Okay ...so 2014 didn't begin with a BANG but with an Artic chill and snow (especially if you live were SouthSide resides). Hopefully the Phil the Groundhog has good news this month about spring coming soon. In the meantime, brush off winter's icy chill by checking out the following shows rockin' the month of February.
Please note all show are 21+ unless duly noted...
Ongoing until Feb 16:
The Den Theater - Breach ...a play by Egan Reich and directed by Krissy Vanderwarker.
Thurs - Sat 7:30p / Sun 6p
Tickets - $15 to $25 / every Thurs "pay-what-you-can" night
Feb 1:
4144 W. 25th ST - Let's get ready to rumble! It's Chitown Punk and Ska Kegger Throwdown featuring Thirty Case Chase, Ultra Nada, Foreign Policy, 40oz Sidekicks, Mandatory Abortions, Bumsy & The Moochers and The Fucker
$15 - $5 entry / $10 (for unlimited keg) / show is BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer)
Scruffy City Hall (Knoxville, TN) - Skytown Riot with Far Far Away will be rockin' the stage
$5
Chicago Loop Sports Bar & Grill (Streamwood, IL) - check out Badge performing your favorite Cream tunes all night long.
Goose Island Wrigleyville - rock with Aly Jados, Zaramela, The Art of Cool and Mystery Crash at this show.
$8 adv / $10 dos
Bottom Lounge - Villains of the world, unite! V Is For Villains returns with special appearances, new music and more!
$10
Concord Music Hall - Conspirator returns to Chicago along with Prefuse 73, Nasaj Thing and Fatty DL.
18+
Drake Hotel's Coq d'Or - enjoy your favorite Jazz standards and rarely heard songs by Jesse Charbonier until 1a.
FREE
Cubby Bear - trip out with UV Hippo (Ultraviolet Hippopotamus) featuring Sure Fire Groove and Steez
$8
Feb 2:
Empty Bottle - attend this Super Bowl Party with Tight Pettyz.
Feb 3:
City Winery - JC Brooks covers his favorite female songwriters.
Feb 4:
ACT ONE Pub - check out CAU's "Singing For Your Supper" Songwriter Showcase featuring performances by Jeff Daschbach, Eric Dinse, Gary Badik, Surkis Moreso and more.
Feb 5:
Empty Bottle - check out Dream Council with Magicks and Perfect Kiss
$5
Feb 6:
Double Door - Wakarusa Festival presents Waka Winter Classic with a performance by Digeometric and many others.
$7
Door No.3 (Double Door) - attend The Hip Hop Monthly featuring Pseudo Slang and DJ Form
$5
O'Brien's Pub (Allston, MA) - rock out with Civil Warblers, Old Soul (from Portland, ME) Vundabar and Derek Teichert
$5 / 9p
Uptown Lounge - check out Spread, Sticky Lupree and Foursquare performing on stage here.
$5
Feb 7:
Livewire Lounge - SHIV-R with very special guests Sean Payne from Cyanotic and JILT!
$12 adv / $15 dos
Chicago Theater - 2 Chainz with PushaT and August Alsina will be performing on stage.
ALL AGES / 6:30p
Reggie's Rock Club - rock with The Coup featuring Boots Riley
17+
Concord Music Hall - Dastik returns to Chicago with Must Die and TBA
18+
Double Door - Swizzlesteve presents Swizzle Tree, Workout Music, Brighton MA and The Dead On performing on stage
$10 adv / $12 dos
The Hideout Inn - The Damn Choir's "Creatures of Habit" album release party/tour send-off with The Wild Family and Nate Van Allen.
Cubby Bear - it's Black Bridge along with Jet Driver, Sex Therapy and As Made Famous rockin' the stage.
$7 presale / $10 dos
El Patron Sports Bar & Grill (2260 S. Cicero) - feel the AFRO-Beat/Cumbia sound featuring some of Chicago's funkiest live musicians and collaborators.
