Another Sunday In the Park,With Alex – Review of Squeeze with Haircut 100 and Adam Ant at Ravinia 9.6.26 – by Ellen the Felon
I always have a good time hanging with AZ and this past Sunday was no exception. My birthday is September 5th, so as a little present to myself (and AZ) I splurged on pavilion seats for Squeeze with Haircut 100 and Adam Ant at the Ravinia Festival, in Highland Park, IL. This is a nationally known, summer outdoor venue that has been a Chicagoland tradition since the 1930s. It used to cost next to nothing to go hear a band, sit on the lawn & park your car, back in my high school and college days, but in 2026, you have to pay a premium that’s as much or more than any city venue, to see a show there. However, this was a cool, 80’s band lineup, as well as Adam Ant’s DEBUT at this venue, so of course a day after my birthday, where he’s playing practically in my backyard, I HAD TO go to see this, with the one and only person who appreciates this man as much as I do! This marked the 2nd time we’ve seen Adam together and each time AZ was treated to tix by me, not the other way around, because he’s usually the one taking friends to see shows. When we first saw Adam together in 2024, it was literally AZ’s FIRST time seeing Adam live (unbeknownst to me, since he’s such a huge fan) so, I now have the distinction of popping AZ’s Adam Ant “live show” cherry!
Our adventure started earlier in the day, with AZ taking the train up to my neck of the woods, where I picked him up, we got amazing Jewish deli “sammiches” at Kaufmann’s in Skokie, IL & then drove over to Memorial Park cemetery, where two famous men are buried. We reached the grave site of the first person, Jerry Springer, and ate our delicious, picnic lunch on a stone bench in Jerry’s beautiful, gated plot. Then, because the cemetery office was closed, we went on an expedition through the serene, tree-filled park, to find the other grave site. We knew which section and plot we were looking for, and AZ even had a picture of the headstone. We drove around, past some elaborately carved headstones, small mausoleums, the crematorium, a pond, several fountains and finally found the section we were looking for at the other end of the cemetery. Then, we parked my Bronco, got out and started searching, row by row. Now, after about 10 minutes of this quest, AZ was discouraged and exclaimed, “We’re not gonna find this guy today, we’ll have to come back another time!”.
Adam Ant’s live shows famously feature two drummers playing simultaneously. This creates a massive, thundering wall of tom-toms and percussion.
Jola (Jolanta Laskowska)
AZ and I go back 22 years as friends, yet he’s never seen my tenacious, resourceful, determined AF side (it’s a gift from my Ukrainian ancestors)… I assured him that I WOULD be finding this grave, and sure enough, a few minutes later, there it was! I yelled out to AZ, so he joined me in front of a reddish colored marble headstone, with a small, metal vase of faded, fake purple violets that had halfway fallen out in front of the grave, plus a few stones and coins scattered over it, inscribed with the phrase, “Goodnight, Sweet Prince”, along with an image of the comedy/tragedy mask, a birth and death date, with the name “Robert Reed” at the very top. The SAME Robert Reed, who played patriarch Mike Brady on “The Brady Bunch”. A man who had to hide his homosexuality for years, in order to protect his career, back in the 60’s and 70’s, due to the closeted nature of Hollywood and society in general at that time. It’s sad that he felt it was the only way he could be a successful actor, along with the fact that he was only 60 when he died. I found a stray bunch of faded, fake sunflowers nearby and added them to the vase, after straightening the violets. I also added a yellow quartz stone and a small, white and purple heart-shaped quartz stone to the left of his name on the gravestone, then I silently thanked Mr. Reed for being such a cool, TV Dad all those years ago, in the re-runs that I grew up watching. I explained to AZ that in Jewish tradition, when one visits the grave of a loved one, you leave a stone as a sign of remembrance and to show that someone had been there to pay their respects. Jerry Springer’s grave site was also covered in them.
We left the cemetery to head up to Ravinia, making a small pit-stop at a gas station, to get water bottles and eat the brownies that were the dessert portion of our fabulous lunch. We arrived at Ravinia a mere 15 minutes later, got a great parking spot (thanks to my “invisible” autoimmune disease, that warrants a handicap placard), then headed into the park. We were a bit early and got in line behind hundreds of others, who were waiting for the 5:00 PM mark for the gates to open. We made some friends in line, alternately joking with the cool people and slagging off the rich, entitled, north shore, suburban yuppies in their expensive Hoka shoes, khakis, golf shirts and tennis skirts, dragging their wagons full of epicurean delights, expensive wines, cheeses and Crate & Barrel accessories, complete with candles, to go on their luxurious picnic tables. Finally the gates opened, and the line began to move towards the checkpoint for security, then to the folks holding the ticket readers.
