a TigerRAWk Film

Saturday, January 18, 2020

A Shared Life: Fall In Chicago (September - November 2019)


Elphie and I returned from Alaska and arrived at home around 6am on Friday September 6th. I had hoped to go to work but I knew I wouldn't be able to stay awake so I used a sick day. We slept a little bit then we went to the Hollywood Amphitheater in Tinley Park to see Bush with LIVE and Our Lady Peace. I enjoyed it last time we got to see Bush. Once again Gavin ran around the crowd. This being a much larger venue with a lawn, he ended up running through the lawn as well extending the song quite a bit. I captured "Everything Zen." Elphie really likes LIVE and they put on a good show as well. I captured "When Dolphins Cry." I captured "Innocent" from Our Lady Peace.





Filmed LIVE at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park, Illinois on Friday September 6th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

While at the show, Elphie began not feeling well and we eventually had to go to the Emergency Room after the show where Elphie went into emergency surgery and had to stay in the hospital for a few days. I drove her home when she was discharged and as I returned to work on Tuesday, September 10th, I watched some guys skating in the skatepark in Uptown. On Wednesday, September 11th, Elphie's mom came to visit. We treated her to Falco's Pizza. I captured some shots of lightning. On Saturday, September 14th, we wanted to take her to the Shedd Aquarium but events in the area made for terrible traffic and no parking so we scrapped that and showed her the Bean instead then drove her around the city. The car didn't start at first either but somehow it did when I messed around with plugging things into the cigarette lighter adapter. I was a bit concerned about this so I left the car running at times while we stopped at places. on Sunday, September 15th, I went to see Nick Offerman at the Chicago Theater. I got tickets in the 2nd row! It was a fun experience! I dropped Elphie and her mom off at Midway Airport on Wednesday, September 18th before I went to work. After work, I went to Cobra Lounge and caught '68 playing. I captured the intro (which used Mr. Rogers theme music) and the first song that depending on the recording is known as "G (Track 3)" or "Third Time's A Charm." I really enjoy the performances of Josh Scogin no matter what band (or duo) he is part of.

Filmed LIVE at Cobra Lounge in Near Westside Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday September 18th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Thursday, September 19th, I went to Reggies for the Agnostic Front show. They had Prong with them as UglyBones opened the night. I captured "Gotta Go" from Agnostic Front.





Filmed LIVE at Reggies in Southside Chicago, Illinois on Thursday September 19th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Friday September 20th, I drove to South Bend to see The Homeless Gospel Choir at The Well. I missed this show in Chicago earlier in the week because it was the night before Elphie left to go to North Carolina. I figured I'd spend time with her then make the drive to South Bend. I made it just as Derek began his set. I captured a new song called "Blind Faith." which I would capture later with a full band at another show in November in Chicago. After the show, there were good hangs for a while.

Filmed LIVE at The Well in South Bend, Indiana on Friday September 20th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Thursday September 26th, Leper played at a punk house in our neighborhood called the Kombucha Club. It was a night with a lot of experimental noise artists. I captured "13 Silver Bullets."

Filmed LIVE at The Kombucha Club in Brighton Park Chicago, Illinois on Thursday September 26th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Monday September 30th, we went to the Aragon Ballroom to see Dropkick Murphys with Clutch, Hatebreed, and Amigo The Devil. I saw Amigo The Devil last year with Harley Poe and found it fun and interesting. I captured "Hungover in Jonestown" from Amigo The Devil. This was my first time seeing Hatebreed and enjoyed their set and I captured "Live For This" from their set. Clutch played next then Dropkick Murphys closed the night. It was different seeing them with Ken Casey not playing bass and only doing vocals. I captured "(F)lannigan's Ball."







