We’re not a Metal or Punk band, but in our never-ending city tour, we have played our share of dives; low-down, rats in the cellar, urinal the size of a terminal, stale beer and urine bars. We’ve also found ourselves in musty galleries, haunted old buildings, echoey, winding hallways. Or on the lakefront; wind whipping, big waves crashing over the rocks trying to steal our thunder. Or in the middle of a cornfield in rural Wisconsin; large, green cornstalks arrayed around us like silent, judging, other-worldly spectators.

It’s been an amazing journey.

Last Monday we played at a pretty classy joint called Uncommon Ground on Devon in Chicago. Excellent food and drinks. Nice, warm room. Lots of wood and brick. A small stage. Good sound. It was a treat for some of the fans who have followed us down other rabbit holes. We had two special guests for this show: Douglas Johnson on Clevinger Bass and Maria Storm on Violin.  It was a very big sound for an intimate room. Douglas is our secret weapon – he is a sonic alchemist; sometimes the sound he conjures is melodic, sometimes it’s spooky & noisy, it’s always something unexpected and cool. And Maria is a classically-trained violinist who brings energy & passion, a joyful fire, to our songs with beautiful and enchanting improvisations. It was our first show with Maria, what a great debut!

We closed our set with “Crow,” a rambling, wild-ride  type of monologue song.  It’s loose, experimental and weird. Carla put her heart and soul into it. It’s haunting and quiet, and loud, and raucous too. It seemed to get the attention of everyone in the room. You could see people putting their cellphones down to watch the song unfold. It was a great ending to a memorable Monday night show. Uncommon for sure! – Jammer