A Piano, a Madman and a Delightful Time ( or Tim Minchin, We Love You )

Tuesday night, The Empty Pockets family headed out to Lincoln Hall to catch one of our favorite performers in his first ever Chicago show. Danielle and I rode the train in from the burbs and met up with Josh, Eri and Dan at Josh and Eri's apartment, had a quick aperitif [ link ] and headed out to grab some delicious food and discuss what songs we would love to hear out of our favorite piano-playing mad-man:

Tim!

His name is Tim Minchin [ link ] and he's a delightful English-Australian comedian, musician and actor. His songs are as thought-provoking as they are hilarious, cleverly written and masterfully executed through wonderfully robust piano chops and excellently timed pauses or looks. His lyrical content is a swirling mixture of rhythm and poetry executed with a straight-faced precision that is made only more stimulating by the subject matter. Betwixt songs, his observational stand-up is hilariously pointed, deeply insightful, and sometimes just plain silly, all of which when added together makes for absolutely excellent theatre experience.

Here's a small cross-sampling of some of his music, most of which is easily viewable on his website or on the YouTubes. Disclaimer: Tim Minchin's comedy, while delightfully intelligent, can also be quite ribald and possibly offensive to those with delicate sensibilities. If you feel you may be one of these people, perhaps you'd be happier with someone slightly less offensive, such as the ineffable Tom Lehrer [ link ].

Tim Minchin's love song, "Inflatable You" shows off his hilarious word-play and rhyming schemes as well as his jaw-dropping piano chops and is an undeniable Empty Pockets favorite: [ link ]

"Not Perfect" is a great representation of Minchin's ability to create a song that has humor in it but is more than just a "comedy song," being a thought-provoking and insightful journey through man's existence in a sort of Matryoshka doll way. It's one of Danielle's favorites and is certainly worth your attention. [ link ]

And as a final taste of the brilliance of Tim Minchin, here's another favorite of the Pockets. It's the song I walked around the house singing before we split for the concert and I feel it's a perfect blending of comedy and musical-geekery. Witness for yourselves the genius of "F-Sharp". [ link ]

Tim Minchin will be at Lincoln Hall for the rest of the week, performing to sold-out audiences for the "Just For Laughs Comedy Festival" sponsored by TBS and Twix, so you may be out of luck if you want to see him in Chicago. However, he's on tour around the rest of the country for the next few months, so check out his website and go see him live. You won't regret it.

With a rift betwixt my fingers and my tenor,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Hot Fun in the Summertime ( or Insert Clever Heat Pun Here)

This summer has already been many different things for many different people, as all summers are. There's even disagreement as to when the season begins. Some say Memorial Day, some say the summer solstice. (Retailers have taken to placing summer items in mid-March or earlier.) Despite all the differences, we have shared a common experience this summer. It has been HOT.

Smeriously hot.

Though just as aging a fine wine can make it better, heat has the ability to amp up the Rock and Roll and is an absolute must for the summer concert season. It wouldn't be an outdoor rock-fest if it wasn't blazingly hot. It makes the food and beer taste better and makes the sweet sounds coming from the nearby speaker that much sweeter. The Empty Pockets have been a busy crew at this, the beginning (or not) of the summer. We kicked off our summer concert season by closing out the 3rd Annual Taste of Bolingbrook, which was an absolute blast, and we've been rolling strong since.

We spent a whole day rocking in the sun on June 1, starting with one of our favorite activities: Rocking for the kids. Rutledge Hall and Todd Hall in Lincolnwood were hip enough to bring their students outside for a bit of highly curricular rocking as Josh and the Empty Pockets presented their "A (Very) Brief History of Rock and Roll" show. These kids sure do know a lot about the history of Rock and Roll!

Kids love to rock!

No, you rock!

 

After the Scholastic Rock Fest, we boogied on out to Warrenville to open up the Warrenville Library's free "Concert on the Commons" series. [ link ] We had a great time there and everyone was super nice! It was great to see some familiar faces amongst the crowd and we enjoyed it so much, we hope to be invited back next year!

Fish-eye Rocking!

 

A lovely day for a concert

 

Of course, all the summer fun of rocking in the sun cannot be had in one day. The Empty Pockets enjoyed all the sun (and a little rain) on Saturday, June 4 at the Lakeview Sausage Fest. This festival had everything: Rocking music, A Sausage King, Ronnie Woo Woo, and of course, sausage! (Sausage is pronounced thusly: [ link ])

 

It's glorious. * single tear *

 

The Sausage King and Dann-o discuss important sausage secrets.

 

Josh shreds it up

 

Even Ronnie Woo Woo digs the Pockets!

 

And of course, this is just the beginning of the summer fun. We've got awesome outdoor summer shows coming up all the time, so don't forget to stop by our website [ link ] or like us on Facebook [ link ] and keep up on the blistering summer rock brought out by the Empty Pockets.

Hot or not, you just can't stop,

-Nate Bellon(bass)