The pavilion wasn’t opening until half an hour before the start of the show, so we hung out nearby, ogling the silly suburbanites, who wouldn’t even be able to see the stage from their lawn spots, except for the jumbo screens. Of course, as we’re sitting on the walled edge of a beautifully landscaped garden, a friend of AZ’s walks by and immediately recognizes him (as happens EVERY time I go to a show with him). Then a lovely friend of mine found me, since we had been texting about the fact that we both had pavilion seats for this show. She is a very cool lady, who happens to live in a hi-rise in the Edgewater neighborhood, near AZ, and is neighbors with the GOAT, retired local weatherman,Tom Skilling. I also had the good fortune to chat with a 26 year-old employee, who had some amazing multiple ear and nose piercings. I told her how fabulous they looked and asked her how many tatts she had. Her answer was “none”, because her Jewish mother forbade it. I told her that “I” was also a Jewish mother, with a 19 year-old daughter who has both an eyebrow and ear piercings, plus tattoos (one more than I have at the moment), so it’s “all good”, and when she’s ready, it’ll be easier to ask her Mom for forgiveness, rather than permission!
Finally the pavilion opened, so we found our seats which were to the left of the stage. The pavilion was NOT full, so the row in front of us gave an unobstructed view of the stage. Right on time at 6:30, Haircut 100 came out to do their opening set. It started out a bit rough, with the sound, but they quickly adjusted the speakers and proceeded to do a few new songs, then launched into their greatest hits (insert set list here). The guys all look remarkably good for their age and are still in fine form, with the exception of the bass player, who, according to AZ, “looked dead”, because he barely moved and lacked any charisma. Their horn section was great and after (6?) songs, their turn on stage was done. The stage re-set was pretty quick (and we were wondering if it was going to be as tight of a changeover as the bands who played Totally Tubular, back in mid-August). Then it was time for the man, the myth, the legend – Adam Ant.
His band took the stage first. They opened to loud applause with (please insert song here, because I can’t remember) and those intense, double drum sets. Adam looked just as good as he did back in 2024, his dance moves were a little more subdued, but his passion and energy were just as strong as ever. He did a lot of his older, less commercial hits, which AZ and I appreciated (insert set list here). The band was rocking, especially the two drummers! They were on fire from the first song to the last, never missing a beat. My only wish was that he still had Marco Pirroni by his side, playing guitar, and that they played one of my favorites, the best song in his repertoire (imho), “Physical”, at the end of the set… No such luck. However, despite that, he brought his usual charm, charisma, talent and dashing good looks to this performance – his first on the Ravinia stage. I only wish his set would’ve been an hour longer & HE had been the headliner, instead of Squeeze!
We bailed after Adam’s set, because although I like a lot of Squeeze’s songs from back in the day, they were never a band that I was particularly into, nor was AZ. After hitting the bathrooms, we slipped out of the park, into my Bronco, in a spot right near the entrance, with the added bonus of missing the crowds fighting to exit the park, and we headed back into the city. Of course, this was a bit of an adventure too, because as we got to the area on the north side, where AZ’s L-rain stop was, I missed hitting the street where the train station was and had to turn around on a side street, where we almost drove right into a darkened lot that was hosting a group of gang-bangers playing loud music and looking shady AF. I managed to get us out of there in record speed and over to where the station was located. The train platform above the street looked like it was filled with undesirables, but it was only 9 PM, there was a state police car directly below it, so I figured AZ, and his leftover half “sammich” and half-sour pickles from Kaufmann’s would be safe enough.
And thus ended another one of my best summer Sundays of 2026 with my dear friend, AZ. I cannot imagine seeing this show with anyone else on the planet, and it’s always a blast to be at a venue, while sharing our personal jokes and weird, little catchphrases that make these adventures even more fun and exciting. All I can say is, thanks for sharing my birthday gift of yet another wonderful musical performance by Adam Ant with me, and “Love ya, boo!”
“The Belcher” is a signature sandwich served at Kaufman’s Bagel & Delicatessen, a famous Jewish deli located in Skokie, Illinois.
While huge double-decker monsters like the New Jersey Bypass (corned beef, pastrami, Swiss, slaw, and Russian dressing) often grab the headlines, The Belcher stands out as a long-running regular favorite for locals who want a classic, perfectly executed deli sandwich without all the extra toppings.
Here is exactly what comes on The Belcher: Pepper Beef , Turkey Pastrami, Crispy Beef Bacon (a deep, smoky, kosher-safe alternative to pork bacon)Chive Cream Cheese Spread (which completely elevates the sandwich and cuts through the salty meats)Lettuce & TomatoServed on your choice of their scratch-baked fresh bread (most locals choose their famous Jewish Rye or a Bagel).
Lets close put summer with a helluva Labor Day Monday 11 AM come up to ASSMANS Bar and Grill / Casa Diablo for drinks food and music all day long. Hoping to see some faces we haven’t had here in a while.
Same drill. Bring a covered dish, some meat for the grill and alcohol to share. As always we need lots of ice. If you’ve been here and are a repeat offender you know how we roll.
RSVP here. Leave a message and feel free to bring friends
