Hideout Block Party - Day Two (9/17/2005)

Tim and Katie Tuten could not have asked for a better conclusion to the 9th annual Hideout Block Party. After a cloudy Friday, nature was kind to the co-owners of the Hideout and provided fantastic weather for a Saturday stacked with music. This year's lineup included many notable Chicago acts like The M's, Eleventh Dream Day, The Ponys, and The Redwalls. But the buzzing news of the day was the first live performance in twenty-two years by The dB's in their original lineup.

To many loyal patrons, the Hideout Block Party has come to mark the end of summer. It's that last hoorah outside before the winter coats come out of their closets and the salt trucks hit the pavement. As in previous years, the proceeds from this year's two day fest went to benefit the not-for-profit organizations P.L.A.Y. and Tuesday's Child & Literacy Works. Last year the Hideout raised $14, 238.58 for the two causes.

Tim Tuten worked the stage like some vaudeville announcer jumping up onto his rock and roll soapbox and preaching to the audience about the next band they were about to witness. The passion he would put into his speeches would leave some in the audience a bit out of breath. Behind the scenes he and his wife would be tending to the needs of the bands and making sure the train was running on time. Try to imagine a family Christmas gathering where all your second and third cousins showed up and you only have one table where they can be seated for dinner.

As the afternoon rolled along so did the music. Guitarist Rick Rizzo of Eleventh Dream Day slashed the calm air with his fuzzed toned guitar and murderous vocals. Since reforming nearly two years ago at the Double Door, Eleventh Dream Day has gone about their "comeback" quietly. "We just recorded these two weeks ago," said Rizzo regarding the batch of new material the band unveiled on stage. The songs were so fresh that even the band joked about not knowing what songs to play. Although the band was missing guitarist Baird Figi, who participated with the band's reunion show, the raw nature of Eleventh Dream Day's set still created a chill down the spine, not because it was nostaglic to hear one of the most venerated Chicago rock bands rekindle some old fire but because the music remains timeless even if you had never known about the band or its past.

Not only was Chicago well-represented on the bill but so was Canada. The Sam Roberts Band was the full-tilt rock show of the day, provided by our neighbors to the north, with polished guitar solos, thick beards, and big choruses to ignite the sing-alongs. Following Eleventh Dream Day's set and preceding The dB's, the Sam Roberts Band injected some kick into the afternoon even if it wasn't a real dose of anything at all. It's all well and good to play to a crowd as if you're playing a sold-out Wembley Stadium, but, without the songs to back up the swagger, it's then only a show with pretty instruments and tight jeans.

Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder are four names that when put together make The dB's complete. They are legends out of the Winston-Salem music scene of the early 80s and considered to be the torchbearers of the jangle-pop sound that was often attributed to The Byrds and Big Star. What The dB's started in their heyday R.E.M. continued as they rose in popularity into the late 80s and early 90s (early producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, later on Scott Litt, had ties to The dB's). It had been a long time coming for the band since breaking up in the fall of 1988; Stamey had left the band in 1982. For all the lineup changes The dB's faced after Stamey's departure and slow record sales, there were still fans waiting with open arms for their band to come back again.

The band's performance at the Hideout was the first of two shows they had scheduled that day--the other was a late show at the House of Blues. The cheers were loud and clear as the foursome walked onto the stage. Eager fans piled in front of the stage already shouting out requests for "Neverland." To simply pick up a guitar and play on stage must have been a pleasure for Holsapple who recently lost his home in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina.

As they opened their set with "Ask For Jill," the Holsapple-Stamey vocal duo was harmony never lost. The band was a bit shaky early in their performance, but they would find each other within the songs. Rigby and Holder held the base of the band together, while Holsapple was the match that lit the fire; it was no wonder why R.E.M. used Holsapple's well of talent during their 1989 Green World Tour and subsequent MTV Unplugged in 1991.

The dB's dusted off their catalog and managed to throw in some new songs as well like "World To Cry" and "Santa Monica." In a touching moment, the audience let the band know they were game for one more song, and, with some encouragement fromTim Tuten, the band returned for more. Already against the clock with set times and changing gear on stage, it was a gesture of respect to allow The dB's an encore, and why not? It was a show that was twenty-two years in the making.

The sun began to set and the music got louder as some of the best local acts played into the night. It was a smoking trio of The Ponys, The M's, and The Redwalls that really took the block party up a couple of notches. Toss Joy Division and Sonic Youth into a blender and you would get The Ponys. Their frantic assault was simply just that; every note screamed chaos and every beat thundered like a bomb. The M's married the strange with swaggering melody--every word that singer Josh Chicione's whispered was like a secret with a sinister punch line. Placed near the top of the bill was The Redwalls. Their star has risen since touring with Oasis on their U.K. summer stadium tour and opening the first day of Lollapalooza. Born rock stars? You bet. The time with Oasis certainly has rubbed off the quartet out of Deerfield, IL. Now, when The Redwalls take the stage, there's more of a bounce in their strut. Singer Logan Baren nearly melted his microphone with his no-mercy powered vocals. They may have used The Beatles as their platform, but don't pigeonhole The Redwalls as merely a cover band making some noise. "On My Way" was smoother than a Las Vegas pimp, and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like A Woman" came across with biting energy. The Redwalls closed out their night with a balls out rendition of "Robinson Crusoe," highlighted by guitarist Andrew Langer and his Pete Townshend-guitar trashing moment.

At the end of the night, the Hideout Block Party accomplished what it set out to do: provide great music. If you ever wanted to know what kind of people Tim and Katie Tuten are, just attend one of the block parties or Hideout shows and you'll understand. These people are their club. For just a donation of $10, eight hours of live music was put on stage, drinks were had, and order was maintained. It's not the place to be seen. It's just the place where you go and say, "I'm here for some good music." And in its ninth year, the Hideout Block Party kept up its reputation as one of the best summer street fests in Chicago.

All Photos By: Chris Castaneda