Last weekend, Gretchen and I were lucky enough to score tickets to The Tubes concert, and it was awesome. Neither of us have seen The Tubes since they made it big nationally and, as I’m sure you know, tickets were not easy to come by. It just so happens, though, that they recorded their first album at Washie’s, so my dad was able to pull some strings to get us in.

venue13.jpgThe Tubes have a great 80s/funk fusion kind of thing, and they somehow find a way to incorporate an accordian into almost every song they play. I also can’t imagine a better place for them to play in than Venue 13. It’s on 13th and near Sarah in the South Side in this crazy old police station. There was a big fire in it that gutted the place decades ago, and it was abandoned for a long time. When things started happening in the South Side, a clever investor bought the property for practically nothing, and over several years renovated it into an intimate but large venue. It’s great because it attracts national acts but still has the feel of a small club.

My Dad told me that he remembers sneaking into the building before it was sold and goofing around with his friends. It tried to get more details on what exactly he meant by “goofing,” but when I asked, he suddenly remembered he had something to do that was “very important…”