Sunday Papers

Australia’s veteran garage rock/power pop band Hoodoo Gurus will release their 10th full-length album, Chariot Of The Gods, on March 11. There will be a global e-stream preview the night before at 8:00 pm AEDT / WST / PST / EST / GMT (I’m copying these letters from the press release) that will also allow fans to talk to band members online. Tickets for the preview event are $8 in American money and can be purchased from the emusic website. The Hoodoo Gurus have disappeared at various times over the decades, but then will magically return with another album of catchy, fun, and occasionally angry rock and roll.

I started following the Hoodoo Gurus in 1984 after purchasing a copy of their debut effort Stoneage Romeos based on a recommendation from the now well-known power pop connoisseur Boris Boden. Back then, he and I would occasionally compare notes on power pop and garage rock artists while hanging out at the Haywires rock club on Chicago’s southwest side.

The Chicago-based band Off Broadway, whose 1979 debut album On remains one of the classics of the power pop genre, has a gig coming up next Friday, February 25 at Reggies Rock Club, located just south of downtown Chicago. The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club, another local band known to record catchy power pop, are also on the bill, along with punk/power pop band Dead Freddie. Yesterday was Off Broadway lead vocalist Cliff Johnson’s birthday, so here’s a belated Happy Birthday to him.

Abbey Road Recording Studio in London is sponsoring a global 2022 Music Photography Awards (MPA) 2022 event as part of its 90th Anniversary. Created in partnership with the Hennessy Cognac company, it’s being promoted as “the first ever awards to celebrate the art of music photography.” The judging panel will be led by the single-named photographer/film director/publisher Rankin and be divided into nine categories. Photographers interested in competing can enter as the official MPA website. 

Gregory Alexander (AKA Professor Moptop), the Beatles author who’s also a regular contributor to the Terri Hemmert-hosted Breakfast With The Beatles program on WXRT, has a virtual presentation coming up this Wednesday, February 23 via the Des Plaines Library. Get Back To Let It Be will focus on The Beatles’ 1969 studio work, as well as their Rooftop Concert. Fans can find the Zoom link on the library’s website. 

Sunshine Boys, who grabbed the number five spot for Best Big Beat Chicago Artist on WXRT’s Annual Listeners Poll, will perform two sets at the Hey Nonny club in Arlington Heights on Friday, February 25.

This year’s My Sweet George George Harrison Birthday Tribute will be held on Friday, February 25 at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue. The multi-act event is once again being organized and hosted by Ellis Clark and Ary Paloma, who will also perform throughout the evening. They’ll be joined by several local performers, including Clar Monaco/Sandalwood Sitar; Phil Angotti Band; The Pepperland Rockestra; Tommy Klein; The New Heartaches; Naomi Ashley Band; Frankie B.; and Ken Mottet. In addition to hearing an amazing selection of George Harrison songs, it’s also a kick to see musicians from various bands performing together. 

 

The Pino Farino Band returns to Durty Nellie’s in Palatine for the first time in 15 years next Friday night, February 25. (They were known as Punsapaya back then.) The group will be showcasing its new Daisies EP.

Fans of vintage films and the piano music that often accompanied them will want check out pianist Dave Drazin's upcoming silent film series at the Chicago Park District’s Indian Boundary Cultural Center.  His first gig there is next Friday, March 25, when he’ll provide accompaniment for the 1923 Buster Keaton comedy Our Hospitality.

Tickets are now on sale for the Chicago Soul Doubleheader featuring vocalists Gerald McClendon and Theo Huff on March 18 at SPACE in Evanston. I’ve seen McClendon perform “My Sweet Lord” as part of the annual George Harrison Tribute at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue and he’s amazing.

Ralph Covert will be joined by Steve Gerlach, Michael Hartigan, and An Amazing String Quartet on Sunday, February 27 at SPACE in Evanston. It’s a release show for Covert’s solo effort Eat At Godot’s. Covert is well known for his songwriting skills as the lead vocalist-guitarist for The Bad Examples, as well as for his work in kid rock with Ralph’s World.

The Smithereens, with guest vocalist Marshall Crenshaw, will be performing at the Northern Lights Theater at the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee, WI on March 3.

As I stated in a post here on Friday, I’m looking forward to International Pop Overthrow - Chicago and Record Store Day being back to their regular selves again in mid-April. Here’s hoping some record stores will have live in-store band performances the way Laurie’s Planet Of Sound, Val’s Halla, and Reckless Records have done in the past.

 

Wilco will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album with a 2022 tour that includes shows on April 22 and 23 at the elegant Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

Sonic Youth vocalist-guitarist Kim Gordon’s upcoming No Home Tour has seven American stops (including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.) throughout the month of March before she hops over the Atlantic for 10 concerts across Europe in May.

The Second City, Chicago’s legendary skit, song, and comedy showcase, is presenting The Super Afro Wavy Drippy Extra Brilliant Dope Show - A Celebration Of Second City’s Black Excellence through February and on to March 9.

Buddy Guy and Ronnie Baker Brooks will share a bill at Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet on Saturday, February 26.

The Subscribe: Artists And Alternative Magazines, 1970 – 1995 exhibition runs through May 2 at the Art Institute Of Chicago. As noted in the Chicago Tribune, it’s as a collection of rare, alternative publications, including Out/Look, i-D, The Face, and Thing.

The musical tribute Women Of Soul continues its run at the Mercury Theater on Chicago’s north side through March 6.

The traditional Irish music band Dervish will perform at the Irish American Heritage Center on Chicago’s north side on February 27.

The 10th annual Chicago Theatre Week continues to offer several live performances around the city and suburbs through next Sunday, February 27. Well-known companies such as Victory Gardens Theater; The Second City; A Red Orchid Theatre; Northlight Theatre; Theater Wit; Drury Lane Theatre; Metropolis Performing Arts Centre; and the Paramount Theatre are taking part, and there are several smaller, indie companies involved as well. See the website for the complete list.