Teaching Baby the Art of Rock & Roll

Anyone who knows Joe and me knows that we love seeing live music. This is something that we connected over when we first met-- he played in a band, and him and his friends introduced me to all kinds of great bands that I listened to throughout college. I'll have to dig up an old picture or two one of these days-- there are some great ones of the two of us at shows back then!

This love of music has continued through our relationship. Mostly indie rock, not too obscure, but not mainstream bands for the most part. I love a bit of good pop, too, and Joe's interests run from metal to jazz (seriously, he's kind of weird!). We haven't let this pregnancy stop us from seeing some great concerts recently, and we're excited to continue to share music with little Ziggy once this baby joins us. I'm about ready to temporarily retire from seeing shows, at least ones that don't have seating, so I thought this would be a good chance to look back on the music we've seen since finding out we're becoming a family of three! Here's a flashback on the last five months...

Pitchfork Music Festival-- This is one we have to do every summer, at least for one of the three days. I had found out I was pregnant just days earlier, so I was really wanting to keep it a secret. I was worried about hanging out with our friends all day and having to fake drink, but then we hardly saw anyone we knew, and it was a lot easier! I would have tried harder to find our friends if I'd been my non-pregnant self, but not drinking at a festival would have been pretty suspicious with this group!

Pre-morning sickness, I was feeling GREAT!

Belle and Sebastian was the headliner on this night, and they were fantastic!
I'd never seen them live, and their show was really upbeat and fun.

Lollapalloza- A few weeks later was Lollapalloza, a huge festival held in Grant Park every summer. We'd bought tickets months earlier, and were pumped to see some great bands. Local Natives, The National, and the Lumineers were all really fun to see live, and ending the night with Postal Service was a HUGE highlight. They were just as good as I had hoped, 10+ years after I started listening to them. I was still feeling good at this point, and made sure to sit in the shade throughout the day, and to drink plenty of water. Totally worth it!

Postal Service was EPIC. Jenny Lewis is a girl crush of mine, for sure. 

Band of Horses-- We were pretty ambitious the day we went to Lollapalloza, because we'd also bought tickets to this after show. I've loved this band for a few years, and Joe surprised me with tickets. Good husband, for sure! So when Postal Service ended, we jumped on the train and headed to the Metro, where these guys put on a great show. We ended up sitting up on the balcony, which was a little lame, but also really necessary. I was totally fried the next day, but staying up until 2am to see this show was totally worth it. They were great live!

Minus the Bear-- This is one of Joe's favorite bands, and we saw them at the Metro about a year ago, too. That show was a little disappointing, mostly thanks to the young kid in front of us who was super obnoxious the whole time. So we couldn't miss this show in October, and they totally made up for the last time. 

 

Frank Turner-- Then a few weeks ago, we got to see this singer and his band. My sister introduced us to Frank Turner a few years back, and when we heard he was going to be in Chicago and that tickets were only $20, it sounded like a good show to see! The show was at the Vic, which I hadn't been to in years, and I found out when we got there that the whole balcony was theatre seating. I usually HATE sitting down at a concert, but I decided to embrace my pregnant self and just enjoy the view. 

Old 97's-- This last picture is the worst, but it was a picture of one of my favorite bands, so I couldn't leave it out! Joe and I have seen the Old 97's at least 6 other times around Chicago, most recently when they played out in Aurora the night before my birthday in June. Always a good time, even when I'm about 5 months pregnant. I decided this was my last show for a while, though, unless something good comes up that involves reserved seating. Seems fitting I'd temporarily retire after seeing one of my all time favorite bands, right?

So in the end, that's two festivals, one show at the Vic, and three at the Metro. Not too shabby, little one! We're hoping to get some of those little baby noise reduction earmuffs this summer, so baby can potentially join us for a day at Pitchfork. Could be wishful thinking from some naive first time parents, but it doesn't hurt to dream, right?