Back To The Egg

Back from Chicago and already missing it. It’s crazy to get away from the kids, miss them, don’t miss them, and then miss them only to wish that you could have had an extra day away almost ten minutes after getting home. The hugs and kisses were great, shortly followed by the whining and competing for attention and just a general transition from the spoils of Grandma and Grandpa’s house to the reality that is Mom and Dad’s rules.
Calgon, take me away.
The Yazoo show was great, tears were nearly shed, and a review has already been composed. Vince Clarke barely moved…I expected at least a toe tap…but no, barely a muscle was used. The only time he smiled is when Alison went over to hug him a few times. He later returned the favor and it was awesome.
As was Alison. She was great, in full form and totally generous. People kept yelling “We love you Alison!” throughout the show and she grinned from ear to ear nearly the entire time.
The intermission music was “I Before E Except After C!”
Everything was fairly loyal to the original and, by my count, only three songs out of the band’s entire catalog was missed. They thankfully left out “Happy People” but included “Unmarked,” the two songs I really don’t dig.
My wife, who had no idea who Yazoo was, exclaimed “She looked good….but she’s put on a lot of weight.” I had to explain that Alison has always been a big girl. She looked great, however, complete with a flattering hairstyle that is MUCH better than the new wave shit they both sported in the early 80’s.
Beth kept laughing at me as I sang along to nearly every song, danced to a few and generally acted like a little fan-boy.
One of the funniest moments was hearing a Chicagoan bark out “Yaz! Back together again! Get your programs!” in a very localized inflection. They were only ten bucks, so I got one. Very tempted to invest in the box set In Your Room which just came out last week.
The rest of Chicago was a blast and we (again) tried to cram too much into a short amount of time. The picture is from our hotel room which was directly across from Marina City…the apartment complexes that grace the cover of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. How rock is that?
I have a blister that’s bigger than a silver dollar on the ball of my foot, which now makes me hobble like the old man that I am.
More posts about the visit will come, but I need to spray some Bactine on my wounds.