Slumgullion

The indie rock label Touch and Go Records wants fans to participate in its Celebrating Steve Albini’s Life And Legacy online event by “posting stories and photos that capture the essence of Steve's impact” via Instagram on July 22. Participants should tag their posts with #ThankYouSteveAlbini so they can be included in a digital archive. The date coincides with Albini’s birthday.

In related news, the July issue of the Illinois Entertainer includes writer Andy Derer’s 9-out-of-10 rated review of To All Trains, the recent (and final) release from Albini’s band Shellac on Touch And Go Records. The Illinois Entertainer is available for free in record stores around the state. 

Pravda Records, Chicago’s longest-running independent company, has added a few more acts to its PravdaFest event taking place on August 31 at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn. It’s a 40th anniversary celebration that will feature 17 of the label’s acts performing on three stages. The recent additions of The Chamber Strings (paying tribute to founder member, the late Kevin Junior) and Rex Daisy will join Nathan Graham; Steve Dawson; Diplomats Of Solid Sound; The Handcuffs; Ivan Julian with Nick Tremulis; Chris Greene Quartet; Sunshine Boys; The Service; The Slugs; Susan Voelz; Allen Hill; Brian Krumm And His Barfly Friends; Thrift Store Halo and The Swampland Jewels.

Pravda Records also has a free PravdaFest Pop Up Party coming to The Hideout Front Porch in Chicago on July 23 from 7:30 to 11:00 pm. There will be Pravda Artists DJ set, hot dogs, prizes and the PravdaFest Poster Release. The Hideout Front Porch is located at 1354 W. Wabansia on Chicago’s north side.

Pravda Records recording artists The Handcuffs and Steve Dawson will perform as a double bill at a free concert on the outdoor porch at Horner Park next Friday, July 26 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Horner Park is located at 2741 W. Montrose.

The dB’s have announced additional dates for their original lineup reunion tour featuring Chris Stamey, Peter Holsaple, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder. (All these guys have kept busy with other projects over the years.) I’m not sure which of these gigs are new, but the updated list now shows Raleigh, NC; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, PA; Jersey City, NJ; Athens, GA; Asheville, NC; Decatur, GA; Charlotte, NC; Sty. Paul, MN; Chicago, IL; and Milwaukee, WI. The tour follows the first-time release of the group’s 1981 debut album Stands For Decibels on vinyl. A few years back, my wife Pam and I took a road trip that included a stop in Asheville, NC, where I impressed a clerk in a record store by wearing my dB’s t-shirt.

One, two, three, four, five, and many other reasons to go. Here’s an event that’s over two months away and has an extraordinarily awkward title, but several people have already expressed an interest in attending. Working For Paper and For Iron – XTC – Roads Girdle The Globe will be staged on October 8 at Montrose Saloon on Chicago’s north side. Local power pop singer-songwriter Dolph Chaney recently posted on Facebook that he’s been designated as “the Simpleton Mayor” for this XTC tribute and is putting together an impressive lineup of acts.

 

Filmmaker Balin Schneider, who gave us the fascinating Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story via arvonia films, recently posted an update on Facebook regarding future projects from his company. It stated his next directorial project will be out soon, although he wasn’t able to elaborate yet. Best of luck to him on his future plans.

Go Time! vocalist-guitarist and chief songwriter Scott Niekelski has an acoustic solo gig coming up at BuckleDown Brewing in Lyons 6:30 pm next Friday, July 26.

As noted by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Scott Ligon in a Facebook post, the critically acclaimed band NRBQ has a series of dates scheduled for the east coast toward the end of August.

Chicago: Home Of House, an exhibit honoring the city’s pivotal role in widespread success of house music over the past 40 years, runs through the end of October. 

The Pretenders’ current US Tour 2024 continues with sold out concerts this weekend in Boston, and tomorrow and Sunday night in Washington, D.C. They have sold out shows coming up in Akron, Chicago (at the Chicago Theatre), Tulsa, Kansas City, Austin, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Tickets are still available for The Pretenders’ shows in Milwaukee, Irving (TX), and Phoenix. 

