Everybody’s Rocking For The Halloweekend

Graphic from The Webstirs Facebook page.

People who enjoy good rock and roll with their Halloween festivities should check out The Abbey Pub’s Halloweekend 2011 on October 28th and 29th. Costumes aren’t the main attraction for this two-night extravaganza; the fun is in seeing local musicians paying tribute to legendary bands. There are a lot of interesting choices scheduled for Friday and Saturday, so you might want to check out both nights.

The lineup for Friday features American Headlight Noise as Bruce Springsteen; John Aselin (with guest Phil Angotti) as The Rolling Stones; Bon Mots as Alice Cooper; The Webstirs as Chicago; Penthouse Sweets as Nick Lowe, and Metropolly as Hole.

Saturday brings Joel Paterson as ZZ Top; Phil Angotti as The Who; Androgynous Mustache as Huey Lewis, Unknown Pleasure as Joy Division; Grooved Surface as Bachman-Turner Overdrive; Tuffy UK as Patti Smith; and Zapruder Point as Billy Bragg.

The party kicks off at 8:30 each night, and there’s a $12 admission fee ($10 in advance).

Halloween Song: Angie Mead - “You Leave (12:04 Edit)"

Angie Mead recorded two versions of the song “You Leave” for her impressive 1999 debut CD, West Of The Present. The first was an emotional ballad built on acoustic guitar, strings, and Mead’s strong but beautiful vocals. The lyrics, which depict a woman who has been spurned by either a lover or friend, are ominous but blend in with the well-crafted arrangement.

On “You Leave (12:04 Remix),” Mead transforms the song into a nightmare but moving the lyrics front and center and delivering them in a raspy whisper. It’s scary in a Play Misty For Me vein rather than anything supernatural. The 12:04 in the title seems to be the time of night the woman makes a phone call. Initially, her barely audible voice sounds sexy, but then ominous strings and percussion roll in like dark clouds, and the woman becomes a stalker.

“Hey I know you see me walk by,” Mead sings. “You see me in the corner of your eye.” It’s not clear what type of a relationship the woman had with recipient of her call, but one way or another it’s over. “Hey I know it’s been a while/You didn’t recognize me with a smile.” And there isn’t a trace of affection in Mead’s tone when she observes, “Hey my friend look what you’re doing to me.” The tension escalates until the caller finally suggests, “So let me kick you around for a while/let me bring you down.” Mead drags out the last word, a whispered threat that seems more unnerving than if she had screamed it.

CD Review: Mordecai Smyth - Sticky Tape & Rust

Tom Waits Alert! B1G T1ME, the Tom Waits tribute band will be performing two sets of the gravely-voiced singer-songwriter’s tunes at Quenchers in Chicago on Wednesday, October 19th. The group will be joined by saxophone player Cameron Pfiffner and guitarist Tom McCarthy. Quenchers is located at 2401 N. Western in Chicago. Showtime is 9:30. In other Tom Waits news, I just heard on WXRT that he’ll have a new CD coming out soon.

You’d expect to encounter a certain amount of silliness on the debut from a band called Mordecai Smyth, and Sticky Tape & Rust offers plenty along those lines. The first act signed to the fledgling indie label Mega Dodo, Mordecai Smyth draws upon the satirical side of the original British Invasion, with an added dose of vintage movies and TV shows. The lyrics often deal with murder, mayhem, and the supernatural, but in such an absurd way, listeners are more likely to be amused than frightened.

Georgina Jones might not be as well known to Yanks as Emma Peel, but she was also a 1960s Brit TV heroine who was as cunning as she was beautiful. Mordecai Smyth honors her with “Georgina Jones,” a Doors-like song with peppy keyboards and lines like, “Crooks and villains better watch your step” and “She’s got a beautiful way of getting under your skin.” The spirit of Syd Barrett surfaces on “Sinister Cyclist,” which depicts a witch who travels on two wheels instead of by broom, as well as on the satirical portrait, “Herbert Frowsy.” “All Right Now” harks back to the days of England's music halls for a bump and grind look at being a werewolf.