$5 / FREE parking
Patio Theater (Irving Park and Austin) - Crispin Hellion Glover will be presenting Part 1 of his "It" trilogy as part of his dramatic narration of 8 of his illustrated projected books as known as Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show. Event includes Q & A and book signing.
$20
Beer House - check out On Your Marx Ska Brewing Show featuring Run and Punch and The Skalalitabs.
$10
Feb 8:
Fizz Bar & Grill - Hero Monster Zero returns to the stage with friends The Middle City Sound, Fall Classic and Fantastic Mammals
$8 / 8:30p
Dominican University (River Forest, IL) - Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be performing selections from the new album Always With Us.
Subterranean - GroundLift Media presents Classical Material an all-city showcase featuring Watch City, Benny Nice, E. Brown, Rich Jones, Vapor Eyes, Norman, Hongry Bogart, Trew, Fess Grandiose
$7 adv
Double Door - attend Bickhamstock 6 featuring Little Boy Jr, Tommy Gun, Geisha, The Blast Beats, The Yuppies, Furious Frank, The Uglies and Ex Bombers
$5 adv / $10 dos
Door No.3 (Double Door) - Akasha presents Simmer Down Sound
FREE show
Martyrs' - check out the Gorilla Music Fest featuring Fool's Brew, Driven, Birds of a Feather, River Coffin, Without A Breath, Open Hole Soul, Bound To Be Taken, Them Guilty Aces, Eyes of Demise, High Alert, Shifting Totem and I, of Anubis
Bada Brew (Crest Hill, IL) - hey, Skinn Jakkit, Final Curse, Helmer, False Hope Fades, The Desire Remains The Same and 671 Gains will be performing here.
$10 / 8p
Elbo Room - Ditchwater with Driven Under, In The Aisles and Hot Dang will be rockin' the stage here.
$10
The Bacon Room (at Big Grove Tavern, Champaign, IL) - it's Porkapalooza 5 with The Polkaholics featuring MC Jet Sterling and DJ Jett Rock.
Livewire Lounge - robble robble your way when attending Hamburglars 10'' Release show featuring The Goblins and the original lineup of The Larroquettes!
Uptown Lounge (1136 W. Lawrence) - rock with Bluefish Fellows and The Creeps
FREE show
Schuba's Tavern -it's Royale along with QueenBuzz and Kellen and Me rockin' the stage.
$10
Feb 9:
Exit - rock out with Armored Assault and Air Raid as part of Cold Steel Metal series happening every 2nd and 4th Sundays in Jan, Feb and March.
FREE show
Feb 12:
Mayne Stage - CAUDog Record Release for Liz Chidester and Cleeman (from Denmark) with other special guests
$5 / ALL AGES / 8p
Elbo Room - check out Private Instigators here.
FREE show
Door No.3 (Double Door) - it's V-Day Mascara FABITAT event featuring burlesque performances by Lucy Stoole, VaVa Voom, Curlene Ribbon and DJ Adam El with special guests Mister Junior, Rob Racine and Po'Chop.
FREE / 9p
Merkin Concert Hall (Goodman House, NYC) - debate this topic Snowden Was Justified ...is he a whistleblower or a traitor? You decide when listening to the arguments from Daniel Ellsburg (former U.S. Military Analyst & Pentagon Papers Whistleblower) and Ben Wizner (legal advisor to Edward Snowden and attorney, ACLU) FOR the motion between Ambassador James Woolsey (former director, CIA and chairman, Foundation for Defense of Democracies) and Andrew C. McCarthy (former federal prosecutor and contributing editor, National Review) AGAINST the motion.
tickets are limited -
boxoffice@kaufmanmusiccenter.org
Uncommon Ground (Clark location) - attend this benefit for Rock For Kids in a unique tribute to Ryan Adams. 20 local artists like Shawn Kellner, Laura Thompson, Todd Kessler, Gar Clemens, Jamie Lono, Great Divide and more performing 40 of Ryan Adams songs during this two-night charity event.
