Joe’s on Weed Chicago, IL

Hold My Beer & Watch This Acoustic Tour

 

Not going to lie, when I heard Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen were playing in Chicago, I deliberately planned my summer visit to Chicago so I could see them. I'm so glad I did. Joe’s is a great bar, has a huge patio, and attracts some major artists. If you are in Chicago, it’s a great place to catch some Illini games.

Hold My Beer & Watch This (what a fitting title) was awesome. The place was pretty full and sounded like a fair amount of Texas transplants were out. I am never disappointed when I see a show like this. These guys are out on tour, away from their families but were genuinely glad to be in Chicago. They even went to Wrigley. Randy said “It was a great day; the Cubs didn’t lose.” Too bad it was rained out.

Wade and Randy are tight buddies and have an amazing chemistry together onstage. Their full bands are awesome but it’s a whole different ball game with these two. They are hilarious. The narratives of their lives out on the road and how certain songs came to be written are a really important part of why this tour is so special. Plus they give each other a good dose of teasing. One of my more favorite anecdotes of the night was about “Buy myself a Chance:”

Randy: So I’m a bar pretty often. You always see these pretty girls out with these d-bags and wonder, “why the hell are you with that idiot?” So I wrote a song about it. It’s for everyone who has a chance…well which is everyone.

    Wade: Randy, you just said d-bag…

I always wonder about what inspires an artist to write a particular song and I was really excited to learn more about them. You're always out with your friends, singing their songs, making up your own meanings (usually pertaining to yourself) but really getting what they are trying to say it much more important. That is what really draws me to their music and other sing songwriters in the Americana genre. I don’t know how they do it, but the emotions of the lyrics can just take a hold of you. If you have listened to a song like If We Ever Make It Home and didn’t feel anything, it’s a shame.

              

They played a pretty long set but I think they were just having too much fun to quit. I could go on about the jokes they made and how much fun the audience was having but its something to experience first hand. If they don’t do this again it will be truly disappointing...

-Sheila, Music Fog Gopher