Chicago Show July 24th, 2010

[NikLovesLeb]

We arrived at around 8:30p to the venue, during Built to Spill set. I was not particularly impressed with them, as a live band. Musically, they were actually okay from what i've heard, but stage presence was non-existent and they failed to connect to the audience. Definitely a club band.

We werent in GA, but got amazing spots anyway. By the barrier, right behind GA, straight across from Caleb.
To be honest, it was one of the very best spots i've ever had, and I usually manage to get barrier.

The concert was really good. It was hot and humid, but not crazy hot, so no one was passing out and the guys managed to rock pretty hard.
The set was as usual, with no surprises. (not in order)
Crawl
Notion
TJG
Immortals
Fans
Closer
SOF
4 Kicks
Milk
Molly's
The Bucket
Mary
On call
Radioactive
Trani

Knocked Up
Use
Black Thumbnail

The crowd was a mix, with some surprising people knowing everything, and some people who LOOK like they should know, belting it out during SOF and not much else.

Kind of glad to see that OBTN is becoming less of a feature on the set list.

Caleb said that this was the best crowd of the tour so far (dont know about that, but nice to hear never the less), and then told a funny story of when they were first touring, before YAYM was even released, no one paid them any attention. They'd go from place to place, and people werent interested. And when they came to Chicago, expecting much of the same, the moment they came on stage at a local bar, the crowd went nuts. And since then, they've always had a good Chicago audience.
(Well, but of course. )

Nathan was a monster on drums. He is definitely one of the best things to watch during the show. Caleb delivered, though he said his voice wasnt the best. I think it sounded fine to everyone. He looked like he was enjoying himself, danced about, and though kept the banter to a minimum, was pleasant and approachable.
Matt seemed really into it, rocking and strutting on his side of the stage, and puffing away, since it's a smoking venue. Jared was okay, but perhaps he is still traumatized by bird poo. He definitely wasnt into it as he was at Bonnaroo when we saw the old Jared.

It started raining towards the end of the show, and Caleb thanked those who were outside (lawn seats) for staying and not leaving.

I think that it was my 9th time seeing them, and after that many times, you kind of know what t expect and you view the concerts from a different perspective. The expectations are high, particularly after seeing them come out with monstrous sets at huge festivals and play for 2+ hrs.

Very good experience overall. For me, Trani was a highlight. Loved how he sang it, slow and emotional. And people got really into it too. And everyone has to hear Southbound live! It's a must.

Crawl

[becs]

I've been waiting for a review from last night, and I'm so glad it was a good show and you had a good time Hearing your review makes me want a uk tour soon even more, I really want to hear their new stuff live!

Karma for a fabulous review

[behindthefringe]

Glad you had a good time, especially given the rubbish lead up the night before. Did he not play Southbound for you Nik?

Would be weird watching a shorter set after seeing them at Roo, though they could play for three hours and it still wouldn't be long enough

Yup, roll on a UK tour please...

[autobusas]

Nik, I don't think that there is anyone who has seen them more times than you did

[chitown23]

KOL show #24 for me. I was in the pit and got really close, which was surprising. If there was ever a place for a single man to pick up chicks, its certainly a KOL concert! I've been seeing these guys since 2005 and I'm just in awe of the crowds these days. They play what the fans wanna hear, I can't complain. I'm very happy there were no pigeons around too!

[autobusas]

Jul 25, 2010 18:37:20 GMT chitown23 said:

KOL show #24 for me.

Oh my god, I was so wrong Now I understand why some people want to live in the US.

[NikLovesLeb]

@ Karolina--no, i by NO means, have seen them the most times.
I WISH i've seen then 24 times.

@ Lucy--no, they didnt play "Where is My Mind". But it was okay anyway. Thank G-d there were no pigeons! I was worried about some other creature that'd assault one of them and force them to leave the stage. No need to rock the boat when tempers run high.

Thanks Becca, returned!

