Smile Politely

The Overture: September 18–24

WHAT: Lori Bernard, John McMahon

WHERE: The Clark Bar (free)

WHEN: Tuesday, September 18th at 7 p.m.

Singer-songwriter showcases at The Clark Bar have not slowed down, and don’t appear to be running out of resources for these things. This week Lori Bernard and John McMahon take the stage with their acoustics.

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WHAT: Red Wanting Blue, The Aaron Williams Band

WHERE: Canopy Club ($10)

WHEN: Tuesday, September 18th at 8 p.m.

Columbus, Ohio’s Red Wanting Blue has a pretty huge tour going, which lasts all the way until mid-November. They recently played on the Late Show with David Letterman, which you can check out over here. Pretty cool stuff. They have that Counting Crows 90s sound that some of you might be interested in. Check it out.

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EDITOR’S PICK: THE HOOD INTERNET, BODY LANGUAGE,
MY GOLD MASK, OSCILLATOR BUG 
Canopy Club ($13 advance/$15 door) — Wednesday, September 19th at 10 p.m.

Chicago’s The Hood Internet are no strangers to C-U, having played many, many times here over the years. These two are always up to something interesting, either doing remixes for indie rock artists or putting out their own mixtapes. This time around, they will be supporting their first album of their own original material, and they are calling it FEAT, which is a fitting name to say the least. It’s out now on Decon Records. Check out the trailor below, which features the infamous line from The National’s “Mr. November.”

That’s not all, they are joined by a pretty solid supporting cast, most notably (in my opinion) is My Gold Mask. Pretty great stuff from that duo as well. Overall, this is a must-see for the week in music around here.

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WHAT: Blackberry Smoke, A Thousand Horses 

WHERE: Canopy Club ($15 advance/$18 door)

WHEN: Thursday, September 20th at 9 p.m.

Southern rock outfit Blackberry Smoke bring their Black Crowes inspired jams to Canopy with A Thousand Horses. It doesn’t get much more Southern rock than covering Skynyrd. Watch either that or the video linked below to get a taste of their sound.

Listen: Blackberry Smoke: “Ain’t Much Left of Me” (Live)
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WHAT: Moritat, Motes, Shadows on a River

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)

WHEN: Thursday, September 20th at 10 p.m.

Indie rock trio Moritat put out their new record, Clill Blazin, back in June, when the weather was absolutely blazin’ to say the least. Now it’s cooled off a bit, but they are still looking to heat up the beer garden on Thursday night. Joining them are two locals, noise/fuzz rockers Motes and the blissful Shadows on a River.

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WHAT: Decadents, Dead Possums 

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)

WHEN: Friday, September 21st at 8 p.m.

Decadents are putting out their brand new record on Friday, and have been giving previews of it here and there. You can actually check out all the clips over at the band’s YouTube channel, and stream a couple of the new tracks in full below. Should be interesting to see what they’ve been cooking up over the last few months in anticipation of releasing it at this show.
 

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WHAT: Shpongle, Phutureprimative

WHERE: Canopy Club ($20 advance/$25 door)

WHEN: Friday, September 21st at 9 p.m.

According to the press release, this is Shpongle presenting “The Masquerade,” which means they are using some new technology to blow people’s minds during their shows. With or without drugs, apparently this is supposed to “transport concertgoers into another world: the parallel and ephemeral universe of Shpongleland.” You can get a free 10-song sampler below to see what it’s all about. Also, if you want to find out what Shpongleland is, this is all you. Trippy.

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WHAT: Funky Butt Drum Club 

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($7)

WHEN: Friday, September 21st at 10 p.m.

This crew is getting the band back together and taking their Funky Butt Drums to Cowboy Monkey on Friday for another go at things. The last time they played was actually at Cowboy back in February of 2011, so it’s been a little while. You can watch that at the link below and see what you’re in for on Friday night.

“Talk Too Much” by FBDC at Cowboy Monkey

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WHAT: Lania Knight, John Palen, Roxane Gay, Jeff Arrigo

WHERE: Indi-go Artist Co-op (free)

WHEN: Saturday, September 22nd at 8 p.m.

This event going down at Indi-go will feature a variety of things, including prose reading, poetry, and music. Singer-songwriter Jeff Arrigo will be providing some music, while Lania Knight’s book Three Cubic Feet (which we took a look at not too long ago) and John Palen’s book Small Economies will be available for purchase as well. A bunch of stuff happening for this one.

Talkin’ Hard Lovin’ Listen: Jeff Arrigo: Talkin’ Hard Lovin’
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WHAT: Here Come The Mummies 

WHERE: Canopy Club ($20 advance/$25 door)

WHEN: Saturday, September 22nd at 9 p.m.

Best known for their insane attire on stage, Here Come The Mummies are exactly what they look like. A bunch of dudes dressed up like mummies. However, there is some talent here, as opposed to if they were actual mummies. They play some pretty catchy funk jams mixed with a bunch of piano, percussion, and lots of horns. Looks strange on the outside, but sounds cool when you look closer.
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WHAT: Matthew Curry & The Fury

WHERE: Cowboy Monkey ($5)

WHEN: Saturday, September 22nd at 10 p.m.

Matthew Curry is 16 and he plays guitar pretty well. He’s no stranger to C-U either, having played here a few months ago for Red Hot Summerfest around downtown Champaign. Bluesy rock ‘n roll is his game.

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WHAT: The Painkillers Blues Band, The Cornstalkers, Michael Kammin

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s (free)

WHEN: Sunday, September 23rd at 2 p.m.

WEFT Fest 2012 will be providing some musical entertainment for the celebration of WEFT this year. They’ve recruited a few acts and will also be providing food and drinks from 2:00–6:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. It’s free and it’s all ages, so it’s acceptable for your young ones to be hanging out in the beer garden.

Listen: The Painkillers Blues Band: “River Hip Mama”

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