NEW RELEASES: WHOLE NEW LIFE, REVEREND HORTON HEAT'S FIRST ALBUM IN NEARLY 5 YEARS OUT NOW!

REVEREND HORTON HEAT RELEASE

FIRST ALBUM IN NEARLY 5 YEARS 

WHOLE NEW LIFE

DEBUT NEW VIDEO “HOG TYIN’ WOMAN”

Midnight, Texas TV Performance Airs December 7

On Tour Now

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're celebrating the new album release. We got a press preview link and it's been in heavy rotation on our play list this week. I'm shooting live show photos at REVEREND HORTON HEAT'S Chicago Metro show as well as reviewing the new tunes, so check back soon for our full recap. 

Horton's Holiday Hayride is coming to a stage near YOU and features an amazing lineup! Including Reverend Horton Heat, Junior Brown Fan Page, The Blasters and Big Sandy of Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys! 

The foot-stomping hellfire roots of REVEREND HORTON HEAT’s rock 'n' roll stylings are louder than ever with Whole New Life, the brand new album available worldwide today. The band also delivers the second video in the form of the sexy and sultry “Hog Tyin’ Woman.” 

As the album hits shelves, the Texas rebels have traveled thousands of miles, playing 13 countries in front of over one million people since the release of 2014’s Rev. Watch the band perform “Hog Tyin’ Woman” on the NBC thriller Midnight, Texas on December 7.

Watch “Hog Tyin’ Woman” Music Video:



“It’s the most positive album I’ve ever done, admits ringleader Jim ‘Reverend’ Heath. “Some of my stuff in the past was dark, maybe too dark. I guess I’m not the awful vindictive jerk I thought I was!”

Recording the album in their hometown of Dallas, Heath says that “Creating Whole New Life brought out something more positive in my storytelling and guitar playing. I also saw a vocal coach to reach notes unheard to the average fan. It's got some Southern feel to it, a bit of gruff and a crooning style to it. Write what you know, that’s what they tell ya in school, right?”

The artwork was created by a pair of rock ‘n’ roll sisters called The Mad Twins, Olya and Vira. These creative designers from the Ukraine also animated ‘Hardscrabble Woman,’ the bands final video from the previous album. “Jim Heath is a real old-school gentleman with a precise taste of 1950’s retro style and an excellent sense of humor,” Vira professes. “Jim gave us a good guide of the songs meanings lyrically and musically so we visualized a 1950’s color style from that era. Call it globalism but isn’t it wild that two Ukrainian female artists are doing American 50’s graphics for a Texas band thirty years into their career? The design, art and music of that time are so powerful because people were doing it all by hand - paintings, clothing, cars, instruments - there were simple and naïve emotions, less vulgarity, straight honesty and sincere love. All that makes up the musical tornado of REVEREND HORTON HEAT.”

Undoubtedly one of the most important and popular rockabilly artists of all time, the legendary Texas troop have genre-hopped their fan base in front of audiences from the Sex Pistols, Johnny Cash, Soundgarden, ZZ Top, Motorhead and tons of other heavy-hitters.

“This tour started around 1986,” Heath chuckles dryly. Performing nearly 200 shows a year, REVEREND HORTON HEAT officially kicked off the Horton’s Holiday Hayride Tour on November 27 in Omaha, NE and will wrap up the year in Birmingham, AL on December 22. As more riotous shows are booked for 2019, Heath cracks, “I’m afraid I’m on the Willie Nelson retirement program, which means I’ll never retire!”



All REVEREND HORTON HEAT Tour Dates.

