December 29th, 2002
The Metro
Chicago, IL

Review by: Manuel Acance

I went to see Ari Hest's performance at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago this week
and I just just wanted to share some thoughts about the 29th.  I arrived late
that night, so I missed the beginning of Ingram Hill's performance, but the
last few songs I heard were pretty good.  Did anyone get their CD? How is it?
It was only $5, so it seems well worth it.

Schuba's was a nice venue, very nice, actually.  I had never been there and
my expectations weren't really that high, but as soon as I walked in the
door, I could see the whole place lit up with lights. The wreaths throughout
the music room and the poinsettas above the bar were a really nice touch for
the holidays.  On top of that, the fairly attractive and
casually-trendy-looking-20-something crowd made for a pleasant evening when
having a few drinks at the bar after the show.  As for the music room itself,
I thought it was good overall although there were, in my opinion, a few
drawbacks.  First, there's the ever-present risk of a poor view that always
comes with "standing room only" especially for anyone who happens to be under
5''6'' and behind somone who's 6'4" (I'm 6' tall, and I had trouble seeing at
times).  Second, it was got pretty warm inside towards the middle of the
show.  The ceiling fans were on, but they didn't do anything for the
sweater/longsleeve/coat wearers standing shoulder to shoulder to one another.


It's been about 3 days since I saw the show, so I'm not really clear about
the set list that night, so I won't talk about each song he played.  However
some moments that stood out weren't actual songs, but moments when Ari would
make a few side comments setting up his next song.  He would talk about
sitting next to a lady with b.o. on during his flight to Chicago and then
dedicate "caught up in your love" to her.  He also played "fascinate you" for
J.Lo.  The funniest moment was when a guy yelled out, "We love you Ari!" and
Ari replied with "I love you too...  did I just say that to a guy?"  Anyway,
about the performance itself...  Couples got a little closer and the crowd
noises died down as he played "This Fight" and "Didn't Want to Say Goodbye".  
We nodded our heads to the rhythm of "Caught Up in Your love", "Consistency"
("...can you take me to...funky town?"), and "Pound for Pound".  His
renditions of "Big Time", "Halleluja", "In Your Eyes", and "High and Dry"
once again had me saying to myself, "I like Ari Hest's version better...".  

All in all, this performance was great.  It was much better than the Metro
show on Nov. 15.  He played much more this time around than the last.  He
also showed more of his personality to the crowd whether he was telling a
little story, joking with the audience, or tuning his twelve string which
didn't sound right to him.  The ticket price of $10 was well worth it once
again, and I even heard that this particular show was sold out.  After the
show, I went and picked up a copy of his previous album, "Come Home". As I
mentioned in an earlier review, I was fairly new to his music, yet I quickly
became a fan.  I hear that the fanbase in Chicago is really solid which is
nice to hear, since I'll definitely see him again when he comes back.


-Manuel Acance

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