You Don’t Need To Designate Or To Emigrate Before You Can See This

Last Sunday morning, while cooking eggs and occasionally peeking out the kitchen window to watch birds eating from their newly stocked feeders, I listened to Terri Hemmert’s Breakfast With The Beatles show on WXRT. She mentioned a tribute to George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album coming up this Thursday. Professor Moptop, who contributes an informative study of a different Beatles song to her show each week, is going to be there, offering what he calls ‘tea and sympathy.’ At a time when there are so many events going on to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles first coming to America (not that I’m complaining), it’s nice to see George get an appreciative nod for his solo work.

John’s People, a self-described “high concept garage band,” will recreate the entire three-record set on Thursday at the Wire rock club in Berwyn. A collection of 12 musicians, led by guitarist-vocalist John San Juan, will be on hand to make sure All Things Must Pass passes muster. They come from the bands Plush, Chamber Strings, Hushdrops, Expo ‘76, and Veruca Salt, so this definitely looks promising. Tickets are $10, and the tribute music starts at 8:00PM. John’s People, which apparently has a rotating membership, has previously tackled Pink Floyd’s Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night.

Saturday Slumgullion

The Revo Lution Theatre Company’s Staged Reading Series will present Kevin Wiczer’s Deranged Inhabitants tomorrow night at the Burton Place Bar and Grill at 1447 N. Wells Street in Chicago. Steve Carter Ruppel directs cast members Jonatham Coffin, Erin Heidt Makowski, Jeff Botelhos, Iena Arkelious, and Kevin Higginbotham in this tale of a man who lives within the walls of his home until an Avon Lady comes calling. The show starts at 6:00 PM.

Sci-fi rockers Tomorrow The Moon, featuring Bad Examples guitarist Steve Gerlach, are among the four bands performing next Thursday, January 30th at The Beat Kitchen on Chicago’s north side. Check out this artful and eye-popping video for “He Saw Red.” Frosting, who like Tomorrow The Moon have had two CDs favorably reviewed here on BHT, are also on the bill, along with The Dead Woods and Katasstrofist. The music starts at 8:00 PM.

Singer-guitarist Jeff Lescher from the critically acclaimed power pop band Green is inviting about 40 fans to join him in his living room for a solo show in early February. Lescher lives in Milwaukee. 

Take A Walk On The Charitable Side. The Empty Bottle in Chicago will be the scene of Perfect Day,  a Lou Reed tribute show to benefit Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, on Sunday, March 2nd. The participating bands are Supercell Mothership, Energy Gown, Phil Angotti And Friends, The Red Plastic Buddha, Tangleweed, Puritan Pine, Time Flower, and The Luck Of Eden Hall. Tickets are $10, and the tribute kicks off at 7:00 PM.

And in other Luck Of Eden Hall news: Butterfly Revolutions Volume 1 and 2, both of which did well on the Broken Hearted Toy 2011 and 2012 Favorite Releases lists respectively, are now available as a double LP on 180 gram colored vinyl. If you’ve heard this band’s authentic take on 1960s mind-bending psychedelic rock, you’ll agree it makes sense to create a Butterfly Revolutions Volume 1 and  2 vinyl set. It can be ordered at Norman Records, Clear Spot and other sites. 

Fruits de Mer, the U.K. all-vinyl indie label that released the fantastic Hollies tribute album, Re-Evolution, made an intriguing announcement on Facebook recently. It’s considering an American multi-act tour called Crabstock USA The Fruits de Mer Records Festival of Psychedelia. Hopefully, more details will be released soon.

As a collector of pop culture memorabilia, I’ve often wondered why female action figures are rendered far less realistically than their male counterparts. A recent post on the Doctor Who Facebook page displaying a new line of figures from the sci-fi series, revealed I’m not the only one who feels this way. The funniest comments regarded the Clara Oswald figure, which in no way resembles Jenna Coleman, the enchanting actress who portrays her. “Those are some of the worst figures I have ever seen,” read one comment.  Here are a few other observations: “Clara looks like a potato.” “Wow, they managed to make Clara ugly.” “Uh, why does the Clara figurine have MOFFAT’S FACE?” Writer/producer Steven Moffat occasionally gets flack for the changes he’s brought to Doctor Who, but I don’t think he’s responsible for these action figures.

