A Double Dose Of IPO - Chicago This Saturday

The Bon Mots in Action 

International Pop Overthrow - Chicago will have its first 2024 showcase this Friday night at Montrose Saloon (see my 4/15 post), and will follow that Bash (pun intended) with two separate lineups on Saturday. IPO Founder/CFO David Bash has shows scheduled at Montrose Saloon through April 27. Most of the acts involved are from the Chicago area, although there are some out-of-state visitors.

This Saturday afternoon’s showcase starts with a 2:00 pm set by Dam Destroyers. The band includes four members of The Red Wigglers, who ended their 25-year run last August. It will interesting to see if they carry on the original band’s emphasis on adventurous and often funny rock and roll with coed vocals and horn accompaniment. IPO - Chicago veterans Phil Yates and The Affiliates have four albums worth of catchy, guitar-driven pop to draw from for their 2:45 slot. The band moved here from Burlington, VT a while back, and its 2022 effort A Thin Thread is the first to feature the Chicago lineup. The Shake Ups utilized power pop arrangements to celebrate the fun of cartoon and pop culture on their Meddling Kids album, and these IPO - Chicago veterans take a similar approach in their live sets.

Mammals are self-described creators of “garagey power pop” with an emphasis on The Nerves, Buddy Holly, The Kinks and The Plimsouls. That comes across loud and clear through the assorted songs on their Bandcamp page. “In The Darkness” sounds like a Halloween song by The Ramones, and the rollicking “Expanding Heart” features impressive vocals. The Larvettes’ showcase will most likely feature songs from Happy Go Lucky Times, the three-song EP they released in 2022. Don’t let the title fool you, these guys love to spike their energetic rock tunes with bitter observations. The Jeremy Band, led by vocalist-guitarist Jeremy Morris, traditionally closes out a Saturday afternoon showcase with high-powered, melodic rock, and that’s exactly what will take place this Saturday. His latest album, Footprints, came out last month and finds Morris collaborating with Ken Stringfellow of The Posies. It’s available to order on the Jam Records website.

The Saturday evening showcase will start just a few hours later with Chicago-based musician Matt Tiegler. He’ll likely showcase catchy indie rock tunes such as “I Didn’t Get You” and the title track from his most recent album, Hands Free Down Hill. Long-time IPO - Chicago participants The Sonnets specialize in an intriguing mix of glam, mod, power pop, garage, surf, and blues. Things That Fly is the Chicago-based indie rock band led by Heidi Serwer and Karen Salmon. They served up clever and catchy tunes such as “Lucky Ones” and “Crunch Went The Snow” on their 2023 self-titled EP. 

The hard-edged power pop band MariZen is led by vocalist Mari Scott, and has a single, an album, and an EP available on Bandcamp. Those were released a while back, so it seems likely they’ll perform newer stuff too. Chicago rock scene veterans The Bon Mots have been working on new material, and their plan is to unveil some of it at IPO - Chicago this Saturday. These guys can also tap into numerous well-crafted indie pop songs from previous recordings they’ve released over the years. Routine Faces, AKA the single-named Sahara and Rob, drew upon Journey, Heart, Imogen Heap, and other artists for their emotionally complex album Us vs Them. They’ll be joined by drummer Joshua Rogers and keyboards player Kim Reuter when they wrap things up for this Saturday night’s showcase. 

Check the official International Pop Overthrow website for the full Chicago schedule. You’ll also find links for just about all the acts who’ll be participating in Chicago this year. Even if you can’t attend in person, it’s a great way to discover new music. Many of the acts have Bandcamp pages, so it’s possible to already have some favorite songs before you even seen the band play.