Refused is a band that broke up in 1998 shortly after making an album titled The Shape of Punk to Come, which went on to more or less be the shape of punk to come. Naturally they broke up right after starting their first real US tour… Meaning it was a pretty big deal when they got back together because very few people had ever seen them play but their last album was extremely popular and really influential to a lot of modern bands.
Earlier this year they announced they would be playing Coachella and a couple other dates. Chicago made the cut and is well within driving distance for a weekend getaway. We weren’t the only ones with the idea to see them… After the show there were at least twenty of our Saint Louis friends at the same bar at one point! It’s worth noting that the two of us went up alone with no real plans to meet up with anyone. It was a bit surreal to be minding my own business walking down the street in Chicago and have someone lean out a cab window and yell “Hey Grant!”
We took off on Thursday morning for Chicago and came across a huge Paul Bunyan statue in Atlanta, Illinois . For reasons unknown they replaced the axe with a hotdog. I for one am glad they did!
The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful and we arrived at our hotel, The Intercontinental. We were given a room on the top floor with a great a view and were VERY impressed! In addition to a good room at a nice hotel, it was also only four years old. It was very nice and modern, but we would like to point out that doorless rain showers are no good. I’ll take the pressure washer at the Super 8, thank you very much.
The weird rain shower:
The rest of the bathroom was really nice though. I really liked the stand alone sink and glass tiling. The pictures don’t show it well but it was clear tiles over blue paint.
The other weird thing was this painting in the corner of the lobby…
After settling into our swanky accommodations, we took off for the show. It was at The Congress theater. It was built in 1926 and is a very pretty venue but in terrible shape. Probably like the Fox Theater or the Peabody Opera house were before their renovations. The lighting was terrible and it was eight million degrees inside, so the pictures are limited.
It was so hot and loud in there we ended up with ear plugs in, sitting against an air condition vent on the back wall with a woman who was at least nine months pregnant. That is where this picture was taken from. Moving back there was a great idea!
One of their songs if you are curious:
The Cubs were hosting the Cardinals the following day so we took the opportunity to see Wrigley in person.
And have a few hot dogs!
You can’t tell from the picture, but yes we were both wearing Cardinals hats.
A guy outside the stadium drew my picture despite me repeatedly telling him “No thank you.”
I’m glad I didn’t have any cash.
We took public the train to the game to avoid traffic. Trying to catch a cab in Wrigleyville is almost as bad as driving in Chicago in the first place. At least this picture turned out interesting!
Kiki’s Bistro was for dinner. It’s worth perusing the menu.
After that we went to our friend’s work to see a concert. It was Big Freedia from New Orleans. I don’t really know what to say about it other than watching tons of weirdos inappropriately dance was incredibly funny and tons of fun.
After a good night’s sleep, we took off for home and promptly ran into a pipe on the highway just outside of Chicago. I believe it was the only time we drove above 20mph all weekend.
After determining it would not hold air we drove to the nearest tire shop to avoid 275 miles of driving on a wobbly donut spare.
This is not where you want to be driving down while on a suspect tire.
The tire was fine, but the rim was very dented. I took the following picture while some nice guys at the tire shop hammered the dent out so we could get home. I thought it might help me remember the name of the town. It didn’t.
A bit later than expected, but all in all a success.
