Brandi Carlile Live (for the First Time in a Long Time) in Chicago

 Last night I saw Brandi Carlile live in Chicago, in a crowd of 10,000. Last time I saw Brandi and the Twins live, I was one of maybe hundreds, and they didn't have a real record yet. And she was just as much of a rock star back then as she was on stage yesterday.

I've been a lover of the BCB (Brandi Carlile Band) since 2003, and still have two demo CDs on my shelf alongside all the other big studio albums, yet I somehow skipped all the live shows in the middle. About the same time that they went away to make it big, I slowed down on seeing live music for a few years. And when I started again, around a decade ago, Brandi was too known in Seattle for me to get a ticket. Every time I found out about one of her local shows, it was already sold out. Then she switched to playing the Gorge instead of the city, and... y'all... hell to the no on the Gorge. It's too far to drive there and back the same day, and the closest I will ever get to camping is a hotel with less than 4 stars. 

But during the pandemic I finally found out about the Bramily, which DUH I should've been a member of all along. And signing up for that was what finally gave me enough notice about the tour to get myself a good seat at the Chicago show. Because, yeah, I'll take a flight halfway across the country over camping ANY day.

I know it sounds like some kind of crazy bandwagon jumping being back now that everyone knows about Brandi, but c'mon... if you know me, you know I don't play around when it comes to music fanaticism.

I was trying to remember when the last time I saw BCB in person was, but it had to have been 17 or 18 years ago, and I saw a lot of their shows back then. Given that Brandi was still a local hustling to make it big, there were a lot of opportunities for live shows in Seattle when I discovered her in 2003, and even my completely broke ass could afford them. I know I went to a many a bar show, and made a few visits to a restaurant in Queen Anne where you could see BC and the Twins play an acoustic set for free on Sunday nights, as long as you bought something. So either of those settings could have been the last time, and it was probably in 2004, since I think 2005 was when they left town to make their first album.

It was before I had a million phone pics of everything I did, so I looked in my old blogging service to see if I could figure out the timing of my last Seattle BCB gig. I couldn't, but here are some excerpts of what I wrote about a show at the Tractor Tavern in October 2003:

Brandi kicked ass, as usual. Her CDs don't do her justice. Along with all the brilliant original material, she sang the hell out of Creep once again, and did the best version of Hallelujah that I've ever heard (which is saying a lot, because everyone and their mother has done that song).

Speaking of mothers, I bought a CD from Brandi's mom* on the way out.

I would recommend Brandi Carlile to just about everyone. She's that good. 

It wasn't my first BCB show, nor my last, but it seems to be the one I wrote the most about. Compare that to the ONLY thing I said about my first (absolutely incredible) Ani DiFranco gig in July of 2003: I just got home from the show and I couldn't possibly love Ani anymore right now. She just rocks the entire world.

Clearly there's a reason I'm not a rock journalist.

Anyway. Last night in Chicago. It was roughly eleventy kajillion degrees out, even after it got dark, but luckily there was a slight breeze and my seat was shaded by the stage, so I only sweated out about half my body weight during the show. Also, the only way to get seats up front was to be a Bramily member who got in on the pre-sale, so I spent the down time chatting with all the superfans around me about our history with Brandi, Ani and Celisse, tattoos, the upcoming Girls Just Wanna Weekend, feminism, racial justice... ya know, chick stuff.

The show was opened up by Celisse, who rocked my world, shredded on the guitar. She only did a few songs, but also got the chance to do a few with BCB during the headlining set.

Then came Ani DiFranco, who I just saw last month in Seattle, but who I'd happily hear play every night if I could. Ani's always amazing and inspiring, and getting to see her again alongside Brandi was one of the main reasons I picked Chicago as my stop on the tour. And as per the BCB way, Ani came back to sing 32 Flavors with Brandi and the band during their encore.

Then the main event! Brandi is, was, and always will be a rockstar. She killed it, as did the Twins. Who, by the way, were celebrating their birthday last night (although I think maybe it's actually today?), so Tim and Phil got to hear the birthday song from a full amphitheater before going back to the business at hand. 

My seat was down front, but sort of off to the side of the stage, so if I looked straight to my right I saw into the not-well-concealed backstage area, below one of the big screens for the folk in the back. There was a small open area between the stage barrier and the seats, and everyone in the first two rows got a wristband to allow them to flood that area. I was row three, so got the pleasure of staying in my seat. Or standing in front of it dancing for most of the night, actually. But because I remained where I was, I turned my head to see what was on the big screen while Brandi was telling a story about her family, and noticed Catherine Carlile standing there at the side of the stage, with both their kids playing around nearby. And it seemed like they were there for most of the 2 hour set. I love that. Not only that they go on the tours, but that they actually want to be there to see Brandi doing her job every night. What a family. What a band. What a night.

Oh, and Brandi's still doing Creep; with the help of Celisse on guitar last night. Same old rockstar from the Tractor!

*I have no actual proof of this, and I don't remember making the purchase at all. This is purely based on word on the street at the time, which was that Momma Carlile worked the merch table.