Slumgullion

Photo from the Lloyd Cole and The Commotions Facebook page.

Lloyd Cole, who gave the world noir classics like “Perfect Skin” and “Rattlesnakes,” will be performing at the Old Town School of Folk Music tonight. Cole also recorded the exquisite classic pop tune “Jennifer, She Said.” 

The Everly Hillbillies, a Phil and Don inspired side project from Mike Cohen and Jeff Janulis of the esteemed power pop band The Abbeys, has a gig tonight at the Salt Creek Pizza Pub in Elk Grove Village.

Mooner, an indie rock band whose “Making Americans” single and Unpronounceable Name EP drew favorable reviews here on BHT, will be part of a free evening of rock dubbed SUXS Fest 2015 at Cole’s Bar tonight on Milwaukee Avenue. Band member Lee Ketch promises Mooner will be debuting some new material. Singer-songwriter Dann Morr, Post Child, and Arts and Letters are also on the bill. 

Singer-guitarist Gerry O’Keefe has a return engagement at Tannins Wine Bar in Elmhurst tonight.

Amazing Heeby Jeebies, a rollicking and fun rockabilly band, fronted by the charismatic Ary Paloma Jeebie, will be performing tomorrow night in the Green Room at Abbey Pub on Chicago’s northwest side.

There will be no cover charge for the two sets of honky-tonk originals and cover tunes by Decoy Prayer Meeting this Sunday night at Simon’s Tavern on Clark Street. The music starts at 8:30 PM.

The Public House Theatre at 3914 N. Clark is hosting a Sing With Bilbo! charity event for Chicago Loot Drop  this Sunday night. There will be a special screening of the 1977 Rankin-Bass animated film The Hobbit, and plenty of ale from the Arcade Brewery. Chicago Loot Drop’s mission is to bring together Chicago’s “gaming and nerd communities” to socialize and do good deeds, like providing toys and games for children at the University of Chicago’s Medicine’s Comer Children’s Hospital. The fun starts at 7:30 PM.

I’ve mentioned this before on BHT, but it’s worth a shout out every now and then. Powerpop fans can find old favorites and discover new gems by listening to The Secret Weapon on the online station Woody Radio. The songs (by Cheap Trick, The Dollyrots, Love Nut, The Replacements, and Salvation Army on a recent afternoon) spring from iPod of “Boris,” a well-known connoisseur of the genre, and are introduced by the fun and hip DJ Gidet. 

Dot Dash,  a Washington, DC band whose songs consistently exude a genuine punk aesthetic, just released its fourth effort. Earthquakes and Tidal Waves was produced by Mitch Easter of Let’s Active fame, and is available on the Beautiful Music website. 

The multi-faceted Dan Pavelich (musician/journalist/label honcho) has a new compilation coming out called Lost Hits Of The ‘80s. The fun concept behind this project is to have assorted musicians join together under fictitious band names and record new songs that tap into the fun and adventurous ambience of the 1980s. Pavelich is seeking support for Lost Hits Of The ‘80s on the Indiegogo funding site. 

Squeeze fans will want to check the band’s official Facebook page this coming Monday, March 23rd. A “very exciting announcement” has been promised by the band.

The young but authentically psychedelic foursome Secret Colours will be bending minds at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago next Friday night, March 27th. The Kickback, Born Cages, and American Wolf are also on the bill. Music starts at 8:00 PM.

There will be a Jack Bruce Tribute Concert in London in October, according to a post on the WXRT radio station’s website. Ginger Baker, Joss Stone, Phil Manzanera, Ian Anderson, Vernon Reid, Mark King, Liam Nailey, Fiona Bevan, and Jack Bruce’s Big Band have already agreed to take part, and more participants are expected to sign on in the coming months.

In addition to several Facebook posts from fans about what a nice guy David Tennant was while signing autographs at the Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con (no surprise), there was another fun Doctor -related item on social media recently. The Official Doctor Who page had a link to the Anglophenia website  concerning a film made by fan who works under the name nereusmedia  showing how the sci-fi series would look if it had been filmed in 1899. As for Tennant, here’s hoping he’ll come to Chicago for C2E2 and/or Wizard World Chicago Comic Con.

Those of us who remember watching The Monkees TV show on a school night can relive part of that experience by watching New Candy Store Prophets perform the band’s Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones album in its entirety at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue on Monday, March 30th.

Echoes Of Chicago is celebrating the city’s 178th birthday next Saturday, March 28th by bringing over 50 artists, three bands, and a marketplace to the 3rd floor of the Block Thirty Seven - Shops On State space at 108 N. State Street.

A lineup of Chicago bands, including Alder Kings, Skull Fogger, Magatha Trysty, and Polarizer, will join forces for the A Cause for Paws benefit for the West Suburban Humane Society next Friday at the Underground Lounge at 952 W, Newport in Chicago. The music startsat 7:00 PM.

I’ve been helping out with the proofreading and copyediting of this year’s CIMMfest (Chicago Movies and Music Festival) official program. I don’t want to steal their thunder before the program gets distributed, so let me just say CIMMfest will be presenting a global selection of exciting flicks; concerts; flick/concert combos; and special presentations at venues around the city from Thursday, April 16th through Sunday, April 19th. That’s going to be a hot weekend in town, with CIMMfest, International Pop Overthrow, and Record Store Day all taking place. I’d also like to commend the determination, dedication, and creativity of the CIMMfest staff members I’ve been working with these past few week. They’re amazing.