Therapy for the Soul

I arrived in Chicago, IL on Saturday, February 11 to attend a training class in Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003. Without going into any detail, Saturday night was not a very good night for me. I had to come to grips with the fact that some of my strongest friendships in the last few years are not so strong anymore and maybe it's time I cut ties--for my sake. For those of you that do know me, you also know how hard that will be for me...

Still troubled, on Sunday, February 12, I attended a concert by Lucy Kaplansky at Schubas Tavern. Schubas was built in 1903 and refurbished in 1988. I'd heard about Schubas and when I found out that I was coming to Chicago, I looked it up, and checked the concert calendar. Lucy Kaplansky was playing. Who? I'd never heard of her. After listening to a few snippets on iTunes, and liking what I'd heard, I bought a ticket for Sunday's show. The concert started around 9 pm and I drove from Downers Grove and arrived around ten minutes late.

The cozy venue was illuminated by about six spotlights and various candles with chairs in the front and SRO in the back.

From the moment I walked through the door, I fell in love with her voice. Lucy's voice had hints of Diana Jones, Suzanne Vega, and Nanci Griffith. She engaged the crowd, which was comprised of diehard fans, former schoolmates, former school teachers, and most importantly--me. Despite my former troubles from the previous day, all were wiped away the moment I stepped through those doors to hear "Guilty as Sin" (click on album below). After playing over 90 minutes, with humorous stories interjected, she came back for an encore ending with a heart-rendering song favored by her late promoter, Bob Feldman. I wish I could remember the title of that song...

Melissa, the bartender, and an extremely nice one at that, hooked me up with several pints of a local brew, Honkers Ale, from Goose Island Beer Company.

Needless to say, I had a great time at Schubas and I hope that Lucy will make an appearance in Dallas!

Indeed...therapy for the soul...

Tristan Prettyman @ Gypsy Tea Room

On Tuesday, February 7, Lora and I attended the Tristan Prettyman concert at the Gypsy Tea Room. This cozy venue hosts about 250 people and it was pretty tight at times. Tristan's show was opened by Ben Taylor and another artist. Ben Taylor was pretty good. I'd never heard him play before, but there were a few songs of his I really enjoyed. As it turns out, he is the son of the great James Taylor and he was accompanied by his sister, Sally and an extremely petite and cute bass guitarist with really cool hair. Ben came on around 9 pm and played for about an hour to a packed house.

Tristan came on stage just after 10 pm and was awesome right from the start. Wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, she arrived cute as hell with her hair in a knot.

Lora had an early conference call in the morning so we had to leave around 11:30 pm and I didn't get to hear my first song of Tristan's, "Simple As It Should Be", but I did get to hear my favorite, "Love Love Love".

Needless to say, I had a great time and I look forward to seeing Tristan play again.

February Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

February 7th - DeKoninck glasses
February 14th - Young's Chocolate glasses
February 21st - St. Arnold Spring Bock glasses
February 28th - Mix & Match glasses

They are having an additional pint night this month on Monday, February
13th - Stella Artois glasses