Really Rockin’ In Boston

Photo (credited to @kittycaits) from Facebook page for The Connection.

International Pop Overthrow - Boston and some other points of interest.

Happy Birthday to guitarist-vocalist Dag Juhlin, who’s in more bands than the number of candles he’ll have on his cake today. Just to name a few: The Slugs, Poi Dog Pondering, and Expo 76. Juhlin most likely will be celebrating his birthday tonight at Simon’s Tavern, (5210 N. Clark) where Expo 76  will be performing an eclectic selection of cover tunes.

Crossfire Hurricane, the new documentary that’s said to provide an unflinching look at the band’s 50 years of performing and recording, airs tomorrow night on HBO. The documentary will be available on DVD and Blueray at some point in the future.

The Viaducts are playing their original garage rock songs at The Abbey Pub tomorrow night. 

The penultimate stop on the International Pop Overthrow 2012 itinerary kicks off tonight in Boston. Promoter David Bash has 26 acts on tap for the event, which runs through Saturday at the Precinct club in Somerville. Lannie Flowers and Kurt Baker are probably the best known of the bunch, and followers of IPO are certainly familiar with world traveler and punk/pop veteran, Dave Rave. The IPO website has links to all the scheduled performers so it’s easy for fans to pick the ones that look interesting.

The website is also a great way to discover indie and power bands. A few noteworthy entries on the IPO - Boston lineup include the duo, Cat Sounds; the four-man group, Hannah Cranna and high-speed rockers, The Connection, who bill themselves as New England’s Newest Hit Makers. That’s just from a brief sampling; there are sure to be more worthy acts to check out and/or download on the  IPO - Boston schedule.

Doing Your Bid For A Good Cause

A copy of this record autographed by a kouple of Kinks will be on auction.

The 24th Annual Rock For Kids Rock & Roll Auction is coming up this Friday, November 16th at Park West in Chicago. Proceeds go toward helping Rock For Kids provide music lessons for students in Chicago Public Schools. WXRT is once again sponsoring the event, along with the Chicago Reader, Whole Foods, Jam Productions, Metro, and a few other companies. WXRT air personalities Lin Brehmer and Marty Lennartz will return as the evening’s hosts, and they keep things running smoothly, and often, comically.

There are 422 items this year, with starting bids as low as $20. Most opening bids are in the $50 to $100 range. There are a fair amount of items that start at $500, including a signed, dancing and singing James Brown doll. Cape and stage assistants sold separately. Just kidding, there’s only the doll. Those who can’t afford the more spectacular items can still get a kick from checking out these interesting artifacts.

Here are some of the items up for auction. Several would be right at home in the upstairs, closet-sized space I call my media room.

Note: Bids can also be placed online.

Vinyl records are well represented, with autographed LPs by The Kinks, The Psychedelic Furs, Umphrey's McGee, Bauhaus, Billy Bragg, Bonnie Raitt, Guster, Joan Jett, Joe Jackson, Melissa Etheridge, Taj Mahal, Wishbone Ash, James Taylor, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dolly Parton, 

Jayhawks, Kraftwerk, and Southside Johnny.

Those who prefer their autographed music in the form of CDs, can choose from Duran Duran, Eminem, John Mayer, and Passion Pit. There’s also an impressive collection of autographed posters, for Feist, Crosby Stills And Nash, Asia, The Black Keys, Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Mould, Foghat, Roberta Flack, Todd Rundgren, Vampire Weekend, Adele, and Mavis Staples. There are tour books signed by Roger Waters and Tori Amos; and signed photos of Elton John, Jimmy Buffet, Katy Perry, Patti Smith, Robin Trower, Sting, Zooey Deschanel, Carly Simon, Carol Burnett, and Coldplay.

Fans of quirky sitcoms with heavily accented dialogue would love to own a stool that Jermaine and Bret from Flight of the Conchords signed after using it during their show at the Chicago Theater.

Jocks willing to spend some cash can bid on an autographed Mark Buehrle baseball and picture; Devin Hester signed photo; Frank Thomas signed bat; Matt Garza autographed photo; or Chicago Fire signed soccer ball.

Other entertainment related items up for auction include guitars signed by Glen Hansard or Iron And Wine; t shirts signed by Van Halen or G Love; books signed by George Carlin, Gregg Allman, or Phil Lesh; and a Lenny Kravitz signed cardboard cut out. You can also bid on an opportunity to meet blues legend Buddy Guy.