The spooky “Mr. Hitchcock” uses a more modern power pop arrangement, while “Don’t Cross Colin” taps into The Undertones, as well as The Who’s “Happy Jack.” “Almost Murder Ballad” is a dark tale of a guy whose various attempts to bump off his lover all fail until he decides to just give up, but for true romantics, there’s some innocent, old-time crooning on “I Love You.” If you’re still looking for some songs for your Halloween party playlist, you can’t go wrong with Mordecai Smyth's Sticky Tape & Rust.

The Severed Limb Reaches Out Again

About a year ago, a gentleman from London named John contacted me about reviewing an EP by The Severed Limb. They were a skiffle band he had recently signed to the indie label he runs as part of his online store Lost Johns. After checking out the clever and highly infectious songs on the band’s MySpace page, I was more than happy to give their wonderfully titled five-song EP Woo Eee Ha Ha! a thumbs up. Back then, I praised The Severed Limb’s stripped down arrangements and energetic harmonies.

Last week, John sent me another gmail, this time regarding The Severed Limb’s new Double Sea Side single, “Take You Out”/“Southend Skiffle Rag.” Like its predecessor, this latest release is available online as well as in vinyl format. The melodic first track kicks off with a chiming guitar and shuffling beat intro before singer-guitarist Robert (band members go by first name only) offers a seemingly romantic invitation to join him for a stroll through town and by the sea. But there’s an underlying melancholy to “Take You Out” in the way this guy’s returning to favorite places that for some reason he hasn’t been able to visit for quite a while.

The much shorter “Southend Skiffle Rag” is an appealing instrumental that mixes old time acoustic blues with a tropical ambience, using guitars, old fashioned percussion, and harmonica. I can easily imagine people dancing to this, although it wouldn’t be a current dance style.

John also provided a link to the official BBC site, where some live studio performances by The Severed Limb are available for viewing. Not bad for a skiffle band that started out playing on the streets of London.

Halloween Songs: The Holograms - "Death Boy"

Another scary song rerun for the weekend. I originally did this post in 2009.

Not to be confused with the Jem and the Holograms TV show that ran from 1985 to 1988, the all-woman band The Holograms released its debut, Night Of 1,000 Ex-boyfriends in 2005. The first I heard of The Holograms was when Little Steven started playing the relentlessly peppy “Are You Ready For It” on his Underground Garage radio program. That song doesn’t prepare a listener for the nasty streak that runs through the rest of the CD, where the band performs songs like “Drunk Dial,” and “Your Ex Is Turning Tricks Again.”

Similar to The Buzzcocks, The Holograms mix revved-up punk with infectious melodies, while vocalist-guitarist Tammy taps into the 1960s girl group sound in a way that recalls Julie Brown’s “Homecoming Queen’s Got A Gun.” On “Death Boy,” a song with a frantic, guitar-driven arrangement, Tammy purrs, “Death boy, you’re so cute in such a creepy way.” She goes on to lament his passion for gals who are no longer living. “I know you’ll never be true./You only wish I was Code Blue.” Another downside to the relationship is that he brings her funeral wreaths instead of flowers.

I couldn’t mention this song without giving a shout out to Desiree Burcum, who wrote a similar song called, “Dead Guy” back when I was performing with the Famous In The Future comedy group. In her version, a woman falls for the victim she accidentally ran over with her car, noting that he doesn’t do all the obnoxious things her living boyfriends have always done. Desiree also came up with the line, “Does he have a dead brother?” before it was used in Corpse Bride.

“Alison Gross” - Money Can’t Buy Thee My Love

This profile already appeared in Broken Hearted Toy in 2009 and 2010, but since I’m using weekends in October to post spooky reruns, I figured it was okay. And if there's anyone out there actually reading this for the third time, thanks for being a loyal follower!

