United States > The Molly Ringwalds

United States - The Trump Tower on the Chicago River

I have the whole day today to explore Chicago. It’s Saturday—and the Saturday before Labour Day. That means it’s extra busy. Lively and bustling. The weather is beautiful when we leave our hotel. Our first stop is to officially finish Route 66. Just as we photographed the Route 66 sign in Santa Monica, we of course also need to take a photo of the official sign in Chicago. The sign is located near the Art Museum. We take a picture at the sign, and with that, Route 66 is truly completed. Through Millennium Park we walk towards the waterfront. Joggers are running along the promenade. In Millennium Park sits the gigantic silver bean—an artwork officially named Cloud Gate, by the British artist Anish Kapoor. The reflection in the sphere gives a funny view of all the people and the Chicago skyline. Among Chicago’s modern skyscrapers, some truly old buildings still stand. In the Financial District I visit the Rookery Tower. Its atrium was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Burnham Hotel, with about ten floors, is considered one of the first skyscrapers. On Van Buren Street runs a sort of metro. Right in the middle of the street stands a framework over which the train rides.

United States - The reflection in the silver bean in Chicago

It does not go silently over this iron construction from the late nineteenth century. Beneath it, traffic passes. A well-known street scene from various films. When we look for a place to have lunch, everything turns out to be full. Sometimes there are long queues. Eventually, we end up at a pizzeria. We share a pizza for lunch. At the House of Blues tonight there’s a performance by The Molly Ringwalds, a cover band with a tribute to the ’80s. Online we see that tickets cost fifteen euros excluding tax. We walk over to the theater to check if tickets are still available. When they hear at the theater that we are from the Netherlands, they check whether they might have any complimentary tickets. A little later, someone comes out with four free tickets for us. It doesn’t seem like it will be very busy tonight. We’ll see. The entrance process in the evening is just as special as the ticket purchase in the afternoon. First, the tickets need to be exchanged—ours don’t have a barcode. Then we have to go around the building for the security check. We get a wristband. When we walk up the stairs to the hall, we enter a small old-style theater. It’s surprisingly crowded. Even the balconies are already filled with people. At the bar we order drinks and some snacks. We’ll just see how the night goes. Meanwhile, a DJ is playing oldies, while a silent film is projected onto a screen.

United States - A performance at the House of Blues in Chicago

The atmosphere is cozy. When the curtain opens, everyone comes to the front. The music disappoints us at first. Two guys are playing songs, but their performance doesn’t rise above street-artist level. Then we realize this must be the opening act. The Molly Ringwalds will come later. After the opening act and a small quiz on stage, the band starts around nine o’clock. The energy immediately bursts from the stage with Don’t You Forget About Me by U2. The whole crowd shouts “hey, hey, hey, hey.” Fun. The Molly Ringwalds are a group of five musicians. The band is named after the American actress from The Breakfast Club and other films. Each band member is dressed up as a character—complete with costumes, wigs, and even overalls. The band members take turns singing, even the drummer joins in. The atmosphere is excellent with lots of well-known songs. It feels a bit odd that there are songs we don’t know, while the whole audience shouts out every lyric. Shortly after eleven, they play the last song. We return to our hotel after a particularly funny and memorable evening.