A Fervor at The Metro! (Fri Nov 12)

 I love it when I go to the classic venues , like Metro, and an all Chicago band bill elicits a wild crowd reaction for all of the acts. This was the case this past Fri at Metro.  Out of the gate first was Dastardly, who I had never seen the band perform with the full compliment of members. As usual Gabe was incredibly personable as well as funny.  The band was louder and the sound more varied than I had seen before.  It was great to see hear the accordion in the mix with the electric guitar. Very cool big sound. They played an amped set that was set the bar very high for the evening.

Next up was Chaperone. The bottom end rumble came from both drummer Thom's tom-toms as well as a bonus tom out on the floor. The band was loud and thoroughly invested in the set. The crowd reacted nuttily and sang the lyrics to their short and not so sweet songs.

Jon Drake and the Shakes probably had some people from the crowd playing in their set at one time. They has a full big sound. After seeing a few Drakes at the songwriter show a few weeks back it was nice to see/hear the full compliment of the Drakes. Also, it was great to see and hear Jon as he had a n accident a few days ago and had just gotten out of the hospital before this show. I am very happy to report he is doing ok!

Headliner Aktar Aktar manged to actually increase the intensity of the crowd. Their brand of indie/prog rock with bouncing hooks was eaten up by their hardcore fans who screamed throughout.

Thanks to Rebecca and Betta Promotions for the invite. As is par for the course for her shows it featured really good bands and an excited full crowd. Can't wait for the Dec 19th blogger show with her at Subterranean!

 I am fortunate to not only see these great band but to hang with them as well. It was cool catching up with Thom and Chaperone as well as Gabe and the whole band and my friend. Those people do all exist. I thought they may have been a figment of Gabe's imagination. Great sound at Metro, which I have come to expect. Then there's the beer prices. I kidded the bartender by asking if he had any specials and wave his  hands at the taps and said "every day deals" to which I said "that's a subjective term to use".  Yet the sound there is really worth it. Next time I'll stay in Gingerman before the show a little longer. Love that juke-box in there. And yummy beer on tap.