“In your face, rip-snortin’ bust out the windows rock and roll” - NO DEPRESSION

“A throw-back, old-fashioned good time” - CBS

“Upbeat, optimistic spirited rockabilly” - BILLBOARD

“Great American rock & roll” - MUSIC CONNECTION

“Zesty, infectious and timeless” - BIG TAKEOVER

“RHH’s engine refuses to stay idle” - GOLDMINE

“An upbeat stomper” - NEW NOISE

“The pace of a race horse gallop and twang of cowboy campfire, a ball-busting, beer-swillin’ rocker - INNOCENT WORDS

“A solid stomp of blues with hillbilly, garage rock” - UK ROCK & ROLL

“Glorious wave of exuberant, tightly constructed, wonderful songs” - AMERICANA UK

“Authentic, upbeat rockabilly” - VIVE LE ROCK UK

“Powerful, cathartic and triumphant return of the godfathers” - HYSTERIA

“The best album of their career” - VOID REPORT

“Infectiously fun” - CRYPTIC ROCK

“Fun, twangy and vibrant. A memorable album with infectious singalongs” - ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER

“Colorful rockabilly with reliable pro chops” - DETROIT FREE PRESS

“High-octane tempos, mixing rock and classic R&B” - MILWAUKEE SHEPHERD EXPRESS

“RHH is the real deal when it comes to psychobilly blues and country” - CLEVELAND.COM

“Turbocharged pedal-to-the-metal rootsy cornucopia of rockabilly, feral country, hard-wired blues, honky-tonk and punk’n’roll” - MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES

Chicago’s Martin Van Ruin Album Release Celebration at Fitzgerald’s 8/17/18

Chicago’s Martin Van Ruin will be following up their acclaimed 2014 debut Every Man a King with the sophomore album Current Day on Friday, August 17. They will be celebrating the release that evening with a show at Fitzgerald’s.

Current Day was recorded over a series of sessions in 2017 at the Music Garage and was recorded and engineered by Mike Lust (Tight Phantomz).

“Fans looking for Chicago’s next Wilco may want to check out Martin Van Ruin.”— American Songwriter

“The Bob Dylan and Neil Young comparisons are inescapable for this new folk rock supergroup.”— Chicago Sun-Times

Martin Van Ruin (Album Release), The Shams Band

Fri, Aug 17 2018, 8:30pm - $10 - Tickets



Doors open at 7 pm.

MARTIN VAN RUIN: 

“Seriously epic folk-pop chops” - Chicago Reader (Gossip Wolf)

“15 Chicago Artists to Watch in 2014” - Chicago Red Eye (Andy Downing)

“Undeniable chemistry reminiscent of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo” - Static Magazine (Kelly McGuire)

Check out their site HERE for more information.



THE SHAMS BAND: 

Drawing heavily from their Kinks, Rolling Stones, and Wilco influences, songwriters Donnie Biggins and Paul Gulyas create whiskey-driven blues, complete with four-part harmonies. It's whiskey-driven storytelling. It's a party. It's rock 'n roll with a banjo. The Shams Band has opened for Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and played to sold out crowds in their hometown of Chicago.

https://www.facebook.com/theshamsband/

PHOTO RECAP: Chris Greene Quartet Album Release at Green Mill 3/8/14 #OriginalPhotos

Goin' Greene!

It was our great pleasure to catch Chicago's own Chris Greene's Music Appreciation album release party at The iconic Green Mill in March. We were elated to hear the new material live and shoot stills as well.  Click here to check out our past coverage.



Check out ChiIL Live Shows' photo recap. Our favorites are embedded below, and a full set is available as a slideshow right here.  ChiIL Live Shows was there... were YOU?!  If not, you can experience it vicariously via our live show shots. If you were, there, relive it with us.

Full Set: 

CD Release Party for “MUSIC APPRECIATION” on Single Malt Recordings

featuring:

Chris Greene – saxophones

Damian Espinosa – piano

Marc Piane – bass

Steve Corley – drums

We can't think of a better venue for a smokin' jazz quartet.  The Green Mill has atmosphere to spare and a storied history as a speakeasy with underground tunnels to let partiers out into the bank across the street in case of a raid.  

No raids for the release night--and plentiful beer.  

The Chris Greene Quartet celebrates Music Appreciation at The Green Mill

Local saxophonist and composer Chris Greene and his quartet have a new CD entitled Music Appreciation that draws from all eras of jazz, as well as 70s soul and 80s progressive pop acts from Prince to The Police and Yellow Magic Orchestra. CGQ celebrated the release with a show at the legendary Green Mill on Saturday, March 8th, 2014. 

