When: Today! 6 to 8pm
How much: Free
Where: 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 W 115th St, Merrionette Park
Free Barenaked Ladies Concert
Barenaked Ladies fans are lucky lucky lucky. WTMX's Cara Carriveau is hosting a free concert tonight from 6 to 8m at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park. Yes, that is a bit of a hike, but it's Barenaked Ladies! And it's free! If you don't have a car, you can take the Orange line from downtown to Kedzie, and then grab the 52A to 115th and Spaulding.
Keep the New Year Celebration going with champagne at one sixtyblue
It's tradition to start the new year with a toast of champagne. Keep the celebration going with not just one but a whole flight of the sparkling beverage.
One Cold Night, Two Hot Events
Man, it is bitter outside! No need to be bitter inside, though, because there are a couple of events tonight put on by a couple of my favorite Chicagoans!
The Local Tourist Live Music Showcase TONIGHT
I love live music. I adore local musicians. Elbo Room is one of my happy places. Ergo, it just makes sense that I would host a local live music showcase at that bastion of bands.
Tonight is the first ever TLT Showcase. Five of my favorite local bands, all of whom have been featured on TLT, will take the stage. You'll forget all about the cold and snow as you hear amazing music from David Kav, Matt Ryd, Left Turn At Albuquerque, Goodbye Home, and Cobalt and the Hired Guns.
The First Snow
The first snow truly heralds the beginning of winter. I invited Chicagoans to post their photos to The Local Tourist Flickr pool and here are a few that were added. Feel free to add your own to the pool and maybe they'll be included here, too!
Day 5: A "Marathon" of a day
We awakened to a brisk December dawn and headed to Overton Park for the St. Jude Marathon. After an inspiring and moving morning encouraging the runners we headed to the iconic Sun Studios. We followed that with a trip to Beale Street. Here are my favorite pictures from the day. To see all of them, visit my Flickr page.
Day 4: Hello Memphis!
After finally leaving Carbondale around 3 in the morning, we arrived in Memphis around 7:30 or 8am. Despite getting about an hour of sleep on the train, we headed immediately to Otherlands, a cute coffee shop, with our gracious host Rich Varnon. Then we picked up a rental car and headed to Graceland, the home of The King. Next up was the Cook Convention Center for a gig at the St. Jude Marathon Expo. After that we had some real Memphis barbecue at The Bar-B-Q Shop (check out the video here).
Day 3: A filled day in Carbondale
We awakened to a sunny, but cold, day in Mattoon. After taking advantage of the unmanned station to get some pictures on the tracks, we hopped the train to Carbondale. Then we explored the town before his show at Longbranch Coffee House.
Day 2: The Uptowner
The second day of Writing The Rails took us to Charleston, Illinois. The train actually stops in Mattoon so we rented a car. We'd had plans on touring the town, but it was icky and rainy so we checked into the hotel and got to work after eating at the original Burger King.
I was disappointed we couldn't explore because Mattoon was a train town. The Illinois Central Railroad and the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad met here back in 1853, and both lines raced to finish their tracks first because the loser would have to pay to maintain the crossing. I'd also learned that my great grandfather, Cornelius Adam Akens, had worked with New York Central Railroad for over 40 years. He started out as a fireman and worked his way up to engineer. I talked to my grandmother on the way into Mattoon and she told me that one of his runs was between Paris, IL and Mattoon. She also told me that Grandpa Akens was a 33rd degree Mason. I'd never known this about my ancestor and probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this trip!
Because of the rain all of the pictures from Day 2 are from the bar where David played. The official name is Mac's Uptown Cellar, but it's known by the locals as The Uptowner.
From the Home of the Blues to Blues City
For the past week I've been noticeably absent here - literally. Tuesday I left Chicago on the Writing The Rails Tour. Local singer/songwriter David Kav and I have been making our way from the Home of the Blues to Blues City on Amtrak. Along the way he's been writing songs, hence "writing" the rails. We've gotten off the train so he could play college towns in Illinois and now we're in Memphis, known as "Blues City" and the Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll.
It's also the home of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. All tips and CD sales on this trip are being donated to this amazing organization. This afternoon David's playing a private concert for patients and their families. We'll be presenting a check and if you'd like to be included please contribute by noon CST at our Chipin page.
My job on this adventure has been to document our journey, so without further ado here are some of my favorite pictures from day one.
