Brandi Carlile at Reggie's Rock Club and Chicago Theater on October 20, 2012

I won I won!  I entered the WXRT live in Studio X contest to see Brandi perform privately for 100 of her closest fans at Reggie's.  My friend Debbie was the lucky recipient of my +1 for this event.  I had tickets to go see her at the Chicago Theater later that night with my husband but this was a real bonus.   Check out the video, we were three feet away.  Her performance at the Chicago Theater was the best of her shows to date.  She was humble and modest about her early days, barely selling out Schubas, to selling out the Chicago Theater.  She deserves every bit of acclaim and more than she gets.






Be warned, the following video (not mine) has great footage and sound but the screaming front row is a bit much to take.  Especially the whooo hooing right into the mic.  The person who got this footage really had great seats at the Chicago Theater, so worth checking this out despite the nails on chalkboard screeching.  The band unplugged themselves, walked to the front of the stage and performed without microphone or amps.  It sounds a lot louder than it was because the footage was taken from the front row.  Carlile explained that she likes to break away from the electronics and "be with the audience".  She performed the entire show (even plugged in) like she was in your living room.  She really connects with her audience.  Sorry in advance for the crazy screams (cover your ears). Here is "What Can I Say" from the Brandi Carlile album:




During a later part of the show, Carlile asked the audience "who is my number one fan?" and everyone screamed.  She then asked who is my number one guitar playing fan under age 18?".  She then invited a 14 year old girl up on stage and gave her an electric guitar, just like that.  If my 9 year old guitar playing daughter was with me, I would have had that guitar!  I hope this girl appreciates how incredibly awesome it would be to play let alone own a Brandi Carlile guitar.