Ward Gollings in chaps and other tales

Tonight, no doubt, many of you will be making the trip back to Highdive for the third installment of The Great Cover Up. And don’t just go to see elsinore perform as Billy Ocean; get there early to check out all of the bands. Each act has put in a lot of time and effort to be a part of this charity event, and each deserve a solid crowd. At press time, the curtain had fallen on the first night of the event, which found some bands really breaking out of their respective genres (Brother Embassy hitting the stage as White Zombie, complete with dancing females and a Rob Zombie mustache on Nate Jones; Kilborn Alley rocking out as MC5). CU hip-hop fave Krukid came up as Kanye West to interrupt a fake awards ceremony with a tantrum, while drummer Joe Funderburk donned a wig and stuffed bra to play Meg White to Larry Gates’ (Curb Service) Jack White. I committed to the role of Steve Perry (Journey) by baring my ridiculously white upper arms, shaving my beard and (onstage) shaving my mustache a la the “Faithfully” music video. Finally, Beat Kitchen took the stage as Run DMC, with Brandon T. Washington and Larry Gates trading off on the verses. The big surprise, however, was organizer Ward Gollings jumping up onto the bar — with a wireless mic — to sing Steven Tyler’s part in “Walk This Way.” Chaps and neckerchiefs were, of course, the outfit of choice for this guest spot. All said, it was a great opening night. You have one last chance to get in on the fun tonight at 9 p.m. at the Highdive. Bands slated to perform: elsinore, Darling Disarm, JigGsaw, Roberta Sparrow, mad mardigan and reds.
But wait, that’s not all for tonight! At 6 p.m. in the Krannert Art Museum (500 E. Peabody on campus — NOT a part of the Krannert Center), you can catch sets from Shipwreck, The Beauty Shop and Tall Tale. Shipwreck and the Beauty Shop, two of the most popular bands on the CU scene, will be fresh off of Cover Up performances themselves, while new kids on the block Tall Tale will open with their fresh-faced brand of indie pop. This show is absolutely free and is in walking distance of several dorms, or just a quick bus ride away. Honestly, there is no good reason for any student with as little as a passing interest in music to miss this show.
High Anxiety Music Center will once again open its doors for a show, and this Saturday it will host St. Louis band Heroes of the Kingdom. The band is a new project from Ring, Cicada member Christian Powell, dabbling in the indie-rock genre. Joliet band Deconstructing Jim will open. This show is all ages, so all of you young readers wishing you could see rock shows should take note. High Anxiety Music Center is planning to offer more shows in the future, so be sure to check out highanxietymusic.com for more info.
The Red Herring (1209 W. Oregon on campus, between the quad and the Canopy Club) is part venue, part vegetarian restaurant. The space dates back decades, as even U of I alum Dan Fogelberg performed there. The venue now offers dinner, and it’s stepping up performances starting Saturday with a 5 p.m. show featuring KiKi and PeePee, Morgan Orion and Kenny Knowles. A cover charge is TBA, but the show is all ages.
On Sunday, the Highdive will begin CHILLAX, a weekly residency featuring some of the very best DJ talent from the area. The music for these nights won’t be genre specific, but the idea is to play more mellow tracks from many different musical styles. Some of the talent lined up for this residency: DJ Bozak, DJ Mertz, DJ Belly, Hipgnosis, DJ Substr8, Roro, Geist and more. The show starts at 10 p.m. and there is no cover. The Highdive is a 19+ venue.
Nekromancy, an industrial/goth dance residency, has returned to Monday nights at Chester Street in downtown Champaign. The night features coldwave, EBM, synthpop and electrocrash music spun by DJ SorceryKid (along with many special guests). Chester Street is 19+ and will charge a $2 cover for the show. While goth/fetish/glam attire is encouraged, it is not required to attend. Drop in and check it out this Monday at 9 p.m. when DJ TwinScin (of i:scintilla) is the guest.
Alternately, on Mondays, you can also drop by the Highdive after 10 p.m. to find this columnist (as DJ mingram) spinning the ridiculous songs of the ’80s all night long.

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