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The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Andy Bell Edition
Before he became the lead singer of Erasure, Andy Bell was working at the meat counter of a grocery store. I try to reconcile that reality with the reality of the second time I saw Erasure, and Bell came out wearing a rubber one piece women’s bathing suit. While I’m sure Bell was expert with various cuts of meat, it’s a good thing he answered Vince Clarke’s advert for a singer. Clarke had left Depeche Mode after one album, split Yaz after two and The Assembly never got off the ground. But Bell was the right partner for some awesome synth pop, including great songs like “Chorus”, “Sometimes” and “Chains of Love”. Moreover, Bell was an openly gay pop star and showed that it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Erasure had three Top 20 U.S. singles and I got tired of counting how many Top 40 singles they had in England - trust me, it’s a lot. Bell is also proof that HIV positive status does not have to slow one down, as Erasure is still a going concern and he’s also released two solo albums since being diagnosed. In honor of Mr. Bell, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday Apr. 25 to Thursday May 1
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday April 25
Branches, Time and The New Romans, Old Salt Union
Abbey Pub 9pm, 21+
Woodrow Hart & the Haymaker, Mimicking Birds, Gar Clemens, Bubbles Brown
Beat Kitchen 9pm, 21+
Odonis Odonis
Bottom Lounge 7pm
Sunshine Band
Bottom Lounge 9pm
Girl Group Chicago, The Congregation
Double Door 8:30pm, 21+
No Love for Linus, Phil Jacobson's New Month Party
Elbo Room 9:20pm, 21+
I Break Horses, Rival Consoles, The Variable Why
Empty Bottle 9:30pm, 21+
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Jim Ellison Edition
Are you ready? Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready....at the close of yet another fantastic show, as drummer Mike Zelenko would launch into the famed drumbeat of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”, Material Issue frontman would pick out someone from the audience and point at him or her, insistently asking “Are you ready” until that person said yes, and the band would then launch into a rocking cover of a glam classic. Skinny, arrogant, passionate and talented as hell, Ellison led one of the best power pop bands of the era, a power trio out of the suburbs of Chicago. Ellison loved the classic tropes of the genre, but injected them with the inspiration of Cheap Trick, glam rock, punk and even some classic ‘60s acts like the Bee Gees. The music was sharp, forceful and hooky as hell, with lyrics that were often as astute as Chuck Berry’s, if he was a teen growing up in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Their first album, International Pop Overthrow seemed to be the start of something big and is an acknowledged power pop classic. The next two albums had tons of great tunes but never caught fire. But even when their national profile descended as fast as it had flashed brightly, Material Issue was still a giant here, playing to packed houses. Sadly, for reasons no one really knows (the contents of a note have never been revealed by his family), on April 18, 1996, Jim Ellison took his own life. Very few rock deaths have affected me more – he was such a talent. On the first Material Issue song I ever heard, “She’s Goin’ Thru My Head”, he brags about the girl who is “playing my very most favorite Sweet record.” Years later, Sweet (well, half of the band, guitarist Andy Scott and Mick Tucker with some other guys) came to Cubby Bear, and at the side of the stage, there was Ellison. And he was rocking out with total abandon, just as I was, at seeing an all-time favorite. It made what was already obvious even clearer – he lived for rock ‘n’ roll. On the anniversary of Jim’s birthday, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
E. Malcolm Martinez writesCHIRP Welcomes The Mountain Goats to Two Sold Out Shows at The Old Town School This Weekend!
John Darnielle, aka The Mountain Goats, will preach to an adoring choir at the Old Town School Of Folk Music (4544 N Lincoln Ave) on Saturday, April 19th and Sunday, April 20th, at 8pm. Both shows are sold out.
A prolific songwriter hailing from Claremont, California, Darnielle formed the “band” in the early nineties and was its only member for many years. Often recording directly onto a Panasonic boom box cassette recorder in his home, Darnielle’s low-fi, acoustic melodies and jarringly raw lyrics earned him a small but dedicated following. The Mountain Goat’s first official studio album, Zopilote Machine (Ajax), was released in 1994, and their following has only continued to grow. Their 14th album, Transcendental Youth (Merge Records), came out in 2012.
Darnielle will perform both Chicago shows solo, with longtime Mountain Goat Peter Hughes joining him on the second leg of the tour in June, the first time they have toured as a duo since 2007. The band’s fan base is an incredibly dedicated one, with many fans traveling far and wide to bask in the musical storytelling of The Mountain Goats. It will be an incredible weekend at the Old Town School Of Folk Music.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday Apr. 18 to Thursday Apr. 24
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday April 18
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Genome, Chachuba
Abbey Pub 9pm 21+
Excision
Aragon Ballroom 7:30pm, 18+
American Wolf, Boyfrndz, Pisces at the Animal Fair, Space Blood
Beat Kitchen 10pm, 21+