It was a busy night in Chicago for music lovers. Across the city pop divas packed amphitheatres, rock legends filled pavilions, and the blues hit Grant Park. Off in the heart of the North Side, an intimate crowd gathered at the Metro to pool their voices and cheer for Albert Hammond Jr.
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Albert Hammond Jr
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 Entertainment
 Art
Metro
Chicago, Ill.
June 6, 2006
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The short, sweet, and to the point theme of the show was a breath of fresh air against the surplus of summer mega tours. The evening began at a healthy 7:30 pm giving concertgoers a chance to wind down from work, grab a beer, and ease into the evening. After an impressive set by sole openers The Dead Trees, Hammond took to the stage with a little intro and a lot of applause.
Hammond began the set with his first single, “Everyone Gets A Star”, off his debut solo album, “Yours To Keep”. The band played against a giant tapestry, which depicted the album’s playful landscape cover art. This complemented Albert’s cheerful stage presence while creating a pleasant atmosphere to enjoy good friends and good music.
The night continued with material off the album like “In Transit”, “Holiday”, and “Bright Young Thing”. We were also treated to a new song titled “In My Room” and a cover of the Frank Black tune “Old Black Dawning”. After a heartfelt “Blue Skies”, Albert was given a plush toy cow from an adoring fan in the front row. Albert stuffed the cow half way into the back pocket of his jeans, proclaiming that “back pockets rule!” and played the remainder of set with it there. He thanked the fan by giving away a pick he had been using and seemed truly thrilled with his new gift.
There’s something splendid about watching Hammond belt out bluesy solos with a stuffed cow peaking out his back pocket. It was a reminder that a sense of humor when it comes to music, performance, or life is infectious. The good vibes continued to flow as the set rounded out with sing along tracks “101” and “Scared”.
Albert wound things down with the start/stop “Postal Blowfish” and followed with the last song of the night, “Hard To Live In The City”. The crowd roared in approval and insisted that Hammond return to the stage for an encore. The call of the fans was so loud that it seemed their numbers instantly doubled in size. Albert Hammond Jr. reemerged from backstage to satisfy his fans cries by gracing them with one last new song to close out an enjoyable and completely satisfying performance.
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Written by Guest on 2007-06-13 14:45:35
Blues solos always rock. I'll have to check out his music now.  |
The Dead Trees were amazing
Written by Guest on 2007-06-16 09:46:36
Albert was great but The Dead Trees were pretty impressive too. |
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