Slumgullion #22

Godzilla art from G-Fest website.

Oh No, There Goes Tokyo: If people in the Chicago area are hearing the stomping of huge feet, it might be because of the G-Fest XVII Godzilla Convention, which is running from Friday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Subtitled The Return To Monster Island, the fest will feature Q & A sessions with some of the actors and crew from the big guy’s films, as well as a dealers room, and fan presentations on various topics. Admission is $25 per day or $40 for the whole weekend. Visitors are encouraged to come in Godzilla or Raymond Burr costumes.

Beatles Day Tripper: Members Of The British Beatles Fan Club, a group on Facebook, has a report on what Mike Badger, who formed the short-lived and much-missed English pop band The La’s, has been up to lately. According to writer Mark Sumner on the Internet site Click Liverpool, Badger was commissioned by the Cavern Walks shopping center in Liverpool to create a sculpture honoring The Beatles for the city’s third annual Beatles Day on July 10th. The result is an intriguing piece titled “Musical Composition” that will be comprised of Badger’s own Zenith guitar (the sort Paul McCartney often played) and other musical instruments. Music wise, Sumner reports that Badger is currently working on a solo career.

Hello Again, Goodbye Girl: Squeeze has just uploaded three songs from its upcoming CD Spot The Difference to its MySpace page. The new CD features the band playing new versions of some of its best-loved tunes, like “Goodbye Girl,” “Pulling Mussels (From A Shell),” and “Loving You Tonight.” Squeeze will be performing with Cheap Trick at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park tomorrow (July 10th) night.

Believe It Or Not: Bass player Mike Galassini of the Chicago bands The Valley Downs and 92 Degrees, will be performing with yet another combo, The Ripleys, at Navy Pier on Saturday from 5:00PM to 7:00PM in the Beer Garden. This one’s a cover band that plays songs by The Beatles, Matthew Sweet, and Cheap Trick, among others. Meanwhile, The Valley Downs have created a video for the ironically titled “Lucky Day,” a catchy, C&W flavored tune with lines like, “You leave me in the dirt, the dirt is where I’ll stay.” It’s from their latest, self-titled EP. The clip features footage from the band’s performances in Liverpool, Nashville, London, and New York, and can be seen on The Valley Downs MySpace page, and on YouTube.

Y’all Come Back Now, Little Susie: Guitarist-vocalist Mike Cohen, who was impressive with The Pop Dollys and The Abbeys at this year’s International Pop Overthrow in Chicago, has a side project called The Everly Hillbillies. As the name suggests, they cover a lot of Phil & Don material, plus some originals. The Everly Hillbillies will be performing at Willow Stream Park in Buffalo Grove this coming Tuesday, July 13th, starting at 7PM.

Ten-hut! Freewheeling rockers Genral Patton & His Privates will be performing from 6:00PM to 7:00PM tomorrow night at the Gallery Cabaret, as part of the Gallery Block Party celebration of food and music. Admission is free.

Rockin’ In Palatine: The American English concert, which would have kicked off the suburb’s outdoor concert series this past June had it not been rained out, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 3rd, at 8:00PM. American English covers the entire career of The Beatles, from the early days to the Let It Be era.

Would You Like Some Handcuffs With Those Fries? Indie rock band The Handcuffs will be performing at the Roscoe Village Burger Fest 2010 in Chicago at the Damen and Belmont Stage from 6PM to 7PM tomorrow night. The Handcuffs have been slaving away on their third CD. Also performing at Burger Fest 2010 will be 10,000 Maniacs, Liquid Soul, Dot Dot Dot, and Gin Blossoms.

Rocking In Palatine 2010

Photo taken from My Villain Your Hero Facebook page.

As summer approaches, my hometown of Palatine, like Chicago and the other surrounding suburbs, offers a full schedule of outdoor concerts. Out this way, bands perform every Wednesday and Friday night, weather permitting, at the Fred P. Hall Amphitheater. The selection process for these concerts has been on autopilot for years; with the same acts, or types of acts always getting the nod. Still, they make for an enjoyable night of music.

American English plays this Friday night, June 18th, carrying on the tradition of kicking things off with a Beatles tribute band. In the past, we’ve also had Liverpool Legends and British Export. A few years back, the outdoor concert series broke tradition by opening with local heroes Dot Dot Dot, who went over extremely well. In addition to Dot Dot Dot, some other bands I’d like to see return to the Palatine stage are The Neverly Brothers and The New Invaders. Plus, it would be great to have an additional night each week, when more cutting-edge bands could play.

Palatine Concert Band always gets three slots over the season, possibly because no musical act in history has had more bad luck in getting rained out. They’re not rock and roll, but they’re very talented, and my wife and I enjoy their tributes to Broadway shows and famous composers. Otherwise, the most interesting concerts this season are Big Guitars From Memphis on June 25th, and oldies cover band The Meteors on July 23rd.

Sometimes, my wife and I buy a pizza at the nearby J.J. Twigs and bring it to the concert along with some refreshing beverages, but there are also concession stands near the amphitheater.

The Palatine Jaycees will sponsor Hometown Fest 2010 from Thursday, July 1st through Monday, July 5th. There will be several food vendors, fireworks, and a full schedule of bands.

My Villain Your Hero, a young group that plays a mix of hip-hop originals and cover versions will perform from 2:00 to 3:30PM on Sunday, July 4th. Although I lean more toward power pop, I caught one of the band’s regular gigs at Durty Nellies, and was impressed with its non-stop energy, as well as the one-two vocal punch of Mig Mora and Jennifer Lee. My Villain Your Hero has become much more popular since I first mentioned them in a post under my Elevated Observations column quite a while ago, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that Lee looks like a 20-something version of Jennifer Aniston.

Other acts booked for the 4th of July concerts include One Hand Clapping, 7th Heaven, The Mosquitos, David Allen, Bucket #6, TNT Chicago, New Odyssey, Cowbirds, Donna Matrix, 20 Over, Cammi’s NRG, AVM, Triple Threat, He Said She Said, and the Rolling Meadows Big Band.

Saving the best for last, The Smithereens will headline this year’s Palatine Downtown Street Fest on August 28th. I caught Pat DiNizio and the boys at an outdoor performance right next door to Wrigley Field last summer, and they are still an amazing act to see in a live setting. In addition to playing their own power pop masterpieces like “House We Used To Live In,” “Behind The Wall Of Sleep,” and “Blood and Roses,” The Smithereens expertly cover The Beatles and The Who.

Ralph’s World is returning for another gig at the Street Fest. As I said in my “Pure Pop For Knee High People” post last August (see archive), I’m a long-time fan of The Bad Examples, but I had never seen lead vocalist Ralph Covert performing as Ralph’s World. Covert applies the same elements of irresistible melodies and clever lyrics that make the Examples so much fun to his kid-friendly shows. Hi Infidelity and Sixteen Candles are also booked for the Palatine Downtown Street Fest, and I’m sure other acts will be added along the way.

Why Did The Chicken Cross Abbey Road?

Go on, then. Make these lads laugh.

I’m usually sympathetic toward cashiers at retail stores and restaurants when they ask for my e-mail address since I once worked at a bookstore where we were practically waterboarded if we didn’t reach our monthly quota of acquiring customer e-mails.

So last summer when the cashier at the Apple Holler Restaurant just over the border in Wisconsin asked for my home address and e-mail, I gave it to her. After all, my wife and I had found the breakfast buffet tasty, the service had been friendly, and there was a good variety of vegetarian choices. Anyway, I now regularly receive e-mails as well as flyers from Apple Holler.

Their most interesting promotion concerns a show called “C’mon, Let’s Twist And Shout - Rockin’ Tribute To The Beatles” that will be performed on selected dates from February 11th through April 25th. According to the flyer, the show consists of memorable songs, intriguing narrative, and comedic sketches. I’ve seen quite a few Beatles tribute bands, including American English, Liverpool Legends (which is managed by George Harrison’s sister, Louise) and Liverpool, the band that performs at Fest For Beatles Fans. I’ve never seen any of them toss in some comedy routines.

The Beatles were very funny, whether it was in their movies or just coping with clueless media types at a press conference. But are the Apple Holler skits about The Beatles themselves, or fans acting crazy? Maybe the tribute band does parodies of Beatles songs, like my comedy group Famous In The Future has done.

I found some info at The Journal Times.com that states “C’mon, Let’s Twist And Shout - Rockin’ Tribute To The Beatles” was created by Apple Holler Entertainment Director Heather Clayton and Joaquin Hernandez, who’s described as a regular Apple Holler performer. Joining Clayton and Hernandez onstage are James Jones, John Clayton, and Elsbeth O’Brien.

I can’t say that I’ll make it back up to Wisconsin to see “C’mon, Let’s Twist And Shout - Rockin’ Tribute To The Beatles” at Apple Holler, but it sounds like a fun idea. I wish Clayton and her crew the best of luck.