decemberists and iberico

yesterday, al and i went to millennium park to watch the free show featuring the decemberists. we met up with roy, mark, and irene, on the great lawn, just three and a half cross beams away from the stage... we couldn't see shit, as it was a densely packed crowd. it was my first time attending a show at the pritzker pavilion and i'll have to say, it was absolutely amazing sound. if you haven't been there, there are speakers hanging from the cross bars above the great lawn, and it's great because there's just enough of them that the sound is not overwhelming. in fact, the sound was at the perfect volume and you don't get that horrible echo effect that you normally get at outdoor venues. even from outside the lawn, standing at the bean, the sound (although softer) was clean. no distortion, no echoes.

the decemberists themselves were great live. not having been that familiar with the band, i know now that i will be. roy and mark seem to think that this was their breakout chicago performance, and so they will never see the likes of the metro or the riv again! i think they're crazy, but i know that they made many new fans that night.
it was a cloudy day with some sporadic drizzle, but thankfully we weren't rained on during the show. there was some lightning, flashing in the distance, that the crowd repeatedly oooh'd and ahhh'd, but nothing overhead. the last song played was called, "the mariner's revenge song", and the energetic crowd lept to it's feet and began doing what i like to call the "hippy hop". and when you see hundreds of people doing the hippy hop, you can't help but join in. so i did.

afterwards, on our way to dinner it started pouring like mad. it was one of those rainstorms where it doesn't help to have an umbrella. thankfully, we had al's v dub to shield us for a bit. we valeted her car at cafe iberico, where we got giddy off of some red wine sangria. it was a seafood tapas kind of night, and we hit all the favorites...

gambas al ajillo - grilled shrimp with olive oil, garlic, and wine
pulpo a la plancha - grilled octopus with potatoes and olive oil
queso de cabra - baked goat cheese with fresh tomato basil sauce
mejillones a la marinera - steamed mussels with marinara sauce
almejas en salsa verde - clams sautéed with shallots, white wine, and parsley
vieiras a la plancha - grilled sea scallops with saffron sauce
and patatas bravas - really, really spicy potatoes with special tomato sauce

i told roy that one of my favorites was the queso, but he shook his head violently and said that i was crazy. i yelled some sort of profanities at him, and then said the following (which mark enjoyed)...

"you know what's in spain? goats! and you know what goats make? cheese! this is tradition and it's fucking delicious!"

we also ordered some other selections, destined to become part of the ever growing list of favs...

tostadas de pisto - toasted bread topped with stewed eggplant, peppers, onion, zucchini tomato, and olive oil
tortilla española - vegetarian spanish omelet
and champiñones a la plancha - grilled mushrooms with garlic and olive oil

it was quite the delicious meal and coupled with great conversation and great wine, it was the perfect way to forget about the torrential downpour going on outside.