Wednesday morning we woke up at 8am for a day of shopping and hopefully a Counting Crows concert. We headed downtown Evanston and hit the used record stores. At Reckless Records, the cashier told us of his run in with Adam when they played NU two years ago. He saw Adam walking past the store and asked him to come in and buy some records. "No more records," Adam replied. hehe. We headed back for the dorm to pack up our luggage then went downtown Chicago. We called the Aragon before we left to make sure the show was still on. It was! Yay! We drove to the Aragon and parked in the lot next door. Then we hopped on the el and headed down to Michigan Ave. for more shopping! There was a scary man in our car, so we switched cars at the next stop. The el was really crowded. We ate lunch at the Water Tower Foodlife food court, made a obligatory stop at the Gap, then walked down Michigan Ave. to the Virgin Records store. Patricia and I bought the "Hangin' Around" single with "Baby, I'm a Big Star Now" as a b-side. At around 3:15pm we took the el back up north to the Aragon. Patricia saw Adam from Joe 90 in the alley on the side of the venue. We arrived to see about 15 people in line on the side of the venue. Chris and Kris were there. Kevin arrived soon after. Adrianne and Kelly, Kris and her boyfriend Eric, and Erin also joined us in line. We took lots of pictures. We took turns taking bathroom breaks and searching for the tour buses. Patricia and I went to the bank across the street to use the washroom then went to the front of the Aragon to hear the soundcheck. We heard them playing "Angels of the Silences." We walked around to the other side of the venue and saw the tour buses. Sarah and Mary had seen them arrive earlier and had gotten a picture with Adam!

At 5:45, we put our jackets in the car and shivered for 15 minutes until they opened the doors. We ran inside. We got frisked (easily got my camera in) and ran upstairs into the huge, ornate ballroom. We got 2nd row center. The stage was really high. We saw Charlie behind the tarp on the stage messing with some equipment and were contemplating shouting hello to him. Up in the balcony we could see the band members eating dinner. We saw members of Joe 90, Gigolo Aunts, and Adam, Ben, Charlie, Dan, and David from CC. People screamed hello to Adam, and he put his finger to his lips and told us be quiet. It was very weird watching them eat dinner. Finally, at 7pm, Adam came out to introduce Joe 90. He was wearing glasses, a blue button down shirt and jeans. I got a picture of him introducting the band. He said among other things that Joe 90 were going to spend New Years with him, were from his label, and were from Hollywood. Joe 90 was great. They played Ferris Wheel, November Bombs, Truth, Drive, and ended with a cover of the Beatles Why Don't We Do it In the Road. Dan Vickery joined them on Drive.

Before introducing the Gigolo Aunts, Adam talked about some charity organizations that had booths in the lobby. The Gigolo Aunts came out to tune their own instruments. Adam came out again to introduce them. He said they were some of his best friends and would also be spending New Years with him. They are on his label and are from Boston. They played a great set: Where I Find My Heaven, Half a Chance, The Big Lie, Super Ultra Wicked Mega Love. I got some pictures of them. We saw Adam, Charlie, Dan, Ben, and Dave watching the opening bands from the balcony. During the Gigolo Aunts, Matt and David Immergluck walked right by us in front of the stage, behind the baracade. We screamed hello of course!

More waiting. Then at 8:50, the lights went out and Magical Mystery Tour played on the speakers. The band came out and played a wonderful show. Adam was still wearing his blue button down shirt and jeans. Dan was wearing his bowler hat and red leather pants (eww!). What an incredible show! The sound was good from where I was standing, expect from an annoying buzz that occasionally came from the speaker. Here is the setlist (I wrote it down):

Start: 8:50pm
Mr. Jones
Daylight Fading
Children in Bloom
High Life
I Wish I Was a Girl
Amy Hit the Atmosphere
Mercury
Omaha
Monkey
Four Days
Round Here
St. Robinson
Rain King
Hangin' Around

Encore:

Colorblind
A Long December
Walkaways
End: 10:20

We stood right in front of Adam. He seemed healthy, in good spirits, and was really talkative. He came out and said "I'm fine!" Here's a rundown of the show:

Mr. Jones -- Started with the acoustic intro "She's down at the New Amsterdam. She said 'Why, why, why.'" Then they broke into the rockin' electric version!

Daylight Fading --

Children in Bloom -- Kris and Adrianne gave Matt a lighter tribute.

High Life-- "This is a song about examining your life."

I Wish I Was a Girl -- Adam said this song was about "trust. Swear to God. This is a song about being far away from someone you love, and the difficulty with distance and trust. It's about two people who can't make each other believe each other."

Amy Hit the Atmosphere -- Adam went to the piano. What a beautiful song. I was nearly in tears.

