Slumgullion

If you notice a commotion in Daley Plaza around 2:00 PM today, don’t be afraid to check it out. The Mary-Arrchie Theatre holds a rally there each year around this time to kick off the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins festival. Following the rally, Rich Cotovsky, portraying Abbie Hoffman will lead his followers on a march to The Den Theatre on Milwaukee Avenue. Opening ceremonies (always a highlight of Abbie Fest) are at 7:00 PM, and then the flood gates open for three days of nonstop entertainment. The schedule is now available as a mobile app and a Google Doc on the Mary-Arrchie Theatre wesbsite. 

Northhalsted Market Days takes place this Saturday and Sunday with food, art, crafts, exotically dressed people, and three stages of live music. Andy Bell from Erasure, 10,000 Maniacs, Cherie Currie, Wilson Phillips, and David Cassidy are among the headline acts. The Handcuffs, fronted by lead vocalist-guitarist Chloe F. Orwell and drummer Brad Elvis, will be performing at 3:30 PM Sunday. Other acts include Girlband, Dot Dot Dot, and 7th Heaven.

International Pop Overthrow recently wrapped up a successful visit to Los Angeles, the city of its birth, and has moved on to San Francisco. Lannie Flowers, the six-piece rock/soul outfit Talk Tonight, and a Paris-based mod band called French Boutik are among the artists scheduled to participate this weekend at Hotel Utah Saloon.

Meanwhile, International Pop Overthrow-Chicago veterans Go Time! will be bringing their hard-edged but melodic tunes to the Gallery Cabaret next Saturday, August 18th at 9:00PM. The venue is located at 2020 N. Oakley in Chicago.

Can’t get enough of that Fab Four stuff? On Monday, August 12th, a day after Fest For Beatles Fans-Chicago ends, Phil Angotti will carry the baton as he and some friends perform Paul McCartney’s Band On The Run album at Martyrs on Lincoln Avenue.

This might sound like that 1970s rumor about Alice Cooper being the same guy who played Eddie Haskell on Leave It To Beaver, but according to the Uproxx website, Peter Capaldi, the actor recently selected to portray the 12th generation of The Doctor on Doctor Who, was once in a Scottish punk band called The Dreamboys. The band’s drummer was Late Late Show host and avid Doctor Who fan, Craig Ferguson. 

James Moeller of Black Forest and whitewolfsonicprincess has a new side project called Broken TV. His first song, “Whizzing By” is a terse number featuring only him on vocals and electric guitar. It’s available on BandCamp. 

Yesterday’s Still Here

Founded by Mark and Carol Lapidos back in late 1970s, The Fest For Beatles Fans has always lived up to its name. The annual celebration makes its Chicago stop each August; bringing a wide range of fans to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont to relive Beatlemania and the original British Invasion via concerts, celebrity interviews; sing-along sessions; trivia contests; and artwork. A huge marketplace overflowing with vendors offering all kinds of treasures and memorabilia is almost worth the price of admission alone. Fest For Beatles Fans-Chicago runs tomorrow through Sunday. Tickets are $40 for Friday, $57 for Saturday or Sunday, and $130 for the entire weekend. Various two-day combinations are also available.

The 2013 lineup of celebrity guests includes Chad And Jeremy, who had hits like “Summer Song” and “Yesterday’s Gone,” and portrayed The Redcoats on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Nigel and Patrick on The Patty Duke Show. This will be their first Fest For Beatles Fans-Chicago appearance. 1980s rocker Greg Kihn (also making his Fest debut) will be discussing his new novel, Rubber Soul, and he’ll join the cover band Liverpool for a few songs on Saturday night. Billy J. Kramer, a singer who took singles like “Little Children” and the Beatles-penned “Bad To Me” to the top of the UK and US charts, is back for another visit; as is Badfinger singer-guitarist Joey Molland. 

English musician Chas Newby still has fond memories of the 1960 Christmas season. That’s when he played bass with The Beatles at four gigs. Rob Shanahan has spent the past six years as Ringo Starr’s photographer, which has included going along on tour the Ringo’s All Starr Band Tour. His hardcover book, Volume 1: Through The Lens Of Music Photographer Rob Shanahan, will be available at the Fest. Producer/musician Mark Hudson has worked with Ringo Starr, along with several other highly successful musicians. His humor is occasionally over-the-top, but it’s always fascinating to hear him tapping into his vast knowledge of pop music.

Those of us who met Freda Kelly at last year’s Fest will be eager to catch the screening of Good Ol Freda, a new documentary that tracks her experiences as the secretary of the Official Beatles Fan Club from the earliest days of Beatlemania through 1972. Kelly helped scores of people connect with The Beatles and became friends with John, Paul, George, and Ringo in the process.

Georgina Flood will return for her second year. The  Dublin-based artist creates amazingly detailed portraits of The Beatles, as well as other celebrities. Flood charmed visitors at last year’s Fest and has been steadily building a solid fan base in the United States. Eric Cash, another artist with expertise in rendering lifelike portraits of The Beatles, will also be back again.

Long-time master of ceremonies Terri Hemmert, whose Breakfast With The Beatles show airs on WXRT in Chicago every Sunday morning, comes across as an avid fan as well as a skilled interviewer in her on-stage sessions with guests. British comedian Martin Lewis  is the quick-witted moderator of Musician’s Forum, a fun and informative free-form conversation and jam session. 

Liverpool is one of the top Beatles tribute bands in the country. Don’t look for them to don Sgt. Pepper uniforms or chatter in fake accents —they just play amazingly faithful covers of Beatles songs. They usually perform a set on their own, before inviting some of the Fest’s guest musicians to come out and join them. Check Fest For Beatles Fans-Chicago online for the weekend schedule, and a complete list of the celebrity guests.

When Abbie Strikes Up The Bands

The Abbeys are coming to Abbie Fest. Photo from The Abbeys Facebook page.

Rich Cotovsky looks like he escaped from the late 1960s and does a dead-on impersonation of Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, but don’t be fooled. For over two decades, the Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s Artistic Director has overseen a chaotic annual celebration of performing arts that would challenge the strategic skills of a four-star general. I’ve been at several Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins meetings and I’m sure I’ve heard him joke at least on a few occasions that cramming 70 participants into a single weekend with no time allotted for set changes shouldn’t work, but somehow it always does.

Now on the 25th Anniversary of Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins, he and the Mary-Arrchie crew are kind of starting from scratch. The event has been moved from the theatre’s home base at the corner of Broadway and Sheridan Road to The Den Theatre at 1333 N. Milwaukee Avenue. With three stages instead of the usual one, the goal is to triple the number of performers. And for the first time in the history of Abbie Fest, a full slate of rock bands has been added to the mix.

Elements of rock and roll have always been part of Abbie Fest. More than a tribute to Hoffman’s anti-establishment views, it has been a mission to capture the spirit of the original Woodstock Festival and inject it into Chicago’s vibrant and multifaceted theatre community. Plus, Cotovsky has played electric guitar as the character Skid Marks in his late-night Bitch With Rich sessions, and longtime participants like Famous In The Future and Black Forest have incorporated rock songs into their shows. The comic rock band Lola Bolatro has been on the Abbie schedule for a few years now.

Black Forest, performing as its side project, whitewolfsonicprincess, will be one of the first bands to play the Abbie Fest this Friday. Led by vocalist Carla Hayden and guitarist-vocalist James Moeller, the band mixes alternative with classic rock, while keeping the avant garde ambience fans have come to associate with their theatrical pieces. The Abbeys, featuring founding members Mike Cohen and Jeff Janulis, will make their Abbie Hoffman festival debut, but they’ve performed at every International Pop Overthrow - Chicago since the power pop/indie rock festival started in 2001. They draw inspiration for their harmonies from The Everly Brothers, while the catchy arrangements have the feel of the original British Invasion.

Some of the other music acts scheduled to play include The Ivorys, Lamp, Coaster, Magicks, Digital Gnosis, Emmi Chen, Pirates!!!,  Kate Adams, Parallelicopter, Minor Wits, Terriers, Cpt. Captain, Names Divine, Grave Diggers Of Atlantis, Big Dammit, and Vamos! The Mary-Arrchie Facebook  page has videos and links for several of these artists. On Friday and Saturday at 3:30 AM, Mary-Arrchie troupe member-director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia will host Abbie-Oke, a radical take on karaoke.

Welcome To My (Wizard) World

Wizard World Chicago Comic Con returns this week for another Thursday through Sunday run at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Along with C2E2, which is held each April, it’s an annual gathering of self-professed nerds and anyone into sci-fi, graphic novels, and other off-the-beaten-path areas of modern culture. A mix of major corporate and independent vendors offer comic books, t shirts, action figures, and an amazing range of artifacts. Some of which you’ll probably never have seen before.

A huge marketplace called Artists Alley gives up-and-coming artists a chance to compete for attention. Even the financiers on Shark Tank would find some worthy projects to bankroll from these entertaining salespeople. Throughout Wizard World, there’s a fun, masquerade party atmosphere as people dress up in superhero or villain costumes, and are usually up for posing for photos. Where else are you going to see Batman and Princess Leia sipping 32-oz Cokes together?

Another good reason to check out Wizard World Chicago Comic Con is the opportunity to meet celebrities. This year’s guests include comic book icon Stan Lee; Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk & Morena Baccarin from Firefly/Serenity; John Barrowman, who has been on Doctor Who and Torchwood, and has a regular gig as The Dark Archer on Green Arrow; James Marsters and Juliet Landau from Buffy The Vampire Slayer; Verne Troyer from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; and Star Trek: The Next Generation cast member and good sport Wil Wheaton, who has been very funny in cameo appearances on The Big Bang Theory. There are lesser-known but still interesting media personalities to be found seated at rows of tables in the convention hall.

CD Review: The So So Glos - Blowout

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer. 

Five years have passed since The So So Glos released their self-titled debut, but judging from Blowout, they haven’t been too far away from their radios. The new release is filled with the revved-up arrangements and call-and-response vocals that almost guarantee commercial success these days. But while it’s tempting to lump The So So Glos in with the current crop of boy band punk, there are enough original touches to make Breakout worthwhile.

Singer-bassist Alex Levine is able convey genuine emotions, particularly on songs like the catchy “Diss Town” and the slower, ambitious “Dizzy.” “Lost Weekend” goes through some tempo changes propelled by Levine’s bass guitar, and “Xanax” has a fun new wave feel complete with playful backup vocals. Plus, it’s reassuring to see The So So Glos toss aside the rule book and vamp through the careening, 1960s flavored title track. More of that spirit will keep these guys on top of things.

Slumgullion

Artwork from Richardson Adventure Farm website.

Maybe I’m A Maze. The Richardson Adventure Farm, located between Richmond and Spring Grove, IL, toward the Wisconsin border, has been creating a different corn maze for 13 years. The 2013 design is a tribute to The Beatles’ 50th Anniversary. Judging from the artwork on the Richardson Farm website, it looks really cool.   

Mary E. Donnelly, a regular contributor to the PowerPop blog will be reading from Boys Don’t Lie: A History Of Shoes on October 19th at the Book Cellar on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. She’ll be joined by her editor Moira McCormick. The book, an extensive look at the Zion, IL band, Shoes can be pre-ordered now from the publisher, PurePopPress.

