Slumgullion

Even if the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame tells them no, The Zombies will always have Phil Angotti’s tribute.

The alt rock/avant garde band whitewolfsonicprincess (a musical offshoot of Black Forest Theater) is headlining its annual Toys For Tots Rock Party tomorrow night at Red Line Tap. Also on the bill are Joe And Jana; Will Phalen And The Dirty Dollars; The Telepaths; and David  Bon. The Revelettes go-go dancers will perform two separate sets. Admission is an unwrapped toy, but stuffed toys and toy guns will not be accepted. Admission without a toy is $5.

Two weeks from tonight, power pop masters The Bad Examples, with singer-guitarist Ralph Covert, will perform at The Red Line Tap. Their opening act, garage rock trio The Viaducts will be having an X-Mas Party that same evening.

Damn Right I Got The Drumstick. SOPRO will present its 31st Annual Thanksgiving Chicago All Star Blues revue tomorrow night at Sullivan’s Irish Pub and Eatery in Midlothian. Long-time participants, the critically acclaimed jazz quartet The Chicago Horns will once again be on hand, along with guitarists Joey Drada, Frank Anastos, and Billy King; bassist John Falstrom; drummer Scott Bonshire; keyboards player Greg Wolfman; harmonica player Doug Lee; and vocalists Peaches Staten and France Marie. In addition to the music, there will be prize giveaways.

As noted by writer John Grochowski in the Agenda section of today’s Chicago Sun-Times, there will be a Doctor Who themed convention titled Chicago TARDIS this weekend at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center. Featured guests include three actors who took on role of The Doctor: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann. There’s also an impressive lineup of performers who played well-known companions throughout the run of the series, including Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones); Frazer Hines (JamieMcCrimmon) Louise Jameson (Leela); Sarah Sutton (Nyssa); and Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown). Cosplayers are welcome, and there will be a dealers room. Three-day general admission is $100; single day for Friday or Sunday is $50; single day tickets for Saturday are sold out.

I joined the Record Store Day Black Friday hunt earlier today and it was definitely less of a challenge than the regular RSD that takes place each April. I arrived at the Reckless Records location on Madison in downtown Chicago about 20 minutes before it opened, and found a small group of people lined up outside. The staff took their customary quick and professional RSD approach, so I was able to get what I came for—U2’s 10-inch “Ordinary Love” single and The Rolling Stones’ six-song “got LIVE if you want it!” 45— and was on my way in minutes. The drawbacks of Black Friday RSD are the smaller selection and no freebies. But it was still a worthwhile trip

Last Friday night, EXPO ‘76 played a few highly entertaining sets at Mac’s On Slade in Palatine. The band consistently finds new ways to make cover versions entertaining, such as its shaken-not-stirred mix of Bobby Hebb’s soul classic “Sunny” with the James Bond Theme. My only complaint about Mac’s is that it’s a small venue that gets crowded very quickly. If you have a band and would love to pack people into Mac’s On Slade, here’s your chance. The club, in conjunction with the Palatine Park District, is asking music acts to fill out a registration form and submit CD/DVD with website links. Entry forms can be found at the Palatine Park District website.

The Three O’Clock not only have a Paisley Underground Reunion Concert coming up on the West Coast with The Bangles, Dream Syndicate, and Rain Parade, they also have a limited edition album titled Aquarius Andromeda coming out January 14th. It’s a collection of unreleased demos and rarities.

We should know in the next few weeks which bands will become the 2014 Inductees to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. If The Zombies are selected, people may look back to a tribute show staged by Chicago’s own singer-guitarist Phil Angotti as the turning point. Angotti will be joined by Casey McDonough, Dick Schmidt, Kriss Bataille, and John Aselin as he performs The Zombies’ Oddessy and Oracle album at Martyrs’ this Monday night. He also plans to perform some of the ahead-of-its-time British Invasion band’s top hits as well. The show starts at 8:00 PM. 

King of Soul: Acoustic Otis Redding, a tribute to the acclaimed soul performer, will be held at City Winery on December 9th. Vocalist Gerald McClendon will be joined by guitarist Carlo Basile from Las Guitarras De Espana, violinist Chihsuan Yang, and other area musicians. Admission prices range from $18 to $22.

The Punk Singer, director Sini Anderson’s 80-minute documentary about punk vocalist Kathleen Hanna of the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, will be screening at the Music Box Theatre December 13th through the 19th.

Also at the Music Box, a Royal Shakespeare Company filmed production of Richard II starring David Tennant from Doctor Who, will be shown December 7th at noon and on December 18th at 7:15 PM. 

But I Think It Was The Mulled Wine. Corky Siegel of the Siegel- Schwall Band and veteran folk singer Megon McDonough will be joining forces for a Holiday Party at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre