May 20, 2019

Katie Toupin

My Kind of Town

It isn’t often that I get to spend quality time hanging out with either of my sisters, so getting to hang out for a few weeks with my sister Michele in Indianapolis was a pretty cool and unique experience for me. Even better is that we took a few days to drive up to Chicago for a mini-vacation where we were able to visit with my nephew Jerome and his girlfriend Francesca who are currently living there

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Before heading to Chicago, I had tickets to yet another show at the Hi Fi, featuring former Houndmouth singer and now solo artist Katie Toupin. My friend Megan, who I sadly see basically one time a year, joined me for a quick bite and then the show. It was a really great evening and a great performance by Toupin.

I had seen Katie perform a few times with her band Houndmouth, including a show at nearby Radio Radio in 2012 when they were just starting out and opened two nights in a row for the Lumineers, who were also just getting started at the time. Even then I thought that Houndmouth and more specifically Katie Toupin had a bright future, they were terrific.

Michael, Katie and Megan

I saw Houndmouth multiple more times in the years since and they were always great and Toupin was always a highlight of their shows. For whatever reasons, Toupin departed the band in 2016 and embarked on a solo career, and while it was a great loss for Houndmouth, they continued right along without her, it was a great opportunity for Toupin to become the central focus of her own career.

Her show comes in advance of the release of her upcoming CD, “Magnetic Moves” and she proved in her performance that she is a force of her own as she played about a dozen tunes from both the upcoming release and her previously released EP. It was a short but fun and powerful show in front of a smaller but very appreciative crowd at the Hi Fi. After the show she came and hung out at the bar with the fans and friends who were on hand, even bringing her dog Cheeto out to mingle with fans.

Cheeto

Next it was on the road again, driving from Indianapolis to Chicago with my sister Michele. It is a short easy drive up I-65 and we only stopped briefly in Munster, Indiana to have lunch at Three Floyds Brewery. Where I also picked up a nice supply of Zombie Dust beer to take home with me.

Once in Chicago, we headed over to Grant Park to visit the incredible Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious art museums in the United States and among the best in the entire world. I have visited many times and yet never tire of seeing. It holds some of the greatest art treasures ever created.

includes iconic works such as Georges Seurat's “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”, Pablo Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist”, Edward Hopper's “Nighthawks”, and Grant Wood's “American Gothic”. Its permanent collection of nearly 300,000 works of art is augmented by more than 30 special exhibitions mounted yearly. Suffice it to say that even with a full afternoon to explore, we barely scratched the surface of the place.