Joe Pug and C-U share a special relationship. 
Though the singer-songwriter has adopted Chicago as his home, C-U very well could be his second home.
Pug has filled up the Canopy Club in past performances and even played at far-fetched venues like the County Market on campus. No matter where he plays, though, he brings out a passionate fan base.
From the time his debut EP spread across the Internet in 2008 fans have multiplied in C-U and around the world. Credit his earnestness and his poetic lyrics for the strong following. It’s very easy to find something, some nugget of honest songwriting, to connect to in Pug’s music.
In that debut, Nation of Heat, Pug struck a cord with beautiful verse such as this, from “Hymn 101.”
“I’ve come to meet the legendary takers / I’ve only come to ask them for a lot / Oh they say I come with less than I should rightfully possess / I say the more I buy the more I’m bought.”
His directness, in this song and most of his work, gets to the core of the experience of the Millennial generation: the desire to be the best we can be without being a part of some failed version of the American Dream that came before us.
The lyrics are obviously meant to be heard and to be digested, but the music behind them is not simply decoration. Pug is a fine guitarist and when he tours with a band the full effect is phenomenal. And, as with many good things, the full band experience is employed in careful doses.
Pug’s sets generally evolve from him alone with a guitar, to include a lap steel guitar and eventually a traditional band. Then he breaks it all down and plays a song by himself again. The effect is fantastic, and since it has been nearly two years since he released his full-length album, Messenger, I would think he would treat the crowd to many new songs as well as old favorites.
Though neither Pug’s site nor the Canopy Club’s website states explicitly that he is playing with a full band (interview requests with Pug’s management went unanswered), the Elgin Daily Herald lists Pug with the Hundred Mile Band on Feb. 3 in Naperville. Based on that, I would say it’s safe to assume Pug will be playing with a band in tow.
If so, this is not a concert to be missed. But you may want to get there early — last time Pug played Canopy, the void room was nearly at capacity.
Pug is set to play Canopy Club on Saturday, February 4th at 10:30 p.m. ($12 advance/$15 door).