Slumgullion

Pierogi, Stills, Nash And Young. Fans of Tributosaurus are accustomed to seeing the critically acclaimed tribute band at venues like Martyrs’ and Park West, but it has also established a presence at the Copernicus Center in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. Tributosaurus will be there tonight as part of Taste Of Polonia, taking on the esteemed role of Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young. I have to thank WXRT morning man Lin Brehmer for sharing this info on his show earlier this week because otherwise I wouldn’t have known about it. The show starts at 9:00 PM, tickets are a mere $7 at the festival gate. Taste Of Polonia will feature over 30 music acts through Labor Day, and is located at 5216 W. Lawrence. 

EXPO ‘76, another band that does an amazing job of covering other people’s material, will be at FitzGerald’s tonight, performing with Cannonball, at the Sidebar. Steely Dan tribute band The Bad Sneakers Orchestra will be in the main room.

Saturday Morning With Ralph. Grab a cup of coffee tomorrow and tune in to the pilot for Ralph’s World: Guitar Time Machine at 9:30 AM on WTTW, Channel 11. Ralph Covert has recorded a number of kid-friendly Ralph’s World CDs, and is hoping to eventually go nationwide with this new TV show. Plus, he’s still the lead-singer and chief songwriter for The Bad Examples. 

Remix Chicago, a street festival with an eye toward recycling, takes place this Saturday and Sunday. Neo-psychedelic rockers Secret Colours and the acerbic power pop band Archie Powell And The Exports play at 3:00 PM and 7:15 PM on Saturday, respectively, and Top Shelf Lickers kick things off on Sunday at noon.

As mentioned previously here on BHT, veteran Chicago musicians Ellis Clark and Phil Angotti will be performing together at The Abbey Pub, and Kevin Lee And The Kings will be at Sylvie’s  tomorrow (August 31st) night.

David Drazin was a member of my old comedy group Famous In The Future and has gone on to a successful career playing piano as accompaniment for silent films and with various bands. He’ll be performing at the Chicago Jazz Festival on the Chicago Jazz Magazine Stage with vocalist Gina Gibson and The Jazz Masters from noon until 12:45.

The Cultivate Food, Ideas And Music Festival, sponsored by Chipotle, takes place in Lincoln Park next Saturday from 11:00 AM to 7:00PM. Along with its quest to promote sustainable and healthy food, Cultivate with have appearances by well-known chefs and live music. DJ Chris Golub will be spinning records between sets by Walk The Moon, who have been featured on a series of ads on WXRT this week; Youngblood Hawke; Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.; The Mowgli’s; and Bestfriends.

Hey Joe, Where You Going With That Mic In Your Hand? Theatre Nebula will be staging Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Cutting Hall in Palatine on weekends from September 7th through the 29th.

There’s Starman Coming Here Next Fall. As recently reported by Christopher Borrelli in the Chicago Tribune, the Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago has snagged the popular David  Bowie Is multi-media retrospective for a run here in September, 2014. In the meantime, Bowie fans can check out An Evening Of Davids, which combines the Talking Heads tribute band This Must Be The Place and Sons Of Silent Age David Bowie tribute band in a double bill at Bottom Lounge on Friday, September 20th.

People Get Ready For A Curtis Mayfield Play. The Black Ensemble Theater, which has achieved much critical and commercial success with a series of biographical plays about African American entertainers, has a new effort titled, It’s All-Right To Have A Good Time: The Story Of Curtis Mayfield. Written by founding member Jackie Taylor and directed by Taylor and Daryl D. Brooks, it will star Reggie Torrian of The Impressions, along with newcomer Cecil Jones as the young Curtis Mayfield. Tickets are now on sale.

A Touching Tribute. Jimmy Rane, singer-guitarist for the Chicago-based band The Viaducts, has created a touching tribute to the shooting victims at the Sandy Hook elementary school, that also serves as a call to action. “In Our Time,” written from the perspective of a grieving parent, also features Rane’s impressive guitar playing.   

Orchestral Maneuvers At The Abbey

It’s likely Ellis Clark and Phil Angotti have crossed paths several times during their past few decades of performing on the Chicago music scene. They’ll be joining forces for the Ellis Clark And Phil Angotti Power Pop Orchestra show this Saturday night, August 31st at The Abbey Pub on the city’s northwest side. Both musicians have new releases to draw material from; Ellis with LP Number One and Angotti with Life And Rhymes. According to a Facebook event notice, they’ll be backed by drummer Dr. Brad and bassist Charlie Short.

Clark’s adventurous resume includes spending time with Epicycle, Social Act, and The Handcuffs, along with his solo outings. He’s also an A and R Director at CAUdog Records. Angotti has pursued power pop since kicking off his career with The Idea, and he’s explored more introspective material on his recent efforts. Both artists have done tribute shows (Angotti is particularly keen on McCartney and The Bee Gees), so who knows what might come up on what the Facebook event description calls “bonus songs.”

Ellis Clark And Phil Angotti Power Pop Orchestra starts at 8:00 PM and will also include a CAUdog showcase featuring MMLB, Hanna Frank, and Liz Chidester.

Four Cheers For The Mary-Arrchie Theatre

Photo montage from the Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s Facebook page.

The Mary-Arrchie Theatre and its numerous supporters will gather at the Four Moon Tavern tonight for a celebration of what’s been an eventful 27th season. Artistic Director Rich Cotovsky was honored with a special Jeff Award, while expertly handling lead roles in a Superior Donuts - Remount and Uncle Bob; and The Glass Menagerie, a brainstorm from returning member Hans Fleischmann, was critically acclaimed and exceeded any possible dreams Mary-Arrchie could have had regarding its financial success. Four Moon Tavern will donate a portion of the money from food and drinks ordered between 8:00 and 10:00 PM tonight o help fund the Mary-Arrchie’s coming season.

The event will also be a chance for participants in this year’s 25th Anniversary Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins to do a little post-festival celebrating. It’s always inspiring to see members of various theatre groups continuing that community spirit of Abbie Fest. In related news, Carlo Lorenzo Garcia will be leaving his post as Mary-Arrchie’s producing director after five years. He’s off to seek creative endeavors in Los Angeles. Tonight would be a good opportunity to congratulate Garcia, who’s also heavily involved in various charities, on his accomplishments, and wish him luck. Four Moon Tavern is located at 1847 W. Roscoe in Chicago. 

Digital Single Review: Mooner - “Making Americans” BW “Down On Marston Blues”

Mooner’s new single, “Making Americans,” which is available for a name-your-price download on the formerly Portland, now Chicago-based quintet’s Bandcamp page, follows the same off kilter but engaging power pop approach as its 2012 EP, Unpronounceable Name.

A press release acknowledges this new song’s debt to Elvis Costello. That’s immediately evident in the way vocalist/songwriter Lee Ketch mixes stinging lines like, “Soon as you see the light/I’ll break your head on the floor” with an impossibly catchy arrangement that also evokes The Replacements or The dB’s, with an additional hit of classic rock. It’s a mid-tempo, cryptic satire fueled by the guitars of Lee and vocalist/guitarist David Ketch, the rhythm section of drummer Adam Bonich and bassist Taylor Briggs, and augmented by Steve Slagg’s fluid piano work.

On “Down On Marston Blues,” Mooner uses a spare, acoustic arrangement that sounds like it was recorded live in a club. David Ketch’s talky vocal style gives this tale of self-reflection a sort of vintage Neil Young vibe.

Slumgullion

Photo of Kevin Lee And The Kings from the Kevin Lee Facebook page.

So once again I’ve been passed over to play the title role in the next Batman flick. I’ll just have to shake off the staggering disappointment and get on with this week’s Slumgullion.

The Downtown Palatine Street Fest is underway, and while I had every intention of checking out female rockers (three teenagers, one woman) Purple Apple and street festival veterans/recording artists Dot Dot Dot, a late night freelance assignment changed my plans. I was just getting off the train here in Palatine as Dot Dot Dot was wrapping up its set with a rendition of “Hey Jude.”

My wife Pam and I went to the Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibit at the Art Institute Of Chicago today, so I only was at the Downtown Palatine Street Fest long enough to parade past the WXRT booth wearing one of the station’s vintage diamond t-shirts. A worker at the booth snapped my picture, so I might show up soon on the XRT website.

I’m trying to finish this post in time to check out Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, who have the 10:00 PM slot in Palatine tonight. They’ve recorded a number of CDs and have achieved national success with their vintage swing and rock and roll music. On Sunday, teen rockers Selective Amnesia kick things off at 11:00 AM, followed by the teenage girl band Serendipity at 1:00 PM; 20-something, California-based singer Tiffany Alvord at 2:30; 7th Heaven, one of the more popular club bands in the area at 4:00; and Beatles tribute band, Brit Beat at 6:00 PM.

The guitar-driven power pop band Kevin Lee And The Kings have a gig next Saturday, August 31st, at Sylvie’s on Chicago’s north side. The set list will no doubt include songs from Lee’s most recent effort, the impressive, Breakout, which notched some positive comments earlier on this blog.

Atmospheric synth band Save The Clocktower, whose Carousel CD was also favorably reviewed here on BHT, recently announced it has a show coming up with Porcelain Raft at Schubas on September 12th. Here’s a video for “Like That,” a single released from the band’s 2012 CD, Through The Glass.

