We left Friday at around 1:30pm to head to Chicago, and arrived at our hotel around 3:30pm. We read online that the Super 8 was a mile from where the concert was, and since we literally were only sleeping there, we decided to stay there. Well, that was a HUGE mistake! We got up to our room and it REEKED of air freshener. We started looking around, and when I walked into the bathroom I realized that the toilet looked like it was straight out of a gas station bathroom, and the shower was barely big enough for me and had no light in it. We decided we had to change rooms. We got the next room and it still reeked but at least there was a tub shower. Ha!
After getting settled, and since I wanted to be at the hotel as little as possible, we decided to head to dinner at 4pm because we were starving. We found a pub a couple minutes from where we were staying so we decided to try it out. It was SO good!! I got the fish sandwich, and although it wasn't the best fish sandwich I've ever had, it was really good and the tartar sauce was SO yummy!
After dinner we thought it would be fun to drive around and see if there was shopping or something to do. Unfortunately, it was rush hour and it was snowing, so the roads were pretty dangerous. We decided we would be safer in the creepy hotel. Plus, we thought it would be a good idea to take a nap because we both had been up since 5am and the concert wasn't until10pm.
Around 9:30pm we headed out to "Uncommon Ground" which is the restaurant that the concert was at. We made reservations for 9:45pm and got there right on time. The restaurant is split into 3 sections, the bar is first, the regular restaurant, and the music room. We walked into the music room, and there was Karmina, on stage doing soundcheck. The music room had probably 30 people in it! We got seated at second table closest to the stage! It was amazing. Karmina started their set right at 10pm. Before we left for Chicago, I had written them on Facebook and requested two songs, and they did play one of the two. They played some songs I knew, a few new ones, and a few covers. It was so much fun! I couldn't believe how amazing they sounded live. They chatted in-between songs and were really funny and quirky.
After the concert, they were standing by their merchandise table to chat with people. I got a chance to talk to Kamille, the brunette. She was so sweet and asked my name and thanked me for coming. I told her how much I love their music and that I would have flown out to LA to see them if they hadn't come to Chicago. It was so awesome getting a chance to talk to her and she gave me a hug when we left. Such an amazing experience!
