Date Night @ the Ian Moore Show

Monday night was a special treat for us. Our friend Ian Moore was in town playing a CD release show with a full band(!), so we got Ted's bro Dave to babysit, and we had ourselves a bona fide date. Normally, we would take Cadence to see her Uncle Ian play, but I happened to know that his full band shows get LOUD. Plus, it was a later show than normal for Ian. We braved the rain and the traffic on Ashland, did a Trader Joe's run for some hummus and cheap wine (per Ian and the band's request), and made our way to Martyr's where the show was.

Ted got to get a very short game of pinball in right before the opening band started. I'm not sure why there is a pinball machine in the music room, as that whackety-wack can get pretty loud.

Local act Brice Woodall opened the show. We were quite surprised to see what looked like Jim Cooper (of the Detholz!, Baby Teeth, Bobby Conn, etc) on DRUMS. Turns out it's not Jim, but he sure could be his double if he wanted to be. I mean, down to the pattern that his facial hair made and everything.

Ted and I have seen Ian play his solo acoustic shows numerous times, and they are always amazing. With all the indie rockers saturating the music world these days, it can be hard to find someone who has passion, creativity AND true musical talent. That's why it's always such a treat to see Ian play.

We were excited to see a full-band show, as this is a rare occurrence here in the Midwest, since most of the folks who play with him live in Texas. I caught a full-band show down in Austin, TX back in 2002, but Ted had never seen one before last night, so he was especially expectant. And needless to say it was a totally awesome show.

Ian always amazes me with how full his sound is when he's playing solo or w/ just one backup musician. So with a full band, the sound is even more amazing. And the musicians traveling with him on this tour are really seasoned players.

Ian's latest CD 'To Be Loved' is out on Justice Records. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this album. It is Ian's best yet. I was happy to see that some of the songs he's been performing live for several years have finally made it onto an album version.

It was really great to be able to hear these songs live with a full band. I don't know when Ian will make it out to Chicago with a full band, so I'm glad Ted and I got the chance to see them.

The show was totally awesome. The thing I love about Ian's shows is that even as he performs, he is such a huge music fan himself, and he plays some really great cover songs. That's how I discovered the music of Neutral Milk Hotel and the solo work of Chris Bell (of Big Star). At this show, he also covered Teenage Fan Club's 'Start Again' from one of their older albums.

Here's something weird that happened during the show. While I was taking this photo above (which I have to credit Ian's Chicago merch man Gary Overstreet for asking me to take) from the merch booth, my cellphone began to vibrate. When I took it out of my pocket, the CallerID said it was Ian calling me. So there I was looking at Ian playing his encore on stage, and then I looked back to my phone which was telling me that Ian was calling me at that very moment. It was kinda surreal. I went out to take the call because I was too curious to see what would happen. Now here's the really crazy part. When I picked up, it was some woman talking. But she wasn't talking to me. She was carrying on a conversation with someone else. When I asked her who she was, it was obvious she couldn't hear me, which freaked me out and I hung up. It was like Ian's phone was chanelling this woman's phone conversation and sending it to my phone. Like how totally weird is that?!

I don't usually take photos at Ian's shows, since he normally plays at Schubas and although it's my favorite music room in the city, it kinda sucks for photos. Martyr's had better lighting, especially for a full band show.

After the show, we gave Ian his Trader Joe's loot, as well as a few bottles of Ted's homebrew. We had to hurry home to Cadence, so we couldn't hang out more, but it was good to get a chance to catch up a little. I can see that Ian is really happy with the new album and enjoying this tour, so that was good to see. It was also nice to have an evening out, just Ted and I.

You can see the rest of my photos from Ian's show over here.

ian moore show

Ted and I got a special treat on Friday. We got to go see our friend Ian Moore play a show at our favorite venue, Schubas. Last time he'd played Chicago, we got my mom to babysit, so we didn't bring Cadence, and he was disappointed about that, so this time we decided to bring her to the show. Ted's mom was gracious enough to drive all the way into the city to play with Cadence in the Harmony Grill, Schuba's restaurant, during the show. We got there kind of late, so Cadence and I only had a chance to say hi as Ian was getting ready to go in to play his set.

(photo by Tim Lowly)

We took Cadence in for a few songs before returning her to Grandma in the restaurant. She loves live music, especially with folks who sing and play guitar, but she IS 2 ½ and was in the mood for running around, which would have been impossible in the packed out music room. I'm so glad Ted's mom was there so Ted and I didn't have to take turns going in and out of the show. Our friend Alana offered to take turns w/ us if Grandma didn't come to the show, but thankfully we didn't need to resort to musical chairs babysitting that night.

It's really hard to describe an Ian Moore show with words. It is such a rich experience. Ian and his multi-instrumentalist Kullen play with such intensity one moment, tenderness the next, ferocity another moment, playfulness the next…You really have to experience it for yourself. And you can probably in June. They'll be back playing Schubas again.

Ted was really happy that our friends Tim Lowly, our pastor's husband and for whom Ted drums, and Ryan Hammer, Tim's bass player and lovely person all-round, made it out to the show. He sat with them on the benches along the side of the music room, while I stood in the back behind people taller than me (which would have been 95% of the folks in the room).

2007 will mark 5 years since Ian and I lost our dads. I think it's what sealed our friendship—being in each other's presence while we were still strangers and yet being able to share the painful bloody mess that wounded hearts create. We only see each other about once a year, and it's always for such a short time, but I think we both get a real sense of comfort and peace from those moments.