ILLINOISE

Again!  We went to Chicago again!  We brought Brittany with us this time.  In times past,  I would've said differently, but despite the miserable c-c-c-cold, I wanted to live there this go around.  It's my town!

Stretchin' legs, havin' a smoke, havin' a beer at the half-way point, Mount Vernon, IL:

Pro tip: you can't go wrong with an electric kettle, an immersion blender, beer, sparkling water, snacks, snacks, snacks, and your own bath towel.  It's like my own personal rider:

Leaving leaving:

Photo by Brittany

Sitting in Chicago traffic:

When we got to our hotel in Chicago, we crashed hard, despite our wanting to get out + explore.  Disco nap.  We had a big evening planned anyhow.  Supper @ Club Lago,  Django Django @ the Metro, maybe hanging out/dancing @ Smart Bar.

My favorite restaurant in Chicagoland:

My one sweets exception, dressed up for St. Paddy's Day:

SOLD OUT

So, the Djangos have gone pro!  They are some business cats!  They've reworked all of their songs and have tiiightened up. Some songs have new extended bits and some have a bangin' house groove laid as a foundation, which is just splendid.  Too, they've got terrific light play and visuals projected onto some blinds.  Lookit:

Great show.  I'm so glad we went to see them again:

I managed to chat it up with Dave Django a couple of times.  Really nice (and patient) fella; I wish we could've hung out more; how rad an eve it would've been to hang out with my favorite band in one of my favorite American cities!  I was able to convince him to come downstairs to Smart Bar for a drink, but perhaps he was looking for a more chill scene.  Also, there's a good chance that I'm a spastic.  A polite one, tho.  Maybe next time?  ATM + I did manage to get some dancing in, which is always fun.  Then we did the long, cold ride/walk home.

I thought I'd break in my new insta camera at this Django show.  I employed the ol' "take a bunch of photos and hopes it'd yield one really good pic" method.  They're pretty much all of Jim Django, which is not a bad thing, but I have a dozen of the same pic. Ah, well.

Outside Metro/Smart Bar:

Photo by ATM

The empty streets of late night Chinatown:

The next morning, Britt and I got up just to eat (and procure some medicine for ATM who was feeling a bit run-down due to allergies) and then we all went back to zzz.  Our proximity to Chinatown made food choices pretty easy.

Szechuan style sauteed eggplant is. the. jam:

I got a whole Peking duck to go:

We eventually got out that afternoon.  Our stop -- Red Line Cermak-Chinatown:

ATM went to Dusty Groove records while Britt and I wandered around Wicker Park to look for some film for her Polaroid and get some coffee.  So, St. Patrick's Day is a really big deal in Chicago.  Everyone was 'getting ready', it warn't no regular Saturday night.  You could feel the ruckus coming on.  Very serious stuff.

Because he was still feeling a bit off, ATM + I scrapped the idea of going to The Bedford and neo that evening.  Instead we got pork belly tacos from Big Star (Wait, maybe this is my favorite restaurant in all of Chicagoland) and watching the Blackhawks game in our hotel room instead.  Something about watching Blackhawks play whilst in Chicago!

Britt and I eventually wandered down to the hotel bar to let ATM rest and to celebrate the inevitable Blackhawks win before she set out to meet a chum in Wrigleyville:

Somehow, SOMEHOW I was able to wake up early the next morning without wishing I was dead.  Since ATM + Britt were deep in slumber, I thought I'd do them a favor and get out of the room for awhile.  I figured it'd be a good time to cut my teeth on learning to drive in Chicago, too.  I drove over to La Colombe, my favorite coffee shop, to really get my day going.  

It warn't long before we started the 10 hour drive home.

We did stop by Boomland in Missouri on the way home to stock up on fireworks:

Ugh, I already miss Chicago.