got to meet the band after. the opening band was eagle*seagull - cure-esque, 80s british rock-type band. i really like them.

ok, next, and my most favorite. i found out last minute that the house of blues was giving away complimentary (free with fees) tickets to see my first love: gavin rossdale. he was back on tour with his first album since 2005. imagine how dismal the world seemed the past 3 years; it's because gavin was out of the public eye. ok, i'm being silly, but his first band, bush (bad name choice...they're british), was my first concert ever and i've loved the band and their sound ever since.

my favorite songs:
sixteen stone: everything zen, comedown, glycerine (who doesn't love glycerine?)
razorblade suitecase: swallowed, mouth, straight no chaser
deconstructed: mouth (remix)
the science of things: the chemicals between us, prizefighter, letting the cables sleep
golden state: hurricane, float, solutions
distort yourself (from the band institute): when animals attack
wanderlust (gavin rossdale solo): forever may you run, love remains the same

back to the story. so i got to see gavin for free last night and it was just like i was back at the civic center in birmingham, al in 1995 (!?!) at my first concert. he opened with machinehead (also good song) and continued to play a mix from all albums. and man, was he full of energy, jumping around the stage. one thing i like was that he kept looking around making eye contact and pointing at the fans. and he talked in between songs with his british accent. he did remark that he will not make it be so long before he comes back to chicago because he loves our "energy".

i should also mention the opening band for gavin was we are empires. they had an interesting sounds. very loud. i like half of their songs. you can download their album for free at their website.

so besides getting to see 2 free shows, i like the house of blues because it is a very intimate venue. there are no bad seats/standing room in the place (except if you happen to get behind the only tall guy who also feels compelled to raise his cup to the band every few minutes when he really digs the song). it's close to the clark/lake or state/lake 'L' stop and all the shows end around 11pm (i know i'm old, but i like to get my beauty sleep!).