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IN THIS ISSUE:
Xmas Shows NOLA Sights Trivia Etc. A Gift for Our Readers Fan Profile Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Archives
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BTE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES Thanksgiving could not come soon enough for me. No, it wasn’t because I especially like family gatherings with turkey. It wasn’t even because the holiday would mark the beginning of my long winter break from school. It was because I knew that the next day, my Ezra boys would be coming back to Chicago!
Downtown Chicago was bustling with shoppers stopping and admiring the beautiful Christmas decorations adorning the City streets. I was already at the House of Blues anxiously awaiting the show. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the guys coming to or from the sound check, as I did the year before. I caught a glimpse of Tom and Travis as they arrived (separately), but there was no sign of Kevin. Shortly after hearing the drums and bass to "Allison Foley" fill the lobby, Kevin rushed in. We said hi, but he appeared to be in a hurry – he said he was "trying to find his way." Whatever he meant, he was definitely late for the sound check.
One of the great things about the House of Blues is that you can hear what’s going on in the music hall down in the lobby. We heard "Simple Song," "Misunderstood," "Extra Ordinary," and "Normal Town" as part of the sound check. It was a little deceptive though as they didn’t play either "Normal Town" or "Simple Song" during the show. We waited and waited and nine o’clock finally came. Local boys Troubled Hubble took the stage. The crowd responded very well to the band and they put on a great show. Their set included an artist drawing with charcoal crayons on a huge canvas. But by the end of the show, no one was really sure what he had created! The band were full of energy, and both the artist and the singer ended up dancing around in the crowd at one point.
Troubled Hubble departed, the House of Blues crew closed the curtain. After what seemed like an eternity, the curtains finally reopened and our ears were filled with that ever-familiar jingle to come on after the rooster call. To everyone’s surprise, the boys came onstage and immediately kicked right into "In the Blood." Kevin started the second verse with "Who did you love before?" then kind of smiled, and corrected himself to sing the next line, "everything you live for?" Then he pointed out to the audience that he got it right. Although the "lalas" fit so well at the end of the show, "In the Blood" is also a great opening song. For another shocker, "Hollow" quickly followed "Blood." This was when I decided to take out a pen and write the setlist on my arm. It seemed like the set would be a whole lot different than what I had expected, and I really wanted to remember it. "Misunderstood" was next, and Kevin gave a big hello to Chicago (and surrounding metropolitan areas). At the end of the song, when Kevin sang "Awe yeah," he missed the "all good," so the fans filled in the blanks. He even stopped and us all sing that part again. We also helped him out for the next two lines, and then Kevin had us scream, "This is a new song!" as the guys kicked into "Good." No matter how many times I hear that song played live, I could never imagine seeing an Ezra show without it! "Rolling" was a big thrill for me because I received some eye contact from Kevin. As he sang, "God how you look the same / I recognize the face but not the name," he was looking right at me and kind of pointing at me. Here I was, thinking the stage was so high that he wouldn’t even be able to see me down in that front row! So that was my giddy moment of the night because I’ve convinced myself that he was looking at me because he really does recognize me. Anyway, "Live Again" was next, the perfect opportunity to introduce James Arthur Payne’s keyboard skills. Kevin explained that Jim is such a great player because he has eleven fingers! Then Travis got up and went over to Jim and gave him a hug from behind. How adorable!
Before "Special," Kevin announced that it was going to be on the new album. After "Special," Tom chatted a bit about the upcoming DVD. He would say something about the DVD, and Kevin would repeat everything in a falsetto voice, closing his eyes and waving his hand (à la Mariah Carey). |
Tom said that as they were taking votes on what songs to play during the
DVD taping, the love songs always surpassed the rockers. This discussion
was a perfect lead-in to "Get You In," yet another shocker of the night. I
don’t think anyone in the crowd was expecting to hear that! Before "Extra Ordinary," the guys performed a mellow version of Outkast’s "Hey Ya," much to the delight of the audience. They got a little sillier after "Extra Ordinary," with something prompting Kevin to announce that Better Than Ezra was a "band of the people." He claimed that Better Than Ezra never plays at "nice" places like the House of Blues! Then he pointed at the fancy balconies and exclaimed that they "reek of the bourgeoisie." He drew attention to James Arthur, asking him to do his John Lennon impression. Jim quoted Lennon as he said, "People on the floor, clap your hands. People on the balconies, dangle your jewelry."