Steeleye Span is known for updating centuries-old ballads with modern, electric arrangements. Such is the case with “Alison Gross” from the band’s 1973 release, Parcel Of Rogues. It spins the tale of a witch who believes the way to a man’s heart is through bribery. She tries to woo a potential lover by offering him a series of riches, but he’s so repulsed by her appearance, he screams, “Away, away, you ugly witch/Go far away and let me be/I never would kiss your ugly mouth/For all of the gifts that you give to me.” Infuriated, Alison Gross waves a magic wand and turns him into a worm.

According to Wikipedia, Steeleye Span added its own chorus and left off the original ballad’s happy ending, which had the man being restored to his proper shape on Halloween by a passing fairy. Also, he may not have been transformed to an earthworm, since the original lyrics used the word wyrm, which meant dragon. Unlike some of the ancient ballads, which can be slow and gloomy, “Alison Gross” feels like a rowdy party song villagers might have sung while swinging steins of mead.

Slumgullion #83

The Bangles performing at The House Of Blues - Chicago last Monday. Photo by Andy Argyrakis of the Illinois Entertainer.

Dance Like An Egyptian. As word comes that The Bangles will be performing on Dancing With The Stars this Monday night, I’m trying to remember if this was the same show that had The Go-Go’s perform live last season. Or was it American Idol? I generally avoid this type of program. Still, if it was Dancing With The Stars on both occasions, then the producers at least have good taste in all-women power pop bands.

He’s Got The Beat. Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti will be channeling Keith Richards as part of John Aselin’s Rolling Stones tribute on Friday, October 28th at The Abbey Pub. But he’ll be performing as himself tomorrow night at Beat Kitchen on Belmont in Chicago, along with Drive Train and Chris N. The show starts at 9:00 PM.

A Royal Musical. Martyr’s night club on Lincoln Avenue has seen its share of tributes to musical artists, and on October 24th, there will be a one-night only performance of a musical concert stage play based on Prince’s Purple Rain movie. Purple Rain Live is being directed by Dre Robinson, with musical direction by Mike Przygoda. A Terrible Spaceship will serve as the opening act.

Confessions In Sin City. Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens has put together a multimedia solo revue called Confessions Of A Rock Star and he’s bringing it to The Riveria Hotel in Las Vegas for a limited engagement. The show will incorporate photos, footage, and DiNizio’s live performance of songs by The Smithereens, The Beatles, and Buddy Holly songs, as he explains how he went from being a garbage man to a power pop icon via a bass-thumping ditty called “Blood And Roses.” Confessions of a Rock Star will run Wednesday - Monday at 7:00 PM, starting November 2nd.

Aliens In Joliet. Four members of the impressive 1960s tribute band New Invaders will be performing under the name Space Invaders tomorrow night at Paulie’s Pub in Joliet. Show time is 9:00 PM. By the way, The New Invaders have named The Hollies as the October Featured Artist of the 60s in their monthly newspaper. The band has at least four songs by Manchester’s Finest in its repertoire.

Evanston Rocks. Black Forest has another local music showcase lined up for Cafe Mozart in Evanston tomorrow night. There’ll be live music from WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, which features Black Forest founders James Moeller and Carla Hayden; John Dalton, who kicks things off at 7:30 PM; Hannah Frank Trio; and Chris Bock & Vince Tuley. If you go, wish Carla a belated happy birthday.

Like Footloose - - - With Gore. A Cowardly Scarecrow unearthed its Musical Of The Living Dead at The Charnel House on Fullerton Avenue last night, and it will rampage there through November 12th. The show, which sports the tagline, “Sometimes They Come Back . . . And Sing!!” features book and lyrics by Marc Lewallen and Brad Younts, and music by Mary Spray.

A Loaf Of Bread, A Song From Dean. Veteran folkie Dean Milano will be making the French Market scene this weekend, with performances at the Lisle French Market in downtown Lisle on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and then on Sunday at the Villa Park French Market, also from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.