Though the night outside was one of the year's coldest, music lovers couldn't have walked into a warmer atmosphere than that of Big John's Pub -- a place artistinsane.com visitors may be familiar with from a 2007 article posted on Brian's press page.  And, everyone quickly warmed up even more as Brian and his (on this occasion slightly changed up) Band of Brothers opened with the lively "My Liver's Killing Me"...

...which led into a song about killing someone else -- a track from Brian's 2002 album entitled State of Grace..."Cross That Line"...

It might be argued the next song shared the prior one's theme of frustration -- though this takes on a decidedly different direction when applied to "Stuck in Boston"...

A pair of covers followed...The Who's "Love Ain't For Keeping" -- on which newcomer to the band, Chris Preston lent excellent vocals...

...and Bob Dylan's "Wagon Wheel"...

Next came a longtime live show favorite -- which finally found a recorded home on Brian's latest album, Worse for Wear..."Faith" -- followed by "Far From Thee", a favorite from his 2004 album Further Down the Line (and a song that features some standout piano work from the amazingly talented Ed Fritz)...

...who switched to accordion for the determined, "Walkin' On"...

Changing things up once more, the band embarked on the irresistible full-out rocker "Drunk In Vegas" -- complete with a synchronized rock-star drop by Brian, Chris and Matty Z. on one of its breaks.  Very cool!

Next came a trip back to the distant past of Brian's debut album for "Broken Heart Reprise", followed by a visit to the "Northwoods", which concluded the first set...an experience that had clearly proved highly satisfying to the appreciative crowd -- a crowd which, incidentally included "Higgs" (who introduced us to Brian's music many years ago), Johnny Keys (an alternate member and great friend of Brian's band) and Lisa P. from Chicago -- who's to be credited for these photos since I somehow forgot my camera!   

-----------------------

The second set opened with a song from both State of Grace and Further Down The Line -- the always crowd-pleasing "Sweet Maria"...

...followed by a song from Worse for Wear Brian introduced as "Jesus is a Friend of Mine -- and Yours, Too" -- an intro further expounded upon by Gene Quintin, who added "Know Jesus, Know Music" (or "No Jesus, No Music", if you prefer).  In any case, though often a jokester, Gene's brilliant additions on violin are definitely no joke at all...

A cover song followed, after which Brian introduced the band (which, in addition to those already mentioned on this page, included Scott Minafri on drums).  Moving on, he said "I got paid of lot of money for writing this next song, 'cause I wrote it at work!"  Adding, "Who says you can't make money writing songs?" he and the band quickly launched into the lilting "Lose Your Love"...

...and "Laughing Out Loud" -- a song on which Brian plays ukelele... or as he jokingly put it, "a guitar that's more my size".    One might say the opposite applied to what's normally an interlude on kazoo...which, on this occasion was improvised on the much larger instrument bass guitar by Chris...

Next came another excellent and very familiar cover -- the Michael McDermott song Brian's long since made his own -- "Kung Fu Videos"... followed by a cover more obscure to me:  Drivin' N Cryin's "Straight to Hell" -- after which the band went straight back to one of Brian's original compositions (from the album, When I Bleed), "The Greeting"...

As the set neared its close, more covers followed, including Neil Young's "Helpless" and the beautiful Pete Townshend ballad, "Greyhound Girl..."

...followed by Brian's own crowd sing-a-long, "Hey Mary" -- and yet another sing-along cover, "Fisherman's Blues"...on which Higgs played a great part in encouraging participation... "Woo Hoo HOO!!!!!"

Finally, Brian reigned the mood back in via the reflection of "Stars End"...

...a song serving as a perfectly appropriate denouement, foreshadowing listeners' departure into the star-like glitter of falling snow forming a winter wonderland. 

On which note, I can only add...

...thanks much, Bri and Band!

And, of course...

See you next time!!!