Click here to sample a few tracks.   

http://chrisgreenejazz.com/

Our Favorite Shots:

Jason "Sexy Elbows" Narducy's Split Single Record Release at Schubas THIS Saturday

Schubas will be smokin' Saturday. The infamous Jason Narducy's record release party for Split Single is in the PM and they have an 11am show for the rock tots with Schubas family Series.  Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've been talking about Split Single's debut, Fragmented World (4/1 release), since mid February.  Now you can finally check it out and see them live.  Be there.

• SPLIT SINGLE (RECORD RELEASE) 9pm (21+) $18 at the door
• BEAR CLAW

Fragmented World, Split Single's debut full-length was just released 4/1 on Inside Outside Records.

JASON NARDUCY OF SPLIT SINGLE'S 

SEXY ELBOWS: 

ARE THEY A BLESSING OR A CURSE? 

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO FIND OUT.

Check out this hilarious video featuring Fred Armisen, Tim Meadows, Margaret Cho, Dave Grohl, Britt Daniel, Jon Wurster, rock photographer Paul Natkin, Bob Mould, Mac McCaughan and more. It really helps address one thing everyone's thinking about but nobody's talking about: 

Split Single's Jason's elbows.

Split Single, Band Featuring Spoon's Britt Daniel and Jason Narducy, Announces Debut Album

If there was an indie-rock Jeopardy! category, the following would certainly be a question: “Who is the only musician to have played with Bob Mould, Robert Pollard, Superchunk, Britt Daniel, and Telekinesis – and served as the inspiration for Dave Grohl to devote his life to playing music?” If you answered Jason Narducy for $5,000, you’d probably win that episode. “Watching Jason was the first time I thought I could start my own band, and write my own kind of music,” Dave Grohl says. “Jason totally set my life in this new direction. It wasn’t a Jimmy Page or KISS poster I had – it was fuckin’ him!” Indeed, if indie rock has a Zelig, a Forrest Gump, it’s Narducy. “Jason's been doin' the rock since he was a snot-nosed little punk,” Robert Pollard notes. “And I can attest from his work with me on the road that he's got it down. And it's not going to stop anytime soon.”

Narducy’s career in rock does prove uniquely epic upon inspection, and continues as such to this day. He first appeared as a co-founder of Verböten – one of the seminal acts in the Chicago punk scene that produced groundbreaking bands like Naked Raygun and Big Black. Narducy then went on to become frontman/songwriter/guitarist for Verbow, another beloved Windy City outfit who signed a major-label deal with Epic/Sony during the ‘90s alt-rock bubble. He followed that up with an ongoing, nearly decade-long run as indie-rock’s secret weapon – serving as bassist and backing vocalist for indie-underground icons like Mould, Pollard, and Superchunk, as well as Seattle’s indie power-pop faves Telekinesis. 

Now Narducy is returning to center stage as a bandleader with Fragmented World – the debut album from Split Single. A new project formed with fellow travelers Britt Daniel (Spoon, Divine Fits) on bass and drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats, Bob Mould, Ben Gibbard, Robert Pollard), Split Single proves equal parts solo project and collective. “I liked the concept of a split single,” Narducy says. “It’s a communal thing: two bands have to work together in this handshake commitment, which then exposes each band to the other’s audience. 

It’s also the name of a two-stroke motorcycle engine invented at the turn of the century to be more efficient and powerful than previous engines. All those things together seemed to really reflect the spirit of what we did.”

RSVP on Facebook

Midwest Hype Album Release at Double Door Friday 4/4 (21+) #OriginalPhotos #TBT

Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar

We've shot Chicago's own Midwest Hype in action a number of times in the past and they're a lot of fun live.  Click here for some of our past photo filled features.  Then get out and see them live tomorrow.

