John Mulaney at Wrigley Field

Fishbone, Dance Hall Crashers at House of Blues

Fishbone played a short set (30 minutes). It was still great (but not as great as last time with Jo).

Dance Hall Crashers killed it. MUCH better set than at Riot Fest. They added a second guitar player for some of the songs, and I think that enabled them to ska it up more. Amy and I skanked up a storm. Just like the early 90s...

Mountain Goats at Salt Shed

Mountain Goats started at 8:00. I left Fulton market at 8:15 after Hinds finished, so I got there about 8:30, missing the first bit of the set. We were in seats and it was super chill.

We moved down to the floor for the last song (This Year) and the encore. We danced a bit - so did everyone else. It looked like the Peanuts Christmas Special - everyone had their own unique little dance.

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Ani Difranco at Cahn Auditorium

Hurray for the Riff Raff were almost a band I loved. It felt to me like they brushed against some interesting things, but every time pulled back in to folk-y jam-y stuff that I didn't love. I'd check them out again.

Ani Difranco is great. I still don't really care for her music (which seems to have transitioned from angry lesbian folk to 70s soft country-rock - Amy much preferred the former, I liked the latter more than you'd think I would from the description), but she has presence. Like, recognizable Star Energy that I hadn't noticed before. 

Also, I didn't fall asleep despite it being after a long school day / week.

Stomatoponagon in Oak Park

Hinds, Mamalarkey, Spooky Boys at the Aladdin, Portland OR

Social Distortion at Salt Shed

 Lovecrimes opened, but I don't think we saw them.

We ran into Drew and Mia (apparently Drew is a big Bad Religion fan?), but didn't talk to them much - it was loud.

Hold Steady at Salt Shed

 Our first time at the Salt Shed, and the start of Amy's love affair with both it and the Mountain Goats.

Nonagon et al at IBW (South)

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe at Out of Space

A lovely evening in the park, even though the line was so long that we ended up hearing Nicole Atkins and the beginning of Nick Lowe's set from outside the venue.

Jon Langford at Tata's Tacos

We went to see Langford play at a taco place.  And I ate ceviche, because it came with the app combo Amy ordered but she didn't like it.  It needed salt.

Langford covered Strummer's X-ray Style.  The title track from the Mescaleros' first record, but still kind of a 'deep cut.'  I smiled.

Peter and Beth were supposed to join us (actually, we were joining them), but they were both sick.  Booooo.

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Anoushka Shankar, Hollie Cook at Millennium Park

Waco Brothers at Schuba's

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Nonagon, Cell Phones at Brinkman Haus

Tiny's 50th birthday celebration.  Did another band play that we listened to from the yard?  I think so - I seem to recall the singer sounded like Johno, but wasn't.

Eddie Palmieri at Millenium Park

A perfectly pleasant evening picnicking downtown.  I picked up banh mi for Amy and I on my bike ride down.  I got to bike over that crazy windy "new" bridge.  Amy and i also strolled over it to gawk at the climbing wall.  I also showed her where i broke Jonah.  Oh, there was some salsa music too (we even saw folks, mostly old or young, dancing).

the rutabega, Stomatopod at Township

This was Christy's 50th birthday party. It was a lot of fun.  I ate a whole bunch of some kind of dumpling or something (samosas, maybe?).  It was good to catch up with Jay and Diana.