Supersonic, the highly impressive second release from Chicago’s self-described new wave band Sonic45, is now available to download on Bandcamp.

Squeeze recently kicked off a five-month tour that involves traveling back and forth between the UK and USA. After a gig on the Isle Of Man on August 6, the band will fly off a week later for a performance in Eugene OR. Other North American stops include Oakland, Costa Mesa, Phoenix, Austin, Nashville, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New York, and Orlando. Squeeze will return to the UK in early October and continue touring through November. The Squeeze concert on September 5 at the Chicago Theatre. The English Beat will be the special guest for that night.

The Out Of Space Skokie event is being held at a new location closer to downtown Skokie this year since its usual spot at the Canal Shores Golf Course is being renovated. The event runs next weekend, July 26 –28 and will feature Courtney Barnett and Bob Mould; Thee Sacred Souls and St. Paul And The Broken Bones; and Guster and The Lone Bellow with Devon Gilfillian. 

The David Bowie World Fan Convention 2024 will kick off on July 26 (the day after the world celebrates my birthday) and run through July 28 at various venues around Liverpool. This year’s special guests are Carlos Alomar; Woody Woodmansey; Ava Cherry; George Murray; Nacho; Denis O’Regan; Dana Gillespie; Mark Wardel; Marc Riley; Spizzenergi; David Buckley; Leah kardos; Hannah “Lulu” Breschard; and Chris Carter. Events will includes The Bowie Ball, live bands; signing sessions, and a marketplace.

Ladyship The Musical (Original Concept Recording), which is now available to download on Bandcamp, finds sisters Linda and Laura Good exploring music that’s entirely different from their previous albums as the folksy Good Twins and alt rock band The Twigs. It’s an ambitious and totally successful full-on theatrical production based on the true story of how England shipped women convicts to Australia from 1789 to 1841. I’m hoping to post a full review soon.

Blondie founding member Chris Stein’s memoir titled Under A Rock is now available from various sites. The book, which features a forward by Debbie Harry, is described by MacMillan Publishers as a “a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980’s artistic sensation.”

Rebel Girl: My Life As A Feminist Punk, a memoir from riot-grrrl band Bikini Kill vocalist Kathleen Hanna is now available from HarperCollins Publishers on various websites and book stores.

Local comedy group Famous In The Future will present its annual three-day celebration of counter-culture entertainment, YippieFest, on the weekend of August 23 – 25 at Chopin Theatre. This will be the sixth in-person staging of the event, which features FIF along with a variety of acts presenting short plays, improv, monologues, sketch comedy, stand-up, music, performance art, and dance. YippieFest is modeled after the late Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s long-running Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Festival. The lineup will be revealed at some point on the official YippieFest website. Chopin Theatre is located at 1543 W. Division on the city’s north side. Full disclosure: I was a member of Famous In The Future for several years.

I was sad to see the news that Bob Newhart has passed away. Between his standup comedy records and TV sitcoms, he was a fun and familiar figure for most of my life. And it was a kick to see his guest star appearances on The Big Bang Theory, where he portrayed a TV science guy Sheldon and Leonard both worshipped as kids. As a writer/performer with the Famous In The Future comedy group, I knew I would never have the firepower of a John Belushi or Chris Farley. So, probably like many aspiring comic performers, I aimed for the timing and dry wit of Bob Newhart. I remember one skit in particular. It was written by cast member Guy Schingoethe, who definitely had firepower—he’s currently lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Faith In The Fallen—and he played an abusive waiter who had literally chased two customers out of the restaurant. It was part of our revue at an Abby Hoffman Died For Our Sins Fest at Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Portraying the restaurant manager, I calmly approached him, and using my best buttoned-down delivery, asked, “So those customers left, huh?” Guy’s unrepentant waiter said, “Yeah, he wanted a corn cobette with his Rib Dinner.” “The Rib Dinner comes with a corn cobette,” I told him. Guy simply stared at me, so I decided to stare back. In one of several ad-libbed moments in the skit that night, we locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Guy shrugged, said “Whatever,” and walked away. Not missing a beat, I politely asked him to wait on the two new customers who had just come in.