Thanksgiving Dinner

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s busy schedule, it doesn’t seem likely I’d be able to prepare a proper serving of Slumgullion, so here’s a Thanksgiving Dinner post instead. Feel free to read some now and save the rest for leftovers.

There aren’t nearly as many Thanksgiving rock songs as Christmas rock songs but here’s a brand new, if not at all traditional, one from a band dubbed The Bad Ends. They’re an Athens, GA quintet that includes Bill Berry from R.E.M., and have created a video for “Thanksgiving 1915.”  It’s from their upcoming album The Power And The Glory.

Another Thanksgiving tradition for many of us is to rise early the next morning and head out to a record store to participate in the annual Black Friday Record Store Day. The list of this year’s limited-edition vinyl treasures can be found on the official RSD website. As usual, there’s something to please fans of just about every genre. Releases that caught my eye include the 2 LP 40th Anniversary Edition of Marshall Crenshaw’s self-titled debut; the 2 LP 30th Anniversary of The Cure’s Wish album; the seven-inch single “21st Century” by Dave Davies; the LP Traffic And Weather by Fountains Of Wayne; the “Lotta Love”/“Give Me Strength” Juliana Hatfield/Emma Swift seven-inch split single of Neil Young covers; the LP Jefferson Airplane Live At The International Monterey Pop Festival; the LP 55th Anniversary Mono Edition More Of The Monkees; and the LP self-titled debut from Salvation Army (precursor of The Three O’Clock).

The Bad Examples will be performing a multitude of catchy and clever songs when they return to Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights tomorrow night. My brothers and sister always celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday, so unfortunately I’ll be over the river and through the woods in a south suburb tomorrow night. Fiona Grey will be opening act for The Bad Examples, performing at 7:30.

The 28th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival wraps up its 2022 run this Sunday at The Gene Siskel Film Center. 

Comic artists around the United States will honor what would be the 100th birthday of Charles M. Schulz this Saturday by adding references to the Peanuts creator in their strips. Be sure to check your daily newspaper.

A Divine Symmetry - An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory, which features 48 exclusive, previously unreleased tracks, on vinyl or as a 4-CD/Blu-ray box set is due out this Saturday. It can be purchased from the David Bowie Official Online Store.

Blue Heaven, a tribute to blues artists such as B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Mama Thornton, and Muddy Waters, will finish its run at The Black Ensemble Theatre this Sunday. Tickets range from $50 to $55; Black Ensemble Theatre is located at 4450 N. Clark.

The Concert For George documentary featuring major rock stars honoring George Harrison will return to theaters for one night only next Tuesday, November 29. That date marks the 20th anniversary of when the original event took place.

Tickets are now on sale for The English Beat on December 3 and 4 at City Winery Chicago; Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew on February 25 at The Vic; Ladysmith Black Mambazo on March 25 at The Old Town School Of Folk Music; Local H on December 31 at Bottom Lounge; Dave Mason on February 20 and 21 at City Winery Chicago; NRBQ on March 16 at FitzGerald’s; Tedeschi Trucks Band’s four gigs (starting March 17) at The Chicago Theatre; and Yo Lo Tengo on March 24 at at Metro.

The above listings are taken from the Early Warnings page of  a recent issue of The Chicago Reader. The free paper will celebrate its five-decade history with a 50ish UnGala at Museum Of Contemporary Art next Wednesday, November 30. The event will take place on three floors, with four stages of live entertainment, food and beverages from the museum’s own catering service, and raffles.

Congratulations to Alligator Records founder Bruce Iglauer on the 50th Anniversary of his Chicago-based blues label Alligator Records. Lynn Sweet, one of the best political analysts in journalism, took a swing at entertainment writing yesterday with an informative piece on Iglauer in the Chicago Sun-Times. I have a vague memory of meeting (or just seeing) Iglauer at a NARAS (the Grammy Awards) meeting in Chicago way back in the early 1980s. 

