The Yardbirds at the Des Plaines Theatre (4/18/2025)

If you divided the people who say they’d “bleed for rock n’ roll” versus the people who ACTUALLY would, the latter category would be significantly smaller than the former. Jim McCarty, founding drummer of The Yardbirds, officially falls into the latter category after the band’s appearance this past Friday at the Des Plaines Theatre, just outside of Chicago. Halfway through the evening, with the band about to tear into the iconic “Shapes of Things”, the 81 year old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer suffered a frightening fall while on his way up the drum riser. And yet in true old school fashion, despite this misstep and the facial gash that ensued from said fall, McCarty continued on with the show: One that lied somewhere between a straightaway rock n’ roll concert and an in-depth history lesson.

Those who checked out our interview with McCarty regarding this show will be aware that this happened to be the final date of a rather “experimental” tour titled The History of the Yardbirds. As the title foreshadowed, this new show was built upon the “songs and stories” format that many of the band’s peers have attempted as of late, albeit with an extra emphasis on “stories”. Therein lies the “dilemma”: Some would prefer less talkin’ and more rockin’, something McCarty himself addressed in our chat. That said, the Des Plaines audience received no shortage of both this past Friday evening.

On the “stories” side of the evening, McCarty tackled every last detail of the band’s initial 1963 to 1968 run, from their formation and early attempts at chart success, to the impact of Jeff Beck on the band’s sound and their misadventures of touring the States, some of which were of Spinal Tap proportions. For the better part of the show, McCarty took centerstage, telling stories behind classic songs, which would then be followed by the band performing said song. Handling the drums for this portion of the evening was Myke Scavone, save for the opening “Heart Full of Soul” and “Shapes of Things”, the latter in which the aforementioned incident involving McCarty occurred.

Come the close of the storytelling portion of the evening, McCarty hopped behind his kit yet again, this time for some straightaway rockin’, and rock they did! While McCarty remains the sole original member of the band’s ’60s heyday, he’s since assembled a lineup that keeps the music as vibrant and powerful as ever, 60 odd years later. On again, off again singer/guitarist John Idan does his best Keith Relf behind the mic. Godfrey Townsend of Jack Bruce fame tears up the lead guitars, while the aforementioned Scavone, formerly of Ram Jam, handles percussion and harmonica. Holding down the rhythm alongside McCarty is none other than veteran bassist Kenny Aaronson, best known to ’70s metal aficionados as a member of pioneering proto-metal power trio, Dust.

Together, the five rocked through jams like “Happening Ten Years Time Ago”, “I’m a Man”, and “Dazed and Confused”, performed the way they initially arranged it prior to Jimmy Page bringing the song with him to the little band he formed in the wake of The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin. Couple this rave-up portion of the evening with some trippy graphics on the screen behind the band, and the only thing that would’ve made this more of an authentic happening would be the presence of caged go-go dancers, one on each side of the stage. Whether or not The Yardbirds will continue to tour this rock n’ roll symposium remains to be seen. I just know I’m grateful to have experienced it, and in the intimate quarters of the Des Plaines Theatre at that. One thing’s for certain: This band’s heart is stull full of soul.

Setlist