[Mrs. Flowers]

I'm glad you had a good time, Nik.
it's making me more excited for my KOL show!

[truexlovexway]

I would have posted a review sooner, but the hotel I stayed in didn't have wifi in the room. (I didn't expect it to, anyway, for as cheap as it was.) Mine's not going to be as good as Nik's, but here goes. Some things I'll just throw in as they come to me.

So, the 3 people that tagged along with me to this show were NOT fans, let that be known from the get go. They were just kind of along for the ride, not that they didn't like KoL, they just weren't one of "us" I suppose you could say. They could qualify as Sex Somebody fans, but I'll disregard that now as it makes me kind of mad I had to take them to the show. (If I knew anyone else in my local area who was a true fan, I would have asked them to go, without a doubt.)
I was all for them dropping me off at the venue around 2 P.M because Carrie said that's the time she and her friends were getting there. I was really hoping to get to the barrier, but my party refused to drop me off. (Why, I have no idea!) So I unwillingly arrived at the venue at almost 7. I went down to the pit during Built to Spill. (They were okay, I was just too antsy to really enjoy.)
Uh...by this time I was literally going stir crazy. It was really hot and sweaty, even before people packed in but I didn't care; I was there! This was my first Pit concert in about 7 years so I wasn't sure what was going to happen.
There was a little bit of tense laughter when someone made a joke about pigeons or birds not being there. xD

I was so ready for the show to start by the time they made their big entrance and the music/smoke started up.
I was so overcome by emotion when the show started that I started to cry, mainly because this whole trip seemed like kind of a pipe dream back in March. So I openly cried seeing the guys up THAT close. I was about 4 rows back in the pit, but I still could get a good view if I moved around slightly.
I stood in between Jared and Caleb, and I could see Matt if I leaned forward as much as possible. I caught one glimpse of Nathan, probably because his drum set was elevated and I'm short. xD
The setlist was fine, nothing to really complain about simply because I was so thrilled to be there.

I went nuts, and it was a blast! The instant Trani started, I screamed and it sounded like I was the only one down there who did that soon. (probably just disillusionment from being so happy they played it) Some people around me didn't know what hit them when the guys played songs from ASH and BOTT, and almost everyone around me had no idea what Trani was, which made me kind of sad, but whatever.

So I jumped around, screamed my head off, got a hoarse voice by the end of the show. It was INCREDIBLE. Just being able to see them all play so close up was mind blowing, my next show I see is definitely going to be Pit again. I'm probably forgetting a ton of stuff, but honestly it feels fresh in my mind. When Black Thumbnail started, I began to cry again. I couldn't have asked for a better show from them, and it was bittersweet because I knew it would be over soon. So I sang/yelled along/danced to BT with tears streaming down my already sweaty face. They guys ROCKED IT OUT. And I almost forgot! There were a group of people behind me yelling for My Third House, which was cool....except it wasn't at all likely they would do MTH...I was shocked they did Trani, but thrilled nonetheless!

I saw Jared throw his picks, but I never saw them land...(Sorry, Ali! Next time! )

I exchanged waves with Carrie! That was fun!

The crowd was pretty good except for a drunk guy that security had to warn. And I didn't get smashed too badly! There was an annoying 6 foot tall girl almost in front of me, that's my only complaint. I didn't notice the rain till after the show was done, and we had to run out through huge puddles and soaking ground. (My shoes were still wet the next day!) My clothes got soaked, too!

Overall it was a great night!

[NikLovesLeb]

krystal, i am glad you had a good time!

Good for you.

It was funny, around us, most people didnt know the words to Trani, but they got totally into it. ROCKING like crazy.

[chitown23]

I gotta say that Trani 2010 is nothing like Trani 2005. KOL still plays an awesome live show, but sometimes I can see them going thru the motions. Jared looks bored.
I was in the PIT and w/in 10 rows of the stage or closer throughout, so I got to see the band interactions up close. I did notice Jared begin Molly's too soon. I also saw the band look out at the lightning, huddle up and discuss the next song on the setlist. I think they cut a few songs.
The band looks so excited playing the new tunes, though. I'm looking forward to the next album! The songs sound great!
The crowd seemed to be enjoying the night despite the rain.

