ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
Check Out My Full Set Of Live Rachael Yamagata Show Shots In The Slideshow HERE and more favorites Below (City Winery Chicago 1/29/19):
It was my pleasure to catch Rachael Yamagata With Special Guests Radnor & Lee at City Winery and shoot stills for ChiIL Live Shows. Rachael's sultry vocals and witty banter between ballads made this a great date night choice for my husband and me.
I was interested to learn that Rachael made Chicago her home for a decade and performed her first open mic right here in a little bar on Lincoln Avenue. She laughingly confessed it was an unmitigated disaster and she stopped performing in public for 5 years after that. Fortunately for her fervent fans, she did give it a go again, eventually joining Chicago funk band, Bumpus.
At Tuesday night's show, we got to see Rachael's on stage "bass debut", as well as her stylings on grand piano and guitar.
She played a number of old favorites, new tunes, and even an excellent encore number of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, garnering a standing ovation. Check out her site here.
Radnor & Lee were folky and fun as openers, with a clever vintage suitcase drum and foot tambourine.
Does Josh Radnor's face look familiar? He's a creative guy, rockin' a bunch of titles: American actor, writer, director, filmmaker and musician. He's most often recognized as Ted Mosby from the Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He wrote and directed the 2010 comedy drama film Happythankyoumoreplease, which won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. In 2014, Radnor portrayed Isaac in Tony nominated Broadway play, Disgraced. You may have also seen him as Dr. Jedediah Foster on Mercy Street, the PBS American Civil War drama and as Lou Mazzuchelli in the musical series Rise. Check out Radnor & Lee's Facebook Page Here.
Check Out My Full Set of Radnor & Lee Live Show Shots In The Slideshow HERE and more favorites Below:
Tuesday-Wednesday, January 29-30
Called “the troubadour of heartbreak,” Rachael Yamagata bears the “old soul” singer/songwriter essence that calls upon Todd Rundgren, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, and Elton John, while sonically gravitating towards the darker stylings of Nick Cave, Tom Waits, P.J. Harvey, and Danny Elfman. She has toured with The Swell Season, Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, and Sara Bareilles. Yamagata has also opened for David Gray solo at Madison Square Garden; and she has shared the stage at Carnegie Hall with R.E.M. and Patti Smith. She released a new EP, Porch Songs, in October 2018. Yamagata returns to City Winery for two intimate performances.
Yamagata unlocks your pain and gives it permission to breathe.
"Along with the bad-assery, Yamagata brings a world-weary passion to her singing. Her voice is a soul-baring, sultry instrument that commands center stage at all times. She has that deliberate, I’ll-sing-the-note-when-I’m-ready pacing that helped make Amy Winehouse great, and before her Billie Holliday.” Associated Press
"The singer-songwriter unveils a dark fire burning within her obstinate self.” Paste
“Some singer/songwriters wear their hearts on their sleeves. Some of them also make sure they’re dripping with blood. Case in point: the ultra-emotive singer/pianist Rachael Yamagata.” Digital Trends
“Catchy and engaging, but consistently smart to boot” -- Mother Jones
“Like Screaming Jay Hawkins meeting Patsy Cline in a studio built by Sam Phillips and David Gold with Daniel Lanois producing, Tightrope Walker is all soul-fever dreams and bittersweet echoes, Yamagata’s breathy, sensuous vocals leading rumbling drums and swampy guitars, ghostly keyboards, and sorcerer’s tones.” - Electronic Musician
'More classy soul-baring pastorals from upstate New Yorker... a sonically rich experience that repays closer listening... Yamagata’s voice is superb at evoking languid heartache... This is an album of immersive and emotive pleasures’ – Uncut
Opened in 2012, City Winery Chicago is a fully operational winery, restaurant with outdoor patio, concert hall and private event space located in the heart of the West Loop at 1200 W. Randolph, in the historic urban Fulton Market district. Once a refrigerated food distribution warehouse, the 1911 building has been transformed into a contemporary 33,000 square foot haven for those passionate about wine, music and culinary arts. The décor evokes the romance of being in wine country, from the exposed stainless steel fermenting tanks and French oak barrels, to the aroma of fermenting grapes. The West Loop’s only fully operational winery has produced dozens of in-house wines sourced from vineyards in California, Oregon, Washington, Argentina and Chile, including a Wine Enthusiast 92-point 2015 Verna’s Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir. With more than 400 unique producers from around the world City Winery is recognized with 2014 and 2015 Best of Awards of Excellence “for having one of the most outstanding restaurant wine lists in the world” by Wine Spectator. The globally inspired, locally sourced, wine-focused food menu is conceived for pairing and sharing. The concert hall accommodates up to 300 guests, all seated at tables with complete beverage and dining service, ensuring a comfortable “listening room” experience enhanced by a state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system. Riedel is the official and exclusive provider of glassware, showing City Winery’s commitment to enjoying quality wine in a quality vessel. American Airlines is the Official Airline and Virgin Hotels Chicago is the Official Hotel of City Winery. For more information, please visit www.citywinery.com.
