Proving again their ability in bringing amazing national talent to our corner of the world, The Acorn hosted legendary songwriter Steve Earle on Monday, August 14th. The venue was sold out, with every chair warm and the bar staff hopping. Opener Ben Chapman got things rolling. He kept it cool while professing his own love of Earle and excitement in opening for him. The influence was clear in his music, though he could easily have been at home besides any number of Americana musicians. He charmed the audience between songs with tales of lyrical origins and was rewarded with the support of a crowd both attentive and lively in their listening.
(Ben Chapman, The Acorn, Three Oaks. Photos by Justin Flagel)
Earle brought plenty of his own banter to the set, inviting the room on a journey through past loves ("this goes out to whatsername, where ever the hell she is"), humor both gentle ("same girl, different harmonica") and crass (we'll leave those in the room), and memories of the burdens, both personal and communal, one witnesses during a half-century-plus career. Themes of unity were common. Earle expressed that, while his politics remained the same, opening doors, hearts, and ears to each other was as much a priority. The crowd was on board the entire show, with sing-alongs and handclaps. Earle "left it all on the stage", as they say. I had the pleasure of shaking the exhausted musicians hand after the show (check that one off the bucket list) and it was clear he'd held nothing back.
(Steve Earle, The Acorn, Three Oaks. Photos by Justin Flagel)
Saturday night, I found myself back at The Acorn for the much anticipated show from Chicago's Mucca Pazza. How does one describe this outfit, you ask? Well, how about this:
The show delivered everything I'd heard of the group. The dance floor was open and the band encouraged audience participation not only by dancing themselves, but by finding seats among the viewers to take in the show themselves. The entire crew seemed to never stop moving while during performances, so the intermissions were both understandable and necessary for refreshing one's breath and glass.
(Mucca Pazza The Acorn, Three Oaks. Photos by Justin Flagel)
Sunday brought incredible fun at the Potawatomi Conservatories, with the Dance Society and DJ Chuck Fry throwing another Good Morning dance party. Yes, morning. What better way to start your Sunday than with dancing among wonderful people, plant life, and house beats for a few hours? Revenant was in the house keeping us well caffeinated, Lipstick Ghoul kept us decorated, and Soul Fire Yoga brought us down with a lovely sound bath.
The Acorn continues to bring amazing music, local, regional, and national, so be sure to keep track with their upcoming shows at acornlive.org
And the Dance Society socials are not to miss, so watch out for the next one at ourdancesociety.com
Cheer! Here's to life!