$10 / for a table reservation, phone 1 773 929 3680
Feb 13:
Double Door - DJ noDJ, Dozens and Miss Remember will be performing here
$8
The Whistler - it's The Kind of Fire Tour 2014: Fire Walk with Me. Journey into the world of Laura Palmer's nightmare and the ultimate evil himself, Bob, during this night as a place both wonderful and strange where Russ (formerly of Silent Dope Runners) takes his exclaimed Twin Peaks re-soundtracking and applies it to a new show Fire Walk With Me. Come and see David Lynch's cult classic like you've never seen it before.
Underground Wonder Bar - Room 11 Lives residency continues with special guest Radiant Devices performing with the band.
Feb 14:
Goose Island Wrigleyville - Swizzlesteve presents Ernie Halter with Eli Noll and Geoff Glenn performing on stage.
$10 adv / $12 dos
Underground Lounge - Queer Fest America hosts a benefit for The Crib (a LGBTQ homeless youth shelter) with performances by Tooth-Eye, Tutu & the Pirates, Matt Duhaime, Moxie Motive, Psycho Sister and Stardust The David Bowie tribute band.
$5
Logan Square Auditorium - attend Chicago Reader's 5th Annual Anti-Valentine's Day Party featuring Big Freedia.
Reggie's - spend your Valentine's night with Jack Rabbit with Steven Roth, Sexy Ester and Kerosene Stars
$5
The Outpost Concert Club (Kent, OH) - check out We're All Lost with Switchblade Scarlett, Audience of Rain and Younger Still
$4 / ALL AGES
Feb 15 - March 15:
It's Louder Than A Bomb 2014 ...The 14th Annual Chicago Youth Poetry Festival.
Feb 15:
Metro - It's NOCTURNA's annual New Love / Lost Love Feb 14 Valentine's Ball Special. Be fashionably dressed and seen at this dark alternative dance party now in its 25th year with DJ Scary Lady Sarah as host spinning your requests til dawn (5a). Send your secret crush that special message of love anonymously or not during the Valentine's Mailbox Game.
18+ / $10
Green Town Tavern (Waukegan, IL) - Space Duck Events presents Voice of Addiction along with The C-Sides, Fur Coats for Sportsmen and College Transfer Student rockin' the stage.
$5
Lilly's - Jack Rabbit will be performing here.
$6
Red Line Tap - 6DOS (Degrees of Separation) will be invading this Rogers Park venue.
Tonic Room - rock at this Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Fest lineup featuring a performance by Great Divide.
Reggie's - check out the America Noir Tour 2014 featuring Moonspell, Leaves' Eyes, Atrocity and Withering Soul
Elbo Room - rock with The Manhattan Project, Broccoli Samurai and Digeometric
$10
Double Door - check out Soul Summit FREE Dance Party featuring DJs Sloppy White, Dave Mata and Duke Grip with guest DJs TBA
FREE / $10 VIP ticket available.
Concord Music Hall - DJ Chuckie brings his "Dirty Dutch" show to Chicago
Drake Hotel's Coq d'Or - spend a romantic evening with Jesse Charbonier as he sings your favorite Jazz hits as well as rarely heard works from Chet Baker to Billie Holiday, Johnny Mathis and more until 1a.
FREE
Tonic Room - celebrate Tonic Room's 11th Anniversary featuring special performances by The Coop and Gurg.
Feb 20:
Tonic Room - Chicago Farmer performs at Dunn Dunn Fest 2014 along with Tristen Ryan and Joseph Anderson.
Concord Music Hall - it's Blood, Sweat and Tears featuring Downlink and Diezelboy
18+
Feb 21:
Tonic Room - Great Divide performs at Dunn Dunn Fest 2014.
Bada Brew - celebrate at Voodoo Queen's Bday Bash Chicago Style!
Double Door - attend Sidewalk Chalk's album release show featuring The Heard and DJ Dave Mata (Impala Sound).
