16 Jun 12

Hey, blogspot readers, welcome to the sauciest, finger-licking fest in Chicago! Today, SouthSide and  her sidekick (her 10 year old daughter) attended the 6 Corners (Irving Park -Milwaukee - Cicero) BBQ Fest within the heart of Portage Park. The block long, two day festival featured an array of delicious offerings of ribs to burgers as well as pulled pork (and much more) smothered in some lip smacking bbq sauce from local restuarants in the area. Besides the tasty eats (and of course drinks), there were local vendors and businesses out in support of this family orinted event. And do you know what goes great with all this good food  and fun? Great music, of course, blogspot readers! This fest boosted an amazing lineup of performances by The Future Laureates, Waco Brothers, Charlie Baran & The Grupo Gringo, The Shams Band, Andrew Diehl & The Nightmen, Magic Box as well as Voodoo Kings (on the main stage) and The Polkaholics (on the north stage).

"...you're on fire tonight..." ~ August Forte of NoVo Arts, Inc.

Want to add some sizzle to your BBQ, blogspot readers, try a little Voodoo Kings next time. This local band not only electrified the stage with its unique "hot" (in a good way here) mesh of rockin' combination of punk/soul/glam/retro and more but also wowing the early evening crowd plenty of uplifting as well as spirited orgran-driven rhythms and tempos, twitterpating guitar riffs and (at times) 4-part harmonies (especially during American Lights) that melted the mic. This band constantly had feet moving to the beat and bodies (no matter the age) dancing which left many wanting "one more" song. Even while in a downtempo riff, one could still hear the boisterious energy flowing from the music straight down to the hot electric sound wrapped around the heartfelt vocals inside this toe-tappin' feel good music. This wasn't "sit down and enjoy" type of music, blogspot readers. Oh, no. Voodoo Kings certainly worked their magic in keeping most dancing throughout the set. Yet, what truly fascinated SouthSide about this particular band besides the "hot" music and rockin' sound, was the pictureseque imagery used during certain songs. For example, for American Lights - she vividly got the sense of being on a road trip with the Kings as they described different destinations along the way. Or listen to the anthem-like theme running inside Strong Will Survive ...or feel that Voodoo animialistic powress and roar when listening to Animal ...or feel that sultry as well as soulful vibe (especially inside the vocals) in When I See Her. But, beware, blogspot readers, Voodoo Kings will toss in some "hot" funk sounds at you too as heard during Last Child to which definitely had this crowd feeling (besides hearing) each vibrant guitar riffs to the thundering percussion and rhythmic blast on the organ. *fans self* The funkified sound was so hot Mother Nature rolled in the clouds and strong breeze to cool everyone down - now that's voodoo music magic at work. SouthSide highly recommends rockin' your next fest with her new friends, Voodoo Kings and bring your dancing shoes with you too. For more information, visit http://www.voodookings.com/.

"...Polka is the new punk..." ~ The Polkaholics

Now, after having some of the tastiest BBQ in the 6 Corners area with Voodoo Kings, you need to wash it down with something - like beer and polka! Don't laugh, blogspot readers, but SouthSide has special place in her heart for polka ...and who better rock a fest featuring their favorite thing in the world - The Polkaholics. This lively, energetic trio of over 50 year olds (who says you have to be young to rock a stage) once again brought their brand of polka/punk rock music creating a fun and danceable atmosphere for all ages as they performed their hits like Beer Barrel, Too Smart Polka, Blue Haired Lady and more. Yet, what makes this polka music quite special as well as unique is how they incorporate classic rock/punk sounds to the polka rhythms. Yes, it's true - polka is the new punk especially with this trio converting songs, for example, out of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life to Lust For Beer (which includes There's No Beer In Heaven) or the gospel song Revive Us Again (Hallelujah) into swinin' polka songs, blogspot readers. No song and/or genre is untouchable. Not with The Polkaholics making new converts one fan at a time. Even ever popular Chicken Dance gets its own polka sound as well as Ramones' Blitzkrieg Bop (turned into Blitzkrieg Bop Polka). During your experience with her polk-loving friends, you might also hear some Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, and KISS - yes, this reviewer did say KISS as "...I want to rock and roll all night and party every day..." but here it's "...I want to polka all night and eat ribs every day..." Besides educating everyone about classic rock through polka, The Polkaholics also taught the crowd a thing or two about other polka styles or history such as German polka during Existentialist before dedicating Polka Celebration to the Chicago's polka king, Eddie Blazonczyk, who recently died at the age of 70. However, for The Polkaholics, every day is a celebration for their love of polka and of course, beer. And they did show their love for the malty brew by performing their one and only love song about it titled Old Style (then again - most of their songs has a mention or two about beer). You might think it's weird polka-ing, blogspot readers, but if you were at this performance, you could hear the impact this local trio has on its fans by the requests for songs being shouted throughout the performance as well as dancing bodies.  They even performed an encore, KISS My Polka - the band's first song written, and the crowd wanted more. "...America needs people like The Polkaholics..." according to one fan. So, beware ...The Polkaholics are bringing back the polka craze into the 21st century. For more information, visit http://thepolkaholics.com/.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide