The Wait Is Over

Before I begin this post I must make a public apology to the two Tom Waits calls I was supposed to make during the concert. I am sorry. I tried to call, but way up in the nosebleeds, where I was sitting, there was no reception, not a single bar. So, Au$10 and Evan I'm sorry.

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If you've been reading the blog then you know that I attended the funtabulous affair that was the Tom Waits concert at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago on August 9th with my lil' bro, Brad. It was a momentous occasion. Even though I was way up in the nosebleeds shooing away pigeons I still absorbed every action and note that eminated from the stage. I was so far up that if I would have fallen I would have been a messy memory on the ground floor. I must say that Tom Waits is completely involved in all his songs. Even when not singing he'll dance up a freakshow.

The light show was spectacular. The lights really supported all the songs and helped set the mood for each song. They did very simple stuff too. All they had was a big sheet behind them with colored lights, and a few colored spotlights, but it all added so much. No smoke. No lasers. Just lights and the best lounge act ever.

My favorite moment of the concert was his performance of Singapore during his first encore. At the end of the song all the lights behind him went green, and a red spotlight shown on him. After the song had ended he raised his arms and blew into the mic reinacting a giant storm cloud. The lighting made him come across as a huge devil blowing forth his evil incantations into the crowd. Magnificant.

The other great moment was when he opened his second encore with Whistlin' Past The Graveyard and everyone in the auditorium clapped. We're talking a seating capacity of 18,500, and just about everyone there was clapping in time. Simply breathtaking. Plus his final song, Time was a heart-breaking memorable moment. Not a sound could be heard in the auditorium except Tom Waits.

Here is a set list of all the songs he played. I plan on making a "Tom Waits Chicago 2k6 CD" sometime in the near future. If you're interested in one let me know.

Chicago (IL) - Auditorium Theatre, August 9

Make It Rain
Hoist That Rag
Shore Leave
God's Away On Business
All The World Is Green
Falling Down
Tango Till They're Sore
Tom Traubert's Blues
Eyeball Kid
Down In The Hole
Don't Go Into That Barn
Shake It
Trampled Rose
What's He Building In There
Who's Been Talking / Till The Money Runs Out
Murder in the Red Barn
Lie To Me Baby
Get Behind The Mule

Day After Tomorrow
Singapore

Whistlin' Past The Graveyard
Time

I myself don't have any photos, but I found some from the show on the splendiferous site, Flickr. Here are a couple photos: the first one is about how it looked from where I was sitting. I still had a great time, and the acoustics were great in the auditorium even though It looked like I was a mile away from Tom Waits his presence made me feel closer.