Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The not too distant Waukesha, Wisconsin was responsible for birthing the BoDeans, yet the entire Chicago area is a very close second home to the roots/heartland/alternative rockers responsible for a series of mega singles throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, plus a similarly prolific streak from the 2000s through today.

As a result, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see co-founding vocalist/guitarist Kurt Neumann and the line-up for the latter era sold out Skokie’s relatively intimate North Shore Center For The Performing Arts’ newly renamed and upgraded George Van Dusen Theatre.

However, there was extra significance to the occasion, thanks to the fact it’s now been 40 years since the BoDeans debuted with the highly heralded, T Bone Burnett-produced album “Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams.”

In addition to a chunk of those contagious tunes being present throughout two hours and change, including “Fadeaway,” “Angels” and “Say You Will,” the band revisited many other key areas and also caught everyone up to the present.

This four-piece edition of the BoDeans was as tight as ever regarding instrumentation and harmonies, though they always left enough breathing room to expand in either category, bringing a fresh approach to such regulars as “You Don’t Get Much,” “Only Love” and “Idaho.”

Even the later likes of “Ya Gotta Go Crazy” and “My Hometown” found the group building sturdily upon its timeless foundation, while forging an updated identity following the 2011 departure of fellow original vocalist/guitarist Sam Llanas.

Neumann nonetheless continued to passionately fly the BoDeans’ flag, especially during the standouts “Still The Night” and “Good Things” as the audience just as fervently stood and sang.

That type of reaction only increased when “Closer To Free,” the theme song to TV’s “Party Of Five,” brought the retrospective to a galvanizing conclusion as Neumann spent his solo taking a lap around the bustling room and made sure about a thousand fellow Midwesterners exited precisely as the anthem suggested.

For additional information on BoDeans, visit BoDeans.com.

Upcoming shows at the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts’ George Van Dusen Theatre include Kaleidoscope Dance (Feb. 8); Black Violin (Feb. 10); Erev Shira (Feb. 11); “Piaf!” (Feb. 13); “Morning Mix” Live (Feb. 19); Prawda (Feb. 20); Skerryvore (Feb. 21); Secret (Feb. 22); Peking Acrobats (Feb. 24); “Swan Lake” (Feb. 28); Music Of The Baroque (Mar. 1); Funny Women Of A Certain Age (Mar. 7); Cat Kid Comic Club (Mar. 10); Peppa Pig (Mar. 15); Semyon Slepakov (Mar. 17); Joanne Shaw Taylor (Mar. 18); Gregorian (Mar. 19); Craig Ferguson (Mar. 20); “Dirty Dancing” In Concert (Mar. 21); Solstice: A Winter Circus Experience (Mar. 22); “Heart Of A Dog” (Mar. 24) and Talib Kweli (Mar. 28) For additional details, visit NorthShoreCenter.org.

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