With a Canadian flair
We have been to shows where there were two headliners and of course opening acts so seeing two concerts in a weekend wasn’t a new idea. But we’d never driven to another state to see back to back shows before. This weekend was going to be just that.
We’d had Gino Vannelli tickets for 8 months, but Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) just kind of popped up at the last minute. BTO was starting their “Back in Overdrive” tour and Indiana was their first American stop. Tickets were still available so the timeline was set. Plus, both acts are Canadian. Not sure why that’s interesting but there you go.
If it seems like we just wrote about Gino Vannelli a year ago, we did. Gino didn’t tour in the United States for years and now he is making up for it. This was our third time seeing his show. Three times seems like the demarc point establishing “groupie” status. Some of our three-time-plus performers include: The Beach Boys (6), Chicago (6), Earth, Wind and Fire (5), Doobie Brothers (5), and Steely Dan (3). Mary has attended Barry Manilow concerts 6 times!
We headed north and stopped at our first coffee shop of the trip in Dwight IL. Perfect Blend Coffee House. Mary and I both had the house blend. The coffee was a variety of Guatemalan and was uniquely roasted.
The coffee was a little different than what we have tested before, but it was good, and went well with the muffin. After our break, we were set for the remaining drive to Des Plaines, IL.
This show was at Des Plaines Theater in Des Plaines IL. We’ve been to the theater along with it’s sister show place, The Arcada Theater in St Charles, IL. Both of these great theaters seat about 8-900 and are wonderful venues.
We arrived late in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. Then we chose Joe and Giuseppi Restaurant in near-by Arlington Heights. It’s a small local place in a strip-type mall building. We got there around 5:00 and there were a few tables left. Soon after, the place was full. In our experience, these small neighborhood-type restaurants are generally a gem and this one didn’t disappoint. Along with the requisite bread for dipping and the sweet Italian house dressing, I had the lobster ravioli and Mary had Chicken Conca D’ Ora (delicious chicken and mushrooms in lemon sauce). It was excellent. We would highly recommend Joe and Giuseppi if you are ever in the area to see a show. It was 10 minutes from our hotel and only fifteen minutes to the theater.
The show looked close to a sell-out. The warm-up act was the lounge singer from the upstairs ‘speak easy’. Gino was soon on stage singing and entertaining the crowd. We did learn during the show that Tricia, his wife of 49 years, had just recently passed away. It kind of brought the crowd down a little but his stories about her seemed to help him and the house really enjoy the meaning of many of the songs.
It seems like he manages to get back to the area often so will we see him again? Quite likely. We’ll keep track and see if he catches up with the likes of the Doobies and EWF.
We got up Sunday morning at the crack of 8:00 AM, attended church and headed south towards Indiana. However, our first stop was Coco and Blu in Arlington Heights, IL. Generally, in our experience, a local coffee shop at 10 AM Sunday morning is pretty laid back. Not this place. It was packed! This wasn’t the only shop in Arlington Heights but it sure looked like it. We both got the house medium blend but opted not to order food. The coffee tasted great and we were on our way
Our second stop was Crown Point IN at Glorious Coffees and Teas.
We ordered the house blend along with a couple of ham and cheese biscuits. The coffee was good but the sandwiches were a little on the small side. So if you’re hungry when you visit Glorious, you’d better order two.
We arrived in Nashville, IN late in the afternoon and decided to get our supper at the concert venue. Our Hotel was only a 5 minute walk to the Brown County Music Center. A quick look at the show schedule indicates this place is very busy year round.
This was the first time for both of us to see BTO. They had their hits in the mid-seventies and after a short time, the band broke up. It has since reformed and dissolved several times, this latest iteration including Fred Turner on a limited schedule. Fred was not scheduled for our show.
‘Takin Care of Business‘
The band started with a few BTO hits then they performed several hits by the Guess Who. Throughout the concert, Randy told stories about the formation of the groups and their escapades. We were also treated to video from their touring days and that added to the fun.
Warning: worthless trivia coming up. If you’re not that much into 60s and 70s music trivia, feel free to skip down a few paragraphs
You see Randy Bachman also formed The Guess Who and wrote numerous hits before he left the band and started BTO. Songs like American Woman, These Eyes, No Sugar and Undone. I’ve always enjoyed that group and those songs so this was a real two-for.
The crowd was great and the show lasted two hours. Well worth it. We walked back to our hotel avoiding all the traffic and made our plans for the trip home.
The next morning after experiencing the “free” hotel breakfast and coffee, we headed a little west towards Bloomington IN. There we found Needmore Coffee.
We made one more stop again in Indiana for coffee. This time stopping at Juli’s Java in Covington IN. We’ve been to Covington many times-well sort of. Never in the actual town, though. One of our favorite restarunts in all the world is The Beef House. It’s actually close to the interstate so we’d never made it into Covington. What a quaint and pleasant place.
Juli’s is your typical small town shop-just the kind we like.
We were a little hungry so we ordered toasted bagels and cream cheese. We must have sat there for 15 minutes (which seemed like an eternity in our normal travels) enjoying the ambiance. A 10 minute drive back to the interstate and we were on the final leg home.
Will the Gino concert count possible go to four in the future? Very likely. BTO a little less likely only because I get the impression this might be their last tour. I hope not.
Just for grins here are two short Spotify playlists you might enjoy. Both include the songs that BTO played at the show. You’ll probably need a Spotify account
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