The Everly Hillbillies, a Chicago-based covers band led by Mike Cohen and Jeff Janulis of The Abbeys, are one of the acts participating in the 1st Annual Every Brothers & Family Get Together/Concert taking place on September 29th at the 3rd And Lindsley Bar And Grill in Nashville, TN. Other acts on the bill include The Folkups and Bill “Sputnik” Spooner, a  founding member of The Tubes. Concert promoters Turning Point Productions also promise, “VERY VERY, VERY special surprise guests.”

There Goes Improv Performin’ Simon. WXRT air personality Lin Brehmer and news anchor Mary Dixon were talking yesterday morning about musician Paul Simon showing up at Wrigley Field and later getting up onstage to do a song at the Second City comedy club. According to a Chicago Tribune online piece by theatre critic Chris Jones, the shorter half of Simon And Garfunkel spun some humorous tales and performed three songs. 

There have been some recent additions to the Broken Hearted Toy Rock And Roll Library. I’m planning on covering all three of these books more extensively in the future, but for now, here’s a brief preview.

I bought a copy of Rubber Soul from rocker-turned author Greg Kihn at Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago. His latest novel is set in the 1960s and includes The Beatles among its characters. I’m about about a third of the way through, and it’s fun and imaginative. I also picked up a copy of Clinton Heylin’s The Act You’ve Known For All These Years book about the Beatles in their prime. It’s not a new publiction—it originally came out in the UK in 2007—but it’s filled with fascinating anecdotes from Pete Towshend, Graham Nash, Andrew Loog Oldham, George Martin, and the Beatles themselves.

I just received a copy of college professor and PowerPop blogger Mary E. Donnelly’s long-awaited look at the power pop band, Shoes, Boys Don’t Lie A History Of Shoes. Freelance writer Moira McCormick assisted with the book. At 464 pages, it has loads of info, as well as commentary from several music industry related people, including Material Issue’s Ted Ansani and Mike Zelenko; International Pop Overthrow founder David Bash; writers Bill Paige, Cary Baker, Don McLeese, and Ira Robbins; musicians Ric Menck, Herb Eimerman, Mike Galassini, Jamie Hoover, Bill Lloyd, and former Shoes drummer Skip Meyer. Glancing through some of the pages, it looks like Donnelly was able to get informative and straight-forward answers from Shoes founders Jeff Murphy, John Murphy, and Gary Klebe. I interviewed these guys twice for the Illinois Entertainer, and there’s never a speck of hype or dishonesty in what they have to say.

Also, on the book beat, Cherie Colyer, a member of my writers group, has just released her second paranormal romance, Hold Tight, on Omnific Publishing. It’s the sequel to her emotionally powerful and engaging tale of teen witchcraft, Embrace.

Hats Off To Del: A Tribute To Mr. Shannon

Del Shannon having a jolly good time in London. Photo from the official Del Shannon website.

When author Bruce Spizer was a guest speaker at Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago a few weeks ago, he talked about how well American singer Del Shannon got along with The Beatles while touring across England with them back in 1963. Shannon recorded a version of their song, “From Me To You,” which actually sold more copies than the original on the U.S. charts. (The Beatles still hadn’t broken over here yet.) Still, he is probably best known for hit singles like “Runaway” and “Hats Off To Larry.”

Now comes word of the Del Shannon Tribute - Songwriter Volume 1 CD, which will feature power pop covers of his songs. Contributing artists include Marshall Crenshaw, Frank Black from The Pixies, The Britannicas, The Rubinoos, Nash Kato from Urge Overkill, Marti Jones, Randy Bachmann, and a duet from Carlo Olson and Peter Case. The Del Shannon Tribute - Songwriter Volume 1 Facebook page has posts and videos regarding the various artists involved, and promises the CD will be released soon. All profits will be donated to the Del Shannon Memorial Scholarship Fund for helping young musicians.

Digital Release Review: Jasko - Thirty Forty

Singer-guitarist Todd Jasko is behind the steering wheel of the New York-based quartet that bears his last name; driving toward good time vintage rock and catchy power pop. With a rough-hewn vocal style, he comes across as an unabashed party boy on Thirty Forty, a six-song EP available for a name-your-price download on the group’s Bandcamp page. Even at just 14 minutes long, it’s still a blast of guitar-driven fun.

Jasko’s knack for depicting questionable behavior is particularly evident on “Blackout Drunk,” an energetic song with echoes of Buddy Holly. “The Memo” finds him on the street ogling beautiful women and boasting, “I’m praying for skirts and a breeze.” He’s more understanding on “A New Start,” where he’s trying to help a woman overcome an abusive relationship, and “Valentine” is positively romantic, albeit with lines like, “I’m glad you’re here to keep my ass in check.”