Back of House at The Weepies

Have you heard The Weepies? http://www.theweepies.com/

Last week, a very cool friend was invited to attend a Weepies show by a music-biz friend of hers, and she asked me to go along. Apparently, the band was coming to Chicago on Halloween weekend for one night of two sold-out shows. We'd be special guests.

Before I saw the indie-pop-folk Weepies play live last weekend, I'd barely listened to their music at all. Honestly, my first impression had the group pegged as whiny, overly pop-ish and somehow melancholy. The mood a person needs to blue-out to that kind of music hadn't yet hit me.

But, the company at the concert would be great, in any case. There was a rumor that Billy Corgan might make an audience cameo. Plus, I'm generally curious. I hoped to observe whatever musically-genius phenomenon in the Weepies sold out these shows.

And, gosh – there's such an appeal to live music. At the very least, music shows offer great energy, fantastic people-watching, often a very proper atmosphere for thinking. I haven't yet had a bad time watching live music. Have you?

***

Turns out the show was a treat. As we arrived, my friend's music biz connection led us to the back rooms, a cavernous, cozy loft-apartment-like setup where the stage manager observed the boards and the band readied for showtime. Each warmly-lit, hardwood-paneled room was bedecked in plush oriental rugs and velvet noise-buffering curtains, livened by rock-n-roll leather couches and zebra-patterned pillows.

In the adjacent green room, members of the Weepies chatted, chuckled and sponged on white makeup, black lipstick and long, streaky wigs in honor of Halloween. On the counter next to their half-moon leather couch were untouched platters of sandwich meats, semi-dry cheeses, wilting veggies and crackly dips.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed gourmet cupcakes my friend had brought, decadent treats ornamented with shards of gummy 'glass' and injected with vampire 'blood' in honor of Halloween. When the venue in the next room filled and the show was about to start, we were offered drinks and food on the house. We were led past hoards of standers to a reserved table with a clear view of the stage. All my senses were on highs. I felt a bit spoiled, I told my friend. She agreed.

The room went dark, but the Weepies came to the stage and received boisterous applause, and as they started to play, the whole venue lit up with energy.

After spending four years off tour so the lead duo could raise their first child, The Weepies' six-person band sounded palpably cheerful, fresh and cohesive. They crooned, told stories, joked and teased each other – all to the packed venue audience's eager delight.

The lead couple switched their folkie wooden guitars nearly every song and gave blood to their music with charming background anecdotes, the bassists amused each other with skillful riffs and string experimentation. The whole group came to the stage in Halloween costumes, and only discarded them when their long-haired wigs made it difficult to see their instruments.

The Weepies' appeal quickly became apparent. Even more impressive than their unique voices, interesting soulful twanging and impressive vocal ranges was the band's collective charisma. They had a good time, and so we had a good time. Contagious amusement, and another positive experience for this spontaneous concert-goer. Woohoo!



What's the last concert you saw? Why'd you go?