I recently bought a house, which means many trips to Lowes and Menards and the like in recent days. I have to say that, as much as I hate it, the Menards jingle is one of the most well-crafted jingles I’ve ever heard. The fact that they play it over the speakers in the store is absolutely ridiculous, but that thing gets in your head and refuses to ever go away. I hope that the person who wrote that made a fortune.
Tonight Brooklyn, New York, duo Kaiser Cartel will make a tour stop at Cowboy Monkey. They tour as a two-piece, rotating amongst guitars and drums and keys, weaving so much sound that you don’t even miss a “proper band.” Check out Myspace.com/kaisercartel, which will convince you to see them live. They will share the stage with the Beauty Shop (they’ve been testing out several new songs) and Darling Disarm, in a full-band acoustic setup. A mystery member of the Living Blue may drop in for a solo set, but that’s a surprise of sorts. Cover is $5 if you get there early, but might jump to $7 later. Showtime is 9 p.m.
Jazz Sandwich will hit the Champaign side of the fence again tomorrow with a happy hour set at Cowboy Monkey. The band is certainly one of the best and most innovative jazz acts in the area, and you can see them for free at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Radmaker’s in Tolono will offer an interesting show on Saturday, as X-Krush will play an acoustic set under the name Chubacabra (pudgy little Central American monsters?) in front of a set from Pistol Whipt, a country band fronted by Adam Wolfe. Radmaker’s is 19+ and they let you smoke right there in the bar. Crazy stuff. $3.
Saturday also means another street fest, as the Mighty Pranksters (yep, seriously) will play in the parking lot between National City and
Guidos/Cowboy Monkey at 7 p.m., for free.
WEFT 90.1’s weekly WEFT Sessions show will feature a band from San Francisco this week (though they have ties to Champaign). Or, the Whale – a fantastic band in the vein of a roots-ier Decemberists – will make a stop in town to play the radio show and promo their early show on Monday, 8/20 at Cowboy Monkey. Tune in from 10-11p.m. to check the band out, or take a listen at Myspace.com/orthewhale. “Call and Response” will make you want to see this band in a live setting.
Mike Ingram can be reached at forgottenwords@gmail.com
