Justin Furstenfeld Open Book Tour, City Winery, Chicago, IL

April 17 – 18, 2022

Have you ever heard of Blue October? No? How about the song Hate Me?

Yeah, thought you might have…

A Background on Blue October

Blue October is Brandy’s favorite band. I’d never even heard of them until I met her (I’d never even heard Hate Me). Now, two years later, I can honestly and truly say, they’re my favorite band too.

Their singer, Justin Furstenfeld, has been through a lot. I’m not going to say it’s more than other have gone through in their lives. He’s battled substance abuse, relationship trauma and battles for his children, which millions of others in the world also deal with. Justin, though, uses that pain to write songs that help not only himself but countless others cope with the difficulties in their lives. The beauty is, no matter what issues you have, Blue October has a song that you can relate to. For Brandy, it’s Fear. For me, Light You Up or Moving On (So Long) could be mine.

Don’t get me wrong though, they have some wonderfully romantic songs, such as 18th Floor Balcony and Completely. Regardless of the topic though, Justin puts every ounce of himself into his songs.

Justin’s Open Book Tours

From time to time, Justin well set out on his own, just him and an acoustic guitar, for short tours of small, intimate shows, usually not more than a couple hundred people. He performs songs and tell stories, maybe about how they were inspired or how it helped him deal with the struggles or inspirations in his life.

During these tours, he will offer a pre-show meet and greet and allow some to sit in on his sound check. He’ll banter with the crowd, answer questions, sing some songs, and ends with a brief photo session.

For the first time since the COVID pandemic, he’s set out once more for his Open Book Tour.

After a handful of shows in his home state of Texas, he made his way up to the Midwest for a pair of shows in Chicago at City Winery.

Early on in our relationship, Brandy told me that the best gift anyone could get her would be a meet and greet with Justin. Well, guess what she got for her birthday?

One of the last things I did when we lived in Albuquerque was to buy her tickets for the show and the meet and greet for her birthday, three days before we left to move to Iowa.

Chicago

Brandy’s mom was kind enough to come over Saturday afternoon to spend the night and to watch Ash while we were gone.

We headed out Sunday morning at a little after 9:00, knowing full well we couldn’t check in until 3:00. Getting us there before 1:00 was going to leave us with time to kill in the event we couldn’t get an early check-in.

We made the drive, making a brief stop in Naperville to restock our water and use the restroom before making the last leg of the drive.

We pulled up to the Hyatt House a short two blocks from the venue and were lucky enough to find free, unrestricted street parking right in front of the hotel, saving us $50 in parking.

We entered the hotel, made our way up to the reception desk and asked if there was any opportunity for an early check in. No, they said, they wouldn’t have our room ready until 3:00. We left our bags with them and headed out to try to find a quick bite to eat. Being Easter, there wasn’t much open. We eventually found ourselves at a bar and grill called Mad Social, and that’s where things got interesting.

A Lunch to Remember

We walked in to the packed restaurant and asked if there was a table. We were asked if we had a reservation, and we said no, but they seated us at a two top right inside the door. I sat with my back to the door, Brandy facing it.

We ordered some drinks and a plate of wings. As we waited for the wings, I heard a group of people walk in. Brandy’s eyes widened and she said, “Guess who just walked in.”

I thought to myself, “she knows everyone in Ottumwa, but how in the world would she know anybody in Chicago?” I turned around and was face to face with Justin himself.

First Meet and Greet

He saw that we recognized him and immediately extended his hand for a handshake. I shook it and told him it was a pleasure to meet him. He had his (I’m assuming) tour manager and a young lady (maybe his tech?) with him and he was carrying his guitar in his case.

I asked if we could trouble him for a photo and he said, sure, just let him put his guitar at his table, then he came right back and…

well…

After the 3 hour drive and not having done her hair or makeup, Brandy wasn’t thrilled with the way she looked in the picture so, out of an abundance of respect, I’ve covered her face in that picture.

Immediately though, Justin whipped out his phone and asked for a picture for himself. I took one for him, we thanked him and he went and sat at his table directly behind us.

Brandy was absolutely overwhelmed with the experience. Her eyes were tearing up and she was visibly shaking. It was so adorable.

We sent the picture out to everyone in our circles and reflected on what had just happened. When the wings finally came, she couldn’t even eat.

We had another drink, I ate the wings and paid the bill. On our way out, I stopped by and thanked Justin for his time. We had a brief conversation and left.

Now, you’ll read stories about how down to earth and personable Justin is. I’m here to tell you that is 100% the case. He is so grateful for his fans and will sit and talk to you and will listen to you and will appreciate every word you have to say.

Hyatt House

We walked back to the hotel wondering if that was where Justin was staying. We figured it was; it’s the closest nice hotel to the venue.

We got in, checked back at the reception desk and we were still a little early. We sat in the lobby right next to the desk and waited while a slew of people slept in the chairs throughout the open area.

As we waited, more and more people started showing up to check in. At one point the elevator doors opened and off stepped Justin and his small crew.

They got in line and waited with the rest of the people. While they waited, Justin continued chatting with us. He cracked jokes about the people sleeping in the lobby and at one point broke into a little jig. As people continued to fill the lobby, it was evident that many of them were there for the show as well. They were dressed in Blue October shirts and sweatshirts and almost all of them approached him and asked for a picture or an autograph. He obliged every single one of them. One thing I did notice though is that he didn’t ask for a picture on his phone as he had done with us at the bar. Not sure what made us special but it was just a little something I noticed.

