I was a little doubtful about how thrilling a solo acoustic concert by Chris Mills would be at the end of the night (such shows usually seem more engaging earlier in the evening, for me at least), but he proved his mettle with a very enjoyable set tonight. It was nice to hear his recent songs in this bare-bones format, with all of those horns and strings stripped away (not that there’s enough wrong with those grandiose arrangments). A few of the audience members were rather annoying with their loud comments, though it did turn amusing when the banter prolonged Mills’ attempt to start playing his final song of the night, finally compelling him to remark that he was in desperate need of a trip to the bathroom. After the show, I picked up a tour-only CD of outtakes from Mills’ last record, The Wall to Wall Sessions. (I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet…)
The opening act was a trio from Detroit called I, Crime. They sounded pretty good, with a combination of alt-country, old-style rock and punk. A milder version of X, perhaps? The songs did not leave that much of an impression on me, but I would see them again.