One of my favorite fellas, Tim Fite, brought his eclectic fun time jams back to Chicago last evening as he rocked the stage at one of my favorite venues, the Lakeshore Theatre. The set was a little shorter than the last time I caught him, but I’ll count that up to the fact that it was a later show and the he had to allow plenty of time for the lovely headlining Watson Twins.

Fite seemed much more in his own realm this time compared to the last time I saw him, playing crowd favorites from Gone Ain’t Gone, Over the Counterculture and Fair Ain’t Fair. His delightful AV presentation and glow brite boombox set up were in full effect, and his cohort in crime, Dr. Leisure helped up the crowd’s ante, running and screaming amongst the sit down venue. The usual story breaks were present and accounted for, including “What Dogs Eat,” the crowd participating “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” “A Drop in the Bucket” and my personal fave, “Jo Jo & Bobby Stab a Motherfucker” which Fite himself described simply as “a bird and a cat who have slightly sociopathic tendencies and like to enjoy a sandwich.”

I got the opportunity to shoot the breeze with Fite after his set and we chatted on everything from his influences from Public Enemy, (he knows all the words, but sadly, will not be able to make their set this evening at Pitchfork); how he met Dr. Leisure, (they met either the day he was born—or maybe it was the day after); his college education, (Rutger’s University—Print Making and Africana Studies); touring with Adam Greene of the Moldy Peaches, (he was great—“loved the riddles”); his participation with an upcoming video shoot for My Brightest Diamond (something about puppets); how he’s “So bad at having a good time,” (I rebutted that he had all us in the crowd convinced otherwise to which he blushingly replied, “No that’s the fun stuff, I mean actually going out and leaving my apartment, I’m not so good at that,”); and how the “young people of the world, who will fall down if their pants aren’t on tight enough, they need to realize the world doesn’t revolve around them, the young people—it revolves around ALL people.”

Basically, we had a chummy good old time. I observed Fite smile and hug his fans, some of them pretty mega-fans indeed, and indulge every question and story shot at him ranging from his birth town to some story about a Target parking lot. As he finished packing up his equipment concluding his set, the circle of Fite fans chanted, “One more song!” to which he enthusiastically replied, “We can sing more together in the hallway when I’m done here.” I guess that’s the kinda guy Tim just is, a people pleaser and fun lovin’ artist—I had to email him the real questions I had prepared for our interview last night since I enjoyed talking so much I couldn’t stop to scribble any of his responses—so you all can expect more from Fite in the very near future.

Set List:

1. I Hope Yer There
2. Line by Line
3. Big Mistake
4. The Barber
5. It’s All Right Here
6. No Good Here
7. More Clothes
8. Away From the Snakes

Myspace: Tim Fite