SESPS Extra:
Lifehouse in Chicago
Lifehouse and Smallville
Lifehouse has been pretty popular on Smallville for quite some time. In Season One's "Pilot" and "Tempest," the band's amazing slow song "Everything" was played. "Everything" was the background music for Clark's daydream dance with Lana in his loft, and the song was what Whitney and Lana danced to in the dance-decorated gym before he was catching a bus to join the Marines. In Season Two's "Calling," the song "Take Me Away" played as Clark and Lana canoodled on their picnic blanket under the trees. And last, but certainly not least, the band featured at the Prom in Season Four's "Spirit" was Lifehouse, live and in-person.
Lifehouse in Chicago
On Saturday, May 14, 2005, Lifehouse came to Chicago for two fun performances. First, they played at Borders (a bookstore) and signed autographs. Then, they performed a full concert at the Vic theatre in Chicago. Both performances were absolutely stunning and incredibly fun. I've got a whole bunch of great pictures to share with everyone, and some interesting stories to tell as well!
Lifehouse: Borders
The previous day, a very popular Chicago radio station (101.9 FM/The Mix) was giving away backstage passes to the Lifehouse concert. Of course, I called in, but never won. When I called, though, I asked if there were any more opportunities coming up to score backstage passes. The host said there weren't, but asked if I knew about "the Borders performance." She told me they were performing four songs and doing an autograph signing afterwards at Borders Uptown in Chicago. And, interestingly enough, that bookstore is only two miles from the Vic, where the concert would be taking place. So, my friend and I decided to head downtown early to go do both shows!
There were only 24 chairs at the Borders performance area (four rows of six), and my friend and I managed to snag two chairs in the third row (it ended up becoming PACKED, so the standing room behind the chairs was FILLED with people!). As a result, we had a great view and were able to take some excellent pics. I have no pics of the bald guy (I think his name is Rick?) because he was on a little tiny chair thing to play his percussion instruments, but enjoy the rest of these from the performance.
Lifehouse: On the Street
The guys of Lifehouse are really down to earth. They had no qualms about jumping out of their tour bus and wandering around the streets of Chicago between the Borders performance and the concert at the Vic. Here are a couple shots of the guys off-stage... One of them just walking, and one of the band posing with me.
Lifehouse: The Concert
The concert at the Vic in Chicago was excellent. The venue was packed, the lights and smoke machines were very cool, and the band did two encores! Fantastic. Very fantastic. The best part, though, was that Kiefer Sutherland-- 24's Jack Bauer was in one of the private balconies! I was able to snap some pictures of him, although the lighting was dark (it WAS a concert). After the show, I sneaked to the side where his balcony was. He came down the stairs, and I said, "Kiefer!" Kiefer smiled and waved. I just grinned and waved back, attempting not to act like a complete idiot, and completely forgot to snap a picture. I tend to lose my cool when I'm face-to-face with celebs, I guess! Here are some pics of Lifehouse and also some of Kiefer.
My Signed Memorabilia
As I mentioned, Lifehouse did an autograph signing after the show at Borders. I got my Lifehouse CD signed and my copy of Smallville: The Official Magazine (Issue #9)-- the one with the tiny article about Lifehouse playing at Smallville High's Prom in "Spirit." The guys are incredibly nice. I was wearing my blue t-shirt that says "Clex Appeal" (thank you, Television Without Pity!), and Jason was like, "'Clex Appeal!' That's like, the Clark and Lex hybrid, right?" He also likes Chloe, hee!
Another really fun thing happened. During the mini-show the guys did at Borders, Jason was drinking a bottle of Perrier (the fancy-schmancy French water) and commented about how awful it was. He left the half-drunk bottle behind, and I snagged it. After everyone had gotten their stuff signed by the band, I went up to the table as the guys were getting ready to leave and asked if they could sign the bottle. "I've got your Perrier!," I said. The band's head crew guy was all, "No, the guys are busy and don't have time for that." But Jason and the guys said, "No, we'll sign it! Sure!" So they signed my bottle of Perrier! Fun!
So I've got some final pictures to post on this next page. I took pictures of the signed magazine, CD, and bottle of Perrier. I've also taken some pictures of my concert ticket and a necklace they gave fans at Borders. Oh, and there's a towel piece in there too-- Jason used a white terrycloth towel to wipe the sweat off his face during the concert and threw it into the crowd. About five of us caught it, and none of us were letting it go, so I suggested we tear it into pieces and each take a piece (which we did). Enjoy these last pics!
© 2004 shirkie