Madness, Noel Gallagher, Roger Daltry, Paul Weller, Chrissie Hynde, and Baxter Dury will celebrate Sir Peter Blake’s 90th Birthday with a performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London on December 2. Tickets are already sold out for the event, which in addition to honoring the noted British artist Blake, is a benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

A big welcome back to WXRT radio personality Lin Brehmer, who will return to the airwaves on Monday, November 28. Brehmer has been on leave since mid-July while undergoing chemotherapy. The treatment is still in progress, but according to WXRT, he feels well enough to do a 10:00 am to 1:00 pm weekday shift.

Congratulations to U2 on being chosen by the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts as one of the five honorees for its annual ceremony on December 4 in Washington, D.C. Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, George Clooney, and composer Tania Leon are the Center’s other selections.

An Acoustic Christmas by the critically acclaimed folk/alt rock band Over The Rhine takes place at The Old Old Town School Of Folk Music in Chicago on December 4.

The CSNY - Love The One You’re With hardbound book coming next year from the U.K.-based Genesis Publications will be available in two versions. The Deluxe Copy has a £495 pre-order price tag, while The Collector Copy goes for £295 pounds. CSNY - Love The One You’re With features the amazing photography of Henry Diltz, along with copy from 20 contributors.

Tickets are now on sale for the Hey Nonny Women’s Jazz Festival coming to the Arlington Heights venue on the weekend of January 6 – 8.

The Facebook page for The Old 97’s recently featured a photo of the band dressed in space alien costumes for their role in The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s creator James Gunn enlisted vocalist Rhett Butler from his favorite rock group The Old 97’s to help write a song called “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here).” The partnership worked so well, Gunn suggested the entire band playing a small role in the special. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres tomorrow on Disney+. 

The interactive attraction Harry Potter: Magic At Play is now open at Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue and will run through May 14, 2023. 

Ringo Starr has created a colorful video for “Everyone And Everything” an uplifting new song written by Linda Perry. The clip’s imaginative mix of live action and animation touches on historic moments in Starr’s career. “Everyone And Everything” is on his latest release EP3, which is available on 10 inch vinyl, CD, cassette, and various streaming services.

Chicago-based indie rock band The Webstirs are looking to fund a vinyl release of their latest, self-titled effort via an Indiegogo campaign.

The 55th anniversary 4CD/1 seven-inch single boxset edition of The Monkees album Headquarters is now available exclusively from The Monkees official website. It features outtakes, demos, and newly mixed songs from the original Headquarters.

The Dungeons And Dragons inspired play The Twenty-Sided Tavern is now running at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place just north of downtown, and will be there through January15. The show has previously sold out previous engagements in Edinburgh, Pittsburg, and New York.

Brett Morgen’s critically acclaimed David Bowie film Moonage Daydream is now available in digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD formats.

Peter Asher and Jeremy Clyde were each half of popular British Invasion duos (Peter and Gordon and Chad and Jeremy respectively), so it’s only natural they would be compatible as yet another duo. They done shows in the past and will be together again at the The Old Town School Of Folk Music next Thursday, December 1.

Paul McCartney’s ambitious collection The 7" Singles Box is due out December 2. It’s packed in a wooden crate and features 80 seven-inch vinyl records covering the former Beatle’s output from 1971 to 2022. That includes picture sleeve hit singles with their original b-sides, as well as songs that have never appeared in the seven-inch format before. There’s also a 146-page book. The 7" Singles Box is priced at $611.98 and will be limited to 3,000 copies available on McCartney’s website.

Those Pretty Wrongs, the duo of Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and guitarist Luther Russell, has just released a video of the melodic pop song “Paper Cup.” The song is from the album Holiday Camp, which is due out soon on Curation Records.

Women Sing The Who, the Bandcamp page that features women artists covering songs originally done by the iconic English rockers, recently posted another intriguing entry. Actress/singer-songwriter Mare Winningham brings an easygoing, tuneful approach to “Let My Love Open The Door.” It only costs $1 to download “Let My Love Open The Door,” and all proceeds benefit The Who’s charitable organization Teen Cancer America.