Slumgullion

Déjà vu Listings. The following gigs were mentioned in last Friday’s Slumgullion, but here’s a quick reminder of what’s going on tomorrow night: Alejandro Escovedo and former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck at Lincoln Hall. * Bluefish Fellows, The Viaducts, The Mike Michalak Band, and Captain Coopersmith at the Goose Island Wrigleyville Pub on Clark Street. * Kevin Lee And The Kings at the LiveWire Lounge in Chicago, along with Pete Berwick and The Renegades, and Lynch. Van Go and 92 Degrees at Phyllis’ Musical Inn. * Gerry O’Keefe and Scott Niekelski from the band Go Time! at The Buzz Cafe in Oak Park. See last Friday’s Slumgullion for more details.

Déjà vu Composer. It wasn’t clear why David Crosby, who penned the title track for the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Déjà Vu LP, postponed his two-night stay at City Winery in Chicago a few weeks back. Now it has been revealed that Crosby underwent heart surgery. The two shows have been rescheduled for some time in July. Best wishes to Croz for a speedy recovery.

Save The Date For Save The Clock Tower. I’m urging everyone in the Chicago area to come out to see Save The Clock Tower at Durty Nellie’s in my quaint hometown of Palatine this coming Thursday, February 27th. I’ve never seen Save The Clock Tower perform live, but in a review of their second release, Carousel, I noted that the band, “employs various methods for bringing a distinctive edge to each of its lush techno songs.” I went on to write, “‘Drip’ opens with a flourish of synthesizer playing, and is infused with middle eastern rhythms. ‘The One Thing’ uses vocal distortion similar to Tom Tom Club’s ‘The Man With The 4 Way Hips’ in a sinister tale of stalking, while the shimmering ‘Far Apart’ mixes ethereal voices and a dance club beat.” This is an ambitious booking for Durty Nellies, and if the club is amply rewarded, it may continue to book outside the copy band box.

The King Of Soul—Acoustic Otis Redding show is coming back to City Winery in Chicago on March 3rd. Singer Gerald McLendon will be recreating the legendary soul singer’s hit songs, along with guitarist Carlo Basile from Las Guitarras De Espana, violinist Chihsuan Yang, and noted guest musicians.

Come aboard, they’ll be rocking you. It’s not the Love Boat, but it does have Heart. Ann and Nancy Wilson, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Indigo Girls, Estelle, and Skylar Grey will be performing on the Grammy Festival At Sea Women Who Rock cruise, scheduled to take place November 4 through the 8th. The ship leaves Miami and then travels to the Grand Bahamas and Nassau. On a related note, Heart is releasing its Fanatic Live CD, recorded at the Caesars Colosseum, on February 25th.

The coed rock quartet Panther Style has a record preview party lined up at the Township restaurant/cafe/concert venue in Chicago on April 11th. 

The online V Magazine has a psychedelic, floral-inspired video for “Too True To Be Good” from the impressive new Too True CD from The Dum Dum Girls.

As a Chicagoan, I’m developing a bad case of power pop envy. First, Los Angeles has The Wild Honey Benefit  featuring The Bangles, Matthew Sweet, The Muffs, The Three O’Clock, Denny Laine, and others, coming up on March 1st. Now New York has the two-day Brooklyn Power Pop Festival, co-sponsored by Trouser Press and The Bell House rock club, in May. Dwight Twilley, Pezband, and 1-800-Band will be performing on May 9th. Shoes, Paul Collins Beat, and Games are scheduled for the 10th. It’s not clear if any other acts will be there over two days, but this is already an impressive showcase of power pop royalty.

And now, good news for Chicago power pop fans. International Pop Overthrow has announced the schedule for its IPO - Chicago run at the Red Line Tap from April 10th through April 19th. A number of favorite acts will be on the schedule again this year, including The Right Tidys, Van Go, Dave Rave, The Unswept, Kevin Lee and The Kings, Mike Vanderbilt, The Viaducts, Lannie Flowers, Phil Angotti, The Abbeys, Jeremy, Magatha Trysty, and The Romeros.