Slumgullion

A “Simple Man” in the Sunshine State. Graham Nash has announced the dates for a series of solo performances he’ll be doing in Florida during the month of January. I hope this means at some point he’ll be doing a month’s worth of shows in Illinois.

The talented mimics of Tributosaurus will wrap up their Becomes The Beatles series at 8:00 PM tonight when they perform the entire Let It Be album at the Copernicus Center in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. Accompanied by an orchestra, they’ll also play other elaborate selections like “I Am The Walrus” and “A Day In The Life” from The Beatles catalog.

The New Candy Store Prophets will perform the music of The Monkees and Tommy Boyce And Bobby Hart as part of the Go Go Holiday Rock And Roll Dance Party being held tonight at the Old Town School Of Folk Music. The Prophets are Phil Angotti, Tim Fowler, Anthony Illarde, Cathy Norden, John San Juan, and Jason Walker. There will be dance instruction at 8:30 PM; the rock and roll starts at 9:00 PM. 

U2 has added two more dates at the United Center in Chicago for its iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour, which takes place next summer. The band will be in town from June 24th through the 29th.

Five fish and a funeral. Singer-guitarist Steve Dawson will be pulling double duty at SPACE in Evanston tonight when Dolly Varden, the critically acclaimed alt rock/country band he’s fronted with his wife, singer-guitarist Diane Christiansen for several years, will share the bill with his new ensemble Funeral Bonsai Wedding. The music starts at 8:00 PM. 

Only a warped, frustrated old man could complain about this event. The Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center in Palatine will be showing It’s A Wonderful Life on a big screen tonight. The 7:00 PM screening will be preceded by Caroling With Allegro Adult Choir at 6:30 PM. Admission is free but you need tickets, which can be picked up just down the street at the Community Center at 250 E. Wood. Cutting Hall will show the comedy classic A Christmas Story on the big screen on December 22nd. Tickets for that screening are $6.00.

The Music Box on Southport will also be showing It’s A Wonderful Life on a big screen, along with White Christmas as part of its Annual Music Box Christmas Show. Tickets are $13 per screening, $20 for both films.

Local indie rockers Fort Frances have a show at 9:00 PM tonight at Lincoln Hall on Lincoln Avenue. The band is also offering a free holiday download with its cover of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” on its website.

It’s possibly the most eclectic night of tribute bands you’ll ever see, and it’s for a good cause. Cover For Covers 6 - A Rock Benefit For Teen Living Programs, hosted by Mia Park, takes place tonight at Schubas at 3159 N. Southport. For $15, you can watch “female musicians and their friends cover their favorite bands to provide cover for homeless teens.” Here’s the lineup: Girlband plays Lionel Ritchie; Pet Theories play The Police; Ass Of Base plays Ace Of Base; Little Missiles plays Nirvana; The Sentinels play Beyonce; Little Queens play Led Zeppelin; Plastic Passion plays The Cure; Killest Queen plays Queen; and Impulsive Heart plays Connie Francis. The music starts at 8:00 PM.

Hey baby, I got candy canes. Jim Peterik (the very first musician I ever interviewed) will be headlining the Jim Peterik And The Ides Of March Christmas Show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles tomorrow night, December 13th.

James Moeller and Carla Hayden of the whitewolfsonicprincess alt rock band are staging their annual Rock For Tots benefit tomorrow night, December 13th  at Redline Tap on Chicago’s north side. The entertainment includes The Darkroom Men, John Dalton, John Battles, Sameena Sultana, Hapkido All-Stars, Christina Trulio, The Telepaths (which includes Moeller and musician/journalist Pat Über-Critic McDonald), Elizabeth Gomez, The Rut. and Tina Teske and the Teskerderos. Those last two acts are offshoots of the Famous In The Future comedy group. People coming to the show are being asked to bring toys, and there will also be a raffle. Whitewolfsonicprincess now has an official t-shirt, if you’re looking for that perfect Christmas gift for everyone on your list.

WXRT’s Richard Milne will present his annual Local Anesthetic Holiday Spectacular this Sunday night at 8:00 PM. The wildly eclectic show is always a fun way to hear Chicago area musicians creating short audio clips that celebrate the holiday season, WXRT, and themselves.

Power of the blog. Various air personalities at WXRT have been announcing that its Live From The Archives Volume 16, a collection of live performances that originally aired on the progressive rock station, is quickly selling out at Chicago area Target stores. They haven’t speculated on the possibility that these brisk sales could be due my positive review of the CD on December 4th, but it seems likely.

Kevin Lee And The Kings will be performing melodic power pop/rock tunes at The Elbo Room on Lincoln Avenue next Thursday. They’ll be part of four-band lineup that includes Dogs On The Subway, Walk Off Hits, and Stop.Drop.Rewind. The music starts at 8:00 PM; admission is $9. There will be a live video streaming on gigitytv.