Gabba Gabba Get Together At The Abbey

The moment I saw a listing in last Friday’s newspaper for an upcoming triple tribute event at The Abbey honoring The Clash, The Jam, and The Ramones, I knew it had to be the work of the people at Last Rites. These promoters regularly book alt-rock gigs at the northwest side pub, and have staged multiple-act tribute nights around Halloween for at least the past two years. In addition to the good music offered, it’s a kick to see familiar faces on the local music scene taking on the personalities of their heroes. Their latest event will take place on Friday, February 11th.

The Chicago power pop band Who’s This Mary? were impressive while paying homage to The Cure at The Abbey last Halloween, so it’s highly likely they’ll embody The Jam with the same dedication. Gabba Gabba Hey stakes it claim on being the only Ramones tribute act in the history of Chicago and professes to be on a mission from God. Either they’ve been in contact with the three original members who have gone on to Rock And Roll Heaven, or they recently watched The Blues Brothers movie. The Abbey’s website doesn’t offer a lot of info yet on London Calling, other than that the Clash tribute band was formed in 2003, and includes a musician who goes by the name of Paul Simonpoulos.

Tickets for this triple bill are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Show time starts at 9:00 PM on February 11th.

I’m Going To A Masquerade. Would You Care To Join Me?

Photo from Phil Angotti's website.

One of the more interesting options for Halloween entertainment this year is the two-day tribute band showcase coming up at The Abbey Pub on Chicago’s northwest side. Several local acts will be performing as famous bands on Friday, October 30th and Saturday, October 31st.

Some of the local acts will be familiar to anyone who has been at The Abbey for International Pop Overthrow. Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti, who formed the power pop band The Idea several years ago and has worked on solo projects, will be performing as Squeeze on the 30th. As a member of The Beatle Brothers, Angotti is an old hand at these tribute things, and he’s also performed shows as The Zombies and other British Invasion bands. Also on 30th, the melodic punk band Penthouse Sweets will be covering the Sex Pistols. The Penthouse Sweets’ two song CD, with “We Were High” and “Dark Eyes,” suggests they should be up to the task.

Tomorrow The Moon, a new side project from The Bad Examples guitarist-vocalist Steve Gerlach, will offer their take on The Psychedelic Furs on the 31st. The energetic songs on Tomorrow The Moon’s debut, He Saw Red mix guitars and synthesizers, so this looks to be an entertaining set. Tiny Speakers, a new trio fronted by former The Its! vocalist-guitarist Eric Quinlan, will perform as The Everly Brothers on the 31st. It should help that all three members of Tiny Speakers sing. The Webstirs, who have several strong power pop albums to their credit, will be doing Fleetwood Mac on Saturday, along with roots rock band The Delafields, who will be playing The B-52’s. The Delafields cite R.E.M. and Johnny Cash as major influences, and the well-crafted songs on their MySpace page support that claim. Maybe The Delafields would rather have covered R.E.M., but Chris Dorf and Friends will be doing that on the 30th.

I must confess to not being able to find any info on Mr. Dorf, or Pleezer, who will be performing on the 30th as Weezer. Ditto for Benge & Short, who will be covering Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe on the 30th: Androgynous Mustache, who’ll tackle The J. Geils Band on the 31st; and The Shaking Hand, who’ll be rocking out as AC/DC on Halloween. The only thing I know about Broken China, who will be performing as The Bangles on Friday, is that the name might be a reference to a solo album by Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright. It’s possible some of these acts have come together just for these tribute shows. If anyone has info on them, I'd be glad to post it. Even with the various unknowns, the tribute band weekend at The Abbey looks like a great time. And besides, what’s Halloween without a little mystery? See the Abbey Pub online for information.