All-Stars Recreate Revolver And Abbey Road For Charities

In a year already overflowing with tributes to The Beatles, here’s another worthy entry. If I lived in Los Angeles, I know I would be at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Saturday, March 1st for Wild Honey Presents: The Beatles’ Revolver & Abbey Road to Benefit the Autism Think Tank and the Children’s Music Fund. The Wild Honey Orchestra is comprised of drummer Jim Laspesa; bassist Derrick Anderson; guitarists Rob Laufer, Rusty Squeezebox, and Andrew Sandoval; keyboards players Darian Sahanaja and Willie Aron; percussionist Nelson Bragg; horn players Probyn Gregory and Sarah Kramer; trumpet player Dan Clucas; sax players Paul Pate and Seung Park; and trombone player Masha Petrowizky. Power pop fans will no doubt recognize some familiar names among those players, and Wild Honey has lined up an impressive collection of guest vocalists to help recreate the two Beatles LPs. You might even call them Broken Hearted Toy all-stars if this blog was involved with the show.

The list includes The Bangles; Jody Stephens of Big Star; Matthew Sweet; Chris Stamey of The dB’s; guitarist Laurence Juber, formerly with Wings; Colin Hay from Men at Work; The Muffs; Evie Sands; Susan Cowsill, who recently completed a CD with Bangle Vicki Peterson as The Psycho Sisters, and Bob Cowsill; Louise Goffin; David Marks from The Beach Boys; Keith Allison; Tim Piper and Cosmo Topper from Just Imagine; Christine Collister; John Wicks from The Records, and a new project he’s working on with Bangle Debbi Peterson; Tommy Keene; Michael Quercio of The Three O’Clock; Steve Barton of Translator; Andrew Sandoval; Mike Viola; John Easdale of Dramarama; Steve Stanley; Bill Berry from R.E.M.; Kristian Hoffman; and Morty Coyle. 

Ticket prices range from $25 to $100, which is certainly reasonable considering the talent involved. Plus, the money is going toward two worthy causes, the Autism Think Tank and the Children's Music Fund.

Friday On My Mind

Ready for her moment in the limelight. Photo from Dolly Varden’s Facebook page.

Here are a few things going on tomorrow night in the Chicago area.

When Dolly Varden performs as part of a double bill tomorrow night at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, there will be something about the show that even long-time fans haven’t seen before. The alt rock/Country and Western band has always been known for the exquisite harmonies of vocalist-guitarist Steve Dawson and his wife, singer-guitarist Diane Christiansen. Tomorrow, Christiansen will get extended time front and center.

“We’ve talked about doing a show like this for a long time,” Dawson notes on the Dolly Varden website. Some of the songs she’ll sing lead on will be her own compositions, while others will be ones penned by Dawson. “We’re going to stack a bunch of them together and give Diane the spotlight.” Dawson promises he’ll be doing his share of lead vocals too, and he plans to join singer-guitarist Phil Angotti (the other half of the double bill) for a few tunes between the sets.

In addition to performing with Dolly Varden, Diane Christiansen is an artist who frequently exhibits her work at events in the Chicago area.

A fourth band has been added to tomorrow’s American/indie rock lineup at Reggie’s in the south Loop. The schedule is now as follows: The Abbeys at 8:00 PM; Jukebox Casanova at 9:00 PM; The Harmaleighs at 10:00 PM; and The Papers at 11:00 PM. Mike Cohen of The Abbeys promises he’ll have copies of the band’s Please File Under: Twang for sale. That’s the CD that came in at Number 17 on the Broken Hearted Toy Favorite Releases Of 2013 list.

DVD Review: Good Ol’ Freda

I had the honor of meeting Freda Kelly at Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago, and like pretty much everyone else who has encountered this woman, found her entirely charming. She’ll be at the Fest For Beatles Fan - New York in February.

Freda Kelly’s story is a prime example of how life can sometimes trump anything created by a novelist or screenwriter. Picked by Brian Epstein from a multitude of love-struck teenage girls who hung out at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, she became his full-time employee and secretary of the Official Beatles Fan Club. For 11 years, Kelly had a first-hand look at the rise and fall of the most important rock band in history. How well she responded to that amazing opportunity is the subject of the new documentary Good Ol’ Freda.

The friendly and familiar tone of the title fits this woman perfectly. Kelly’s easy-going manner enabled her to weather Epstein’s notoriously volatile moods, connect with fans on a truly emotional level, and become like one of the family to The Beatles and their parents. But as the band became overwhelmingly popular and Epstein found it necessary to bring in more young women to help open the mail, it was Kelly who made sure the work didn’t dissolve into a gigglefest. And she wasn’t above sacking anyone who proved untrustworthy.

Good Ol’ Freda uses archival film and photos of The Beatles’ early days, along with a series of interviews with Kelly at home and while visiting noteworthy sites like the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. There is also sporadic commentary from a few of her contemporaries on how dedicated she was to her work and The Beatles. Kelly’s sense of discretion and loyalty is a running theme throughout Good Ol’ Freda. She could have made a fortune by writing a tell-all account of the Fab Four’s inner circle, but has remained out of the limelight for decades instead.

On a few occasions when she’s asked to comment on a delicate matter in the documentary, she smiles coyly and insists some things should remain secret. Most of her recollections are upbeat; like how much John, Paul, George, and Ringo enjoyed signing autographs and were willing to accommodate even the more unusual requests from fans.

“Nothing was a problem,” Kelly recalls of the lads’ genial attitude.

Kelly initially used her home address to receive fan mail until her father objected. She visited Starr’s mother once a week for tea, and got dancing tips from Harrison’s father. She was also along for the ride when The Beatles were devastated by the death of Epstein, and when the band began splitting apart. For the first time in her career, she felt the need to shade the truth, telling members of the media that The Beatles were doing fine. Still, she’s come away with a deep respect for the four musicians who weren’t much older than her when she first met them at The Cavern. 

“I’m very proud that I worked for them,” Kelly states at the end of Good Ol’ Freda. 

Brian Epstein received a long overdue induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year. It’s often been said that he saw something in the young Beatles that so many other people in the music industry had missed. Apparently, he knew something about hiring secretaries as well. 

Vintage Publication Spotlight: The Face

Although I never sported a hairstyle inspired by A Flock Of Seagulls or wore outfits like the guys in Duran Duran, I immediately embraced New Wave music and have liked it ever since. It was easy to feel at least a certain amount of alternative cred browsing through rows of 45 records at Wax Trax! on Lincoln Avenue. The store also had a good selection of magazines and newspapers from around the U.S. and England.

The London-based publication The Face, which presumably took its name from Mod slang for a cool trendsetter, covered cutting-edge music, film, fashion, and politics. The front cover of this April, 1982 issue featured the U.K. ska band Fun Boy Three working out at a gym, along with a member of Bananarama. The two acts had recently joined forces for an enticing and rhythmic take on the 1960s song “Really Saying Something” by the Velvelettes.

There were also articles about Madness, reflecting on their newly acquired maturity; a 40-year old Lou Reed, who was promoting his new LP The Blue Mask; and inexplicably, Pia Zadora, talking about being rich and famous. Neil Norman’s Film Buff column mentioned Mad Max 2, Time Bandits, and Missing, along with “a premature farewell to actor John Belushi.” Singles reviewer Fiona Russell Powell noted, “ABC’s ‘Poison Arrow’ is easily the best song in the charts right now,” and Albums reviewer Ian Birch panned Spandau Ballet’s Diamond and Robert Palmer’s Maybe It’s Live. He liked Haircut One Hundred’s Pelican West, and hailed Fun Boy Three’s self-titled effort as “a peculiarly addictive debut.”

Publisher/Editor Nick Logan and designer Neville Brody favored a mostly black and white look for The Face’s graphics, with occasional full-color photos. This issue cast a spotlight on African and Bolshevik fashions, and there was an article about collecting vintage toys. Political columnist Julie Burchill, who judging from the Letters column, was no stranger to controversy, traveled back to The House Committee On Un-American Activities battle with Hollywood’s elite.

45 RPM Memories: Little Steven and the Disciples Of Soul - “Forever”

Long before Little Steven Van Zandt began hosting Underground Garage, the world’s coolest syndicated radio show or captured cable TV viewers’ hearts as Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, he recorded the single “Forever” with The Disciples Of Soul. It’s from the LP Men Without Women. I’m pretty sure I saw the video for this song before I heard it on the radio. It mixes images of Van Zandt and his band performing onstage with footage of him tooling around the big city dressed in his biker chic. All I know for sure is that I bought the 45 back in 1982 and immediately included it on one of my mixed tapes.

Van Zandt, a long-time cohort of Bruce Springsteen, drew heavily on the Motown sound for this song about a man’s emotional plea to the woman he loves. Backed by energetic horns and guitars, he mixes a tough guy image (“I’ve been fighting my whole life”) with complete vulnerability (“If I can’t have you I don’t want no one at all”). The guy expects a lot from this woman, asking, “If the world falls apart could you keep it together?” and expecting her to “pick up the pieces if I stumble and fall.” Later, looking back on all he’s strived for in life, Van Zandt’s character concludes, “If I can’t have you to hold me, girl/All my work’s in vain.”

Van Zandt and the Disciples Of Souls went even further back than Motown for the spirited B-Side (also from Men Without Women); a rock and roll-infused take on the Duke Ellington classic, “Caravan.”