The Aussie cats in Chicago

The Marsh Pride
Originally uploaded by Lyndon Firman.

Okay so we're not talking lions, tigers, or bears (oh my!) but we ARE talking about The Cat Empire, the wonderfully talented bunch of Aussie musicians from Melbourne that played in Chicago last night.

I went along on a very steamy night with B&S, and Dr G, to The Double Door in Chicago's trendy Bucktown area. The Double Door is a dive, let it be said, but it's perfectly set up to accommodate live music and big crowds. I've no idea how many people would have been there last night, but the place turned into a sauna pretty quickly.

There is something generally icky about being a short person in a sweaty moshpit and realising that your nose is level with everyone else's armpits. Eww. So I bailed from close to the stage and instead hung out somewhere near the back, where there was at least a small breeze coming in from outside.

The Cat Empire were really talented and great live performers. They didn't take the stage until nearly 10.30pm though (on a school night!) so we were in for a late night. And then some of the songs dragged on. Normally I wouldn't have minded, because the boys are just so talented, but I found myself wondering why they just didn't play the song like they were supposed to, and get it over with. Instead they let the drummer bash on for 10 minutes in some kind of self-indulgent solo (and okay I didn't mind that because I have a thing for drummers) but you get my drift. Enough already.

So I didn't even stay until the end of the show, I was just too hot and too tired. And I was a long way from home, even in a cab. So I ended up getting the train and then a bus home, and walking in my door just after midnight. I felt like I had been dragged through the seven circles of hell backwards. I'm sure I probably looked it too.

But the bottom line (literally) is that The Cat Empire are great. True.