Julie Meckler, Rachele Eve, Jon Drake Chaperone Grape Juice Records

Thanks to August and Kevin from Novo for the invite for this show at Subterranean.  Also a big thanks to Grape Juice Records who sponsored the show and has lots of really cool local acts on their label.

Chaperone started the show running with their high energy show. They had a new drummer playing, Thom had left the band two weeks prior.  They didn't seem to miss a beat though. Their set featured 3 of the four members singing lead, a broken bass string and Misfits "S.O.B"cover. They never disappoint live and are more than happy to talk before/after their set. 

Jon Drake and The Shakes had eight members and somehow they all squeezed onto the stage. Their band featured a trumpet and trombone. This is the 2nd time I have seen the full compliment of the shakes and they sound orchestra sized at time. Their ep is a free download on their bandcamp page.

Rachel Eve featured some really nice cello and emotive songs.

Julie Meckler played last and was a crowd favorite I highly suggest checking her live show. 

Sky White Tiger at Adler Planetarium

(photos by Brad Meese)


After listening to the Sky White Tiger album and also seeing their in store performance at Reckless Records, I was looking forward to seeing the band play in the planetarium setting. This show succeeded in many ways. The bands music fits the venue both lyrically and musically. The spaced out effects and mostly languid pace matched the sights that were seen at the Adler.


The band themselves were dressed all in white which served 2 functions, first it allowed the to have some cool light bursts displayed on the like a screen so that their bodies looked like they were made up of stars when the lights were lowered and the were hit with light projections. Secondly the white get-up mimicked the white of astronaut suits and at times in harsh shadows they looked like they were walking on the moon.

The music developed an overall vibe that built to louder noise only a handful of times. It was an interesting contrast for me to have seen the band perform these at the in store and then at the Adler later. The setting of the planetarium really added to the vibe the band was going for. That can't be said for all shows.


The venue itself with the huge telescope in my fore ground is a wholly unique setting for a band to play in and this band did very well with that. The constellations were bright above and at times the constellations were lit up by lines so you could see the see each constellations drawing over the pinpoints of light for stars. The most effective points in the show was when the light was pulled all the way back, just short of pitch black and a low amount of light lit the band members.

I was able to talk to Louis from the band for a bit afterward and he told me that he wrote the songs envisioning a unique set up for playing them live. This really showed in the relationship of the music and the setting of the show. Louis was also in Polyphonic Spree as well. Here has a penchant for forming unique surrounding for his musical projects. If you haven't picked up The Sky White Tiger ep ,get it. I have it on a good source that the band is looking to bring this show to the city again, soon.

Thanks to August and Novo Entertainment who promoted the show and extended me an invite. The Novo shows are always a great time.

Dedicated Ears Presents: David Safran, Brendan Losch, and Pretty Little Empire Live May 8 at The Chopin Theatre Chicago

I don't usually incorporate much of my personal life in this blog as this is a music blog and not a blog about me. Yes, there is a but coming. But, I thought a little back story on how I went from no blog 1 yr ago to blog and booking shows might help set the story for Dedicated Ears' first show at The Chopin Theatre.

I went to see and interview Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs last October at The Chopin. I got to talk to Lela, who is half owner of The Chopin. I had started looking into venues for bands I was friends with and mentioned this to Lela. Earlier this year I met with Lela and the other owner, her husband Zygmunt. I dropped off music of the bands that were looking for gigs. Lela and Zygmunt have been putting on shows at The Chopin for 18 years and are still very excited about trying new things. So they asked if I would be interested in booking acts on a regular basis at The Chopin. I happily agreed even though I haven't booked shows anywhere before. I owned my own sub sandwich start-up and I did everything by myself, top to bottom. That was a big learning curve and I have found that those skills of organization, people skills and problem solving that go along with owning my own business will serve me well while booking shows at The Chopin.

I have had an invaluable amount of help from August Forte who works at Novo Entertainment. I went to high school with August and recently reconnected via facebook. He has helped me meet many cool people in the music scene in Chicago. He is also a good friend and will be promoting many of the shows I book for the Chopin. He has helped make my Dedicated Ears' first show at The Chopin Theatre a reality, so I thank him for it. The show is May 8th with doors at 9:30 pm and the first band at 10pm. This is a 21+ show with a $6 cover. The three great acts to perform are David Safran, Brendan Losch, and Pretty Little Empire. Thanks to these bands for playing this show. Also thanks to another blogger Tarty Tart, who is probably at a show as we speak! She gave me the heads up on Brendan's music. Please come see them play live and hang out in the very cool cabaret space at The Chopin Theatre.

A good friend of mine Brian Fitzgerald designed the great poster for the show that you see on this page. You can reach Brian at brianfitzgerald3@yahoo.com if you would like to inquire about his design work.

A special thanks to my wife. She's always supportive and helps me make my crazy ideas become realities. She originally pushed me to start this blog one year ago. Like I like to say, "This is all her fault", in a good way!