"Kansas Pirates" really ought to be a Chicago tribute band, just to surprise people

Back from the Paul & Storm & JoCo concert (the concert didn't really run this late, but we went to get a bit to eat afterwards).

It was awesome, as always. P&S opened with their theme, then did "Opening Band," and I tossed the panties at the appropriate moment. They threatened to do a repeat of their jokes from last time, but for the most part the patter seemed ad-libbed, maybe because we were a rowdy audience in a very acoustically live space. They were great, as always; as I've pointed out before, I'm there for them as much as or more than Coulton. The highlight was probably "Live," which is a darned good song, although they've gotten their schtick down for "Nun Fight" now, and it was hilarious. I was hoping for "Cruel Cruel Moon" or "Six Guys, Ten Teeth" - no such luck - but "The Captain's Wife's Lament" took nearly 13 minutes.

JoCo's set was pretty close to what it was last time, although he didn't do "Soft Rocked By Me" and he did do "Kennesaw Mountain Landis." "I Crush Everything" was lovely, as it always is, and the Lager Rhythm contingent had most of their section doing the Thriller on "Re: Your Brains." For me, the highlight was "Always the Moon" - not only did he bring Paul & Storm back out to sing harmony on it, but they cut the mikes, unplugged the guitar, stepped to the front of the stage, and took advantage of the afore-mentioned acoustics and their a cappella training. They did it completely un-amped. It was heartbreaking, breathtaking - for me, transcendant, but then, that song is very close to a hymn for me, anyway. cheshirebast pointed out afterwards that you know someone's a good musician when they understand how to play their performance space, and I had to agree.

For the first song on the encore, they did "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," and rocked the house. I was pleased at how much of the audience was singing along; you figure the P&S&JC crowd overlaps significantly with the TMBG crowd, but I've been surprised before.

Can't wait until they come back through. Love these guys. Love 'em.

"Kansas Pirates" really ought to be a Chicago tribute band, just to surprise people

Back from the Paul & Storm & JoCo concert (the concert didn't really run this late, but we went to get a bit to eat afterwards).

It was awesome, as always. P&S opened with their theme, then did "Opening Band," and I tossed the panties at the appropriate moment. They threatened to do a repeat of their jokes from last time, but for the most part the patter seemed ad-libbed, maybe because we were a rowdy audience in a very acoustically live space. They were great, as always; as I've pointed out before, I'm there for them as much as or more than Coulton. The highlight was probably "Live," which is a darned good song, although they've gotten their schtick down for "Nun Fight" now, and it was hilarious. I was hoping for "Cruel Cruel Moon" or "Six Guys, Ten Teeth" - no such luck - but "The Captain's Wife's Lament" took nearly 13 minutes.

JoCo's set was pretty close to what it was last time, although he didn't do "Soft Rocked By Me" and he did do "Kennesaw Mountain Landis." "I Crush Everything" was lovely, as it always is, and the Lager Rhythm contingent had most of their section doing the Thriller on "Re: Your Brains." For me, the highlight was "Always the Moon" - not only did he bring Paul & Storm back out to sing harmony on it, but they cut the mikes, unplugged the guitar, stepped to the front of the stage, and took advantage of the afore-mentioned acoustics and their a cappella training. They did it completely un-amped. It was heartbreaking, breathtaking - for me, transcendant, but then, that song is very close to a hymn for me, anyway. cheshirebast pointed out afterwards that you know someone's a good musician when they understand how to play their performance space, and I had to agree.

For the first song on the encore, they did "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," and rocked the house. I was pleased at how much of the audience was singing along; you figure the P&S&JC crowd overlaps significantly with the TMBG crowd, but I've been surprised before.

Can't wait until they come back through. Love these guys. Love 'em.