WHAT: Pedro The Lion Day (Performers TBA)
WHERE: Exile on Main Street (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 4 p.m.
Tomorrow Exile on Main Street Records will host another day dedicated to a particular artist. In the past, they’ve hosted shows dedicated to the likes of Tom Waits, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., and The Beastie Boys. This time it’s a celebration of Pedro The Lion, where performers will do their best to give these David Bazan tracks some life. PTL is reissuing their entire catalog on vinyl, so that is the occasion for this event. Performers have not been announced yet, but typically there are four to five for something like this.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Tomorrow Is Already Here, Jammin’ Jimmy Bean, Jeff Arrigo
WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 7 p.m.
Singer/songwriter collective shows continue at a surprisingly consistent pace again this week. Garret Gengler brings his Tomorrow Is Already Here project to the stage, along with Jimmy Bean and Jeff Arrigo. Gengler’s indie folk record came out earlier this year and is definitely worth checking out. You can stream the whole thing below.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Ean Golden, Seth Troxler
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($15)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 8 p.m.
They’re calling this the “CNTRL: Discovering Electronic & Techno(logy) Based Music” Tour and it’s stopping through a pretty popular venue for EDM music in C-U. This tour is stopping all over the country on college campuses, combining educational daytime lectures on music technology presented by Dupspot in some of the leading universities and colleges, then having these performances. Pretty neat stuff.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Chicago
WHERE: Assembly Hall ($32–$55)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 8 p.m.
Classic rock harmonic megastars Chicago bring the older crowd to Assembly Hall this week. These folks just missed Dad’s day on campus, but the seats will surely be filled for these guys (who have sold over 100 million records worldwide). For any of you U of I students interested in this one, don’t forget your $5 discount on the pricing.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: The Stars, They Beckon, Bent Left, Coco Butter Kids
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 8 p.m.
Melodic punk rock outfit The Stars, They Beckon headline this show with Kansas City’s Bent Left and locals Coco Butter Kids. TSTB is working on some new material, but for now, you can listen to some of their work below. Pretty gnarly guitar work all over the place.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Maserati, Majeure, Take Care
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($8 advance/$10 door)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 9 p.m.
The awesomeness that is Maserati makes their way through at Cowboy Monkey, in a week that features a lot of shows earlier in the week. The band is supporting their new excellent album Maserati VII, out early last month. Although I thought the last album they did, (their first release after the tragic death of legendary drummer Jerry Fuchs), was good, this new one steps their game up a notch. You can listen to the whole thing below. Label mates Majeure support, alongside locals Take Care.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
EDITOR’S PICK: CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ($10–$25) — Wednesday, November 14th at 7:30 p.m.
The next Smile Politely Show Series show is happening right smack dab in the middle of the week on Wednesday. Folk connoisseurs Carolina Chocolate Drops will serve up some of their award-winning strings and banjos to warm you up in the middle of November. The band is back in C-U after performing at 2011’s Ellnora Festival and have a new album, Leaving Eden, out now. Be sure to check out their new video for one of the new tracks, “Country Girl,” below.
This isn’t just any average folk outfit we’re talking here. CCD have received many accolades for their work, including a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for their previous album, Genuine Negro Jig. Pretty bigtime stuff we’re talking here. Should be an exciting show for those of you who have tickets, because these sold quickly. We’ll have a closer look at this show tomorrow.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: AraabMUZIK, DJ Solo, Jay Moses
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($15 advance/$17 door)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 14th at 9:30 p.m.
Fantastic genre-crossover DJ in AraabMUZIK invades Canopy Club mid-week with a couple of locals. If you haven’t done so already, check out his latest record, Electronic Dream. I’m not into many DJs, but that album is definitely a bright spot from 2011. I had a chance to catch his set at Pitchfork this summer, and it wais insane what he can do tapping away on the MPC machine up there. Definitely highly recommend this show this week.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Hemmingbirds, Megan Johns & Moonwish, Midas the Crow
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Thursday, November 15th at 8 p.m.
Former C-U musician Yoo Soo Kim, now in his post-Post Historic days, has this project called Hemmingbirds. They’re stopping through in support of their new record, Vines of Age, released back in late September. You can stream the whole thing below via their Bandcamp. We interviewed Kim a few years back about being a former local outfit and making the transition to Chicago. Joining the band are a few solid locals.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Dropkick Murphys, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Mahones
WHERE: The Canopy Club ($28 advance/$30 door)
WHEN: Friday, November 16th at 10 p.m.
I wonder if Dropkick Murphys are sick of being known as that band with that one song in that one movie. For those of you who know the band a little bit better than that, you know they deserve better. This Boston crew is supporting their new record, SIGNED and SEALED in BLOOD, out in January. You can check out their video for one of the tracks, “Rose Tattoo,” here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: That’s No Moon, Paper Anchors, Dirty Laundry
WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)
WHEN: Friday, November 16th at 9:30 p.m.
Pop punkers That’s No Moon headline this WPCD-sponsored show to round out the week. Paper Anchors hail from Springfield, Missouri, and Dirty Laundry provides some dirty blues for the night. Looks like an intresting combination of sounds all rolled into one nice bill.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: Dan Hubbard and the Humadors, Black Coffee Fridays, The Curses
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Friday, November 16th at 9 p.m.
Rocker Dan Hubbard and his crew The Humadors make their way to C-U. They call Normal their home and are currently touring around the U.S. in support of their newest one, The Love Show.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: The Paul Thorn Band
WHERE: The Highdive ($20 advance/$25 door)
WHEN: Saturday, November 17th at 8 p.m.
Americana rocker Paul Thorn and his band are supporting their new record (as are many others this week, I’m finding) called What The Hell Is Goin’ On? You can check some of the tracks out over at his website. Not sure what to think of the album art, but it’s something. Decode what it means yourself.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
WHAT: DJ Real Juicy, DJ Belly, The Interns, Epilep[C], Disco Phil
WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)
WHEN: Saturday, November 17th at 9 p.m.
This Certified Dope series, hosted by MC Harsh, will make some noise this weekend. Hip hop, DJs, and all sorts of other genres involved, headlined by DJ Real Juicy. We’ll take a closer look at this show later in the week to wrap our heads around this whole thing, but this one is certified dope, as if you needed any reason to not think it was already.