Mercury -- Whoa. This was incredible! I was in awe. Adam started with "this is not a song about love, this is a song about addiction." He did some heavy breathing and

Omaha -- Adam told a story about his sister's goldfish eating his Japanese fighting fish and said this song was about that. He sat down on the speaker in front of us during most of the song. Charlie ruled on the accordian!

Monkey -- Adam introduced it by saying it is their most optimistic love song. He said he wrote it for a b**ch, but now he as a new girlfriend. Never thought I'd hear this song live!

Four Days -- Matt on lead guitar.

Round Here-- Whoa. Another incredible version. The intro was a little bizarre. Adam sat on the speaker in front of us and kept repeating "". As alternate lyrics he kept singing "it's alright" then added parts of Private Archipeligo at the end!

St. Robinson -- One of my favorite new songs!

Rain King -- Adam sang the "little better of everything I need is better than nothing" and "shine, shine look what I found. Your eyes are taking me out of bounds" alt lyrics! One of the best versions I've ever heard! Someone was trying to crowd surf during this song though and kicked me in the shoulder. Argh!

Hangin' Around -- Adam said this is the first single off the new album. The guys from Joe 90 and Gigolo Aunts came out. This song is so much fun, so energetic! And I got the double clap!

The band went offstage and we clapped and screamed for an encore.

Colorblind -- Matt on played the piano, and Ben came out front to play the xylophone.

A Long December -- New intro: "It's been a long day since Thursday. It's been a long time you've been gone. It's been a long wait since Wednesday, but it'll be some time before you come along. It's a cold month September. October is scary as hell. Keep myself warm in November. December I can never tell". It was funny to see Dan demand his applause when he stepped out front for his guitar solo.

Walkaways -- .

Adam introduced the band, wished us a happy Thanksgiving, then said goodnight. David Immergluck waved his ponytail at us as he left the stage. Aww. I didn't want it to end! After the show, we waited to try to get setlists, but didn't have any luck. The roadies just threw them off the stage. Kris got one of David's guitar picks though! It took us forever to get out of the packed theatre. We went outside to grab our coats from the car, and then headed toward where the buses were. We saw Matt looking out of the second story window. Kris yelled hello and asked him about the baby he and his wife are expecting. We waited by buses which were in a fenced-off area at the back of the building. There were only a few other people waiting. Charlie came out of the building first. I saw him by the buses, and we shouted for him to come over. I got his autograph on my TDL cd booklet, and Patricia and I got a picture with him. Then Matt came out. What a sweetie! He stayed and talked to us for the longest time. I got his autograph on my cd booklet and a picture with him. We asked him all sorts of questions. Then Dan came out wearing a fur coat. Matt asked what we thought of Dan's coat. Chris told him he looked like a pimp! LOL. Dan asked what we thought of his red leather pants, and Adrianne told him they were mega sexy. Hehe. I got his autograph, and Patricia and I got a picture with him. Then Adam came from the side of the building. He was wearing the ski hat he wore on Letterman. I got his autograph and a picture with him as well! He seemed really quiet. When he left, he said something about see you in Milwaukee, and I told him I would be there! :) I also got David Immergluck's autograph . Chris had him sign "Immergasm was here" on her folder shirt! LOL. Dave and Ben were no where to be found though. I also got to meet all of Joe 90. I got to talk to them a bit and they signed my cd booklet. They were very sweet! Dave Gibbs from Gigolo Aunts signed my cd booklet as well. I never know what to say to the band members, so I just told everyone I was going to Milwaukee. Mary got everyone to sign her peanut butter. HEHE. The security people started getting antsy and said we had to leave. We walked around to the other side of the building, because there seemed to be a commotion there. As we were walking there, we saw David Immergluck kissing a random girl through the fence! He let out a scary laugh as we walked by! Eww! How embarassing! We then walked back to our cars. We saw the Joe 90 boys leaving in their little van. We went to eat at Golden nugget on Clark. As we drove home to Naperville, we heard Mrs. Potter's Lullabye on the radio! What a perfect ending to a perfect evening!

WHAT AN AWESOME SHOW. Musically, I think it was one of the best I've ever seen. The alternate lyrics Adam sang during Round Here, Rain King, and Mercury were amazing! And what made it the best show was seeing it with other hardcore fans. We all sang every word and exchanged glances and smiles during the show. Kris, Adrianne, and I kept looking at each other thoughout the show, and I kept pinching Patricia's arm! Thanks to Patricia, Sarah, Mary, Kris, Chris, Kevin, Adrianne, Kelly, and Rhonda for a making it such a memorable couple of days! Can't wait to do it again in January!