Slumgullion

Note: For information on PRAVDAFEST, Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field, Irish Days in Long Grove, The Northman Riverwalk schedule, and a few other weekend events, check out yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post.

Congratulations to Pop Art Sports Cards on its fifth anniversary of creating rock and roll trading cards that mimic the baseball cards many of us collected as kids. To mark the occasion, PASC is offering Limited Edition packs of 15 trading cards that include a stick of gum. Much like in the days when I spent my weekly allowance on baseball cards from the corner store. Fans who order a PASC Limited Edition pack can choose each of the 15 cards, so there’s no danger of your favorite player not being included.

I’ve purchased PASC sets of The Kinks; Crosby, Stills Nash and Young; The Bangles; Heart; The Hollies; Cheap Trick; and Pink Floyd in the past, but it took a while to choose the players for my 15-card package. Like a manager assembling a winning team. Finally, as you can see by my sub-amateur photography above, I decided on performers from a variety of genres and eras. Anyone interested in assembling their own team can contact Pop Art Sports Cards at popartsportscards@gmail.com or check out the Pop Art Sports Card public Facebook page. The price for a 15-card pack is $35.

Smoking Popes plan to release a Live-In-Studio 30th Anniversary vinyl edition of their second album Born To Quit on September 27. The Chicago-based alt rock band, led by vocalist-guitarist Josh Caterer, is performing at the Troubadour in West Hollywood this very night. The Get Up Kids will be the opening act for a tour that wraps up with shows in Chicago at Metro on October 10 and 11.

 

The Hopscotch Music Festival will take place on September 5-7 in Raleigh, NC, with an extensive list of performers that includes St. Vincent; The dB’s; Ducks Ltd.; Guided By Voices; Chicano Batman; and Ty Segall (solo acoustic). The event will also feature comedy acts, local vendors, and VIP parties. 

Chicago-based singer-songwriter Steve Dawson will start a fall tour on September 7 in St. Louis, MO. He’ll perform in his home town on September 15 and nearby Arlington Heights, IL on September 28.

 

Autographed copies of Neko Case's new memoir The Harder I Fight the More I Love You are available to pre-order from Premiere Collectibles. Case is a member of The New Pornographers indie rock band, as well as a successful solo artist.

As noted on various websites and social media posts, Oasis has a reunion tour titled live ’25 coming up next summer. There has also been a meme that lets people name a different reunion (Rockpile being one example) they’d rather see than Oasis.

A new DVD titled Taking The City By Storm - The Birth Of Milwaukee’s Punk Scene, is now available for $26. Billed as “A documentary focusing on the progression of Milwaukee’s Protopunk, Power Pop, Punk and New Wave,” it was produced by Judy Simonds and Clancy Carroll and directed and edited by Doug LaValliere. The DVD is available at Irving Place Records, the retail store run by long-time musician Terry Hackbarth. People who aren’t Wisconsinites can send a direct message to the official Taking The City By Storm - The Birth Of Milwaukee’s Punk Scene Facebook page.

V–U2, a new, immersive film featuring concert footage from U2’s extensive run at the mind-altering Sphere venue in Las Vegas will be screened exclusively at the Sphere starting September 5. 

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 forever-suave Roxy Music frontman and solo performer Bryan Ferry will release the 81-track Retrospective - Bryan Ferry 1973 – 2023 on October 25. Available on colored vinyl or as a 5-CD deluxe box set, it will include new and unreleased recordings, along with extensive liner notes and rare photography. It’s currently available for pre-order from his official website.

The 19th Annual Lakeview Festival Of The Arts will be held on September 14 and 15 on Chicago’s north side. Local power pop band The Spindles, who add an occasional Hollies cover to their catchy originals, are among the many live music acts scheduled to perform at the Lakeview Festival Of The Arts. 

Steve Wynn from The Dream Syndicate has accomplished his long-time goal of writing a book, and it’s due out from Jawbone Press now. Wynn describes I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True as “a memoir of a life of music that begins on the streets of LA and continues along the highways and byways of rock recording and touring with The Dream Syndicate.” There are a few autographed copies left for sale on Wynn’s Bandcamp page, which is also where you can pre-order his a new solo album  Make It Right.  

The 10th Annual Super Nova Ska Festival will be held on the weekend of  September 13 – 15 at Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA. British pioneering ska act The Selecter, still led by Pauline Black, will be the main draw with its performance on the last day. Other acts include Roy Ellis with The Aggrolites; Skavoovie and the Epitones; Five Iron Frenzy; and Catbite. A total of 38 acts, from 8 countries are scheduled to appear.

Red Spot Rhythm Section, a Chicago-based band whose previous recordings offered covers of well-known songs reinvented with reggae and ska arrangements, has just released a new album titled Twilight. This time out, it’s a mix of covers and original material composed by band member Joshua Siegal. The title track was originally recorded by The Band, and there are also spirited renditions of Paul Simon’s “Boy In The Bubble,” Nick Lowe’s “Peace, Love And Understanding,” and Steve Goodman’s “City Of New Orleans.” Red Spot Rhythm Section also  impresses with originals such as the easy-going “Nothin,” acoustic “Never Told Her,” and the more blues-oriented “Time.” Twilight is available on Bandcamp. 

Jeff Lynne’s ELO The Over And Out Tour throughout the USA is now under way and will wrap up in California with shows on October 23 and 25 at Sacramento and Inglewood respectively. Lynne will perform at the United Center in Chicago on September 27 and 28.

Activities of Daily Living, the most recent release from Glasgow power pop/indie rock band Aerial, is now available in CD format from by the America-based label Kool Kat Musik. In a review this past May on Broken Hearted Toy, I noted, The songwriting duo of Colin Cummings and Mackie Mackintosh once again craft clever, off-kilter lyrics set to well-crafted power pop arrangements, particularly on energetic gems such as the title track, “An Encore And A Cover Song,” and “Bad Tattoo.”

When Nick Lowe releases Indoor Safari, his first album in 11 years on September 13, it will be “POWERED BY” his long-time collaborators Los Straitjackets. He’ll hit the road with them for a fall tour starting with two nights (October 10 and 11) in New York City and ending with a pair of shows (November 2 and 3) in Minneapolis. Lowe and Los Straitjackets will play Lincoln Hall in Chicago on October 29 and 30. 

T Bone Burnett now has a pair of shows lined up for The Old Town School Of Folk Music this fall. He’ll perform at the venue on October 19 and October 20.

Music industry veteran Dean Brownrout will have a book release party for his No Big Deal memoir at the Marble + Rye  bar/lounge in New York on September 30.

It’s been 60 years since The Kinks released their ground-breaking single “You Really Got Me.” The Brit Invasion band is celebrating with a 7-inch single PYE Records limited edition that’s now available for pre-order. Only 1964 copies will be created.