Eggy’s Dani Battat & Jake Brownstein Join Spafford In Chicago

Spafford welcomed keyboardist Dani Battat from support act Eggy to sit-in for the bulk of their tour-closing show on Saturday in Chicago. Saturday’s encore at Park West also featured Eggy guitarist Jake Brownstein.

Battat filled in for Spafford keyboardist Andrew “Red” Johnson who missed the last three shows of the band’s fall tour after testing positive for COVID-19. Spafford started Saturday’s concert as a trio for “It’s A Bunch.” Guitarist Brian Moss, bassist Jordan Fairless and drummer Nick Tkachyk halted “It’s A Bunch” mid-jam to bring out Dani.

Moss, Fairless, Tkachyk and Battat then worked “Ain’t That Wrong” into “Backdoor Funk” to close out the three-song first set. Dani and the Spafford Trio kicked off Saturday’s second set with “Settled In.” The beloved “Electric Taco Stand” then gave way to a cover of JJ Grey & Mofro’s “On Fire.” Live staple “America” capped the frame.

Jordan, Brian and Nick were augmented by Dani and Jake for the two-song encore that ended Saturday’s show and the tour. Up first was a take on “Low” by Cracker. Moss and Brownstein then let it up rip on fan-favorite “The Reprise.” Spafford returns to the stage for two sets at the North Beach Music Festival in Miami Beach on December 11.

Setlist (via Spafford Instagram)

Set One: It’s A Bunch > Ain’t That Wrong > Backdoor Funk

Set Two: Settled In, Electric Taco Stand > On Fire, America

Encore: Low > The Reprise