A beautiful building stationed in the heart of the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago is Thalia Hall. Originally built in 1892, this roughly 900 capacity room is the venue of choice for many artists on their stops through town. I entered the limestone building, admiring each chisel as it sits on the corner of 18th and Allport. Walking up the stairs past the iconic chalkboard painting the names of the artist playing each night, the warmth of this venue wrapped around me. A balcony hung comfortably above my head as the space grew larger the further I stepped in. This room was special, housing the best of today, yesterday, and tomorrow. In a city of incredible venues, Thalia Hall prides itself on repeat customers. Taking in the old and weary Henry Rollins (4 times), giving a huge stage to the then-young Ratboys in 2023 (4 times), and have kept big names like Waxahatchee (5 times) coming back. Building itself as a pillar of arts in the community, it hosts the “Thalia Hall Free For All” twice a year. With stellar lineups, it opens its doors free of charge to see some top local and touring acts. This is a special place to take in some music.
I made my way to Thalia Hall to see The Lemonheads and Erin Rae on December 15th. A cold Wednesday in the winter made a little warmer by the atmosphere. I have been lucky enough to see Erin Rae before, opening up for Jake Ewald of Slaughter Beach, Dog on his solo acoustic tour in 2024. Playing in a smaller setting to only about 100 or so people, I vividly remember Erin joining Jake for a great cover of Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain”. We caught her whole set, playing tunes off two of her records, 2022’s “Lighten Up” and 2018’s “Putting On Airs”. With a sprinkle of singles in their too, including “On Her Side”, it was a great set and a pleasure to see her accompanied by her full band. The three piece, that had Chicago legend Jeff Tweedy’s son Spencer on drums, produced a bright and calming sound just days ahead of the winter solstice.
The Lemonheads made their way on stage with Evan Dando leading the charge. Touring their first album of original music since 2006, “Love Chant” was a riffy release with a wide collection of collaborators including opener Erin Rae. Their tour was not for the weak. Stretching from early November through December 20th, this gauntlet had shows five to six nights a week. These weren’t short sets either, playing 28 songs in Chicago including six acoustic tunes near the end. “It’s a Shame About Ray” was represented the most of The Lemonheads albums with five tracks, followed by four from “Come On Feel The Lemonheads”, and another quitnent from the touring album including 2 of the lead singles “Deep End” and “In The Margain”.
Arguably, their biggest hit is a cover of “Mrs. Robinson” originally by Simon and Garfunkel, released in 1992. Charting in the top 20 singles in the United States, Australia, and the UK, it helped launch The Lemonheads to prominence on the radio while it was shunned in their live shows. Only being played 36 times in the almost one thousand gigs under their belts, it doesn’t crack the top 50 most played songs by them. While that cover was omitted from the setlist, 10 others made their way including The Townes Van Zandt, Whitney Houston, and Chicago’s own Cheap Trick.
Dedicated fans traced the balcony of Thalia Hall, enjoying this set by a band that has been making music on and off for the past 40 years. This constant touring develops a loyal fanbase, which is why their 29th show in Chicago welcomed a steady stream of fans in the midweek of December. The Lemonheads will continue their tour in Europe this fall and will open for The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks this July, you can find tickets here.
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