$10 / 8p
Sound-Bar - dance your night away with Le Castle and Knife Fight
FREE admision before 1a (with a secret password)
Feb 22:
Brauerhouse (Lombard, IL) - check out Armored Assault with Without Waves, Mexican Werewolf and Black 4 on stage.
$5 adv / $7 dos
The Fallout (2230 S. Ashland) - Welcome to Valhalla! Attend the Doc Metal Podcast Launch Party featuring Pig Champion, Oxblood, Taken by the Sun and In The Name of Suffering
$6
Livewire Lounge - Lynch along with Pete Berwick and Kevin Lee & The Kings will be rockin' this venue.
Double Door - check out Vintage Blue's video release along with Markit 8, Dave Tamkin Trio and Eagle Trace.
$8 adv / $10 dos / 7:30p
The Burgundy Room (Waukegan, IL) - rock with Thunder Driver, Fahri and The Miners here.
$5
Fitz's Spare Keys - it's the Drunky Monkey Pub Crawl benefiting The Lauren Kiefer Memorial Fundation
$10 before Feb 14
$15 Feb 15 - 21
$20 day of event
The Mutiny - it's punk all night long featuring Fisticuffs, Criminal Kids, NightCap and We Dodge Missiles.
FREE
Feb 23:
Double Door - it's Dre Day hosted by Psalm One featuring The O'My's, Pugs Atomz, Rich Jones with a Nate Dogg tribute by Wes Restless and DJ sets by Intel, Maker, Pickel, Trew, Big One and Kool Hersh
$10 adv / $12 dos
Feb 26:
Reggie's - Metalhands, attend this show featuring Metal Church, Screamking, Wrath and Ironfinger
Feb 27:
Old Town School of Folk Music - singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan will be performing as part of his first North American tour.
Feb 28:
Rosey's Roadhouse - check out Lucky Boys Confusion rockin' the stage with a special guest(s) to be announced later
$10
Livewire Lounge - attend the Vita Devoid Chicago Benefit and help a dear friend/burlesque sideshow icon of the Florida performance community cover her medical expenses.
Martyrs' - rock out with Dead On T.V., Miss Demeanor and Happy 99.
ALL-AGES / $5 / 5p doors
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Over at Double Door, it was a fashionable scene (despite the cold and snow) where music enjoyed the groovy sounds of Santah and Jonny Drake featuring the psychedelia rock jam band - Brother George, blogspot readers. This local band not only brought mesmerizing rhythmic sound and instrumental music vibe to the stage but also balloons. Yes, during their headlining set, balloons were bouncing everywhere near and around the stage while this quintet group performed. SouthSide immediately enjoyed the modernized version of the 70s acid/psychedelic guitar rock which surged throughout this popular Wicker Park venue with non-stop vibrant energy and electrifying sound ...the perfect combination for this type of party. People all around this reviewer were in a constant state of motion, blogspot readers, even though were moments in which the melodies were melodramatic and quite relaxing between the intense momentum. During those moments, blogspot readers, it was nice to jam to the calming instrumental vibe before returning back to the upbeat swing again. By all definitions, you consider Brother George's music to be moody ...and you would definitely be correct. This local band throughout their performance had this late night crowd swaying (or waltzing as observed by this reviewer) to the many mood swings produced by their melodic sound. With one song, they could take you towards the end of the spectrum and then leave you hanging at the middle while the band pursues other unique sound combinations before taking you to the end. That's how it felt when Brother George rocked the stage with their closing number with one of the biggest bang to leaving people wanting more. It was a feast of music for the body and soul, blogspot readers, while moving your body to that fantastic beat. Be one of many shiny happy people when seeing this band perform live at their next show. SouthSide highly recommends checking out the Brother George theme song and Love Dies Young (off the band's current album "Big Piney") in which this reviewer felt poetic sense wonderfully complimenting this band's unique rock sound and blended harmonies. For more about Brother George, visit http://www.brothergeorge.com.
