Slumgullion

All set for a gig on my gazebo? Photo from the Crosby, Stills and Nash Facebook page.

Local singer-songwriter (and Beatles fan) Phil Angotti and a group of his musician friends dubbed the Plastic Macs will be playing Paul McCartney songs tonight at Martyrs’. The Macs are Casey McDonough, Tommi Zender, Jim Barclay, Alton Smith, Wally Rozak, Rebekah Abel. The opening act that night will be Bill Brickey, Steve Levitt, and Jimmy Tomasello, paying tribute to George Harrison under the moniker of BLT. The third act that night is called Jonas Friddle and the Majority. The starts at 9:00 PM; admission is $10.

Tickets went on sale today for the May 5th Crosby, Stills, and Nash show at the Chicago Theatre. Since Nash never did officially promote his autobiography here, maybe he bring a few cartons of Wild Tales along and set up a book signing at one of the many hip bookstores in town. And since the weather will probably be nice by then, may I suggest that Crosby, Stills and Nash perform an acoustic set on my gazebo? 

‘76 In ‘15. EXPO ‘76, the self-described “four lifers who don’t need to be in another band, but still can’t quite help themselves,” will perform the first of their many wildly fun shows of the year tonight at SPACE in Evanston.

The Wrecking Crew, a new documentary from Magnolia Pictures  about the amazing session musicians who backed some of rock and roll’s biggest stars in the 1960s, will be available on iTunes, On Demand, and in theatres on March 13th.

The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club, a Frankfort, IL quintet that evokes Cheap Trick with songs like the satiric “Never Be Big Stars” has a gig tonight at The Cubby Bear.

The Kooks are koming. The Kooks, band that evokes The Kinks while creating engaging rock songs with a distinctively English working class point of view, have a gig coming up at The Vic on May 2nd. Tickets went on sale earlier today. 

The CD And Record Show comes to the Holiday Inn Express at 1550 E. Dundee in Palatine tomorrow, January 17th. The event runs from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and will feature dealers offering rare CDs, DVDs, vinyl, imports, magazines, posters, books, and various out of print items. For those interested in selling merchandise, renting a table to display your wares will cost you $40. Attendees are also welcome to bring in items they would like to sell to the dealers. Admission is $3.00. Call Bill at 847-409-9656 for information.

Peggy Kinnane’s Irish Restaurant and Pub in Arlington Heights will host the Music School Open House And Youth Band Showcase tomorrow afternoon from noon to 4:00 PM. The event will promote the El Rey Music Center, which has been teaching northwest suburban kids to rock for several years now. Serendipity, Breaking Ice, Cadence, and Chapter 1 will be performing.

Go Time! has a release party for its new Ratsel CD coming up tomorrow night (January 17th) at Sylvie’s. Ratsel came in at number 29 on the Broken Hearted Toy Favorite Releases Of 2014 List.

Self-proclaimed psychobilly performer Reverend Horton Heat will be burning down the house at  Durty Nellie’s in Palatine on Saturday, March 7th, backed by Jimbo Wallace and Scott Churilla. Indie rock stars Ha Ha Tonka will be his special guests.

1950s/1960s cover band The Neverly Brothers also have a date at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine (February 7th), and they have a debut CD coming out in the near future.

The Fifth Annual Warren Zevon Bash takes place next Thursday, January 22nd at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Androgynous Mustache, a local tribute band with a revolving roster of members, will once again anchor the event; covering the Zevon catalog from beginning to end. The Faders are also on the bill. The show starts at 8:00 PM, with $10 admission charge.

What a wonderful world. Back around 1988, when Frank Carr, Dave Drazin, Lake Sirmon, and I started the Famous In The Future comedy group, we would rehearse in Sirmon’s apartment. It was just down the street from Wrigley Field, in the same building on Clark Street that housed the studio of the amazingly artistic Mr. Imagination. He and Sirmon were close friends, and it was always a treat when we’d all go down and view Mr. Imagination’s eclectic creations. He worked with discarded objects he found around the city, and was always in a friendly mood. I still have a small pin he gave me that was a stone carved into a shirt and tie. This was before he became famous and had exhibits Chicago, Atlanta, and in other cities. Sadly, he passed away in 2012. There is currently an exhibition of his work titled Welcome To The World Of Mr. Imagination at Intuit - The Center for Intuitive and Outside Art, at 756 Milwaukee Avenue. It runs through April 25th.

Despite all their out-of-this-world attributes, the Chicago psychedelic band The Luck Of Eden Hall does pretty well within it as well. That’s them performing the theme song for Moochie Kalala Detective Club, the new scientifically minded local PBS kids show starring Tim Kazurinsky of Saturday Night Live fame. The Luck Of Eden Hall also has a new 7" single called “The Happiness Vending Machine” coming out on Headspin Records later this month.