Day 0: click here.
Day 1: click here.
After driving the morning commute from Evanston towards Chicago proper, we park our Scion tC just north of downtown and take the Red Line train farther into the city. We’ve got a stacked day: Gang of Four, Skrillex, and whatever else we can fit in. Follow us on our first day in Chicago after the jump.
We emerge from the L station (the Red Line goes underground near the center of downtown), and set our course to Navy Pier to the WBEZ radio station to meet the hosts of Sound Opinions before they interview Gang of Four. However, we are immediately distracted after spying an art exhibition in the lobby area of the building adjacent to the subway stop.
There was some cool stuff on display—from photos to mixed media—but it is also a great excuse to get out of the cold for a few minutes. But the clock was ticking—we had to get to the WBEZ station on the tip of Navy Pier before 12:30 PM.
After hurdling over the waist-high snowbank obstacle courses the Snowpocalypse left for us on the sidewalks, we finally make it to Navy Pier. Unfortunately, our destination is mapped out like a touristy black hole, and WBEZ isn’t even on the map! The girl at the information desk says to hang right after the funhouse. Seriously, funhouse? Stiff arming our way through an endless sea of McDonalds, IMAX Theaters, novelty t-shirt vendors, and high-school field trips, we arrive at the radio station.
WBEZ, the local NPR station for Chicago, is a complete 180 from its Navy Pier surroundings. The atmosphere in the studio is quiet and subdued, and we make our way back to the studio where the Sound Opinions crew are setting up to interview Andy Gill and Jon King from Gang of Four. We shot the shit with show hosts and acclaimed music critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot before the mics went on.
Greg brings up his disdain about an upcoming panel at SXSW discussing how music isn’t what it used to be. “I think anyone who thinks that should stop writing about music or being involved in music immediately,” Greg says. “The thing about pop music is that it’s more true than ever, and it’s speaking to us in a way that no other art form does, with more immediacy.” The duo discuss their favorite Chicago artists, and give us two gems from the city’s vibrant riot grrrl scene: The Cathy Santonis and The Wanton Looks. As for Chicago hip-hop: “There’s an attitude that you can’t be a poser in Chicago,” Jim says. “You don’t get the East Coast / West Coast braggadocio gangster, hard-ass thing. You have Kanye being brave enough to admit to crying at his grandmothers deathbed or Lupe [saying] I love Star Wars, I’m a super-geek, or Rhymefest talking about pushing a mop being a janitor.” We ask them to recount some of their favorite moments from previous episodes of Sound Opinions. “Rivers [Cuomo] is a big fan of the show,” Greg explains. “We’ve written positive things about Weezer, and we’ve written negative things. He said ‘I’ll tell you what – you guys pick the setlist, and I’ll come in and I’ll play those songs. But what’s more, I want you to pick the band. I don’t want to bring Weezer, I want to do something different.’ We paired him with The Cathy Santonis, and thought about what it was going to sound like if he fronted a riot grrrl meets glam pop [band]. He was willing to go outside his comfort zone, and we really admire that.”
Andy Gill and Jon King enter the studio, and we retreat into the control room with the crew to watch the interview. Though remaining a band for over thirty years, Gang of Four seemed lively as ever, and an excellent (and at times, very funny!) interview ensues. In a few weeks, be sure to catch it here: soundopinions.org. At the end of the discussion, we go in to explore the studio proper. As Gang of Four bid their farewell, Jon offers a handshake and a “good work, thanks.” We explain that we were simply hanging around as admirers, to which he responds in his finest British, too-cool-for-anything accent, “well, whatever” and shakes our hands anyway. We triy our best not to be star struck.
On our way out of Navy Pier, we stumble upon a showcase of large ice sculptures in front, which one can only assume have been maintained by the cold weather from two weeks earlier (though, humorously, the mermaid sculpture has two depressed hand-shaped hollows over her breasts, which could hardly be attributed to the weather).
From the suggestion of the WBEZ staff, we warm up with soup at the Fox & Obel Food Market before heading back to base ditch our backpacks and get ready for the night. Time to head out.
First item on the agenda: get food!
A greasy hot dog/gyro/fries/whatever place is located right across the street from the Metro, which is the perfect lead-in for our next stop: Gang of Four’s set. You didn’t think we’d just watch them do an interview, right? The Metro is packed, waiting to see if Gang of Four aged better than the average over-50 rock group. The short answer: absolutely.
With grit, intensity, and enthusiasm, Gang of Four play like they had to prove their legendary status all over again. The much younger, newly added rhythm section almost have trouble keeping up with the original members. Gill’s signature, post-punk defining guitar shatters any doubters, and King’s spastic dancing across the stage keeps the energy high.
The concert ends with “Damaged Goods” and a bow, and we subsequently switch gears to our next stop, Skrillex’s set at The Mid.
Realizing that a higher order of inebriation would be required if we hope to enjoy the Skrillex show properly, we head over to fellow Eleven writer Kelly’s host apartment between shows for a pregame (a midgame?). We bring a six pack of Walgreens Beer, Kelly supplies us with reserves of the venerable energy beer, Four Loko. Drinks are consumed.
We arrive at the Skrillex show with our gamefaces on, and an unspeakable cocktail of fluids coursing through our veins. After a quick exchange with the lady behind the counter—who could even recall what was said?—we’re offered a free coat check instead of the usual $5 fee. We meet our friend Erin for shots at the bar (you know, just in case), and then Fritz is off to the stage to shoot photos of Tommy Lee’s opening DJ set and Josh heads to the crowd.
Fritz: “After taking a few shots from the stage, I meet up with Skrillex’s PR cadre, Clayton and Thomas, who whisk me through a series of doors and staircases to an underground, private green room.
A drunk looking Tommy Lee and Skrillex’s crew seem to be enjoying themselves with a table full of Grey Goose and Jack Daniel’s, and I join in. Well, until Tommy kicks everyone out of the room for some “private time.” However, it’s perfect timing—Skrillex was about to hit the decks, and I didn’t want to miss that. I ventured through more doors and staircases, and arrived backstage just in time to see the crowd get rowdy.”
Josh: “There comes a time at every show when one decides that it’s time to rush to the front of the floor. That time was “My. Name. Is. Skrillex,” and couldn’t have been more than 45 seconds after the man stepped up to the decks. The vibe is incredible. We’re drowning in smoke from the overhead fog machines; between that and the blaring stage lights, all visibility is lost on the dance floor for what feels like minutes at a time. Not that we’re paying attention to such details, anyway. All I know is that everyone single person here is a sweaty mess, and that the name of the man on stage is Skrillex.”
It’s 4 AM, and the show is finally over.
We give Skrillex some high fives and try not to distract him from the ladies too much (see above), and try to figure out what’s open this late at night. Lucky for us, Thomas invites all of us back to his place for an impromptu afterparty, and PBRs (and Goldfish crackers) are consumed. Just when things start to taper off, we find out that the whole attic is a recording studio / practice space of sorts. Gear is everywhere, and it’s just asking to be played. It’s difficult to resist, so a very sloppy sounding jam session (unfortunately for anyone in earshot) goes down. Sorry neighbors!
All of a sudden, it’s 6 AM, and nobody wants to be awake anymore. Kelly manages to accidentally walk off with Clayton’s sweater, and we all make it back to our respective crashing spots. Lights out until tomorrow!