For people with a sense of adventure, there’s an assortment of mystery boxes in the categories of CDs, Movies, Country, Chicago, (presumably the city, not the band), and TV. Each contains an assortment of autographed items that will only be revealed once the box has been purchased.

Tickets to the 24th Annual Rock For Kids Rock & Roll Auction are $75, but keep in mind, proceeds go to help a very worthy cause. And you just might pick up that perfect rock and roll treasure to add to your media room.

CD Review: Crushed Out - Want To Give

Photo from Crushed Out Facebook page.

Vocalist-guitarist Frank Hoier and drummer Moselle Spiller released an EP titled Show Pony a few years back when they were performing under the name Boom Chick. Now known as Crushed Out  (1920s slang for a jail break), the duo has just released its full-length debut, Want To Give. The 10 raucous tracks blend elements of rock-a-billy, punk, and hard rock into short, catchy blasts that sound like they were recorded live in some bar. That might explain why Hoier and Spiller call their sound, “honky tonk surf rock,” but whatever their reasoning, the results sure are fun.

A number of songs have an instrumental intro before Hoier’s androgynous vocals kick in. The raw sounding title track has the feel of vintage rock, and Crushed Out takes a similar approach on “Black And Purple,” which comes across like The Shangri-Las describing a dysfunctional family. The high speed “Temper Tantrum” could be the coolest song about losing one’s cool since Fingerprintz recorded “Temperamental” on their debut in 1979.

“Sharkbite” is pretty much an instrumental, save for the disembodied coed vocals buried beneath the hard-charging guitar and drums, while “Push Down And Twist,” with its hand claps and galloping beat, is a perfect party song. The spooky sounding “Miss Mouse” seems to be some sort of offbeat fable, and just to make things even more unusual, “Weigh You Down” has squeaky background vocals. Crushed Out’s website compares them to The Raveonettes, but fans of yet another duo, The White Stripes, are also likely to want to get Want To Give. 

Slumgullion

Photo from Dirty Ghosts website.

Carlo’s Celebrity Care-aoke Calvalcade, a fundraiser for the upcoming production of The Glass Menagerie at Mary-Arrchie Theatre is being held tonight, starting at 8:00 PM. The event will feature local musicians and theatre folks giving performances of famous artists like David Bowie, Prince, and Oasis. Tickets are $20. The Mary-Arrchie Theatre is located at 735 W. Sheridan Road. Donations can also be made on the indiegogo site.

Meanwhile, Mary-Arrchie’s production of Superior Donuts, which is being staged at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre through November 25th, continues to garner favorable publicity.

It was nice seeing Thomas Conner’s profile of Brad Elvis and Chloe F. Orwell of The Handcuffs (they’re opening for Supersuckers, along with The Dead On tonight at Double Door) in today issue of the Sun-Times. It was also interesting to discover that Brad's pop culture collection includes one of Deborah Harry's shoes.

Dirty Ghosts, the techno-oriented band led by vocalist-guitarist Allyson Baker will be at Schubas this Sunday, November 11th. Baker’s origins are in the Toronto hard core punk scene of the 1990’s, and she continues to bring that raw energy to her new material. I reviewed Dirty Ghosts’ debut, Metal Moon, for the Illinois Entertainer and this blog earlier this year, and noted, “there are darker edges lurking behind the alluring melodies and deep grooves.” Here’s the video for “Katana Rock” from that CD. 

As reported by newly crowned Illinois Entertainer editor, Janine Schaults, in the “File” column of this month's issue, vinyl fanatics now have good reason to join other lunatics in the buying frenzy known as Black Friday. Record Store Day, which comes around every year around April, is making a special holiday appearance at independent record stores on the day after Thanksgiving.

Some of the treasures include “Surfin Safari” by The Beach Boys on 10” vinyl; David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie” on 7”; Jellyfish’s Stack-A-Tracks CD; Joey Ramone’s Ya Know? Limited Edition Deluxe Album on CD; and Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation LP with Bonus CD.

Alternative/roots rock group Over The Rhine is introducing some new songs on its current tour of the Midwest. The band has a gig tonight in St. Louis, and tomorrow night in Louisville, KY.