Double Door Welcomes

Midwest Hype

Spare Parts, The Palmer Squares, cLOUD9, ILL Ambition, DJ Steezy

Friday, April 4, 2014

Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm

$10.00

Chicago’s Midwest Hype will celebrate the release of its new album The Time with a show at The Double Door on Friday, April 4: http://www.doubledoor.com/event/516713-midwest-hype-chicago/

You can listen to the title track at https://soundcloud.com/midwesthype/the-time and check out the band's site for more. http://www.midwesthype.com

Throwback Thursday: ChiIL Live Shows/ Midwest Hype

House of Blues Chicago 2/4/12

INCOMING: Sabers Album Release at The Hideout 3/22

Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar

Fronted by Josh Chicoine (the M’s) and featuring members of Head of Femur, Poi Dog Pondering and the 1900s, Sabers will celebrate the release of their debut album, Sic Semper Sabers, at The Hideout on Saturday, March 22. 

Record Release Party

Sabers

Forgotten Species, Kate Adams

Sat, March 22, 2014

Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm

The Hideout

Chicago, IL

$8.00

Following years of performing, touring, and recording with the M's, Josh Chicoine founded CIMMfest, the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival in 2008. During this time, held up in his Andersonville recording studio space in a defunct Salvation Army Church, Sabers music took shape in fits and starts, and more fits, morphing in and out of psychedelic pop and rock structures finding its own way over years of trial and error. 

Now, with the first Sabers record complete, Chicoine formed a band of amazing musicians long from the Chicago pop and rock scene. 

Colby Starck (the Faders, Head of Femur) drums, Shane Schroeder (Hot as Hell) guitar, Max Crawford (Poi Dog, Wilco, Expo '76) keys, Edward Anderson (1900s, Mazes) bass, have given live life to songs created mostly in private. The result is thrilling, contemplative, bashing, emotionally powerful music unmoored and evolving.

Check out Sabers Music here for more.

Worlds Collide Alert: PigPen Theatre Co. In Residence at Schubas AND Opening The Season at Writers Theatre

These little piggies are all over Chi-town.   Go hog wild and check 'em out at Writers Theatre AND as artists in residence at one of our favorite little venues for live tunes, Schubas.   They'll be rockin' the joint every Monday in October & November.   We'll be there for the press opening of the Writers Theatre's season opener on 9/12 and we'll have a review up shortly.

PigPen Theatre Co. will be in residence at Schubas in Chicago, Monday nights in October & November:

Oct 7: http://www.schubas.com/Shows/10-07-2013+Pigpen+Theatre+Co

Oct 21: http://www.schubas.com/Shows/10-21-2013+Pigpen+Theatre+Co

Nov 4: http://www.schubas.com/Shows/11-04-2013+Pigpen+Theatre+Co

Nov 18: http://www.schubas.com/Shows/11-18-2013+Pigpen+Theatre+Co

Just announced: in celebration of their upcoming EP release (The Way I'm Running, out October 8) 

The guys are in Chicago performing their full-length production, The Old Man and the Old Moon, at Writers' Theatre through November 10, after which they'll embark on a U.S. concert tour.

AWARD-WINNING INDIE-FOLK BAND PIGPEN THEATRE CO. TO RELEASE NEW EP, THE WAY I’M RUNNING, OCTOBER 8

NEW PRODUCTION OF THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON RUNS SEPTEMBER 3–NOVEMBER 10 AT WRITERS’ THEATRE IN CHICAGO

 “PigPen Theatre Co. is the best kept secret around but that’s not going to last for much longer…”—The Huffington Post

 “Like watching child geniuses at play.”—The New Yorker

On October 8 award-winning, seven-member indie-folk band/theater troupe PigPen Theatre Co. releases The Way I’m Running, a five-song EP of all new material. Recorded in New York City with producer Ron Robinson Jr., the songs were conceived and arranged on the road as the band toured in support of their critically acclaimed debut album, Bremen, named one of the top 10 albums of 2012 by The Huffington Post.

