Review Of The 2 Best '07 Shows

Anyone that follows my writing knows that I firmly believe Lotus is the best live band playing today. This April they proved it once again with a near capacity house at the Abbey Pub. Their largest venue in Chicago to date (in October they moved up to the Park West) the crowd was treated to a concert classic. There is always high energy at a Lotus show, but watching from the balcony for awhile during the second set, I could feel the intensity was just roaring around the room. When the band broke into a cover of the Chemical Brothers "Block Rockin' Beats", I knew this would probably be the best show I'd see all year.

You have to feel bad when a band plays its final show, no matter how positive and upbeat they are about their next steps. Witnessing a band's musical mastery in vintage form during that final show makes it even worse. sally's last concert didn't have any sort of baggage with it, just sadness that the band's life was over. The show started with something different in true sally fashion with a low-key vibe, everyone seated and no drummer. Slowly building up to an epic jam-royale finale, Derek from Aleks and the Drummer took the skins and frontman Charlie Deets dropped to his knees playing his final notes in sally like a prayer to the Gods of Rock.