I covered the recent Susanna Hoffs concert at City Winery in Chicago for the Illinois Entertainer. My review is now up on the magazine’s website. 

It will be an evening of punk nostalgia when sub-urban insult rockers Tutu And The Pirates open for veteran UK band, The Rezillos at Mayne Stage on Chicago's north side this November 21st. Regal Standout and DJ Dave are also on the bill.

Demo-Listen Derby and A Care-aoke Calvalcade

Here are a few local artist reviews that originally appeared in the “Around Hears” column in the Illinois Entertainer. But first a few words about an event going on tomorrow. I’m also going to post this as part of my weekly Slumgullion, but since I sometimes don’t finish Friday’s post until almost midnight, it would be too late by then.

Carlo’s Celebrity Care-aoke Calvalcade, a fundraiser for the upcoming production of The Glass Menagerie at Mary-Arrchie Theatre is being held tomorrow night, starting at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $20. The event will feature local musicians and theatre folks giving performances of famous artists like David Bowie, Prince, and Oasis. The Mary-Arrchie Theatre is located at 735 W. Sheridan Road. Donations can also be made on the indiegogo site. 

And on to the local reviews:

Counterfeit i takes pride in being unconventional on A Glimpse, an Eclipse, right down to using titles like “...” and “(r) this.” The band opts for a harder guitar sound than on its first two releases, creating a sonic landscape marked with battlefields, industrial beats, shouted vocals, and abrupt tempo changes. The fast-paced “Smile” evokes Henry Rollins, while “Grey Resolve” sounds like a radio play. 

For the most part, Another Oath, the debut from Many Places is singer-guitarist Kevin Rieg, backed by musicians Nick Godden and Matt Hennessey from the band Honest Engines. Rieg gives his acoustic based, meandering rock songs an intriguing edge via electronically altered vocals and random noises he’s recorded. At times, Another Oath sounds like a Dave Matthews Band from an alternative universe. “Long Acre Room” and “Black Houses” in particular, have inventive arrangements, while “Brontosaurus” is an easy-going instrumental. 

CD Review: Tiger Trap - Self-titled

This review originally ran in the October 1993 issue of the Illinois Entertainer, which features Gwen Ihnat’s cover story on Cracker. It also had my interview with Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist of the Cincinnati-based folk/alternative rock band, Over The Rhine. They’re interesting performers who still make compelling music to this day. Other artists profiled in the October, 1993 IE included Jane Siberry and The Flaming Lips.

Tiger Trap’s self-titled debut kicks off with the frenetic “Puzzle Pieces,” but also finds the Sacramento, CA quartet delving into other genres as well. The singularly named Rose, Heather, Angela, and Jen cut loose on the vintage punk of “Eight Wheels,” but switch easily to the catchy pop of “You’re Sleeping.” “My Broken Heart,” with its 1960s style arrangement and layered vocals, would have fit in perfectly on a Go-Go’s or Bangles album.

“For Sure” expresses romantic frustration with lines like, “I’d rather do without you than be anything like her,” while “Chester.” sports a grungier arrangement. Tiger Trap acknowledges its West Coast roots on the surfing instrumental, “Tore A Hole,” and laces the lilting ballad “Prettiest Boy” with subversive lyrics. 

   

CD Review: The Coal Porters - Find The One

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Now that Mumford & Sons’ high-speed banjo arrangements are racking up massive amounts of airtime on progressive radio stations, the time may be right for The Coal Porters to break big in America. Comprised of former Long Ryders frontman Sid Griffin, along with four English musicians, the band has found success in the UK with what it calls “alt-bluegrass” music. Its fifth effort, Find The One, also features several guests, including renowned folk rock artist Richard Thompson on guitar.

The Coal Porters tend toward standard bluegrass arrangements on peppy songs like “Barefoot On The Courthouse Lawn” and the instrumental “The Betsey Trotwood.” But the haunting “Hush U Babe/Burnham Thorpe” concerns slaves escaping via the Underground Railroad, while the finger-snapping “Gospel Shore” offers some intriguing religious imagery. Reworking David Bowie’s “Heroes” in a bluegrass mode is a gutsy move that pays off, and when The Coal Porters mix fiddles and banjos with sitar on The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black,” it’s an absolute joy.