In addition to touring the U.S. this summer, PigPen spent two weeks in residence at the Williamstown Theatre Festival workshopping the new Chicago production of their Off-Broadway hit The Old Man and The Old Moon. The show, which played more than 100 performances in NYC last fall, will have its Chicago debut in a new production at Writers’ Theatre running September 3–November 10.

The guys of PigPen began creating their unique brand of music, film and theater as students at Carnegie Mellon University in 2008. They went on to become the first group to win top honors at the New York International Fringe Festival two years in a row (2010 and 2011), and their first commercial Off-Broadway production The Old Man and The Old Moon received critical raves, running from September 2012–January 2013 at The Gym at Judson (located in the iconic Judson Memorial Church).

PigPen Theatre Co. has performed at New York’s famous Barrow Street Theatre, Bowery Ballroom, Joe’s Pub, Mercury Lounge, The Irondale Center, The Gym at Judson, the Boston Center for the Arts, and has sold out theaters nationwide with its shows The Nightmare Story, The Mountain Song and The Old Man and the Old Moon. Their work has earned them critics’ picks from The New York Times, Time Out New York, New York Magazine and The Huffington Post, among others, with reviewers ranking their productions among the top ten theatrical events of both 2011 and 2012. The group recently gave a TEDx Talk on storytelling.   

Click here to check it out.

THE WAY I’M RUNNING TRACKLIST

1. Sailor

2. Song from the Stone

3. The Way I’m Running

4. Giant

5. I Crash

PigPenTheatre.com

Facebook.com/PigPenTheatreCo

Twitter: @PigPenTheatreCo

Writers Theatre opens its 2013-14 season

with PigPen Theatre Co.’s

The Old Man and The Old Moon

A new play with music

September 3-November 10, 2013

Something old... something new...  The Old Man and The Old Moon is a NEW play that starts the NEW season of Writer's Theatre.   This one's high on our must see list.   Book your tickets in advance for the best seats.   Previews are currently running.   We'll be there to review for the press opening night 9/12.   

Click here for our prior coverage and the full scoop on The Old Man and The Old Moon. 

Title:                 The Old Man and The Old Moon

By:                   PigPen Theatre Co.

Directed by:      Associate Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.

Cast:                PigPen Theatre Co.

Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi and Dan Weschler.

Designers:        Lydia Fine and Bart Cortright; Mikhail Fiksel (sound); Meredith Miller (props master)

                                    Dates:              First performance: September 3, 2013

                                  

                                   Closing performance: November 10, 2013

           

            Schedule:         Tuesdays: 7:30pm

                                    Wednesdays: 7:30pm (with select 2:00pm matinees)

                        Thursdays & Fridays: 8:00pm 

                                    Saturdays: 4:00pm and 8:00pm

                        Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

             

                        Location:          Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

                        Prices:              Prices for all performances range from $35 -                                                $70

                                               Purchase early for best prices   

           

Box Office:       The Box Office is located at 376 Park Avenue, Glencoe;

                        847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre or follow Writers Theatre on Twitter at Twitter.com/WritersTheatre. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

TONIGHT: The Steak House Mints Album Release Party at Martyrs'

ChiIL Live Shows will be there...will YOU?!    Chicago’s The Steak House Mints will celebrate the release of their new album, Love Songs for Prostitutes, with a show at Martyrs’ on Friday, Feb. 15: http://www.martyrslive.com/fri-feb-15-830pm-8
We'll be there shooting stills & we'll have a full review of their new album for you here soon as well.

21+
Only $8
Check 'em out!

Here's their main web site for more info.

Mutts Video Preview Party & Performance at L & L Tavern This Tuesday #liveshowshots

ChiIL Live Shows shots--Mutts Album Release at Fireside Bowl 8/2/12

ChiIL Live Shows    Fireside Bowl--Mutts Album Release

Acclaimed underground filmmaker Jim Sikora has directed the video for “God, Country Grave” for the Chicago band Mutts; the track appears on the group’s most recent LP, Separation Anxiety.

Check out a bunch of our original past LIVE Mutts shots here.

