City of Concerts

One of the best things about summer in Chicago is the opportunity to hear good music. Granted, Sao Jorge has not made his annual trek to the Windy City, but we had the opportunity to go see two other cool shows.

Concert 1: American Idol Tour (Allstate Arena)

Now, I realize that this might not be considered "good music" to many in the blogosphere, but for me and my friend Jesse (who followed Idol all season and had many a wonderful meal while watching Blake rock!), it was a real treat. Of course, Sanjaya was nuts and Haley was all legs and no substance, but the rest of the group did well. In addition to her surprise proposal (!), Gina Glocksen proved that, while not a powerhouse singer, there's potential to do well in her niche. Chris Richardson showed that he might have the chops to take a Timberlake-esque path to semi-stardom. Lakisha Jones blew us away with her big voice and Melinda Doolittle, as expected, was flawless.

The real story of the night: Blake. For some reason, i can't get my video from the evening to post (I'm working on it!), but his rendition of Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" was phenomenal, as was his performance of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name." Seeing his creativity live was definitely worth the price of admission.

Lastly, Ms. Jordin Sparks. Hearing her perform "I Who Have Nothing" in person was fantastic. All the 10-year-old girls sitting around us agreed. :-)






Concert 2: Nickelcreek with special guest, Fiona Apple (Ravinia)

While a little heavy on Fiona for me, the night was pretty amazing. Nickelcreek has a great blend of impressive instrumentals and an alternately haunting/charming female vocal. It was crowded, but we found a patch just big enough for us, Mackensey, Dena and the Browns. All in all, a fun night.