Tag Archives: Chicago

Kryptonite in Rockford, IL

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Rockford, IL holds a very special place in the hearts of Bailiff. They’ve played this town several times and every time they come back, their die hard fans show up and are always there to support them.

As we rolled up to the Kryptonite bar in Rockford, IL. the guys wanted to load-in take their time, get things situated, and try to grab some food. Things all seemed to be going as they typically do on the road; load-in, sound check, grab a beer, maybe some food then do some pre-show game face routines. All the locals had crowded into the bar playing drinking games, and enjoying their thirsty Thursday night.

Little did we know that things were about to drastically change. The guys filed onto the stage, began their set and all seemed well. As the guys played through their set, out of no-where all power cut out without warning. Not knowing what was going on, the guys did what anyone in their situation would do, and attempted to entertain the crowd and continue on through their set. After some adjustments, the bar owner and sound tech, crossed their fingers and Bailiff restarted jumped back into their set. To make this story bearable, this same scenario, power cutting out and stopping Bailiff’s set, repeated itself a total of 5 times, No one could seem to figure out what was causing it. But after some frustration, testing of patience, and a couple brief breaks to snag a slice of pizza or two mid set, the issue somehow got resolved and the guys were able to get through their songs in their typical Bailiff fashion.

Needless to say, this show in Rockford, IL will go down in the history books as one of the best/worst sets of their life. There is no way I’ll ever forget it, and their fans deserve a big round of applause for sticking it out and not loosing their minds as the sound/power cut out each of the 5 times throughout Bailiff’s set. After an event filled night like that, a few of us felt it necessary to party it up a bit with some of their fans who so graciously let us crash in their home!

At the end of the day, Rockford, IL we still love you! Thanks for such a memorable evening!

Posted in See my life | Tagged 2015, bailiff, Bands, Bar, Chicago, Drums, Illinois, Josh, Kryptonite, Music, Owen, Pizza, Power outage, Ren, Telephone Booth, tour, Tour 2015 | Leave a comment

Gabes in Iowa City

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Day six of the tour with Bailiff was technically an off day, so day six is really day seven. Regardless of which day it actually was, the sixth show on Bailiff’s early 2015 tour was at Gabes in Iowa City, Iowa. A cozy an intimate venue with a lot of character which pleasantly surprised me by bringing out a great crowd on a early week night. We met so many new friends, and even had some folks from the local college radio station promote and attend the event. Despite Ren, breaking his snare this was one of my favorite shows from the tour. As you can see, some of us (Owen) needed some serious sleep at this point in the tour…

Owen passed out!

A man of many sticks!

New Bailiff Friends

Posted in See my life | Tagged bailiff, Bailiff Music, Bands, Black n White, Chicago, Gabes, Iowa, Iowa City, Josh, Lifestyle, Music, Owen, Photography, Ren, Tour 2015, Travel | Leave a comment

Slowdown in Omaha, NE

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

At this point in the tour, things felt like they were beginning to smooth out and the guys and I were getting a little more comfortable with each other. Maybe even too comfortable? This is the 1st time Bailiff has had the extra room for a drifter like me to tag along on a tour and after a great night in Lincoln, NE we made our way to Omaha, NE. The land of 311.

The guys are by no means fans of 311 and they made sure to repeatedly remind me of that as we stepped out of the van and made our way to a local coffee shop to kill time. I had no idea how important these moments of downtime would be for me as we continued on the tour, but these were the moments when I got to really talk and connect with the guys! Like you can imagine, a sense of comradery begins to develop when you’re out on the road and in close quarters with other for extended amounts of time. Not to get all sappy, but the guys in Bailiff are some of the most sarcastic, genuine, insanely talented, and laid back guys I’ve met in a long time.

The Slowdown was easily the nicest and luxuriously accommodating venue on tour, we were given a green room with access to showers, laundry room, vintage record player, and several cozy, nicely broken in couches. This was one of two nights where we didn’t have a place to crash planned out, so Josh tried to convince the venue to let us sleep in the greenroom. Surprisingly, it didn’t work and we we’re extremely grateful to one of the opening bands, The Decatuers for letting us crash with them.

Omaha, I’ll miss everything about you, except for your unbelievably awful pizza!

Ren in relaxing in the green room

Josh, likely watching Netflix

Where is Josh?

Fender Strat

During their set

Sign

The Stage

Posted in See my life | Tagged 311, bailiff, Chicago, Coffee Shop, Music, NE, Nebraska, Omaha, Pizza, shows, Slowdown, The Decatures, The Slowdown, tour, Venue, Zoo Bar | Leave a comment

Zoo Bar in Lincoln, NE

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Day three of the Bailiff tour brought us to Lincoln, NE. The 2nd state on the tour in which I’d never visited before, the first being, Kansas. One thing about Lincoln I can say for sure, is that the folks there are working really hard to build, create, and encourage an art and music scene. In the short time we were there, I got to see several up in coming bars, venues, and meet some of the folks pour their time into that city. I also learned to never pull a conversion van into a tight alley and attempt a 90 point turn around simply to make loading in and out of the venue more convenient. Oh, the things you learn on the road. Here are some shots from the historic Zoo Bar…

Zoo Bar

Bar Patrons

Setting up and checking the gear

Song leader

Spotlights

Owen listening to his rig.

