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Trip to Chicago to See Codeine
Jul. 3rd, 2012 12:30 pmTrip was pretty awesome. We left Thursday morning, picking Jacques up. The drive up consisted of the usual long-drive goofiness and a semi-picnic in the car next to a lake and power plant. We made pretty good time and got in during the evening time (still daylight). We checked into the motel and made it into the city. By the way, as I had suspected by looking at google street view, the motel is the same one Mary Beth and I stayed in for one night a few years ago and it was a crap shack and it smelled bad. Well, it wasn't so bad this time. It didn't smell bad at least. The people there were nice. Anyway, we get into the Wicker Park area. We ate at Big Star, this taco place. We had to wait so we sat in the actual park by the fountain until they called us. Food was really good. When we were done we were going to go to Myopic as they were still supposed to be open for another 40 minutes, but they had apparently closed early...jerks.
This brings us to Friday. Jacques was really hot in the motel at night but it had cooled down by morning. We went into town and ate at Frank n Dawgs (goofy name, but pretty awesome hotdogs, the name makes it sound really lowbrow, but these were fancypants hotdogs, I tell ya). Then we headed over to the Wicker Park area to hit Reckless and Myopic. I got a bunch of stuff at both, all those sordid details will come later. Then we went and ate at Irazu (the Costa Rican place the band ate at a few months ago, it was Mary Beth's first time). Once again, it was awesome. They also mixed up some of mine and Jacques's emenadas AGAIN, this time we caught the mistake and I was finally able to have the zucchini ones. Brad from the board and a dude in his band met us there. Also, the chifrijo was still the best thing (so fucking good!). Then we went to a show at Quencher's. There were seven bands playing short sets. They were mostly okay. The Gary was pretty good, a few songs (and especially the first) were very good. Kash, who played last and are from Italy, were very good and that was a fun set. Once again we enjoyed the efforts of tamale guy (again, first time for Mary Beth).
Saturday we dropped Jacques off at the PRFBBQ festival thingie and we went out to do stuff around town. We only did a couple things and spent most of the time driving, because it takes fucking forever to get from one place to another in Chicago. First we ate noodles at this place called Urban Belly and it was good and stuff. Then we went and found one of the other Reckless stores (on Broadway, over by the gay district!). Same thing as before. Then we went to this bookstore way on the other side of town. We saw a bunch of Chicago I'd never really been to before on this trip, but this place was way farther away by the university: The Seminary Coop. It was only new stuff so we didn't get anything, but just looked around like tourists or something. Then back to Wicker Park to eat at this "speakeasy" place Mary Beth wanted to try called The Violet Hour. There's no sign or name listed on the outside, just a blank wall with a graffiti mural and a guy sitting on a chair next to a semi-hidden door. You go in, go through a couple courtains, and you're in this dark bar area. The lighting is so dim you have to hold your candle up to read the menu. I know it's a bit gimmicky, but it wasn't a bad effect. We got there pretty early and didn't have to wait at all. As we were leaving there was a line. By this point, most of the places to eat were closed so we were trying to wrack our brains as to where to eat. (Not counting the doughnut stand "Glazed and Infused" we grabbed a doughnut at on the way back to the car). Oh, I should mention my changing clothes in public! The Violet Hour is a little upscale so I couldn't go in my normal attire. I brought clothes for it, but had to change into 'em. Outside the bookstore before we went, I changed in the car. This is a quiet, near-university residential-ish area without much traffic. I considering bringing clothes into the bathroom inside, but decided the car would be fine. Then afterwards I wanted to change again. We were parked on Milwaukee (one block over from where ALL the businesses and action are). I decided what the hell and changed in the car again. Thrills! Anyway, we decided to eat at Big Star again. This time, there was a line to put your name on the waiting list! A wait to wait! Luckily they have a taco-stand-type takeout window. The line for that was not long. We got some more tacos and it was nice. Then we went to the venue to pick up Jacques. We got there a little early so we saw the last band play. They were Fake Limbs. They were alright. They had a wild-and-crazy stage show. While watching it, a bit into it I noticed this older dorky looking guy in front of me and just a little to the side. I didn't think much of it, but most people there are younger and "cool" so I thought to myself for a half-second "ah, an older dorky guy." Then the second time I glanced at him I realized it was Steve Albini (I also brushed past him the night before at Quencher's as I was making my way through the crowd towards the door).
