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The God Of Low The Traveller Afraid Himself To Be Yellow Cab Somebody Loves You I Just Wanna Touch You There Goes My Inspiration Cliché Set Me Free Love Alone Lady Madonna The Long And Winding Road Someone To Watch Over Me Libertine Watching The World Go By The One Sure Thing One World Are You Happy Now? 
Review by SueW:
The only two downsides to this gig were the temperature and the audience size. It was VERY cold in The Abby Pub tonight. I’m one of those people who always feel the cold anyway but everybody I spoke to mentioned how chilly it was in there, so much so that none of the five people I was with could face having a drink! As for the audience size, it was probably only just over half of the size that Kasim usually gets there but it was understandable as it was below freezing outside (with lots of snow and ice) and it was a midweek whereas usually Kasim plays here at the weekend. However it was still a decent sized crowd as Kasim always gets a good turn-out here. As Todd is playing in Chicago tomorrow evening, there were quite a few people who had flown or driven into the city and caught Kasim’s show tonight first. Also in the audience was Prairie Prince and Todd / Kasim’s roadie Randy.
The opening act tonight was Ellis Clark who sang and played guitar and was accompanied by a girl on the keyboards who also sang. I think that was the best opening act I’ve seen for Kasim at The Abbey as he was very tuneful. It was also very noticeable that people listened to this act and didn’t talk over him as they have other less enjoyable ones at other gigs here. He ended his set with a good version of Jealous Guy by John Lennon as it’s the 30th anniversary of his shooting today.
 When we arrived there was a note on our table asking everyone to sing Happy Birthday to Kasim when he walked on stage. Everyone did but I think it was the most tuneless rendition I’ve ever heard! However Kasim seemed really touched by it and thanked us all. As usual Kasim started off his set by singing the God Of Low. He then went straight into The Traveller but he didn’t introduce either of these as his new songs until later in the set. Right from the first note Kasim’s voice sounded really warmed up and tuneful which was great to hear after Saturday. Kasim then told us that The Abbey Pub had heard that he was playing with Todd in Chicago so had asked him to play a solo gig originally on Friday (the night after the Todd gig) but that Kasim had explained that he would be in Las Vegas by then so Kasim had suggested tonight as he would already be in the city. He said that it was coincidence that it was his birthday. Kasim also pointed out that this was the first time that he’d played a solo gig on his birthday. After Kasim’s 2 new songs we then had the cover version section of the set as Kasim sang Jason Faulkner’s Afraid Himself To Be, Yellow Cab (counted as a Kasim song although it wasn't written by him) and Nik Kershaw’s Somebody Loves You. All of those songs really emphasised how well Kasim chooses cover songs that suit his voice perfectly. I think that if you didn’t know Kasim’s music, then you wouldn’t know that he hadn’t written those songs specifically for his voice. However Kasim did forget a couple of lines in Yellow Cab and afterwards told us that he had seen Rufus Rainright on Monday evening at Carnegie Hall and he had messed up the lyrics of some of his songs and if it was okay for Rufus….! We next had the Utopia / Todd section of Kasim’s set as he sang I Just Wanna Touch You, There Goes My Inspiration and Cliché. During the first lines of I Just Wanna Touch You he told us a disgusting story about his Dad’s handkerchief which I won’t repeat!
 Kasim then moved across to his keyboards and sang Set Me Free and Love Alone which the audience obviously loved tonight. At the end of Love Alone Kasim sang a couple of lines from Eternal Love which made a nice addition. Kasim also told us about his new album that he’s in the process of writing and how everybody can get their photo on the cover of the album plus win the chance to have him play in your living room (that seemed very popular with the fans here tonight!). It was then The Beatles section of the gig as Kasim told us about playing on the Classical Mystery Tour and sang Lady Madonna and The Long And Winding Road. He then followed it by Gershwin’s Someone To Watch Over Me. That song does nothing for me personally but a friend I was with tonight absolutely loved it, especially as Kasim sang all the verses which apparently are usually omitted. Before he sang that song Kasim said that apparently Janet (Pebbles) had offered to sing Happy Birthday Marilyn Monroe-style to him at Bordentown so he tried to get her up on stage to do it. He followed that by saying that she had gone nine shades of bright red! Kasim then moved back to his guitar and it was the audience participation time as he and we sang Libertine. This time as well as all the girls and all the guys, Kasim asked just Janet to sing a line and she actually did!
 Kasim then tuned it down his guitar to play Watching The World Go By and his beautiful The One Sure Thing. Between the two songs Kasim told us about his podcast gig that he’ll be playing on Thursday 13th January 2011 in Woodstock. (Full details at KasimShow.com.) Kasim said that he’ll be playing with a band and named the two members. Kasim also spoke about how much appreciates all his fans. After Kasim had tuned up his guitar he played One World with virtually everybody in the place joining in on the clapping. Kasim then got a standing ovation and was about to leave the stage but decided to play another song. As someone called out for Are You Happy Now he played that. There was a sight mistake in it but he obviously hadn’t rehearsed it as he wasn’t expecting to play it. First of all somebody brought out a birthday cake for Kasim and people let of party poppers and things so it was a great atmosphere (we’d all signed a big card before the gig too). And then, all too soon for me, it was time for Kasim to leave the stage after his final and one of his best solo gigs of 2010. Fingers crossed that we get loads of Kasim Sulton solo gigs in 2011!
Video:
The venue (taken from the KasimInfo.com Blog that day):
Kasim has played at The Abbey Pub several times over the past 9 years (since he re-started his solo career). His last performance here was on
Saturday 15th May 2010. Prior to that gig he played here on Friday 16th October 2009, Thursday 12th March 2009,
Friday 21st March 2008,
Saturday 27th January 2007,
Saturday 16th February 2002 and
Friday 10th August 2001. Kasim usually gets his largest crowds in this city - last time there was a long queue outside so it's advisable to eat beforehand in the restaurant as those people are allowed into the venue first.
This is also one of the best venues that Kasim plays as it's a relaxed bar so you can sit where you like but there are tables where people can eat snacks too either just before or during the gig. After the show Kasim always makes an appearance either in the room itself or in the bar area opposite the room (but still within the same building) so remember to stay around to talk to him and get photos!
The concert starts at 8pm with doors opening at 7.30pm. The opening act is Ellis Clark.
Tickets are $25 on the door or $20 in advance (recommended) at this link. The venue is located at 3420 W Grace Street, Chicago, IL 60618-4215 (telephone 773-478-4408).
Click here for more info about this gig. This is a 21 and over only gig.
Pre-show page on KasimInfo.com:
Many thanks to Whitney Burr for the photos on this page.
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