In the pocket

Rim shots

Posted in See my life | Tagged bailiff, Bailiffmusic, Bands, Bass, Chicago, Drums, Guitars, Josh, Lincoln, Live Music, Music, NE, Nebraska, Owen, Photography, Pictures, Ren, tour, Zoo, Zoo Bar | Leave a comment

Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Day two of the tour didn’t start of perfectly, but after a great brunch, some thrift shopping, and retrieving the band’s merch from St. Louis. We hit the road, stopped at a Guitar Center and made it to Lawrence Kansas in plenty of time for load in. The Replay Lounge, reminded me a bit of my hometown bar The Brass Rail. Great drink specials, cool atmosphere (TVs with Saved by The Bell playing), and young eager music nuts packing out the venue. Located on a main strip of stores, shops, restaurants, The Replay Lounge was a great place to play and we had so much fun… Just don’t get caught Jaywalking!

Replay Lounge

The Vocal Duo

Ren keeping time!

Ren enjoying himself!

The crowd

Posted in See my life | Tagged Artists, bailiff, Bailiff Music, Chicago, Food, Guitar Center, Jayhawks, Kansas, Lawrence, Live Music, Music, Replay Lounge, Rock N Roll, Thrift Shopping, Venue | Leave a comment

Off Broadway in St. Louis

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Does anyone else feel like the New Year came and January decided it didn’t need to exist? Those who know me well, know I’m generally the person who over commits, rolls with the punches, but finds ways to stay mostly sane throughout all the chaos. I’ve set some very lofty goals for myself in regards to this next year and my most recent trip, on tour with Bailiff, kicked off 2015 with some pretty unforgettable memories.

The first of ten stops on tour was a venue called, Off Broadway in St. Louis. It proved to be a great place to kick things into motion. The venue was fantastic, a large group of diehard fans came and surprised the fellas by singing their lyrics back at them, and I got to see one of my great friends Cole Miller. The first night on the road went extremely well, after some pizza, drinking with friends, the purchase of some vintage shoes, a deliciously filling brunch the next morning, we hit the road and headed onward toward Lawrence, KS. About 35 minutes into the drive we quickly realize we’d forgotten the band’s merchandise. After an hour and a half set back, we were headed to our second stop…

Road Warriors

The Stage

Loading in

Ren’s setup

Sound check

Owen

Josh

Owen with The Feed

Friends, Old and New

Bailiff Tour Day Six and Seven

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

As the tour goes on, it seems to be picking up speed and the days are more and more becoming a blur. I can’t imagine how bands kept track of all the necessities during a tour 30 to 40 years ago. Just think, if you were a manager, booking agent, show promoter, or venue owner, how organized you’d have to be. Just a random thought, but we as a people and a culture are way less prepared, organized, and much more randomly focused because we have these conveniences called smart phones allowing us to just dial and connect to whomever, whenever.

Day five in Iowa City was a blast, downstairs at Gabe’s is such a cozy and fun spot to play. There was a great crowd of interactive folks/fans. Shows like that are the best and could be voted the best of the tour thus far…

Day six, the tour’s off/rest day, brought us to Cedar Rapids where the fellas had a friend who let us crash and take over his place for the entire day. This was much needed because even though you feel fine, you’re not! Once every so often on the road you need to just sleep in, watch Shark Tank, and AVOID eating pizza! We ate breakfast at a local spot called Riley’s where I ordered something called the Country Shipwreck. Lets just say it lived up to its name! The night before at Gabe’s, Ren’s snare drum broke, so we had to make a quick guitar center run to pick up a new one before heading to the next show.

Merch set up

Shippwrecked at Rileys in Cedar Rapis

Ren the giant

Mini drum clinic at Guitar Center

Owen enjoying his R&R

Our sleep spot in Cedar Rapids

Day Seven, was spent en route to Rockford, IL where we played a venue called Kryptonite. After a few technical issues, Bailiff played a solid set to a large group of diehard fans. It was a great time and we’re looking forward to the next few days in Davenport and Dubuque Iowa.

Having a moment.

Posted in See my life | Tagged bailiff, Bailiff Tour, Bands, Chicago, Music, shows, Travel | Leave a comment

Bailiff Tour Day Three

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Nicholas Weaver

Yesterday as we left Lawrence, Kansas and headed to Lincoln, Nebraska, we strolled the streets to find some food, replace a few malfunctioning wardrobe components and kill sometime before hitting the road again. The Replay Bar in Lawrence was a great spot that reminded me of my back home favorite, the Brass Rail. Here are a couple shots! Gotta run, we’re loading in for tonights show in Omaha, NE at a place called The Slowdown. Feels good to be in the city that birthed 311!