Slumgullion

Check out yesterday’s Weekend Reminders post for events taking place this weekend.

Tickets are now on sale for the 15-date  Costello and Nieve In Concert USA 2025 tour that kicks off on February 19 in Easton, PA and winds up with three shows at the Park West in Chicago on March 11, 12, and 14. Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve will be joined by a full band for those Chicago gigs.

As reported by former Illinois Entertainer boss Ken Voss on the Chicago Bar Bands 1975 through 1982 Facebook page, there’s a book coming soon that honors the Flip Side Records stores of decades past. The Flip Side: Where Chicago Rocked delves into the history of the retail chain, as well as its concert promotions. The book is available for pre-order from Ekhartz Press.

The Fest For Beatles Fans 2025 NY Metro Fest will take place at The Hyatt Regency Jersey City on March 28 – 30, and special guests will include Jim McCarty from The Yardbirds and Colin Hanton from The Quarrymen. Performers on the Apple Jam Stage will include Phil Angotti from Chicago. Congratulations to Phil on his first time being invited out to the Big Apple version of The Fest.

Meanwhile, Phil Angotti and Friends will continue their Beatles Brunch series at City Winery Chicago by performing acoustic renditions of Beatles hit songs on November 30.

 

A recent post by John Langford on Facebook featured a link to the Brooklyn Vegan website where an item announced The Mekons have released a new song titled “You’re Not Singing Anymore.” Brooklyn Vegan also revealed The Mekons have an extensive tour coming in 2025 that will include performances at the Square Roots Festival in Chicago and at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, IL.

The Toronto-based co-ed quintet Alvvays has released a 10th anniversary edition of its self-titled debut on Cerulean in Cloudy Clear vinyl that includes the previously unreleased track “Underneath Us.” The album also includes a poster print of hand drawn art by Canadian musician/artist Chad VanGaalen.

Stompin’ Grounds Cafe in Lake Zurich will offer live music twice in the upcoming weeks. The Face N Time band will perform 7:00 to 9:00 pm on November 26 and December 11.

Marshall Crenshaw’s 40+ Years In Showbiz! tour will wrap up with dates at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ tomorrow and at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on Sunday. Crenshaw, who’s performing with Fernando Perdomo, Derrick Anderson, and Mark Ortmann, promises he’ll return with more dates in 2025.

Guy Schingoethe, whose entertainment career includes performing with the Famous In The Future comedy group as well as the hard rock band Faith In The Fallen, has formed a duo with musician Seth Whitson called Garden Of GuySethmane. The duo will offer cover versions of songs from the 1970s through ‘90s tomorrow night at 8:00 pm at the Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery in Flossmoor, IL.

The Kooks and lovelytheband have collaborated on a melodic and soulful new single titled “Jeanie” and it’s now available on streaming sites. A recent post on The Kooks Official Facebook page notes, “‘Jeanie’ is about all the unknown legends. She’s not asking for forgiveness or appreciation from the world, just getting on everyday, looking after her people and living in the moment.”

Lincoln Hall on Chicago’s north side will present a triple bill with renowned acid jazz band Liquid Soul as the headlining act on Saturday, Nov 30. Joe Marcinek’s Dead Soul Summit, which includes Howard Levy, Sharay Reed, Calvin Rodgers, and John Hanrahan; and The Tracy Silverman Project featuring Roy “Futureman” Wooten are also on the bill. Levy and Wooten are well known as members of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.

Journalist/public relations specialist Cary Baker’s first book, Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking & Street Music is now available to purchase from Jawbone Press.

There will be a triple bill of Van Go, The Second Summer, and Dam Destroyers (formerly The Red Wigglers) on December 14 at The Gallery on December 14. Admission is free. All three acts have performed at International Pop Overthrow - Chicago, with The Second Summer making its debut at this year’s event. The band’s debut release undertow featured high-energy pop songs such as “The Reason” and “Invisible,” and they’ve been busy working on the follow-up. And, of course, it’s always fun to see Van Go and Dam Destroyers back in action.

 

Shindig, the British magazine that does a fab job looking back at everything people loved about the 1960s (or would have loved if they had lived through them) has another Montage Collector’s Edition issue on the way. This one’s titled The American Psychedelic Explosion 1965 – 71, and offers a 128-page “carefully curated collection of articles originally published between 2010-2017.”

The Bad Examples will return to Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights on Saturday, January 4. Lead vocalist-guitarist Ralph Covert has a knack for composing clever, catchy songs that often remind people of Squeeze.

The Lost Record, a collection of songs Susanna Hoffs recorded with Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s in her garage back in 1999, is now available on Bandcamp, Amazon, and other streaming sites. (Musicians Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz also contributed to the 10 tracks.)

As a musician, Chicago guitarist-vocalist Dag Juhlin is definitely in the ‘plays well with others’ category, as proven by his involvement in several bands. He’s performed with The Slugs; Sunshine Boys; Sonic45; EXPO ‘76 Courtesy Patrol; and a nationwide-touring R.E.M. tribute band led by Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy. That said, his new Bandcamp page is all about him. The 27-track situations digital album is described as, “written, performed and recorded by Dag Juhlin.” The other six digital albums on Juhlin’s Bandcamp page are pretty much just him, with an occasional musician helping out. The result is a motherlode of songs that will no doubt fascinate and impress his fans.