WHO: Elsinore
WHERE: Parasol Records (Tuesday, August 10 at 5 p.m., free)
WHERE ELSE: The Canopy Club with Common Loon and Canasta (Saturday, August 14, $8 in advance)
In a year in which a lot of great local albums have been unable penetrate beyond regional popularity, Elsinore’s Yes Yes Yes seems to have the best chance to burst onto the national scene. On Tuesday, the band will play a show at Parasol that offers locals a unique opportunity to see a stripped down, acoustic set. (And it’s the only chance to see them on the album’s official release day.) Then the C-U edition of their four record release shows takes place Saturday at the Canopy Club. Should be a fun evening that will include an Elsinore horn section, local heavy hitters Common Loon and Chicago’s Canasta. (Elsinore photos by James Kyung)
WHO: Achille Lauro, Fantastic Plastics, Death Tram
WHERE: Mike ‘n Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, August 12 (8 p.m.)
According to their Myspace page, Denver’s Achille Lauro soundtracks the devil’s stolen sex tape. Whoa. That description alone should be enough for you to figure out if you are on board or not. The Fantastic Plastics are the local band that would probably soundtrack an alien sex tape. And Death Tram have been playing out a lot more lately, though I have to admit I don’t know what kind of sex tape they would soundtrack, presumably one involving transportation. (Achille Lauro photo by Brian Carney)
WHO: Roberta Sparrow, JigGsaw, Soy City Stranglers
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, August 12 (10 p.m.)
You got to love a hardcore punk band in which the drummer sings lead vocals, and that’s exactly what you get in local band Roberta Sparrow. That alone seems worth the price of admission, but the band backs up the unique set up with ear-splitting, testosterone filled noise. JigGsaw’s brand of power pop punk will provide plenty of opportunities for soaring sing-a-longs. And your ear drums will not be getting a break from Decatur’s Soy City Stranglers when they dirty, countrified take on punk rock.
WHO: Occidental Brothers Dance Band International with Samba Mapangala, PBS Trio
WHERE: UI RESEARCH PARK (Free)
WHEN: Friday, August 13 at 6:15 p.m.
Part of Krannert’s outdoor summer series, Occidental Brothers Dance Band International should be a great opportunity for unique family fun this Friday night. Led by acclaimed guitarist Nathaniel Braddock, OCBDBI will be laying down African dance jazz with the help of Congolese singer Samba Mapangla. Local classical-guitar band PBS (Patton, Brighton and Simon) open things up and if you get there at 5:30 p.m. you will have the opportunity to learn about a lot of great green initiatives, including that cool solar-powered house thing that won some awards.
WHO: David Howie
WHERE: Hubers (free)
WHEN: Saturday, August 14
Outside of the downtown area, C-U is full of smaller local bars where you’re likely to stumble upon a long-time local musician with a rich history. Here’s a perfect example: this Saturday at Hubers, David Howie will perform a set. Howie has been playing around since the late 80s, performing a diverse rang of music, including a “the Mama’s and the Papa’s” type of band, children’s music, adult Catholic-focused songs and standard folk rock. I think this set will be one of his acoustic all-cover request shows.
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Heyo, the music section has gotten a lot of comments over the last couple of weeks, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your input. We appreciate all your criticism (both the positive and the negative). The fact that many of you are willing to be so blunt means you feel a sense of ownership over what goes on here and that’s pretty flattering to us. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone at SP.com when I say that’s one of the ultimate goals of the site — to give C-U a place for open (and honest) discussion on a wide range of subjects, including local music and its coverage.
Unfortunately, due to time and energy constraints, we simply can’t cover everything we’d (and you’d) like to. So I wanted to take this chance to invite you to contribute to SP’s music section. Pretty much anyone who has the ability to piece together a persuasive essay can write about whatever genre of music (in whatever critical style they want). Our writers come from a lot of different backgrounds, including musicians, former musicians (just ask me for a copy of Crotch 22’s Greatest Hits the next time you see me) and music lovers. So if you are willing to take the plunge from semi-anonymous commenter to music writer, contact us at music@smilepolitely.com. I know many of you would prefer to give your input through comments, and that’s fine, but I just wanted to make sure you know that this offer is always open.
And if you just want to list your show, you can add it to our events calendar.