The 36th Annual Taste of Chicago tried to offer something for every musical palate and largely succeededsplendidly. Never mind all that food: The fest offered mainstage helpings of rap/hip-hop ( The Roots with a cameo from Chance the Rapper ), old-school alternative rock ( The Decemberists, Billy Idol, Chris Connelly ), new alternative rock ( Shakey Graves, The Kongos, Elle King, Transviolet ) and vintage funk ( The Isley Brothers ).
For queer audiences there was plenty as welllocal sassy girl group Celine Neon, genderfluid rocker Ezra Furman and queen of the tom-toms Sheila E. They all delivered solid sets, but four of them killed and for different reasons. ( Although I could not make the opening night with The Roots and Donnie Trumpet, word of mouth was extremely positive. )
1. Billy Idol. I have not forgiven him for his drug-addled slog of an autobiography ( Dancing With Myself ) and it's a good thing that he kept his day job since he does it so well. Age and gravity have robbed him of his otherworldly beauty ( he won't be posing on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a jock strap and a crucifix anytime soon ) but onstage he still packs quite the wallop.
"Blue Highway," "White Wedding," "Whiplash Smile" and, especially, "Rebel Yell" thundered like it was 1984 all over again. Ironically, Idol and guitarist Steven Stevens have risen to the level of rock demigods with nothing left to proveyet they played like they had everything to lose.
2. Ezra Furman and the Boyfriends: L.A. transplant ( from Evanston, Illinois ) Furman seems to get more eccentric as the days tick by. Now fronting his second great band and after coming out as bisexual and genderfluid, he seems to enjoy wallowing in sloppiness for its own sake which is fine by me.
Although Furman hit the stage in pearls and what looked like vintage Givenchy ( the man has style ), he played with a feral, un-ladylike energy that was alternately satanic and goofy. Skidding and stumbling all over the stage, he certainly can't be accused of lacking conviction, and it did not hurt that he previewed new songs as well as songs from the recent past ( "Restless Year," the gender-affirming anthem "Body Was Made" ).
The festival closers Sheila E. and The Isley Brothers were expected to coast on past glorieswhich they didbut they were still full of surprises.
3. The Isley Brothers: The R&B vets gave the audience what it came for by showcasing their seemingly endless string of hits amid some nostalgic filler ( James Brown's "I Feel Good," Rufus' "Sweet Thing" ). Although Ronald spent most of the set sitting down ( he is 75 ), he and Ernie made sure there was plenty to look at ( an army of dancing girls, a constantly shimmying female chorus, and an acrobat who did leg splits and back flips ). The real surprise was in hearing Ernie's guitar work live and it was an unexpected treat to watch him pepper the old-school funk with searing guitar licks. Prince got the credit for wedding Black funk with white hard rock but Ernie did it first and he proved it with live versions of early hits "Twist and Shout ( 1962 )," "It's Your Thing ( 1969 )," and "Whose that Lady? ( 1973 )"
4. Sheila E. If the Isleys could make 50-year-old funk fresh and exciting again ( the audience spent two-thirds of the show on their feet ), opener Sheila E. brought athleticism and panache to her set. Dividing her set between old and new music, she caught the largely Black audience off guard with the Latin-flavored "Leader of the Band" followed by "A Love Bizarre."
As the only high-profile protege of Prince still performing, it was expected for her to acknowledge him but she did way more than that. Her set not only included "Erotic City" but snippets of "Housequake," "U Got the Look," "Baby I'm A Star" and a torrential "America" that saw Ms. E. strap on a Stratocaster and go apeshit. Another unexpected touch was her reading of the quiet and personal "Girl Meets Boy," which she wrote for Prince two weeks ago. It was an overwhelming experience to hear her try to sing the song without losing it, and the audience stayed right with her. By the time she closed with a rowdy and protracted "The Glamorous Life"with some borrowed dance moves from Morris Day and The Time, and her own band at the finishthere wasn't a dry eye or an ass in a seat in the house.
With an attendance of more than 1.4 million and with the participation of 67 vendors, this was clearly one of the best versions of the festival ever. Here's hoping that A Taste of Chicago will continue to improve and impress and that the city won't try to mess it up.