My excitement for this three day run never ceased -- from rumor to announcement to show time, I was 100% amped! We drove into town late Friday afternoon and had just enough time to get to the venue. The show got off to a great start with a fun Suzy/Wolfman’s combo. Wolfman’s got particularly sharp with plucky funk midway through. BDTNL was also well-played, adding just a bit more kindling to our budding fires. I had a strong feeling we’d get It’s Ice after watching an inflatable Stanley Cup dance over the crowd. Last time I’d heard it was ’09 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The band sang the national anthem for a Red Wings game just before hitting the stage that night; hearing it in Chi was similarly apropos. The band forgot the “OW!” (or maybe they were waiting for the crowd to provide it -- we tried, but it was weak, haha). Overall, this version seemed a little out of sync to me. I guess Fishman got the blame since they followed up with Moma Dance, haha. Great selection for a night on the lake, and the execution was tight. My first My Soul was as rousing as I expected, with fun, boogie-woogie charm.

I was pretty psyched for Scent of a Mule. This was my first run of the summer, so I was hoping that the band would showcase some of the new gadgets they were using. Fishman treated us to an eerie, haunting soundscape on the marimba, fitting for a song about UFOs and elegance. 46 Days, Limb by Limb (short, beautiful Trey solo here, ending with a nice sustained note) and Julius closed the first set in zealous fashion.

During setbreak, we heard about the postponement of the Pearl Jam show at Wrigley (about 10 miles north of our location). We could see lightening in the northwestern sky creeping towards us, and we expected rain with a possible delay…we did not expect a full evacuation. Set two started with a heated DWD, followed by “Oh, to be Prince Caspian, people…ooh, to be Prince Caspian”, and the venue’s eventual evacuation due to weather concerns.

On the way out, I joked that the city was using us as guinea pigs to prove to the venue’s critics that they were capable of evacuating the island in an orderly manner, haha. Initially, I felt a little deflated and unfulfilled walking away from what was an awesome start to our three day run, but that feeling quickly faded since I couldn't fault anyone for making that decision. I’m glad they made safety a priority, especially considering the uniqueness of the show’s location and its limited accessibility. The night before the show, I read an article about 9 farmers who were struck by lightning while working in a field in Colorado. Safety first!

We lingered in the venue a little too long and got caught in the rain as we walked back to our hotel, argh! It was great seeing everyone making the best of the situation (tunnel parties, huddling in doorways and various alcoves with strangers/new friends, etc), and we felt fortunate that we still had two more days of music!