Last Thursday Ezra Furman wowed the crowd while playing 1st Ward at Chop Shop with his band the Boy-Friends. Having missed him perform his New Years Eve show at Lincoln Hall, I was happily surprised that he was playing again in Chicago so soon.
Furman’s upbeat songs caused the crowd to dance along with him– even prompting them to keep moving when he switched his electric guitar for an acoustic and started to sing what he described as protest music. Ezra, and his outgoing antics were accompanied by Christopher the Conquered and Delmar & the Dedications.
Christopher the Conquered was a real treat– also performing protest music, interacting with the audience, and commanding the stage, even while behind a keyboard. Delmar & the Dedications made me think that I was sitting in a soda shop in the 1950s. As unique as all the performances were, they were almost made to be paired togeather, with one smoothly moving into the other.
Ezra Furman Set List:
- Can I Sleep in Your Brain
- Restless Year
- Ready Teddy
- Little Piece of Trash
- Body Was Made
- Cherry Lane
- Ordinary Life
- Pot Holes
- My Zero
- Lousy Connection
- Walk on in Darkness
- Haunted Head
- Teddy I’m Ready
- I Wanna Destroy Myself
- Tip of a Match
- Tell Em All to Go to Hell