Holiday Dinner

Rick Nielsen preparing for a night of celebration.

Happy Holidays to all who read this blog, from my home state of Illinois to locations around the world. I hope everyone get the presents they want, finds the comfort and joy they need, and that enough of us truly want peace and goodwill toward men and women.

Taking a cue from the retail industry, I’ll immediately jump from the Christmas holiday to Valentine’s Day. Phil Angotti and Friends will perform Beatles Love Songs at SPACE in Evanston on February 14.

Happy Birthday to Cheap Trick lead guitarist/imaginative (crazy?) songwriter Rick Nielsen.

Having grown up in the Chicago area, I probably have more fond memories of this band than Nielsen has candles on his cake. Like when I first saw them at Harlow’s night club on the southwest side, or when I was watching them perform at the University Of Illinois in Chicago, and got hit in the face with one of the numerous guitar picks Nielsen flicked into the audience. I still have it. 

Get your wands ready. As reported by Chris Jones in a recent issue of the Chicago Tribune, a production of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child will open next fall at the Nederlander Theatre in downtown Chicago. The blockbuster play was written by Jack Thorne, based on J.K. Rowling’s story, and will be directed by John Tiffany.

WXRT is holding a Vintage Market next Thursday, December 28 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at The Salt Shed. Fans of the Chicago radio station can shop for limited edition and out-of-print WXRT t-shirts, Live From The Archives CDs, concert posters, and vinyl records. The event will also feature a Mt. Joy Pop-Up, since it takes place prior to the alt rock band’s concert that night. Radio personality Johnny Mars will be on hand from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Sales from the Vintage Market will help Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Michael McDermott’s three-night Mischief and Mistletoe run kicked off last night at City Winery Chicago, and will continue tonight and tomorrow. Show time is 8:00 pm for each evening.

Phil Manzanera’s upcoming memoir Revólución to Roxy is now available for pre-orders at A Way With Media publishing company.

John San Juan, who’s known and admired as a founding member of The Hushdrops, as well as for performing with various bands around the Chicago club scene, has a solo show coming up at The Hideout on December 29. He’ll share the bill with the self-described rock and roll garage punk sleaze band Depravos De La Mour and the guitar-driven instrumental group Outronaut.

Trouser Press Books, the publisher whose Trouser Press magazine delighted cutting edge rock fans from 1974 to March 1984 (I still have copies), will celebrate the magazine’s 50th birthday with a ‘best of’ collection in March 2024. In the mean time, Trouser Press is posting a different Trouser Press magazine cover each day on social media.

Robyn Hitchcock will be at the 4-Star Theater in San Francisco on January 4 to introduce a new Syd Barrett documentary, and play a few of Barrett’s songs. Two days later in that same city, Hitchcock will perform with musician Kelley Stoltz at the sold out Syd Barrett Birthday Show at The Chapel venue.

The Lemonheads’ December 29 and 30 shows at SPACE in Evanston, in which they’ll celebrate their It’s A Shame About Ray and Come On Feel The Lemonheads albums respectively, have sold out. Tickets are still available for their New Year’s Eve Extravaganda gig at the venue. SPACE is located at 1245 Chicago Avenue in Evanston.

In other Lemonheads news, lead vocalist-guitarist Evan Dando will be selling his paintings during the Got A Black Marker! series at Liar's Club December 27 through December 31. The first night will feature a reception with cocktails. There will also be live music by Dorian Taj, Taylor Morse, and other guests. Liar’s Club is located at 1665 W. Fullerton on Chicago’s north side.

Nuggets - A 50th Anniversary All-Star Celebration Of The Nuggets Compilation, the multi-artist  charity event staged at Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA by Paul Rock’s Wild Honey Foundation, along with writer/producer Lenny Kaye and Rhino Records, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray for a $30 donation.

The critically acclaimed Beautiful: The Carole King Musical runs through December 31 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

The Faithful - A Tribute To Marianne Faithful from the In The Q record label is now available to stream on Spotify, Tidal, YouTube Music; iHeart Radio, Deezer and Pandora. The album aims to help Faithful deal with complications from Long COVID, and several noted artists have donated their time to the project. A double LP version will be available in January.

Chicago’s long-running alternative publication The Reader has announced the list of nominees for its 2023 Best Of Chicago poll in an online newsletter sent out to subscribers. The choices are divided into the seven major categories of Arts And Culture; Buy Local; Cannabis; City Life; Food And Drink; Music And Nightlife; and Sports And Recreation. Each of these is further broken down into several smaller categories. Voting kicked off on December 13 and will continue through January 14.

The Songwriters Hall Of Fame has announced its nominees for 2024, and the Performing Songwriters category includes Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke from Blondie; Tracy Chapman; George Clinton; Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart; Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe from R.E.M.; and Donald Fagen and Walter Becker from Steely Dan. The Goodman Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol opens tomorrow and will run through December 31.

Eric M. Shade’s unauthorized biography All Over The Place - The Rise Of The Bangles From The L.A. Underground is now available for pre-order from the Chicago-based Hozac Records And Books website. Due out in a limited run of 600 copies on January 24 softcover, the 438-page book will include a thorough discography, as well as previously unseen photos.

Super Creeps, the Chicago-based David Bowie tribute band, and their special guests My Biggest Thrills, will help Brit rock fans ring in the new year at Outta Space in Berwyn. Super Creeps will perform a couple sets of Bowie material, and My Biggest Thrills will honor The Mighty Lemon Drops, along with other new wave acts. The celebrating starts at 8:00 pm.

The 2024 Joey’s Song Benefit Concert takes place at The Sylvee venue in Madison, Wisconsin on January 6. This year’s format involves a Battle Of The Bands pitting The Know-It-All Boyfriends against The Know-It-All Girlfriends. Participating musicians include Butch Vig and Duke Erikson from Garbage (and as any rock-savvy Wisconsin fan knows, Spooner), Chris Collingwood from Fountains Of Wayne and Freedy Johnson; and Gail Greenwood from Belly, Debbi and Vicki Peterson from The Bangles, and Linda Pitmon from The Minus Five. Joey’s Song is a charity devoted to raising money for epilepsy research and to provide services for children with special needs.

Sons Of The Silent Age, Chicago’s top notch David Bowie tribute act, has a new benefit coming up on January 13 at Metro. It’s titled David Bowie: Future Legend, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated NorthShore HealthSystem Foundation to help people overcome cancer. Actor-musician Michael Shannon will also take part, playing the songs of Brian Eno. Shannon will also be performing the music of the R.E.M. album Murmur with Jason Narducy And Friends in a series of dates next February.