3 Nights, 3 Shows, 3 States: A look back at a great trip — except the ending
Here’s what you didn’t read in the concert reviews
When I thought about what I wanted to do for my birthday this year, the answer was easy — live music.
So I found a couple of shows — Little Feat in Davenport, Iowa, and Larkin Poe in Chicago — that concert buddy Shawn kindly agreed to attend with me. Then I added a show later the day before with one of my favorite bands that I’m also lucky enough to call my friends — The Steepwater Band — in St. Louis.
It was a joyous three days leading into a nice, relaxing birthday that included pizza with family and friends.
Sure, my back hurt, I spent more money than I wanted to and put too many miles on my car, but I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.
Well … except the ending.
Here’s a look at what was an unforgettable weekend!
The trip by the numbers
Total miles: 870. Thursday, to St. Louis and back, was 276 miles. Friday, to Davenport, was 187. Saturday, to Nick’s, was 10, then 165 (through Chicago traffic) to the Vic Theater, then 37 to the hotel that turned us away (more on that later), then 195 home for a total of 407 miles for the day.
Total hours in the car: Around 15
Total hours of music: Around 8.5 hours including openers
First time …
seeing three shows in three days
at the Old Rock House
at the Capitol Theater
at the Vic Theater
seeing Larkin Poe
Good eats
This trip wasn’t about fine dining — it was about easy and indulgent food, which I had plenty of.
THURSDAY: Four tacos and a six-piece mini churros from Jack in the Box — one of the finest meals known to man. It’s actually two meals at my age.
FRIDAY: Late-night tacos from someplace in Davenport that Shawn ordered from. They were mid but really hit the spot at the time because we could find NO open restaurants after the show — only drinks.
SATURDAY: Lunch at my best friend Nick’s favorite restaurant in Silvis — Junior’s. Solid catfish and some excellent mac and cheese. That night, after the show, Shawn and I ate at Cheesie’s Pub & Grub near the venue and they had some delicious parmesan garlic chicken strips at a price way better than I expected for Chicago.
Weirdest crowd interaction
For the opener on Saturday for Larkin Poe, there was a packed house, but we had talked to the people in front of us and felt safe about our spot when Shawn went to the restroom after Amythyst Kiah’s performance. He left a couple empty drink cups on the floor to mark his spot.
As soon as he walked away, a couple approached — I’m guessing mid-30s. The woman looked down at the cups, and said, “Whose trash?” I laughed and said, “This is Shawn!” She smiled, then made her way to the woman in front of me while the man descended on her husband.
I’d tried chatting up the couple in front of us and they were nice, but didn’t have much to say. For the infiltrators, that didn’t matter. They did all the talking, telling them about their jobs, and where they used to work, why they decided to move to their new jobs …
It felt like a coordinated attack. This was planned. And we were overwhelmed. I texted Shawn: “Woo, people are hungry for your spot.”
These people had gotten there after the opener but were trying to talk their way to the front. It worked pretty well — the man stood to my right side and the woman right behind Shawn and me, between our shoulders.
She said her name was “Mary,” so I said, “I’ll remember that because you must be Catholic.” She said, “I am. I’m going to the Vatican next week.”
Bullshit. These people were “yes-anding” us. I respect the hustle. But yuck. Just get there early.
The ‘not exactly how I planned it’ ending
Shawn had originally offered to get a room after the Larkin Poe show, but I told him not to worry about it — I was going to stay with my wife somewhere because she was in Chicago the same night seeing Beyonce.
Well, we couldn’t find a place in Chicago that weekend in our price range, but our friend’s uncle lives in Chicago and said we could stay at his house … except when the night came, as I was sitting in Cheesie’s after the show, my wife texted that the only space to sleep in the house was one couch, which may have worked when I was 12, but not now.
We tried to find a hotel with an opening and even booked a room through Expedia, but when we showed up there, we were told there were no rooms and our reservation didn’t exist. I tried to reason with them. It didn’t work. We tried to find another room. There were none available. I’m still fighting the charge on my credit card.
It was 1:30 a.m. We were sitting in a hotel parking lot in Elgin, and looking at one choice — each driving our cars back to Decatur. So we did that.
On the way back, we got pulled over. The police said I was following my wife’s car too closely and that we were driving too slow, but we’d slowed down because the police cars were following us. They let us go with a warning for doing nothing wrong and delayed our arrival home, but we made it.
Would I do it again next year? Not the drive home — but the music and friends? In a heartbeat!
3 Nights, 3 Shows, 3 States — Night 1: Why Steepwater matters
The world needs more Steepwater Bands.
3 Nights, 3 Shows, 3 States — Night 2: The Feat didn't fail us
Little Feat lost their main musical force over 40 years ago and only briefly tasted mainstream success. It hasn’t exactly been an easy road.
3 Nights, 3 Shows, 3 States — Night 3: Lots of love for Larkin Poe
When I think of a memorable concert experience, it usually involves being close to the stage with a big crowd behind me soaking up every moment of a kickass band.