We were finally given our room key, being told that we’d been upgraded for being so patient. We were given room #903. We grabbed our bags and hopped on the elevator and headed up to the 9th floor, headed to the room we were assigned and… the door was locked.

We went back down to the lobby and told them, and we were reassigned to the very top floor.

We got back on the elevator and headed up once more and were greeted with a full two-room suite. Had a separate living room and bedroom, and a full kitchen with a full size refrigerator, stove and microwave. The kitchen was fully stocked with dishes, pots and pans, and everything. The views from the 13th floor could have been better but we’ve definitely had worse views before.

Once we got settled, Brandy hopped in the shower and got ready, then we left for City Winery.

City Winery

City Winery is a restaurant/bar/event venue in the Fulton Market district of Chicago. It sits a quick two block walk from the Hyatt House. We left the hotel at 4:00, arriving a short 4 minutes later.

The place has a modern rustic vibe. Lots of metal and wood. Big glass windows make up the front of the building with a giant wine cask serving at their signage.

As the doors were opening for the meet and greet event at 5:00, we had some time to kill. We went to the bar and had a couple more drinks before heading over to check in for the sound check.

We were told that Brandy had to check her small handbag and we were given some wristbands allowing us access to the venue once doors did open.

We waited in line and at about 10 after 5, the door opened. About 50 of us were ushered into the small concert hall where we sat right at the stage.

Soon after, Justin took the stage to as thunderous applause as 50 of us could muster. He showed his appreciation for us and sat on a stool. He talked for a bit, answered some questions, played a couple songs then we were all lined up to take pictures with him next to the stage.

As he had been in each interaction with him, he was super personable and eager to chat with each of us.

As we approached, he looked at us and yelled at me, “Get in here, stud!”

I handed my phone to the fella taking the pictures and with Justin’s arms wrapped around us, had our pictures taken.

As we left, we swung by a table holding a stack of signed posters. I grabbed a couple for us and we left the venue.

The Show

We went outside for a moment to catch our breath and regroup. As we re-entered, there was a lengthy line of people waiting to get back in for the show. When we got to the front, we were escorted to our seats, two in the middle of a row of six flanking a row of four top tables. There was a QR code on the table that allowed us to hop into the online menu and order food and drinks. We ordered a hummus plate and the City Winery Burger:

house blend / garlic herb aioli / red wine-braised onion / brie / gherkin pickles / lemon-dressed arugula / brioche bun / house-made truffle fries

City Winery Menu

The burger was pretty good and the fries were terrific. The hummus was standard issue accompanied by some pita triangles and veggies.

At first, the hall was only maybe a quarter full, even up until about 7:30, then people started piling in. Before we knew it. We were packed in like sardines. I was warming up and Brandy was starting to get anxious. She mentioned a few times how uncomfortable she was. It got to the point where we decided to leave, especially knowing that the show could likely last for three hours, and leaving a small, intimate, acoustic performance would likely be noticed. We excused ourselves and we headed out.

As we exited the building, the cool Chicago air brought the sense of relief we needed. I didn’t realize at the time but the claustrophobia had started to set in and I was beginning to get anxious as well.

We made the short trip back to the hotel, went up to our room and were greeted by a wonderful nighttime Chicago skyline.

We dropped the AC to 59 degrees, got undressed and laid down on the nice, firm hotel mattress and settled in for a good night’s sleep.

Monday and the Return

I woke up at 3:00 Monday morning after having tossed and turned for a couple of hours. My phone reported that it was snowing outside. I went to the window and indeed saw some moisture on it, but it looked more like it was raining rather than snowing.

I snuck into the bathroom and showered, getting ready for the day. I made some coffee in the well-appointed kitchen and sat until breakfast was available in the lobby.

At 6:00, I headed down, grabbed a plate and noshed on some scrambled eggs, potatoes and sausage with a cup of coffee to wash it down. When I finished, I got an omelet from the custom omelet bar for Brandy and took it back up to the room for her. She was still sound asleep.

I wandered the hotel for a couple of hours eventually finding my way to the 14th floor rooftop patio.

They also had a pool and the laundry facilities on that level, but no guest rooms, so we were really on the top level on the 13th floor.

When Brandy woke up at about 8:30, I went back to the room, warmed up her breakfast for her and we packed up and left.

The Drive Home

We stopped at the Dekalb Oasis to put a bit of gas in the car and use the restroom. The Mobil station there was kind of dumpy and the women’s restroom was closed so I use the men’s room, we grabbed some road snacks at got back on the highway.

By the time we crossed the Mississippi River on into Iowa, Brandy really had to go so we stopped at the first stop we found, a little joint outside of Walcott called Iowa 80, also known as the World’s Largest Truck Stop.

We went in and it was absolutely HUGE for a truck stop. We made our way across the vast store to the restrooms, then headed back out after snapping a couple of pics for the Photo Diary.

We got back on the road and wound up in the door just after 1:00 pm.

Conclusion

All in all, it was an absolutely fantastic trip. Meeting Justin on such a one-on-one level was an amazing experience, we saw new things and had a really enjoyable time.

I’m really glad I was able to do this for Brandy. I know it meant the world to her.

I only wish we were able to see the show after the meet and greet.

Ah, maybe next time.

So, what’s next? Well, we have the next couple of weekends at home to get things straightened out and ready for a garage sale toward the middle-end of May, but then on May 7, we will be back in the Windy City to check off a long time bucket list item. Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, find all of the pictures from this trip over in the Photo Diary, and, once more, as always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you.

-Phil