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BTE AT THE NAPERVILLE After a long and annoying 2-hour drive full of traffic and a little trouble trying to navigate the Naperville area to find a parking lot, we arrived in the concert area a little after 5pm. We more than a little cranky, but we managed to relax and all was well. There weren’t a whole lot of people there yet, and most people were setting up camp at a distance from the stage. We sat around and relaxed while we waited for the Connelles to come on. They seem to have a pretty good following and did an okay job for an opening band. During the last half of their set, the area started to fill up more and I could see the Ezralites arriving. At one point, James Arthur Payne came out to watch the band.
BTE were a little late coming on (at approximately 8:15). They opened with the usual "Recognize." When I took my first picture, I swore that Kevin smiled in my direction. Well, judging from the developed picture, I may have been right! Then the band joked about playing in Naperville before and after "Misunderstood." Kevin started calling it "Nah-pee-ay-ville" because it "sounds more sophisticated." He also joked about how Labor Day weekend is a 6-day weekend (at least down in New Orleans, it is). But then he admitted not really knowing what he was talking about. The guys then got into a strange – and hilarious – exchange. Tom would say something about the show, or about whatever, and KG would repeat it in a falsetto singing voice. It was very funny and was to continue later on in the show.
"Good" was introduced as a "brand new song," and it’s always nice to hear. Next came "Rolling," which (I think) was when Kevin gave props to guitar tech Mike Keel. Mike surfaced a lot in this show. Whenever Kevin decided to trek over to Tom’s side of the stage, Mike would run out and untangle his wires (which seemed to tangle quite often this night). Mike even had a funny little role in Voodoo "Porcelain"… but details on that will come later. Kevin not only introduced Mike to the crowd , but he also gave props to Jim Payne. For the first time, I heard Kevin call Jim by his full name – "James Arthur Payne, Jr." He also announced that the two had been friends since sophomore year in high school. A funny exchange between the two soon followed during "Rolling" or "Live Again" when Jim started making faces anticipating the moves he would play on the keyboard. He just had this indescribable look on his face, and he cracked up both the audience and his band mates. "Special" came after "Live Again," and this time Kevin introduced it by explaining how the song idea came about. He said that the song was about looking back at past relationships and remembering the positive things to come from them, even after breaking up. During his explanation, he talked about a relationship he remembered from his freshman and sophomore years of college. He then described how a song or album can bring you back to a certain time of your life, and U2’s Joshua Tree was the album for those moments. I just love "Special," and I sang along to every part I remembered…
"Extra Ordinary" came next, with the usual snippet of Ms. Jackson to come at the end. I’ve always loved "King of New Orleans" (who doesn’t?), but in the recent past I’ve become even more excited about hearing it just because of the "break down" section. Not only that, but also this time the song got off to an interesting start. Kevin mumbled his way through the first couple lines, then quickly jumped to "Did you kick him in the head / Did you see the blood run down…" and so on, so that the gutterpunks line – and the anticipated, but disappointingly missing "mofo" – came early. However, because the first verse was goofed so badly, we did get to hear the gutterpunks part twice. Oh well. All is okay when you know the "break it on down" is close. |
Beck’s "Debra" quickly followed (thankfully). KG sashayed back and forth after introducing it as a Beck song most likely written in California. There may have been some comments comparing CA to Naperville. But anyway, as Kevin did his usual pointing at people during "I wanna get with you… and your sister," I finally got my wish! The first time, he sang to a nearby dude, who looked pretty embarrassed. Then he moved on over and did the point right at me! I just stood there in awe, smiling up at him. Then he pointed right at my sister for the "sister" part. How fitting was that? Awesome. Afterward, I had to ask my sister if he really was pointing at us. And she said he was! Kevin chatted with the crowd after "KONO" and then "Rosealia" suddenly seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden, Kevin says, "Here’s Rosealia!" "At the Stars" followed, and included a request by Kevin to make the lights look more "trippy." The light man quickly complied, creating this red and blue swirly effect. There were a few covers in this show, but I can’t really place all of them in the show (maybe it’s time for me to start jotting down stuff as I watch and listen!!) There was a Led Zeppelin riff medley, which turned into a singalong of a song I’ve never heard before, with Kevin asking the crowd to help out with the high notes. After reading the buzz about the show later, I found out the song was "The Ocean." After "Lifetime," "This Time of Year" began even though the setlist read "Sincerely Me." During the first verse, Tom, Travis, and some of the crew threw around the autographed football as envious fans looked on in anticipation. Tom signaled to everyone who held out their hands, "2nd verse!" As the tune continued, the hopeful guitarists in the crowd began to hold up their signs. There were at least 4 that I could see in the first 10 or so rows of the audience!
Kevin ultimately chose a guy named Johnny from Elwood, IL, who "went the extra mile" and decorated his sign with glitter. Most likely his girlfriend’s idea, said Kevin. KG continued, telling his usual story involving "Taxicab Confessions" and hanging out late at night with a "hottie." After Johnny reminded him that he was married, though, Kevin had to adjust the story a little bit. The revised tale included a story about he and his wife putting their five kids to bed and then and a visit to a psychiatrist two years down the road with his wife saying that "Johnny just hasn’t been the same since he was onstage with Better Than Ezra!" It was a crazy little story, and Kevin was laughing at himself by the time it was over. Johnny rocked out and impressed the fans and the band.
"Desperately Wanting" closed out the regular set, and Kevin thanked everyone for coming out. A couple minutes after they left the stage, the notes of "Juarez" filled the air and those who had been to Ezra shows before knew that was not a good sign—too early for that! No one really knew whether they’d come back out, and I worried even more when I saw Mike unplug Kevin’s guitar and take it backstage. We waited some more, and they finally came back out. Mike had to scramble to get the guitars ready again. We were then treated to Voodoo "Porcelain," in place of "Daylight" on the setlist. Kevin spent most of the time of "Porcelain" sitting at the foot of the stage, right in the center with his guitar in his lap, serenading the crowd who was a few feet away due to the barricade. The only problem with that scenario was that when it was time for him to hit the pedals, he wasn’t there, so Mike had to take care of it. Kevin had to stop playing and make sure Mike pressed the right pedal. "The silver one!" Kevin exclaimed several times… It was kind of amusing, but poor Mike had a busy night! When Kevin got back to his place, he decided to experiment with some covers. They played a few bars of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash and then tried another one, but Travis couldn’t hear anything. After the show, Kevin was telling everyone that the problem was that they didn’t have in their earpieces at that point. So, they kicked into "In the Blood" to close out the night and of course we were treated with "Reaper." After not hearing "In the Blood" at the last Ezra show I attended (because they weren’t the headliners and didn’t have time for the encore), it was so great to be able to scream out the "la-la-las" with Kevin at the end… It somehow makes the night complete! Although, it’s a bitter bittersweet moment, though, because you know the show is over. Many fans stuck around after the show to see if they’d come out. One by one, starting with KG, they emerged from the little trailers positioned near the stage. There were fans of all ages waiting for them, including a lot of little kids around waiting to get their awesome souvenir drumsticks signed. I was really excited when Kevin said to me, "Good to see you again," just like he said at the last show… We’ll see if he remembers me in November when they return to Chicago. ;) I can’t wait! Many thanks for another great review Val! And special thanks to the good people at www.golocalrock.com Go check out their site, it rocks. |
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