Review Sun Jan 11 2015

Bloodshot Records Toasted its 20th Anniversary at the Metro

By Celeste Mallama

While nobody was looking, Bloodshot Records turned 20. The iconic Chicago label, which has boasted the likes of Ryan Adams, Andrew Bird, and the Old 97's on their roster, took over the Metro on Saturday to toast the big birthday.

While the lineup for the night started out as Banditos, Bobby Bare Jr, Jon Langford, Lydia Loveless and Ben Kweller, it morphed unexpectedly throughout the night. Local favorites JC Brooks and the Uptown sound took the stage after Banditos much to the crowd's delight. With his normal flair and panache, JC Brooks strolled onstage in a brimmed black hat and a pair of huge sunglasses, and the band powered their way through a speedy mash-up of tracks off their 2013 album Howl. After the 10-minute montage, JC went off-stage for a quick wardrobe change, coming back on in a fringed cowboy jacket, absolutely appropriate as the band finished up with a cover of Ryan Adams' "To Be Young" off the 2000 masterpiece Heartbreaker and a perfect example of the insurgent country that Bloodshot brought to the forefront so many years ago (the track is covered by Blitzen Trapper on the label's 20th anniversary compilation disc).

Rhett Miller took the stage in lieu of Jon Langford (whom the audience was told was attending his mother's memorial) and played a range of solo tracks as well as pieces from the Old 97's including "Longer than You've Been Alive" which sports the delightful lyric, "But love that comes easy's a fake or a fluke/Love is a marathon sometimes you puke."

To help finish up his set, Miller brought on the last opener for the night, Lydia Loveless, for a duet. If the audience was curious as to what exactly was going on during the duet, as Loveless seemed somewhat disoriented and incoherent, they soon realized when she started her own set that she was probably three sheets to the wind. Taking two topples during her hour-long set, and not so much stripping as just having her clothing fall off of her, Loveless ran through a good number of the tracks on her 2014 album Somewhere Else.

By the time Kweller came onstage it was midnight (for those who were there for doors, five and a half hours later) and only the dedicated fans were left, but they were certainly rewarded for their staunchness.

No matter what age or success level he achieves, Kweller will always just be a nice kid from Texas -- and it comes across on stage: no drama, no gimmicks, just good old fashioned talent delivered with a friendly demeanor. With nothing more than himself, a guitar and a keyboard, Kweller started his set rolling with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung in chorus with the audience in Bloodshot's honor. He then moved into all the favorites from his own catalog: "Walk on Me", "Full Circle", "Gossip", "On My Way", "Mean to Me", "Falling", "Sundress" and, being the nice guy he is, he took audience requests for "Lizzie" "Thirteen" and of course classic Kweller "Sha Sha." He finished up his set with the epically catchy "Penny on a Train Track," and with a toast to Bloodshot congratulating them on the big two-oh, and a shot of Jager, Kweller called it a night.