BTE @ House Of Blues--12/15 & 12-16, 2006

          One word comes to mind about both nights: WOW!

          Our adventure began in the afternoon on Friday---we left "early" around 2:00 p.m. from central IL to get to Midway Airport/CTA Transit Park & Ride.  After our initial round of questions for the transit worker (how to pay for parking, where to get transit cards), we were on our way to downtown Chicago/House Of Blues.  We stepped off the el on State & Lake--then had to walk two blocks north on State to get to House Of Blues.

         Before getting in line to wait for the doors to open, we visited the House Of Blues Company Store---where I added a new shot glass to my already burgeoning shot glass collection---then went to stand in the line for opening time.  The doors opened exactly at 7:30, however---Security at the House Of Blues is very thorough, so, there won't be too many photos to be included with this article!!  I will say, though, that House Of Blues is a different type of live music venue---it is mainly a SRO type of venue, so, be prepared to be on your feet for awhile.

        The first night, December 15---the opening acts for Better Than Ezra were Rick Brantley & Jon McLaughlin (young Jon McLaughlin...not the middle-aged Jon McLaughlin).  Rick Brantley was up first---and, at times, it sounded as if he was yelling his lyrics instead of truly singing---he wasn't all that bad.  Jon McLaughlin followed, and, for being piano rock, he was quite different...kind of like a different flavor of alternative.

        Better Than Ezra took the stage exactly at 10:30, and, they were sold out on the first night; an announcer from the WXRT radio station (Chicago) came out to announce BTE's show was sold out for the night, which made the crowd cheer.  

         The set list for December 15:

          1)Burned ; (2) Good; (3) Sincerely, Me; (4) Misunderstood; (5) Daylight; (6) Beautiful Mistake; (7) Lifetime; (8) Extra Ordinary; (9) King Of New Orleans; (10) Southern Thing; (11) In The Blood; (12)At The Stars; (13) Laid; (14) Juicy w/Miss You cover; & (15) Desperately Wanting...when Better Than Ezra took the stage for the encore performance afterwards, Kevin Griffin began the encore with an acoustic version of the theme from "Gilligan's Island", thanking the crowd for being "patient" with him--then the other band members joined Kevin on stage to perform "It's Only Natural", Merry Christmas Eve", and "Overcome".  At the end of the show, the band threw an autographed frisbee into the group, as well as a couple of drumsticks from Travis McNabb.

          I was a little skeptical when we first entered the Music Hall this night, however, after just one Better Than Ezra performance at House Of Blues, I'm now convinced that despite the horrendous rules (NO Cameras, yet, people are allowed to have cell phone cameras; no smoking venue---even though Rick Brantley's bass guitarist smoked all the way thru his set), House Of Blues is an excellent venue to experience a favorite band live.  Despite the complaints---the show was very much worth the wait in line and the hours on one's feet.

         Although our original plan was to attend only the first night's show---spontaneity took over on Saturday afternoon, and, by 2:30 p.m., we were on our way to ticketmaster to purchase tickets for Saturday's show!!!  This time, though, my son & daughter decided to see what House Of Blues was like as well.  It ended up being a very memorable night for us all, in many different ways.

         The opening act on December 16 was Graham Colton---and, although I have never really known of his music, he was excellent---he was very talented and did most of his set w/o his band.  During Graham's set, a young lady named Veronica requested a song named "Morning Light"---and Graham had the young lady come onto the stage and accompany him singing.  "Veronica" was nervous and told Graham this, however, he helped calm her nerves and she was able to sing with him for a few verses---which made her night, I am sure!!  Graham also purchased a shot for a young man in the front row!!!  I love down to earth entertainers, and, Graham Colton surely gets a thumbs up from this concert attendee!

        Better Than Ezra was announced tonight by a slighlty enebriated Santa, who was there to pick up on a concert attendee who was willing---he wound up getting a young ladies' phone # for after the show.  Once Better Than Ezra took the stage, a lady and her son attempted to barge into the crowd at the fron of the stage, saying they "friends Of"  the band and had to get a message to the band members.  This lady stated she was from New Orleans, became very argumentive with all the fans (even though she was the rude one), even called me a "bitch" because I refused to let her take my spot in front of the stage.  She then tried to tell me what "concerts" were all about---and, quite frankly, I let her verbally have it, telling her in no uncertain terms that I damn well know what concerts are about---I've been to my share of them recently, and, this is the day & age of e-mail---if you have a message for the band, you can e-mail it!  From what I understand, she got her just deserts as the show went on....LOL!!!!

         We were much closer to the band & the stage on the second night; and, when BTE performed "Pull", with being so close, the song just reverberated thru my whole body.  The crowd down by the stage all sang along with the band, dancing & swaying just like Kevin Griffin says happens so often when your at live shows.  Kevin warned the pregnant ladies in the house to be careful down by the stage (my daughter, Melissa, is due January 25thand she was right up by the stage, LOL) because it gets rather hot up there, and, he wasn't kidding!!! Although it didn't phase my daughter...after awhile, I had to excuse myself a couple of times, because the heat from the lights can be a little on the rough side if you're not used to  it!!!

          Kevin, Tom, Travis & Jim are all so very entertaining to experience live....they love & welcome audience participation at all of their shows, and, tonight was no exception. The audience sang a verse of Desperately Wanting w/o Kevin's help, and, the crowd was just awesome this night.  I will add, though, that the second night it was much easier to navigate the crowd than the first. 

          During one of my excused trips to the ladies room towards the end of BTE's set---a couple of ladies walked into the ladies room complaining about a friend who had just been escorted from the House Of Blues.  They were leaving early because of the friend's antics, and, another of the patrons advised them to leave her sit and think about what she had done.  They didn't---they did leave early, and, my significant other then informed me of what had went on:  the lady had elbowed another concert goer squarely in the face, and, Kevin had caught it and told her that it was downright evil of her, even stopped the show until she was removed.  From eyewitness accounts, this lady even had the nerve to take shots at the band's security & security provided by House Of Blues.  Aside from some of the rudeness of concert attendees, Better Than Ezra performed at their best this night...and I even got to catch one of Tom Drummond's Guitar Picks during the performance!!

          By the end of the evening, with sore ankles (I had sprained my left ankle the night before, getting to the first show!)...although I hated to see Better Than Ezra leave, I was so happy for the train ride back to Midway Airport where we had parked.  I do believe that my significant other and I can be termed "Hardcore Ezralites", especially since I was nursing my sore ankle on the second night.  However, if there is any band on this planet that is worthy of ignoring pain just to catch them live, that band is Better Than Ezra: They perform all of their songs superbly, they entertain the audience each & every time they take the stage, and they're very in tune with what is happening out in the crowd by the stage.  You just will have a superb night seeing this band live---even at SRO venues with crazy rules....!