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Live, indoor music returned to Durty Nellie’s in Palatine a few weeks back with a splendid double bill of The Nielsen Trust and Nick Perri and The Underground Thieves. I had hoped to post a review before leaving on a two-week road trip, but I’m only getting around to writing it now. An exuberant atmosphere filled Durty Nellie’s that night as both acts clearly understood the importance of the occasion after such an extended pandemic lockdown.

The Nielsen Trust is a side project for Cheap Trick members guitarist-vocalist Rick Nielsen and drummer Daxx Nielsen, and also includes another of Rick’s sons—vocalist-guitarist Miles Nielsen. I got the impression there were other Nielsens onstage but it wasn’t clear where all of them fit on the family tree. Miles fronts a band called Miles Nielsen And The Rusted Hearts, and is married to vocalist Kelly Steward. They handle most of the singing for The Nielsen Trust, and the Durty Nellie’s gig featured a mix of their songs and Cheap Trick favorites.

 

Fans of Cheap Trick vintage classics were treated to renditions of “Downed,” “Southern Girls,” “So Good To See You,” and “He’s A Whore.” Miles Nielsen and Steward led an acoustic version of “Surrender” that was somewhere between Crosby, Stills and Nash and a lullaby, if you can imagine a parent tucking in a child while crooning, “Mommy’s all right, Daddy’s all right, they just seem a little weird.” More modern Trick material included “Voices” and “Tonight, It’s You.”

 

Opening act Nick Perri and The Underground Thieves embraced its role of being the first live act many patrons were seeing after a year and a half wait. A mix of cover songs and originals from the Philadelphia-based band’s debut album Sun Via highlighted Perri’s powerful vocals and even more impressive guitar playing. While covering Neil Young’s “My My Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue),” he asked the crowd to join in on the line, “Rock and roll must never die” and received an enthusiastic response. Perri was invited back onstage later to join The Nielsen Trust for a rollicking (and funny) take on “I Want You To Want Me.” The band went on to cover The Move’s “California Man” and offered Cheap Trick's traditional finale “Good Night Now.”