[tamtam]

So glad everyone had a good time at this show after the drama in STL.

Jul 25, 2010 15:41:15 GMT NikLovesLeb said:

We werent in GA, but got amazing spots anyway. By the barrier, right behind GA, straight across from Caleb.
To be honest, it was one of the very best spots i've ever had, and I usually manage to get barrier.

I was worried you wouldn't enjoy the show as much because of the seating, so you don't know how happy I was to read this!! This is what I was trying to say when people were getting so upset over the venue choices.

[Savanna]

Jul 26, 2010 19:13:54 GMT chitown23 said:

I gotta say that Trani 2010 is nothing like Trani 2005. KOL still plays an awesome live show, but sometimes I can see them going thru the motions. Jared looks bored.
I was in the PIT and w/in 10 rows of the stage or closer throughout, so I got to see the band interactions up close. I did notice Jared begin Molly's too soon. I also saw the band look out at the lightning, huddle up and discuss the next song on the setlist. I think they cut a few songs.
The band looks so excited playing the new tunes, though. I'm looking forward to the next album! The songs sound great!
The crowd seemed to be enjoying the night despite the rain.

Well from what I understand they don't like playing Trani, I think they've only added it to the set because of how often they're bombarded with requests for it.

[NikLovesLeb]

Jul 26, 2010 20:42:02 GMT tamtam said:

So glad everyone had a good time at this show after the drama in STL.

Jul 25, 2010 15:41:15 GMT NikLovesLeb said:

We werent in GA, but got amazing spots anyway. By the barrier, right behind GA, straight across from Caleb.
To be honest, it was one of the very best spots i've ever had, and I usually manage to get barrier.

I was worried you wouldn't enjoy the show as much because of the seating, so you don't know how happy I was to read this!! This is what I was trying to say when people were getting so upset over the venue choices.

I was super happy with the spot. Even the people that i was with, were like, OMG, how did you get these seats? They are amazing!

Pre-sale, baby, pre-sale.

I think lawn would be way too far to enjoy it, but seats were okay. And we didnt get much rain on ourselves either!


As for Trani--i think that musically they just slowed it down a LOT. Compare the Bonnaroo 04 and current Trani, and now it takes like 2 min longer.
I dont know if they dislike performing it. Maybe Matt and Jared, but it seems like Caleb still gets into it, along with Nathan.

[Erin]

Matt's said in an interview that he thought Trani is a 'sucky song' but I'm not sure how serious he was about that. Most of the vids I've seen of them playing Trani after he said that, he's been rocking out to it pretty hard!

[NikLovesLeb]

Yeah, i've seen trani performed maybe 5 or 6 times, and i havent noticed that Matt dislikes performing it.
When it comes to it, he delivers.
He certainly likes playing faster stuff, and maybe Trani is just real slow and doesnt have a lot for him to do.

[Savanna]

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's mostly Jared and Matt that try to keep from playing it.

[guitargogether]

i can totally see my hands in that video (waving the drum sticks around)

i thought they were all really into Trani. it's definately slowed down but i prefer the slowed down version better.

here's my review guitargogether.tumblr.com/post/861874162/kol-stl-chicago-review-part-4

(parts 1-3 from STL are on there too if you just click the title of my tumblr you can see them all)

[kultbert]

oh dear, i'm still waiting for the day to come when someone starts a thread like 'OMG, they played arizona again!!!!'

how awesome would that be? arizona is so good live...they should start playing it again now that trani seems to be back on the setlist...

[guitargogether]

s850.photobucket.com/albums/ab62/guitargogether/KOL%20Chicago%20July%202010/

my pics. they're backwards in the album (obviously as caleb is leaving the stage in the first one) too many to post them all on here