Darlingside @ Old Town School of Folk Music

Liz and I are both big fans of Darlingside. We got to see them last year at the North Shore Center in Skokie, and thoroughly enjoyed the concert. We got tickets for this weekend at Old Town.

I was concerned about parking, given the fact that this was a Saturday night. We ended up arriving just in time, got the best possible parking spot right by the front doors… and had an easy walk a few blocks away to Cobblestone (where we had dinner, before the show).

Concert calendar.

Our show was inside the Gary @ Laura Maurer Concert Hall, where supposedly every seat is within 45 feet of the stage. It was definitely an intimate space, and a lovely place for a show.

There were tables near the front of the stage, but I think the very front row was too close. I could see the second row as a possibility – or even the very last row of the first floor (which also had tables).

Again, a remarkably intimate space.

A view of the stage, from where we were sitting.

Darlingside, on stage.

A brief moment, where the band came out into the audience to do a request. They said they don’t often do requests, but made an exception for tonight. Apparently, someone in the audience had a specific song they wanted to hear (and it was a song they used as their alarm every morning).

The song itself is very short, only 30 seconds in total.

I saw the guy in front of me recorded the short song, and after the concert… I asked if I could get a copy. He was kind enough to share it with me, and so I’m now sharing it with you:

And if you’re curious, here’s the original:

The pandemic really changed both me and Liz. We were both homebodies, sure… but we went out a bit more often than we do now. The last few years have been a stark change, and tonight was a nice reminder of the lives we used to live.

We live in Chicago, but it feels rare for us to take advantage of the fact that we live in Chicago. We stay at home more than we should. And tonight, I’m glad we broke that mold. If only for an evening.

Related:
Darlingside @ North Shore Center
Darlingside: The God of Loss
Darlingside: Harrison Ford