I think Valentiger would describe their experience at the Double Door as refreshing. Being a bustling, traveling band, the boys see a lot of venues and crowds. But it’s when they eventually hit an oasis like this premier Chicago room that they are recharged with work validated. After taking a detour through the South side with the GPS being in pedestrian mode, they arrived at the Double Door to find an engineer meeting them with a clipboard, requesting setup information. From there it was all VIP passes and a guest list to fill out. After some Flash Taco, Valentiger enjoyed beers on ice in the green room which was plastered with posters from previous shows – The Smashing Pumpkins in ’95, Rolling Stones in ’97, Malkmus in ’00. The sounds of Mike Maimone and the Mutts pounded the ceiling from upstairs.

Valentiger took the stage next with a half-hour set of all originals. They opened with “Have It All” and after a short guitar amp meltdown, it was onward through “Bosses In Their Offices” and “The Girl That Everyone Forgot.” “Man On Fire” felt especially prominent in this set of mostly rock, but the three seemed most excited to play the newest song “Oh, To Know,” which received the biggest response. Closing with “Hard To Let Me Down” and the standard “Leaving Town,” Valentiger ended strongly, having finally found their groove in the new room, even sneaking in a few jokes about RailCats season tickets.

While Facing Winter and MacGuffin brought the rock in to close out the night, Valentiger was selling merchandise at “name-your-own-price,” something they have been recently testing. It seemed successful and the night drew to a close with the next day’s work pending. After all, Valentiger was to make the trek back to Grand Rapids. Despite Rider’s attempt with Red Bull, he remained half-asleep in the back while Shirey and Kehoe talked about anything and everything in the name of night driving. Topics ranged from gardens to jobs to Boy Meets World and USA High. At any rate, they made it home somewhere near the 5AM hour, with Kehoe getting minimal sleep before wrapping up his undergraduate career.

Thanks to Ashley Wolf, Double Door, Facing Winter, MacGuffin and Mike Maimone for an excellent night in Chicago. A big thanks also goes out to all the friends who were kind enough to support Valentiger on a Wednesday night – It’s true love!