Last Friday, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite bands from college, The Why Store, here in Chicago at the Elbo Room. It has been over 20 years since I've seen The Why Store -- a rock band formed in Muncie, Indiana who gained some regional fame in the Midwest in the mid to late '90s. The toured with John Mellencamp in the late '90s and were even a musical guest on Conan during the tour's stop in NYC.
When I got to IU in the fall of '96, I was introduced to the Why Store by many Indiana natives. I saw them at some point in Bloomington, and then they broke up. Lead singer Chris Shaffer -- whose voice is still amazing -- formed another band called Shaffer Street that played at one of my fraternity's parties. I remember they had a huge oriental rug on stage and hung tapestries behind the stage. The last time I saw him was in the IU tailgating fields before a football game 15-17 years ago. He was playing a pre-game concert, and during his warm-up, he was playing Led Zeppelin's "Out On the Tiles," which was pretty awesome. I made a point to drunkenly tell him that after the show last Friday.
Anyway, if you were a fan of the band, I definitely recommend checking them out live. Obviously, that's going to be easier if you live in or around Indianapolis. Unfortunately, my favorite Why Store song -- "Lack of Water," which I am still convinced could have and should have been a Top 40 hit in 1996 or 1997 -- does not have a music video. However, "Father," which is also off the band's 1996 eponymous album, did have a video -- and one featuring Chris Cooper and Beverly D'Angelo at that! Has Chris Cooper ever played a character who isn't a complete dick?
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