It seems that I have a fan site that’s devoted almost entirely to me. I’ve been peeking in on openingblands.blogspot.com for awhile now, and for a while I thought it was a cute little site. A person who remains nameless makes semi-bitey remarks and posts pictures that look a lot like local musicians. There were some funny entries. I was a big fan of posts about The Beauty Shop, Matt Talbot, myself and others. But now the site seems to have strayed, with most recent posts having to do in some way or another with myself and buzz columnist Seth Fein. It’s cute to think that there’s someone out there thinking about me so much – someone who has seemingly been wronged by me somehow. Oh no! And what can I do to resolve the issue? I mean, the person won’t even let anyone know who he/she is. What’s a boy to do? I would usually invite the person to step out from behind the curtain and discuss things like an adult, but it seems clear that whoever it is, is afraid of letting people know his/her identity. It’s safe out there on the Internet, you know. You can say anonymously the things that you apparently can’t handle saying to someone’s face. Some people enjoy that level of comfort. Everyone should go to the page and start reading from the bottom. It’s pretty fun to watch it start out so promisingly and then spiral into a mess of bitterness and bitchiness.
Tonight offers a pretty wide variety of shows. If you’re in the mood to see an actual washboard being used as an instrument, well then the Canopy Club is the place for you. Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band makes another stop in CU to rock the place, and to lay to waste any other beards that dare challenge the Revs. You heard me, Josh Lucas. They play with Cornmeal, and the show fires up at around 8 p.m. – cover is $6. If you’d rather go indie, hit up the Courtyard for Chin Up Chin Up/Oceans (8 pm, $5). Over at Cowboy Monkey, you can catch Roberta Sparrow, one of the scene’s finest hardcore bands (10 p.m., $5).
Friday night is also a great night to head out. For happy hour, Cowboy Monkey offers Javelinas for only $2, with a 5:30 p.m. start time. Javelinas is made up of John Tubbs and Bruce “Bruiser” Rummenie (Bruiser and the Virtues, The Impalas). I’ve long been a fan of Bruiser’s work, and this project is excellent.
Shortly after the happy hour show, Kaki King shows The Highdive a thing or two about the guitar (7:30 p.m., $12). Kaki, known for writing amazing instrumental songs on the acoustic guitar, played last year’s Wall 2 Wall Guitar Festival at Krannert. At the same time, across
town at the IMC in downtown Urbana’s old post office, Beirut will perform (8 p.m., $10). I didn’t know much about the band before they were booked, but I’m pretty hooked.
Check out myspace.com/beruit (yes, the site is spelled differently).Later (and right down the block from the IMC), Lorenzo Goetz will play at the Iron Post. Oh no, here I go again, talking about what a great place the Iron Post is. Maybe I just like the place! LG front man Larry Gates has long been a big supporter of the idea of doing stuff yourself, and has been thinking about imparting some of his wisdom onto some of the younger people in the scene. Ask him a question and gather your friends in a circle as wise ol’ Larry tells another story. Take that, Aesop – your stories are nice, but you don’t know shit about getting your band booked.
Urbana wins again on Saturday with The Beauty Shop at the Iron Post (there I go again!) (10 p.m., $5). Also on the show: New Ruins and Bellcaster. If you haven’t seen The Beauty Shop in a while, you’ll be happy to learn that they have CDs for sale again! After a debacle that involved a European label that wouldn’t get off its
ass to get the Crisis Helpline album released here in the States, a new label has come knocking and a new deal has been figured out. You can get a copy of the new Yard Sale album, which includes songs from Crisis, as well as songs from Yr Money or Yr Life. There are also CD singles available that come with B-sides – collect
all three.
Early on Saturday at the IMC, there is a benefit show for Equal Marriage Illinois, featuring Angie Heaton, Darling Disarm and I’m told Dawna Nelson, possessor of the oft-named best voice in CU. Dawna has a drink holder that clips onto her mic stand. It makes other musicians insanely jealous. She can also kick your ass. Anyway, there will be plenty of people from Equal Marriage Illinois there with info about what we can do here in our state to start sorting out the mess we’re in. The show starts at 8 p.m., and there will be some sort of donation involved at the door.
Rose Marshack (Poster Children, Salaryman) is excited. Sunday night, The Evens will play at the Univeristy YMCA, and you have her to thank for it. The Evens is made up of Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi) and Amy Farina. This will be the first time Ian has performed in this town in ten years. The Evens put out a fantastic self-titled record in 2005, and have a new album coming this fall titled Get Evens. This show is all ages, and will start promptly at 7 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. – $5 to get in. Check out whyamistillawake.com/evens for more info.
Coming soon: Who, or what, is Tritone!?!?!
Mike Ingram could use a new fight song. He resides in Champaign and spends his days booking shows and playing on Myspace. His life’s ambition is to be able to hit the high note before the guitar solo in Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” So close! He is the local music director at 90.1 WEFT, where he books WEFT Sessions, and he can be reached at forgottenwords@gmail.com.
