David Nail Makes Chicago Come Alive To A Packed House At Joe’s

David Nail strutted back into a packed house at Joe’s on Weed St. this past weekend. Joe’s is one of Nail’s favorite venues to play & he has never disappointed a Chicago crowd. The Joe’s crowd was ready for our neighbor from Missouri.

The night started off with former Chicago Bears Tight End & singer/songwriter Zach Miller. Zach’s NFL career was cut short when he nearly lost his leg in a gruesome injury on the field. In 2017 in a game against the New Orleans Saints Miller dislocated his knee, but at the same time, he tore his popliteal artery which almost caused him amputation to the leg. He substituted Music in place of Football, and started writing & now he has 3 singles out and one on the way. The Chicago crowd gave Zach a warm welcome while a few of his former teammates looked on.

David Nail’s band The Well Ravens made its way down those infamous Joe’s stairs from the artist loft. The lights dimmed, The smoke machine fired up, The music started, & then there was no singing. David’s mic decided it wanted to delay the start of the show & give Chicago a few minutes of tech issues, that were soon quickly forgotten about after a quick

“I’ll Never Forget This Mother *$%#” From David Nail

David has been recapping some of his Joe’s on Weed Memories this week. This has led up to what is going to be another historic memory for him. The issues got ironed out and we get “Come Back Around” A song from David’s 2018 David Nail & The Well Ravens Self-Titled album to kick off the set. “I’m A Fire” followed & it described the loud Joe’s crowd which was a fire all their own. His 2009 smash & Jonathan Singleton cut “Red Light”. This is the song that got us hooked on Nail 13 years ago, after hearing Singleton sing it live during his touring days with The Grove in 2008. So, to hear the tempo change at the beginning of the song made it feel new again which I’m sure Nail’s faithful fans love hearing. The sing-along echoed Joe’s as he went into “I’m About To Come Alive” which at this point he already had, & he had that Chicago crowd feeling it too. “Kiss You Tonight” from his 2014 “I’m A Fire” album & “This Time Around” from the 2009 “I’m About To Come Alive Album” kept the crowd singing along & David taking control of the room with each song. David finally unstrapped the guitar & slowed the pace down with “Sound Of A Million Dreams” (click the song title for a Live video of the song) before the crooner goes into the song, he talks about his 2009 Joe’s bar debut & how the room holds a special place for him, we were at that very debut with about 9 of our closet friends. To see the near Sold-Out crowd, now makes us appreciate Nail’s journey that much more. David Nail tells the Joe’s crowd how it has been 5 years since he has played the legendry stage & how it won’t be that long the next time.

He continued to work the stage with no guitar in tow for his song “Fighter” off the 2016 album of the same name, before strapping back up for his only cover of the night “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” which he owned with his groovy & funky rendition of the classic song that led right into his Scooter Carusoe co-write “Again”. After again Nail addressed the Chicago crowd before heading into his home stretch of the show. He talked about how when he was making his 2009 debut album some of the higher-ups in Nashville didn’t think he sounded Country enough. One day David’s dad a school music director sat him down & told him,

“Country is something you are, Not something you sound like”

This gave David the momentum he needed to carry on and get that debut album in the hands of thousands. Before David rolled into a trio of crowd favorites “Nights And Lovers”, “Night On Fire”’ & “Comeback History” he introduced his band. While he introduced his band, he made note that a few of them were playing their first show with Nail. In fact, a few days ago David Nail didn’t even think he would make it to Chicago for the show. The “Sickness” as his daughter calls it hit the band and knocked a few members out. Luckily Australian guitar player Adam Jonathan Lester came to the rescue & saved the Chicago show. He wasn’t the only one on stage playing with Nail for the first time, his bass player Nigel Knop was also filling in for a Nail band member, you can normally find Nigel out on the road with Billy Currington. However, we know Nigel from his time with Tucker Beathard & the inspirational road blog that Nigel started around the same time. The band was just as flawless as Nail was on that Joe’s stage, & you couldn’t even tell a few were just getting their feet wet. The crowd had a few singalongs left as David went into his biggest chart-topper “Let It Rain” & closing the set with “Catherine”. After emerging for his encore of “Whatever She’s Got” David once again preached about how legendary Joe’s on Weed St. is to not only him but many other artists that have Joe’s bar prominent around their journey. The night ended with “Home” a powerful ballad that capped off what might have been one of the most memorable nights at Joe’s for Nail.

David Nail | April, 30th,2022 | Joe's On Weed St. Chicago, IL

Set-List:

Come Back Around

I’m A Fire

Red Light

Alive

Kiss You Tonight

This Time Around

Sound Of A Million Dreams

Fighter

Hank Done It That Way (Waylon Cover)

Again

Nights And Lovers

Night On Fire

Comeback History

Let It Rain

Catherine

_________________

Whatever She Got

Home

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