Filmed LIVE at Aragon Ballroom in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Monday September 30th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On my way to work on Wednesday, October 2nd, it appeared the local thrift store was having quite the busy morning. On my way home from work on Thursday October 3rd, a guy on the CTA walked through with his pants down. Lucky me. While I waited on the Orange Line at Roosevelt Station I captured a very colorful sunset which I guess makes up for the bare butt I had to see earlier. On Friday, October 4th, there was a JPUSA wedding as Dorena and Keyce got hitched. On Saturday October 5th, we went to Reggies to see Aesthetic Perfection with Empathy Test and LazerPunk. It was a cool show. I captured "AntiBody" from Aesthetic Perfection. They had an interesting appearance and stage presence.





Filmed LIVE at Reggies in Southside Chicago, Illinois on Saturday October 5th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Thursday, October 10th, we watched Joker at Music Box Theatre. It felt like an appropriate place to see this movie with its aesthetics. On Friday, October 11th, Elphie and I got to experience a new asian food at a place in Chinatown called Xi-ain with Christi and Mike as well as the Giles family. Afterwards they came by to visit for a bit at our house. On Monday, October 14th, while Elphie was hanging with friends, I decided to go on a mission to obtain poutine! It was Canada's Thanksgiving (while we celebrate Columbus Day or Indigenous People's Day in the USA). I first stopped at The Bad Apple but it turned out that their fryer was down. I thought about going home in defeat but then decided to try to go to D-men Tap where I successfully obtained poutine and celebrated by watching hockey when I got home!

Throughout the end of summer and fall I started making clips where I would call CarShield due to their scam letters that they had sent me. I had a little fun with it and made a video playlist that I will probably eventually add more videos to. I wish I could capture every time I get scam calls but often the moment is inconvenient or I don't have another camera ready on hand when I get called on my cell phone.


This is a playlist of clips where I have a little fun by messing with scammers, cold callers, robo-callers, unsolicited mailers, etc.
The Intro was created using Soundtrack Pro on a Mac Mini with animations and titles created using Motion 4 on a Macbook.
Filmed using an iPhone 8.
Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.
Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson


On Friday, October 18th, we drove up to Howell, MI. We stayed at the Baymont Inn and Suites as we did on a previous trip we made to Hell, MI. I got us in a room with the jacuzzi only this time it was above the pool for some reason which ended up being a bit noisy. As we drove, after stopping for food, our GPS indicated a five hour delay. We kept driving but eventually decided to take the detour which probably still put us about an hour later than we had hoped to arrive...but definitely better than the five hour delay. We never were able to figure out quite what was going on to cause such a delay. On Saturday, October 19th, we drove to Fenton, MI for Jennifer and William getting hitched. It was a nice wedding. The Shaw's and Sheehy's were there as well. It led to some interesting discussions about other things going on in life. On Sunday, October 20th, Elphie and I returned to Hell, MI. I decided to use the car camera footage in a split screen and overlapped some shots that Elphie got as we drove in and out of Hell. While in Hell, we got some ice cream and hung around for a bit...listening to tunes from Creepy Clyde. As we drove back home, we stopped at Albanese Confectionary. Elphie got chocolates and various candies that she included in some Christmas gifts. I got a few bags of gummy goof-ups!

As I walked to work on Monday, October 21st, I saw some of the Chicago teachers on strike. On Saturday, October 26th, we went to The Forge in Joliet, IL for the Prison City Halloween Massacre 12. It featured some suspensions by Disgraceland Wasteland and music by BattleCross, Whut?, Villainous Grin, Extraction Point, Catapult The Propaganda, Another Misfits Cover Band, and a costume contest.





















Filmed LIVE during the Prison City Halloween Massacre 12 at The Forge in Joliet, Illinois on Saturday October 26th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Wednesday, October 30th, we had our first snow of the season and it got worse the next day. We went just over six months without snow in Chicago. On Thursday, October 31st, it was a snowy Halloween. It was also our Halloweenaversary! Our relationship began officially on Halloween in 2013! We went to IHOP for dinner because of the Addam's Family themed foods and drinks. Elphie went all in on it whereas I got the milkshake but stuck to my standard French Toast with strawberries and bananas.