Next, "King of New Orleans" was complete with the mofo after "gutter punks are all the same," the break down, and a little of Beck’s "Debra." I have to admit it’s a little disappointing when Kevin migrates to the other side of the stage when he’s about to point at someone and sing "I wanna get with you," but it’s still very enjoyable to listen to it, even if he’s not singing it right to you. As usual, "Rosealia" followed. Either before or after (I don’t recall), Kevin took the opportunity to discuss Thanksgiving. He said that everyone has just spent 2 days with their parents and now is just about sick of them. He talked about living with your parents just long enough to "squeeze them dry." Everyone turned around and looked at the balcony when Kevin said that his grandparents were up there, but then he added that he was full of sh*t. There’s no turning back, said Kevin – the holidays are here!
I think my jaw dropped as I heard the opening chords to the next song – "Beautiful Mistake." Then "At the Stars" and "Lifetime" preceded "In A Little While." Why does everyone laugh when Kevin sings, "I met a girl she worked at Starbucks?" Anyway, after that, "Desperately Wanting" signaled the end of the regular set. They didn’t play "This Time of Year," but I don’t think that was so bad because omitting the guest guitarist allowed them time to play some of the more "rare" songs like "Beautiful Mistake," so I was happy. As Kevin played his guitar solo to "Desperately Wanting," he wandered over to the far left side of the stage and climbed up onto some amps above the crowd. He sat up there for a bit, and I could see a lot of camera flashes. I think fans had been hiding their cameras for the whole show in fear of House of Blues security. (As for me, I only hid the camera until mid-show, when I decided it was safe). As he finished, he kept motioning to the light person to take the spotlight off of him and position it on the stage, but it took him a few tries before the light person obliged. He then hopped off the amps and returned to his position for the song’s finale. The guys took a very short break after "Desperately Wanting" and returned for an encore. Tom and Kevin both had towels and were teasing the audience with them. Tom threw his out quickly, but Kevin stalled a little. He rubbed his towel between his legs, then behind his head, before tossing it into the sea of fans. Earlier in the show, Kevin had promised a guy in the audience that they would play "R3wind" to start the encore. So when he put on the acoustic guitar, I thought, "Oh no!" He forgot! The guys then played a short snippet of a song I couldn’t identify and went into "Recognize." And they didn’t forget about "R3wind" – that quickly followed. Kevin pointed out that the guy who had requested it had passed out already! After "R3wind," Kevin decided to talk a bit about the live album and DVD. He said that theirs was going to be a "true" live album, unlike Dave Matthews’ live album. He informed us that Dave Matthews’ album wasn’t really live, but that Dave was probably laughing all the way to the bank. Kevin then delighted the crowd with his Dave Matthews impression, saying "Who’s Better Than Ezra? I get to play the United Center!" (For those of you who don’t know, the United Center is the huge venue where all the "big" acts play when they come to Chicago). Kevin also made the audience laugh at another point in the encore, announcing that he had respect for bands who "get chicks." He used Matchbox Twenty as an example, explaining that he doesn’t really like their music, but "Rob Thomas gets the ladies!" With "In the Blood" long gone, "Daylight" took its place as the closer. Although Kevin and Tom didn’t explain to the audience to participate in singing the chorus, I could hear many voices and see many mouths moving along with the song. I was sad to see one of the best shows I’ve ever seen end. It was classic Ezra: they played all the old favorites, they surprised us with some unpredictable songs, they made us laugh with their hilarious banter, and we got a satisfying taste of the new material. On the way home from the HOB, I transferred the set list and other notes from my arm (and my sister’s arm that I borrowed for the latter part of the show) onto a piece of paper. For a split second, I thought "I can’t believe I’m doing this – how silly am I?" But is it really so bad to want to remember every detail? Better Than Ezra has been my favorite band for 8 years, and I’m allowed to get as giddy as I was that first time I saw them. I can’t wait until they come back. This was my 15th show and is was definitely be a wonderful milestone. Val, thanks again for another wonderful review. |
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