Smile Politely

The Overture: May 13-19

Patrick Singer

WHAT: The Buskin’ Justins

WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)
 
WHEN: Tuesday, May 14th at 7 p.m.
 
I’m not sure why the name Justin is so popular within the singer-songwriter scene of C-U, but it is. This is a band made up of Justins. Justin Larkin, aka Midas the Crow, Justin Rondón, Justin Tanaka (of A Cool Hand) make The Buskin’ Justins a thing, and they’re playing on Tuesday night. Also, Justinpalooza is on May 18. Read on for that information. For now, there’s this.
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EDITOR’S PICK: YOUNG BLU, JAY MOSES, DJ A-RON
Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5) — Wednesday, May 15th at 10 p.m.

Jay Moses and Young Blu are releasing a split mixtape at this show entitled Green Tea X Green Trees on Wednesday night. The mixtape features other local artists as well, such as Klevah and JEFF da MC, and this week is the official release of that. You can check out Moses’ track “Anticipation” here. Moses also headlined this mixtape release show back in April, so he’s set to do so again this week with his own release with Young Blu. Download Young Blu’s previous mixtape, Shoney Island: 90s Nights, here to prepare. Check out Moses opening for Turquoise Jeep a short while back at the Highdive here. Support some local hip hop artists this week.

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WHAT: Scurvine, Prologic Rebel Base Ensemble

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
 
WHEN: Thursday, May 16th at 9 p.m.
 
Three piece alt-rockers Scurvine headline this show at Mike ‘N Molly’s this week with Prologic Rebel Base Ensemble. The latter is a two-piece consisting of J. Vance and Matthis Helmick, who you might know as Beats By Otter otherwise. Should be a good show on Thursday night with this pairing lined up.
 
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WHAT: Sonny Stubble, The Fights

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
 
WHEN: Thursday, May 16th at 9:30 p.m.
 
A couple of bands that are on the border of country music and Americana take over Cowboy Monkey this week. They’ll be professionally recording the show as well, which is pretty exciting. Unfortunately, Sonny Stubble is taking an indefinite hiatus soon, and this will be the second to last show they’ll play before that happens. For now, you can go out and support them before you might not be able to for sometime. The Fights just released a new EP not too long ago, and we reviewed it on the site a few days after it was released. You can also check out their excellent new music video for their track “I Should Have Loved You,” which came out last week. Very cool stuff happening for this show all around.
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WHAT: A Light Sleeper, Wei Zhongle, Dr. Responsible, Marathon

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($7)
 
WHEN: Friday, May 17th at 8 p.m.
 
Chicago’s experimental five-piece A Light Sleeper headlines this show with Carbondale’s Wei Zhongle. Those two are paired with looping local artist Dr. Responsible and fellow local outfit Marathon. A Light Sleeper has a pretty interesting mixture of indie pop and baroque tendencies they’re throwing around in their music. John put together a piece a few years back discussing the project, which you can read here. If you’ve seen A Light Sleeper in the past here, you should know they’ve expanded to a five-piece and significantly expanded on their quiet origins. But they’re still incredibly unclassifiable.
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WHAT: Decadents, Hi Ho Buffalo, Verdict

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
 
WHEN: Friday, May 17th at 9 p.m.
 
A local trio of bands set to perform at Cowboy Monkey this week as Decadents headline with county rock act Hi Ho Buffalo and hard rockers Verdict. Decadents just performed up in Chicago at the Elbo Room and recorded their set. You can hear some of the tracks here in anticipation for this show Friday night.
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WHAT: Facing Winter, Midas The Crow, Justin Rondon, A Cool Hand, Justin Zelhart

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($7)
 
WHEN: Saturday, May 18th at 8 p.m.
 
As stated previously, the name Justin is very popular within the C-U singer-songwriter scene. This is an indicator of that, as another event is devoted to musicians with this name.
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WHAT: EGI, Digeometric, Electric Habit

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($5)
 
WHEN: Saturday, May 18th at 9 p.m.
 
Experimental funk outfit EGI, aka Ethereal Groove, Inc., invades the Canopy Club this week with a couple of other bands to support. Jam band fans: this is your show this week, without question. 

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