The band will be celebrating with a viewing party and performance at the video’s primary location, the L&L Tavern, 3207 N Clark, at 7:30PM on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The clip will make its online debut the following morning.






ChiIL Live Shows    Fireside Bowl--Mutts Album Release



Click here for more info on The Mutts and Jim Sikora's work:
http://muttsmusic.com/
http://www.mondo-digital.com/sikora.html

Out TODAY NA NA NA by indie Americana band BUXTER HOOT'N'

the CD's first music video, "Kids Those Days"

TODAY marks the release of NA NA NA, the latest from acclaimed veteran Bay Area indie Americana band BUXTER HOOT'N. And the media appreciation for the rootsy intricacies and pop sensibilities of these Cosmic American Psych-rockers is mounting. In fact, it looks like the album will finish in the Top 3 by the end of the day in MAGNET's "What Record Are You Most Looking Forward To" Poll:

”One of the most unique bands I’ve heard in a long time. … The haunting arrangements mixed with strong lyrics make for a potent concoction. … Put Buxter Hoot'n's "Na Na Na" at the top of your wish list.”

 AMERICANA REVIEW

“This EP will quietly blow you away, and then give you reason to dance around your room with an air guitar.” 

CAN YOU HEAR THIS

“Ol' Buxter is dishing it out and I'm lapping it up. … Damn good straight rock.”

ROCK & REPRISE

And check out the new Q&A in THE LA BEAT!

http://thelosangelesbeat.com/2012/08/the-roots-of-rockan-interview-with-vince-dewald-buxter-hoot-n/#more-23120

PSYCHEDELIC AMERICANA MARKS HEIGHTENED APPROACH

TO SHARP, ORIGINAL SOUND OF BUXTER HOOT’N

Bay Area Roots Rockers’ Six-Song EP, NA NA NA, Released TODAY

"A glimpse into the future of San Francisco's slightly psychedelic songwriting scene."

– Bay Guardian

The Bay Area indie Americana rock outfit hailed as “one of the great American bands today” (Relix) has applied a fresh grip to its Midwest roots to take its latest creative leap on its fourth release, and the result for BUXTER HOOT’N, led by brothers Vince and Jim Dewald, is NA NA NA.

The six-song EP, due for release Sept. 4, pumps the band’s enduring “Cosmic American” sound with elements of psychedelia and progressive rock to add moody, atmospheric depth to the record’s stark and poetic themes and overall innocence. BUXTER HOOT’N’s only scheduled live date in 2012 to promote NA NA NA will be a very special CD Release Party on Aug. 17 at the band’s favorite hometown club, Café du Nord in San Francisco.

Returning to a Chicago studio, not far from the brothers’ hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana, to again work with Grammy-nominated producer Greg Magers, BUXTER HOOT’N has emerged with a higher level of dense, emotionally resonant music in its latest blend of blues, rock and Americana. NA NA NA is another showcase for the band’s superb musicianship and an innovative approach to its original mandate of honoring its Midwestern roots and America’s storytelling traditions with an edgier brand of rock ’n’ roll.

BUXTER HOOT’N is marking its seventh year together with its original lineup intact – dual vocalists Vince Dewald and Melissa Merrill, bassist Jim Dewald, fiddler-guitarist Ben Andrews, and drummer Jeremy Shanok. The band made its NPR live performance debut earlier this year on the nationally syndicated Sedge Thompson’s West Coast Live. BUXTER HOOT’N’s 2011 self-titled album was a milestone for the band. Propelled by the single, “Blue Night,” Buxter Hoot’n, the album, landed in many featured album, artist categories and charts on the Indie Rock scene, with airplay on over 200 radio stations nationwide.

NA NA NA TRACK LIST

1.      Na Na Na

2.     Kids Those Days

3.     Fake Heart Attack

4.     Haunted House

5.     Hung Up

6.     Better Way

Buxter Hoot’n on the Web:

www.buxterhootn.com

www.youtube.com/buxterhootn11

www.facebook.com/buxterhootn

www.twitter.com/buxterhootn