On Friday November 1st, we went to Dave Canfield's Horrible Halloween Party after a horrible commute home. We drove up to his house and hung around for a while. The party was cut a bit short due to people who had to work early in the morning but it was fun. We even had a viewing of a Carman video! Ha! We drove down to Metro for the All Hallow's Eve Nocturna event. We hung around for the whole night, saw some RAD costumes then decided to drive our friends Kate and Larry home. The car would not start. All power went off, similar to what happened in September but I could not get it to come back on and get the car running after trying various things that have worked before. We ended up taking the train home.

Clips from Dave's Horrible Halloween party in the Northside and Nocturna at Metro in Wrigleyville Chicago, Illinois including part of a performance by Sindy Vicious and the costume contest. Filmed using an iPhone 8 and edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson

On Saturday, November 2nd, after sleeping, I tried to look up solutions for the car situation. I asked on facebook for any suggestions and rode the train back to the car. Thankfully it remained where I had left it. A suggestion was cleaning the battery terminals and connection cables. I used baby wipes because it was what I had available. I tried to start the car first...same thing as the night before. I disconnected the battery then wiped the connectors and the terminals with the baby wipes. I also pushed on the car a bit and heard a click. Last year at Audiofeed it was a suggested to roll the car back slightly when it wouldn't start and then it started. Something about the gear teeth might not be lining up right, I guess? Anyway between pushing on the car and wiping the battery connectors and terminals, the car started! Unfortunately, it was too late to go to The Uh-Ohs house show and party. I drove home, got some food, and we went to Hope House for a 6'10 show with Elle Michelle and Families. I captured a new song from 6'10 called "See You Down The Road." It was fun hanging out at that location again. We hadn't been there since it was Risen Savior. It was good to see some people we hadn't seen in a while and just overall a good hang out. The car started so we were able to go home afterwards.





Filmed LIVE at Hope House in Southside Chicago, Illinois on Saturday November 2nd, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Friday, November 8th, I drove back out to The Forge in Joliet, IL to see Flatfoot 56 play as part of T1 Fest. I arrived to find a rap concert going on and was taken down the street and around the corner to another entrance to where Flatfoot 56 would be playing in "The Sapphire Room" It was a speakeasy sort of feel, ha! It was in a room above the rest of the venue. I got there in time to see a couple other bands. I captured "Curtains" from their set. It may have been the first time I heard it played live. As I left, I decided to capture the sign indicating the historic intersection of Lincoln Highway Route 30 with Route 66.

Filmed LIVE during T1 Fest at The Forge’s Sapphire Room in Joliet, Illinois on Friday November 8th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Saturday, November 9th, we went to the Beat Kitchen to see Harley Poe with The Homeless Gospel Choir and Billy Liar. Billy Liar had played at the show I was at the night before but I missed his set. We got to chat with Derek for a bit before the show and he told us that the van his band was using broke down just outside Chicago today so it had been a stressful one for him. He was glad to be traveling with a band so he wasn't alone and had help from local friends as well who were able to give the band a place to stay. I captured "Blind Faith" again, this time with the band. I captured " I Still Struggle" from Billy Liar and "Suckers" from Harley Poe. It was a fun show!





Filmed LIVE at The Beat Kitchen in Northside Chicago, Illinois on Saturday November 9th, 2019 using an iPhone 8. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson.

On Sunday, November 10th, on our grocery trip to Indiana and our usual Taco Bell stop, we put our order into the automated device which asks for a first name and last initial. I have been putting in Lt. Dan T because I think it will be funny to hear them call out for Lt. Dan. It would be even funnier at an ice cream shop so that we could hear "Ice Cream Lt. Dan...Lt. Dan! Ice Cream." So far, only once have they called out "Lt. Dan" but I wasn't able to get it on video. One time they did say "Lieutenant" but didn't finish. This time that was captured they called out "L.T. Dan" and it was funny enough to keep. But I will keep trying!

Additional soundtrack includes "Autumn People" by Timbre, "Hell's Ditch" by The Pogues, and "Bat Out Of Hell" by Meat Loaf.

Footage filmed using an iPhone 6 and 8 and CrossTour CR900 by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. Titles created using Motion 4 on a Macbook by Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson

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