Another Helping

I stood where Ringo stood. If you’re going to the Ringo Starr concert at the Chicago Theatre tomorrow, or you’re just in the mood for some Beatles type fun, you should drop by the Hard Rock Cafe at 63 W. Ontario. June 28th is the final day of an exhibit of Starr’s artwork at the Hard Rock, and he made an appearance there on Thursday. He wasn’t about when I stopped in this afternoon, but I was pleasantly surprised to find Scott Segelbaum of Rock Art Show running the exhibit.

I’ve talked to Segelbaum at previous rock and roll related shows he’s brought to Chicago over the past few years. He told me Starr was a class act on Thursday while greeting fans and the media. In addition to Starr’s artwork, there are pieces by John Lennon and George Harrison. Admission for the Ringo Starr art show at Hard Rock Cafe is free, and 100% of the proceeds from sales of his work will go to the Lotus Foundation. Segelbaum be will be joining Ron Campbell, who worked as an animator on the 1960s Beatles cartoon show, at Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago this August.

The world premiere of Sting’s musical The Last Ship just opened at the Bank Of America Theatre in Chicago, and judging from the reviews by Hedy Weiss in the Sun-Times and Chris Jones in the Tribune, the former Police frontman has a hit on his hands. Weiss described The Last Ship as. “A true masterwork” and “A monumental achievement on countless levels.” Jones noted that the play was, “a heartfelt  and clearly sincere tribute to the men and women of the lost ship-building industry of northeast England.”

There will be a double bill of classic power pop at Mayne Stage on Chicago’s north side this Wednesday, July 2nd, when Pezband opens for Tommy Keene. The club’s website notes that the concert will be filmed live for a new series on WYCC called Music on the Mayne Stage. On Keene’s latest release Excitement At Your Feet, he covers songs by Alex Chilton, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, and others. Earlier this year, Pezband released Dangerous People, which featured previously unreleased material that had been recorded back in 1979.

City Winery just announced that Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze will be doing a gig at the club on October 15th. Tickets are already on sale. Upcoming shows at City Winery in July include The English Beat, David Crosby (sold out), Matthew Sweet, and The Bangles. 

The Reader’s annual Best Of Chicago issue came out this week, and as always, it’s a fun and exhaustive way to find out about the most popular restaurants, bars, clubs, radio station, bands, retail outlets, attractions, historical buildings, blogs, etc in town. It’s also a boon for tourists who happen to be visiting this weekend, and it’s free from those yellow boxes around the city, and in various clubs, stores, and restaurants.

Number One, Gary Scott Beatty and Aaron Warner’s upcoming comic release from Aazurn Publishling, will offer a full-color, 50-page comic book history via the tale of a comic book store owner named Scott. It’s available for pre-order now from the July 2014 Previews catalog, which can be found at stores like Graham Crackers Comics.