NUNN ON THE RUN
Ravinia rocks out with complete musical experience
Sun. July 30, 2017 12:00 AM
by Jerry Nunn
The Ravinia Festival provides a complete concert experience in Highland Park. Attendees to the many shows are wlecome to bring picnic supplies along with libations to spread out on the lawn. Speakers project the music across the area from the pavillion.
There are several options to try if bringing your own is not possible. There is the Mirabelle, the donor dining club The Freehling Room, or the more casual Ravinia Market. For dessert there is the Carousel Ice Cream Shop.
I tried the second floor dining room Park View recently. The appetizers such as the salmon tartare and Spanish octopus are filling enough, but the beef short ribs pushed me over the top. Make sure to save room for the cappuccino crunch pie because it is must try.
Stop by the gift shop on the way out with fashion and picnic tools to please anyone.
Music acts range from classical to rock. Diverse crowds packed the place the evening of July 22 for the Rage & Rapture Tour.
Actress and singer Sky Ferreira opened for the two major acts on other stops of the tour, but in Illinois we had members of the punk band X, John Doe and Exene Cervenka. The duo had a short set and the night quickly moved to rockers Garbage. Singer Shirley Manson entered the place full of confidence. The stage had laser light and smoke but seemed too spacious for her as she paced to each end throughout their set. Sound problems clearly bothered her during the first few tracks as she made hand signals to the soundboard for assistance.
She mentioned that "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)" is for the LGBT community, more specifically the real fans know it was released as a tribute to a transgender person. With each song Manson relaxed and opened up with charming stories. She described Chicago as their home and reminisced about the band inviting her to join them after seeing her group Angelfish at Metro.
She spoke of "Cup of Coffee" as a song about her catching a venereal disease from her ex. After that confession she seemed in good spirits, even though it was not raining as some weather reports predicted.
Highlighting the new album Pollinator, and a cape with the words Stop Fucking the Planet on the back, Debbie Harry removed the bee mask to show her trademark shades. The future is indeed bright as "Long Time" written by Blood Orange was a highlight of the new tunes.
The 72 year old icon performed several cover songs such as "Rainy Day Women" by Bob Dylan and Fragments by An Unkindness. The classics were all there though such as "Call Me" and "Rapture" to please the loyal fans.
Young guitarist Tommy Kessler stood out with a solo during "Atomic" and Harry introduced the rest of the band that has been with her for so many years.
Keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen wore a Future Is Female t-shirt which fit well because this night was all about female singers and empowerment.
An encore with "The Tide Is High" and "Dreaming" ended a jam night packed of hits from music acts that show no signs of stopping anytime soon.