Now we're on Sunday. Dropped Jacques off again and we went off to do stuff. We ate at Feed (another place from the last time and Mary Beth's first time). We just beat a storm as we got inside, but we did have to wait. There were these two lesbians behind us who got to sit first because some hipster told the waitress he'd let the two attractive girls sit at his table (with him and his hipster girlfriend). I guess we got there kind of late for brunch 'cuz they were out of a lot of stuff. Then we drove around and tried to find some stuff to do. We had pie at Hoosier Mama (a place like the others). Then driving down Chicago, we went past the Ukranian Institute of Modern Art. Hell yeah! It looked awesome so we stopped and went in. They were really nice there, but we apparently got there seven minutes to closing. They told us to look around real quick. So we got a quick look around the temporary installation and it was awesome and after a while she came up and told us we should go in the other room with the permanent collection for two minutes. So we did that and it was awesome (a lot of the same artists). I got a book there: Achilles & Vera Chreptowsky Collection (concerning the temporary exhibit, so we could like remember stuff and all since we didn't get too much time with it in person). That was an awesome surprise and a highlight of the trip. We also ran into a record store called Permanent Records. It was smaller than Reckless, but also had good stuff. It was nice 'cuz you could actually look through everything and find a bunch of awesome stuff. The evidence will come later. Then we went to Bleeding Heart Bakery and had some awesome baked goods we were too full to eat. Then time to pick Jacques up and to the Codeine show! We got there early and were able to have a stand right up front by the stage. The opening band was Brokeback and they were okay. Sometimes they were really good and sometimes the main guitarist was doing Santana-esque theatrics. Anyway, Codeine were really good. They didn't do my favorite ("Wird") but they did a few close runners-up ("Loss Leader," "Sea," "Washed Up"). Some other live standouts were "Cigarette Machine" and "Cave In." Watching them gave me a new appreciation for how awesome their guitarist is. I got a t-shirt and we got two posters (one our-show-specific and one for their Primavera show). We ate plain hamburgers at the venue 'cuz it was late and their kitchen was closed and it was late on a Sunday (well, technically the show started and ended early, but it was stuff nighttime on a Sunday and we didn't know where else to eat).
Then yesterday it was time to hit the road. We had a pretty good drive back. We stopped at a Culver's (we actually were on a mission to find one, it was worth it, awesome for a fast food chain). We got back in town and yeah. The good thing: our ac was fixed yesterday morning so we came back to cold air. The bad thing: our fridge (which has been slowly going for a while now) is, I guess, pretty much gone. About everything in the freezer is melted and the main fridge part just doesn't keep shit cold enough to matter. I guess we need to get that shit fixed now too. Uh, good trip!
This brings us to Friday. Jacques was really hot in the motel at night but it had cooled down by morning. We went into town and ate at Frank n Dawgs (goofy name, but pretty awesome hotdogs, the name makes it sound really lowbrow, but these were fancypants hotdogs, I tell ya). Then we headed over to the Wicker Park area to hit Reckless and Myopic. I got a bunch of stuff at both, all those sordid details will come later. Then we went and ate at Irazu (the Costa Rican place the band ate at a few months ago, it was Mary Beth's first time). Once again, it was awesome. They also mixed up some of mine and Jacques's emenadas AGAIN, this time we caught the mistake and I was finally able to have the zucchini ones. Brad from the board and a dude in his band met us there. Also, the chifrijo was still the best thing (so fucking good!). Then we went to a show at Quencher's. There were seven bands playing short sets. They were mostly okay. The Gary was pretty good, a few songs (and especially the first) were very good. Kash, who played last and are from Italy, were very good and that was a fun set. Once again we enjoyed the efforts of tamale guy (again, first time for Mary Beth).
