Tag / Abbey Pub

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – Illinois

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 21st state to be added to the Union: Illinois.

State: Illinois
Joined the Union: 1818
Visits: 16,000+

How do you track how often you’ve been in the state you’ve lived in your entire life, save for your time away at college?  My first “visit” came nearly 48 years ago on the day I was born at Mercy Hospital on the south side of Chicago.

I’ve managed to do 18 of the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, published by the Chicago Tribune in 2018 to celebrate the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Among the places I visited were Water Tower, Morton Arboretum, Route 66, United Center, Skydeck at Willis Tower, the former Arlington International Racecourse, Rialto Square Theatre, Lake Michigan, The Second City, Chicago Sports Museum, and the Superman statue in downstate Metropolis.

I’ve seen baseball games at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, and Guaranteed Rate Field.  I’ve seen football games at Soldier Field, Memorial Stadium, Ryan Field, and Wrigley Field.  I’ve seen basketball games at the United Center, Welsh-Ryan Arena, State Farm Center, and Allstate Arena.  I’ve seen hockey games at the United Center.  I’ve seen both the White Sox and the Cubs win the World Series.  I’ve seen the Bears win a Super Bowl.  I’ve seen the Bulls win 6 NBA Championships.  I’ve even seen the Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup or two.

I’ve seen concerts at Wrigley Field, City Winery, Ravinia, the Riviera Theatre, Abbey Pub, Metro, the Chicago Theatre, United Center, Charter One Pavilion, Allstate Arena, The Vic Theatre, House of Blues, World Music Theatre, Soldier Field, and Mabel’s,

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #6

6 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact and expanded the count down to the Top 200..  It’s been 3 years, so I figured it was time to take yet another look at my Top 200 artists, based on the number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with the musical comedy duo that takes the sixth spot on our charts.  Comedians Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci combine forces and take the stage as Garfunkel and Oates.

 

 

#6: Garfunkel and Oates
iTunes stats: 933 plays
Previous ranking: #4

Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, performing as Garfunkel and Oates since 2007, see a slight drop down the charts despite increasing their play total by 78%, an increase of 410 listens.  Those were spread amongst 49 songs from 5 different releases, including one Christmas single.  Similar to last week’s entry, I’ve had plenty of exposure to the duo over the years, including a television show and a concert or two, at Abbey Pub and the House of Blues.

The first show, at Abbey Pub in 2013, had the girls came out and do their thing, mixing banter between themselves with their comedic songs.  In addition to the “hits” from their existing albums, they performed some of their newer songs, including Bernadette’s Song, which they wrote and had debuted on The Big Bang Theory the night before, and God’s Loophole, an exciting ditty about anal sex.  Once the show finished, both Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci came out to sign autographs and take pictures.  I got their autographs on my tickets and got my picture taken with both of them.

by jim

The $90 Comedy Show

GandO

The musical comedians (or comedic musicians) known as Garfunkel and Oates came to town tonight and I had made plans to attend with a few friends.  However, the day after I bought the tickets, these so-called friends changed their mind, deciding against going because, well, there really wasn’t any reason.  At least not one that made sense.  So, for the past week or so, I’ve been alternately trying to find someone else to use the extra tickets and trying to control my anger.

Tonight, armed with three tickets, I headed down to Abbey Pub solo to see the show, figuring that I had spent $90 either way, so I might as well enjoy myself.  And enjoy myself I did.  Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome put on a great show, treating the crowd to some of their songs, some witty banter, and an unplanned cover version of the song they wrote for last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory.  After the show, the duo came out and signed autographs and took pictures with the appreciative crowd.  For one night, at least, I have happy feelings about the whole episode.