Vigilantes of Love/Beki Hemingway 
Saturday, October 11, 1997 
True Tunes, Wheaton, Illinois 
By Linda Stonehocker  
  
"Thanks for supporting live music." The Vigilantes of Love always make a point of thanking their audiences for being there, but that support is too little and too late for True Tunes Upstairs, whose founder John Thompson announced at the show that the second floor venue and first floor alternative Christian music store will close by the first of the new year. Sad as the news was, it made the audience appreciate all the more the  opportunity to see two great bands play live. Opener Beki Hemingway has developed her presence and confidence in her voice considerably since winning a slot on Cornerstone Festival's New Band Showcase this summer. Her rich, full alto tones emotionally convey her originals over the solid work of her back-up band. Ever the realist, she started off the thank you's with gratitude to the audience for their attentiveness, even if they were only sitting so close to have good seats for the Vigilantes of Love. Bill Mallonee took advantage of the Wheaton branch of his supportive family of fans by starting off on acoustic guitar with two freshly written upbeat songs, "This Time Isn't One of Them" and "Farther Up the Road" before the rest of the band joined him for a standard two-hours of hard-hitting pronouncements and ballads. Newcomer Kenny Hutson joined the band over six months ago, and his lead guitar, mandolin and pedal steel contributions continue to develop. He's a welcome addition to the previous three-piece VoL incarnation that had pruned the musical side overmuch. Mallonee experimented throughout the set with the delivery of his lyrics, making the live experience all the more unique. Whenever I see the Vigilantes, I'm reminded of how many times I've been able to see this intelligent band. There are regular returns home to Athens, GA, but these fellows are on the road a lot! Thanks for performing live music, Bill.