St. Patrick’s Day at Cowboy Monkey, six bands performed 48 songs in six hours to cover the cost of hosting for OpeningBands.com. Terminus Victor, i:scintilla, The Greedy Loves, jigGsaw, Relenter, and The Opportunists went from 8 p.m. to almost 2 a.m. as the Illinois-Fairleigh Dickinson game unfolded favorably overhead. Cowboy Monkey served corned beef and cabbage to commemorate the occasion.
Saturday, Corkscrew After Dark presents the “jazz looping” of Mark Smart. When not with The Buick All-Stars, Mark Smart is a one-man band based in Champaign. He integrates guitar, octave divider bass, drum loops and echoplex to create a classic jazz sound. Corkscrew After Dark is an all-ages, smoke-free concert series at Corkscrew Wine Emporium from 8 to 10 p.m. the second and fourth Saturday every month. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are always available.
March 31, The Canopy Club will host the Champaign-Urbana stop of a tour titled “Video Trapped the Rapper.” Four underground hip-hop acts from Chicago, New York and Puerto Rico will attempt to address the appropriation of hip-hop. “Has glamour and glitz, flash and bling, taken over hip-hop? Have one-syllable rhymes taken pace over intelligent lyrics? Has the corporate machine taken over the free-thinking mind?” The four acts are Earatik Static, Tableek, Ciencia Fixion and H the Great. This is a presentation of Power ‘n Soul Pro and The Canopy Club. Cover is $4.
April 11, open-mic night with Brandon T. Washington and Mike Ingram will return to Cowboy Monkey. This year, Cowboy Monkey will host a showcase of its open-mic acts every two months, so its participants can earn a paying gig. Brandon and Mike also will play some songs together. A staple of the early Cowboy Monkey lineup, open-mic night last happened Oct. 25, 2004.
