The last time the iFarmer and I were at the Park West in Chicago, it was a different world. We were pre-children and it was pre-9/11.
My how time flies and how things have changed. But the Park West remains a lovely venue to see a small band up close and personal.
Last time we were there, probably 2001, we were enchanted by Gillian Welch. This time it was Alison Sudol and her really tight band, A Fine Frenzy.
It was a solid performance. I hate to say that a highlight was when Sudol let loose and sang Heart of Glass by Blondie. I wish she could have as much fun with her own music.
That’s probably easier said than done with such heavy, somber melodies. Her voice is both sweet and haunting. And so long as she was performing, we were having a good time. That said, her transitions and audience engagement can only be described as, well, weird. Her casual observations about the sunset and birds were awkward and left me wondering if she was ditsy or just high.
But she’s young. Maybe she’ll figure out a way to be onstage with a self-esteem to match her talent.
We and a large group of what I suspect were parents who also needed to get back to relieve their teenage babysitters left right after she sang my favorite of her songs, Rangers (YouTube). I think my new favorite, after tonight though is Happier (Lala pop up audio).
I had a few other favs from the evening too, some of them from her opening act, one-time Oak Parker Landon Pigg, who you might recognize from an AT&T commercial…”I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you…” [Here he is on YouTube.]
The No. 1 highlight of the evening was getting to go on a date with my husband mid-week. Just this small break from our regular routine felt like a vacation.
Virtual Farmgirl 