The always clever and eclectic copy band EXPO ‘76 has dubbed its gig opening for The Ides Of March at City Winery next Tuesday, Friendly Strangers in Black Sedans. Backed by the Total Pro Horns, EXPO ‘76 should compliment the Chicago-based group that recorded “Vehicle” very nicely. Incidentally, Ides Of March singer-guitarist Jim Peterik was the very first musician I ever interviewed. It was around the time of his Don’t Fight The Feeling solo effort (with the very fun “Naugahyde Heart”), and I was cub music reporter for my college newspaper, The Chicago Illini. 

Dan Pavelich is a member of the power pop band The Bradburys; a music critic for The Kenosha News, and does a comic strip called Just Say Uncle. He’s also pretty good at putting together various artists holiday CDs that raise funds for worth causes. His latest venture is the Christmas Without Cancer CD, and he’s already lined up Mimi Betinis from Pezband, The Grip Weeds, Lisa Mychols, Jamie And Steve from The Spongetones, Bill Lloyd from Foster And Lloyd, Graham Elvis from The Elvis Brothers, and a number of other power pop and indie rock artists to contribute. But he’ll also need funding to produce it, which is why there is now a Christmas Without Cancer page on the Indiegogo funding site. Pavelich has reached $610 of his $2,050 goal, with 7 days left. 

Singer-guitarist Jeff Charreaux from the band Ultraviolet Eye has a new side project called The Walker Brigade.  It’s a cover band that plays music by punk bands like The Clash, Wire, The Buzzcocks, and Joy Division.

Dot Dot Dot, one of the most frequently booked bands on the Chicago street festival circuit, recently announced on its website and Facebook that lead guitarist-vocalist Rose (the members usually go by first name only) will be departing in October. According to the emotionally charged post, she’s leaving to be with her family on the West Coast.

Rose and bassist-vocalist Lisa were both in the Palatine-based, four-woman cover band Catfight before forming Dot Dot Dot, which means they’ve been performing together for over 10 years. Finding a replacement could be tough, due to her strong ties with the other band members, and also because the deceptively demure musician was a crowd favorite for her ability to wield a surprising amount of guitar firepower. Hopefully, there will be a way that she can still record with the band. The Britannicas do it and their members live on three different continents. Dot Dot Dot will be playing next Saturday, 7:45 PM. at the Northalsted Market Days.

When Lolla Comes Knocking

Photo from Lollapalooza Facebook page.

I’ve decided to tear off the opening part of Slumgullion this week and post it as a separate entity. Hopefully, the rest of Slumgullion will follow soon.

Lollapalooza hits Chicago today for its annual weekend bash, loaded with familiar names like The Cure, New Order, Smith Westerns, Thievery Corporation, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Killers, Lana Del Rey, Little Green Cars, Matt And Kim, Court Yard Hounds, The National, The Lumineers, The Postal Service, Mumford And Sons, Wild Belle, Tegan And Sara, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Phoenix, and Cat Power. But there are also several lesser known acts worth discovering, if you only had the means to find out about them. Fortunately, there are publications for that.

The Reader, New City, and Innerview each provide an extensive roundup of all the acts participating in this year’s Lollapalooza. The Illinois Entertainer has Curt Baran’s cover story/interview with Lolla founder Perry Farrell. The Reader and New City are available in newspaper boxes scattered around The Loop; the Reader, New City, Illinois Entertainer, and Innerview can be found at the Reckless Records store at 26 East Madison downtown; the Reader, New City, and Illinois Entertainer can be found at Graham Cracker Comics at 77 E. Madison. There are also Lollapalooza stories in the Agenda section of the Chicago Sun-Times and the On The Town section of The Chicago Tribune. So print is not dead.

Time Out Chicago has a Lollapalooza feature at its online site, and of course, there’s always the official Lollapalooza site. 

Out of town people or those who couldn’t score tickets but still crave the Lollapalooza experience can tune into WXRT, which is once again devoting a great deal of airtime to the event. The Chicago FM radio station will feature music by Lollapalooza artists throughout the weekend and offer exclusive in-studio and after show performances. Marty Lennartz, host the weekly Big Beat alternative music show, will periodically give live reports from Grant Park.