Market is a classy little joint in the West Loop of Chicago, and they’re cool enough to bring us in now and then on a Wednesday night. It’s pretty close to the United Center, so it’s effected heavily by Bulls and Blackhawks games.

We played there December 9, which happened to be the night of a home Blackhawks game. When we got there (around 7 PM), the place was slamming, standing room only. By the time we started playing (7:30 PM), the place was pretty much empty. To quote Warden Norton, the crowd vanished, like a fart in the wind. It took me a little while to realize that it was the hockey game, not our presence, that drove the people away.

Aided by some of that West Coast noise (Warren G, Snoopy Dogg), the night picked up as it went on. Once the Blackhawks game was over, the swarm of fans reappeared. Two of those fans, Mark and Jaime Holden (close friends of TS3), were celebrating their 3 year anniversary. They slow danced to “Wonderful Tonight”, a request and dedication for the couple. Congrats, you two.

Picture this guy with a tambourine.

Somebody requested Peter Gabriel, so we tried playing “In Your Eyes”, which we’d never done before. The song was stumbling along until a Blackhawks fan, who seemed to be very moved by the rhythm, approached us. He started counting (shouting) along with the beat: 1!..2!..3!..4!..1!..etc. In a revelatory moment, he spotted Justin’s tambourine. Oh boy. Having seemingly curbed his inhibitions to a large degree already, he had no qualms with grabbing it. And, man, he went to town. I’ve played in a lot of bars, so I’ve seen some enthusiastic tambourine playing, but this guy took the cake. And then he smeared the cake all over his face and threw it around the room. It was a flurry of fortissimo accents and spastic activity that, amazingly, stayed pretty much in rhythm. After the “In Your Eyes” train jumped the tracks, exploded a few times and skidded violently to a halt, it was decided that it was a pretty fun ride. Thank you, Crazy Tambourine Guy.

Great night at Market – thanks to all who came out.

And remember – big show coming up at the Livery (http://www.liverybrew.com/) in Benton Harbor, MI on Saturday 12.12.09.  Do it.