Saturday we dropped Jacques off at the PRFBBQ festival thingie and we went out to do stuff around town. We only did a couple things and spent most of the time driving, because it takes fucking forever to get from one place to another in Chicago. First we ate noodles at this place called Urban Belly and it was good and stuff. Then we went and found one of the other Reckless stores (on Broadway, over by the gay district!). Same thing as before. Then we went to this bookstore way on the other side of town. We saw a bunch of Chicago I'd never really been to before on this trip, but this place was way farther away by the university: The Seminary Coop. It was only new stuff so we didn't get anything, but just looked around like tourists or something. Then back to Wicker Park to eat at this "speakeasy" place Mary Beth wanted to try called The Violet Hour. There's no sign or name listed on the outside, just a blank wall with a graffiti mural and a guy sitting on a chair next to a semi-hidden door. You go in, go through a couple courtains, and you're in this dark bar area. The lighting is so dim you have to hold your candle up to read the menu. I know it's a bit gimmicky, but it wasn't a bad effect. We got there pretty early and didn't have to wait at all. As we were leaving there was a line. By this point, most of the places to eat were closed so we were trying to wrack our brains as to where to eat. (Not counting the doughnut stand "Glazed and Infused" we grabbed a doughnut at on the way back to the car). Oh, I should mention my changing clothes in public! The Violet Hour is a little upscale so I couldn't go in my normal attire. I brought clothes for it, but had to change into 'em. Outside the bookstore before we went, I changed in the car. This is a quiet, near-university residential-ish area without much traffic. I considering bringing clothes into the bathroom inside, but decided the car would be fine. Then afterwards I wanted to change again. We were parked on Milwaukee (one block over from where ALL the businesses and action are). I decided what the hell and changed in the car again. Thrills! Anyway, we decided to eat at Big Star again. This time, there was a line to put your name on the waiting list! A wait to wait! Luckily they have a taco-stand-type takeout window. The line for that was not long. We got some more tacos and it was nice. Then we went to the venue to pick up Jacques. We got there a little early so we saw the last band play. They were Fake Limbs. They were alright. They had a wild-and-crazy stage show. While watching it, a bit into it I noticed this older dorky looking guy in front of me and just a little to the side. I didn't think much of it, but most people there are younger and "cool" so I thought to myself for a half-second "ah, an older dorky guy." Then the second time I glanced at him I realized it was Steve Albini (I also brushed past him the night before at Quencher's as I was making my way through the crowd towards the door).
Now we're on Sunday. Dropped Jacques off again and we went off to do stuff. We ate at Feed (another place from the last time and Mary Beth's first time). We just beat a storm as we got inside, but we did have to wait. There were these two lesbians behind us who got to sit first because some hipster told the waitress he'd let the two attractive girls sit at his table (with him and his hipster girlfriend). I guess we got there kind of late for brunch 'cuz they were out of a lot of stuff. Then we drove around and tried to find some stuff to do. We had pie at Hoosier Mama (a place like the others). Then driving down Chicago, we went past the Ukranian Institute of Modern Art. Hell yeah! It looked awesome so we stopped and went in. They were really nice there, but we apparently got there seven minutes to closing. They told us to look around real quick. So we got a quick look around the temporary installation and it was awesome and after a while she came up and told us we should go in the other room with the permanent collection for two minutes. So we did that and it was awesome (a lot of the same artists). I got a book there: Achilles & Vera Chreptowsky Collection (concerning the temporary exhibit, so we could like remember stuff and all since we didn't get too much time with it in person). That was an awesome surprise and a highlight of the trip. We also ran into a record store called Permanent Records. It was smaller than Reckless, but also had good stuff. It was nice 'cuz you could actually look through everything and find a bunch of awesome stuff. The evidence will come later. Then we went to Bleeding Heart Bakery and had some awesome baked goods we were too full to eat. Then time to pick Jacques up and to the Codeine show! We got there early and were able to have a stand right up front by the stage. The opening band was Brokeback and they were okay. Sometimes they were really good and sometimes the main guitarist was doing Santana-esque theatrics. Anyway, Codeine were really good. They didn't do my favorite ("Wird") but they did a few close runners-up ("Loss Leader," "Sea," "Washed Up"). Some other live standouts were "Cigarette Machine" and "Cave In." Watching them gave me a new appreciation for how awesome their guitarist is. I got a t-shirt and we got two posters (one our-show-specific and one for their Primavera show). We ate plain hamburgers at the venue 'cuz it was late and their kitchen was closed and it was late on a Sunday (well, technically the show started and ended early, but it was stuff nighttime on a Sunday and we didn't know where else to eat).
Then yesterday it was time to hit the road. We had a pretty good drive back. We stopped at a Culver's (we actually were on a mission to find one, it was worth it, awesome for a fast food chain). We got back in town and yeah. The good thing: our ac was fixed yesterday morning so we came back to cold air. The bad thing: our fridge (which has been slowly going for a while now) is, I guess, pretty much gone. About everything in the freezer is melted and the main fridge part just doesn't keep shit cold enough to matter. I guess we need to get that shit fixed now too. Uh, good trip!
