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6 More Pics & Reviews
Page 16 HAVE YOU SEEN THE MAP OF EZRA? HAVE YOU SEEN THE TTOY HALL OF FAME? MISSED EARLIER EDITIONS OF THE SERENADE? |
OLD ST. PAT'S 19TH ANNUAL
When I first heard about this Old St. Pat’s "World’s Largest Block Party" – an annual event for Old St. Pat’s Church in downtown Chicago – I was not too pleased. It’s a "21 and over party," and I am only 19. Well, I was determined to get in and I did. I am living proof that if an underage person wants to get in, it is possible (but don’t worry—no laws were broken because I did not drink). So all you young fans out there, never give up! On a cool clear Friday, welcomed after many days of rain in Chicago, the block party officially began at 5pm. It took a very long time for the area in front of the main stage to fill up. This was the first clue that this was no normal Ezra show. From the crowd chatter before the show, it was obvious there was not the usual number of giddy veteran Ezralites from Chicago (and surrounding metropolitan areas), but there were still many people anxious for BTE to take the stage. I was in a state of disbelief. That morning I wasn’t even sure I’d be seeing an Ezra show, but there I was standing in the front row, waiting for the music to begin, and wondering why the stage was so far from the crowd… It’s not like there were any security guards positioned there!
An Irish band called Mr. North took the stage about 15 minutes later than their scheduled. This wasn’t a problem because they kindly didn’t delay the appearance of our beloved Ezra boys. Shockingly, BTE was not the headlining band. A group called Sonia Dada was closing out the night (but more about that later). At 6:30, with the sun still shining, the area in front of the stage had finally filled out and the familiar rooster crow signaled BTE’s onstage arrival. Only Tom was sporting shades even though at that point the sun was not at its most distracting. The band kicked into "Recognize." They sounded great, but from watching the guys, it was obvious that there were some technical problems. During "Recognize" and on through "Misunderstood" Kevin was in contact with the crew to try to fix the problem, whatever it was. At one point, Kevin mouthed to someone on the crew, "I can’t hear myself!" If I hadn’t been standing up front, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed that there were problems because they sounded just fine to me! Either way, by the time "Good" was finished, clearly the most recognized song among the block partyers, any technical difficulties were solved.
Between the first few songs, KG joked about playing at the "world’s largest block party." I think the title amused him. "Rolling," "Live Again," and "Special" were the next songs to come. During "Live Again," Kevin changed the lyric to "sunlight illuminates your stare" in honor of playing a rare daylight show. "Special" was awesome to hear. Definitely my favorite of the new songs. It was also during this time when the first TV news crew arrived. Throughout the show, at least 3 separate channels’ cameramen came into that large area in front of the stage to get some quick shots of the band and scan the crowd. I even saw myself on one of the news programs later! Before that, I had no idea that this was such a big annual event here in Chicago. |
It was difficult for the band to get the normal interaction in the first few rows of the audience because the stage was so far away, but Kevin and Tom did their usual "hello" and "what’s up?" mouthings to the crowd as they walked back and forth. What was difficult, though, was throwing guitar picks to the audience! They almost always landed short and a photographer had to retrieve them for the fans, or else fans would try to fit their hands through the wood and wire fence to get it themselves.
After "Special" was "Extra Ordinary." No Madonna cover, but they finished off the song with a slow snippet of "Ms. Jackson." "King of New Orleans" was next, with possibly the best rendition of the "break it on down" I’ve ever heard (though it’s always quite amusing, and always a great photo opportunity). The audience even got a bit of Beck’s "Debra," with Kevin getting as close to the crowd as he could get by standing on the edge of the stage. For a split second, I thought he might hop down into that large area, but no such luck. Other covers in the show included Nelly’s "Ride Wit Me" and a series of Led Zeppelin guitar riffs. At one point, Kevin noticed the future "This Time of Year" guitarist holding up an "Ezra" license plate, and commented that was the sort of thing one would find at a Journey concert sometime in the 1980s. No Journey cover though. Next in the set were "Rosealia," "At the Stars," and "Daylight." The audience followed the instructions to sing along during "Daylight," and Tom led the way very nicely. After "Daylight," as the chords of "Lifetime" filled the air, Kevin told the audience a strange little story. He said that recently, some people "high up" in the music business contacted them and said that they would like Enrique Iglesias to cover "Lifetime." "I kid you not," he said. We’ll see about that… ;) Meanwhile, the sun had gotten a bit more annoying. Not for the fans, but for the band. With no sunglasses, Kevin’s eyes were obviously battling the sun as it came down and he commented several times about playing in the daylight. Could it be that he was a little peeved over having to play while it was still light out? He mentioned how he was glad that afterwards they’d get to "relax and listen to Sonia Dada," but come on now, everybody knows that Ezra should have headlined that show! Later he told inquiring fans that Sonia Dada was headlining because they were local…
"This Time of Year" replaced "Sincerely, Me" on the setlist. Tom and Travis decided to throw around the autographed football during the first verse, and it ended up in that big area between the stage and the crowd. Kevin stopped singing, looked at the photographer who picked it up and said, "Come on, you gotta give him another chance!" So the nice lady threw it back to Tom. Travis ended up throwing it back into the crowd, but it was a bit before the "football in the air" line. "This Time of Year" continued as usual, with Kevin explaining the requirements for playing the song with the band. He picked out a guy named Marcus, but was skeptical about him right away. Planning ahead, he chose an alternate, a guy named John who had been holding up the license plate earlier. Marcus came onstage and gave it a shot, but Kevin wasn’t "feelin’" him, so John was summoned. As John took over the stage and the crowd, Kevin perched himself on the edge of the stage with his legs dangling, making faces to the crowd about how he thought John was doing. He made the "he’s been drinking" gesture as John ran around the stage, but it was obvious that he was very impressed with John’s work. "Dude, you’re rockin’ my world right now," he said. John followed all of Kevin’s instruc-shons and was very popular with the crowd. After the "This Time of Year" excitement, the show closed out with "Desperately Wanting," with the sun finally out of the boys’ eyes and the crowd rockin’ out. "In the Blood" was listed on the setlist for a possible encore, but unfortunately time did not permit. A few fans stuck around on the side of the stage, and Kevin eventually came out to chat with the modest crowd and take pictures. Tom wasn’t far behind, but I did not see Travis. After not being sure I’d even see an Ezra show that night, I left downtown Chicago with 2 rolls of pictures taken from the front row (and a cute after show one with Kevin!), my very first setlist, the chorus of "Special" in my head, and the biggest smile on my face. And there’s just something about hearing Kevin yell in that crazed voice, "THANK YOU, CHICAGO!" that I know I couldn’t have missed. Hey Val, you mean like this? Thanks for writing an outstanding first review. |
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