NightBlue Theatre Gets Ambitious with a Kickstarter Campaign and THREE Openings

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we support high quality Chi, IL theatre of all shapes and sizes and we love to review everything from big budget Broadway extravaganzas down to scrappy store front productions. We've enjoyed the high quality, award winning productions NightBlue has mounted in past seasons so we're happy to spread the word about the Kickstarter and their ambitious, exciting plans for 2015/16. Help out if you can, and come out to support Chicago's incomparable live theatre scene. 

HELP OUT: 

NightBlue is looking to raise $8000 through its kickstarter campaign ($4000 for costumes/ $4000 for lights) by August 31.  Any amount you donate is greatly appreciated and will go directly to offset additional spending in both of these areas. Click here to check out their main site for details on Kickstarter donating, purchasing tickets, and full show details.

     

NightBlue is an Illinois 501(c)(3) organization.  As such, your contribution may be deductible up to the full amount. NightBlue Performing Arts Company is a Jeff nominated theater company entering its 9th season in Chicago.  In that short time, we have gained a reputation for doing great productions of big shows in small spaces.  And this fall is no exception, as NightBlue becomes the first non-equity company in over 5 years to take on two full length musicals in repertory. In keeping with our tradition these are no small shows.  The shows are Mel Brooks' The Producers, and

Blake Edwards,Victor/Victoria!  

These shows are a mammoth undertaking, but NightBlue really wants them to shine!  To do that, for the first time, NightBlue is undertaking a kickstarter campaign to help fund some of the costs for the spectacular costuming and lighting needed for these productions.  Its a huge step for us, as we have never come to you, our theater patrons and supporters and asked to help fund a piece of a show, but we need your help to help put the polish on these great pieces!

OPENING:

Mel Brooks' The Producers - Max Bialystock, the one­time king of Broadway producers hungry to strike it rich, and Leo Bloom, an accountant with dreams of someday becoming a theatre producer, discover that they could get richer by producing a flop than a hit and start by finding the worst show, worst director, and worst actors. When their new production, “Springtime for Hitler,” turns out to be a smash success, the plan is thrown off and the partners’ lives are thrown into chaos.

VICTOR/VICTORIA - A down-on-her-luck singer is convinced by a gay impresario to masquerade as a female impersonator, becoming a huge success in Paris nightclubs and attracting the attentions of a Chicago gangster, in the musical version of the 1982 film.

SAVE THE DATES:

Coming Spring of 2016

HELP OUT: The Luck of Eden Hall Kickstarter

CIMMfest Bands: ChiIL Live Shows on Our Radar #ChiILPicksList

Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar

So you've got your CIMMFest 2015 4 day pass squared away and you've picked up or downloaded the mindblowingly huge Chicago International Movies & Music Festival Program (pdf) which features over 100+ FILM & LIVE MUSIC events, & over 4 rocking days & nights (April 16-19). Now what?! 

Follow your bliss, and when in doubt check back with ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama for some sweet leads on some must sees. Here's a few of our LIVE band favs to get you started. Mark your calendars. 

The Luck of Eden Hall headlines Moe’s Tavern, 2937 N Milwaukee, on Saturday, April 18: http://cimmfest.org/the-luck-of-eden-waxworks-chicago-semisweet/.  Check out our original TLoEH live show shots here.

And our blast from the past original video interview with TLoEH's Curvey on How Creatives Parent and How Parents Create. Our interview also includes his daughter Seda, 7 at the time, in 2012.

http://theluckofedenhall.com/

HELP OUT: 

They have a great Kick Starter campaign going on right now. Kick in some cash if you can! 

Our goal today is $220. Preorder our new album The Acceleration of Time on CD, LP, limited edition Pop-Up CD for a $20,...
Posted by The Luck of Eden Hall on Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Nashville singer-songwriter Rorey Carroll will be direct support for Todd Snider at City Winery on Sunday, April 19 at 6PM: http://cimmfest.org/city-winery-and-cimmfest-present-todd-snider-with-special-guest-rorey-carroll/

http://www.roreycarroll.com/

Car­roll was born in Chicago to a rather nor­mal Amer­i­can fam­ily brought up as a typ­i­cal, mid­dle class kid. It was this up­bring­ing along with a fas­ci­na­tion with al­ter­na­tive cul­ture that led her to­wards the great Amer­i­can love af­fair, the coun­ter­bal­ance to the Amer­i­can Dream. At a young age, she lived in her car in cities all around the county, she hiked the Ap­palachian Trail, hopped freight trains. She made money play­ing mu­sic to any­one who would lis­ten, from the sub­ways of New York City to the streets of Ohio. She be­came a liv­ing para­dox, some­where be­tween run­ning from the law and run­ning from the nor­mal­ity of a Mid­west­ern sub­ur­ban lifestyle. In her words, ‘You have to trust every­one in that world… You’re all fight­ing for the same thing. But at the same time, you don’t trust any­one.’ While the hard­ness of the streets broke her down, an­other world picked her up. Ap­palachian songs, blue­grass and coun­try pat­terns ce­mented in her mind, and per­haps most im­por­tantly - she in­haled the great spirit of rock and roll.

Finally, Laura Joy will take part in Get Off the Couch at The Hideout on Sunday, April 19 at 6PM: http://cimmfest.org/get-off-the-couch-at-cimmfest-no-7-dickie-frances-luke-accord-fee-lion-laura-joy/

GET OFF THE COUCH (GOTC), hosted at The Hideout Inn, is Chicago’s longest running singer/songwriter showcase for area artists. Performed Nashville-style, it's typically held on the first Sunday of every month and hosted by Sam Wahl. 

Now GOTC and CIMMfest are bringing the show to you with headliner DICKIE (Dick Prall) and other showcase artists Frances Luke Accord, FEE LION, Laura Joy, and special guest host Myles Hayes.

http://getoffthecouchchicago.com/

http://laurajoymusic.com/

Chicago-based singer-songwriter Laura Joy has been known to quell dark, angry bars full of ornery old Irishmen with her brand of acoustic pop. Drawing comparisons that range from Joni Mitchell to Alison Krauss, Laura’s percussive finger picking and buoyant voice have graced audiences from as far as the Sun Belt to the streets of Manhattan.

Laura’s EP, “Between Our Words,” was released on March 5, 2015.  It was produced by Chicago veteran, Will Phalen, at Cold Ghost Studios. The album features James Gallagher on drums (Kapsalis Trio, Weepin’ Willows, Republic of Lights), David Gallagher on guitar (Belleisle, Weepin’ Willows), and Will Phalen on bass (Stereo Addicts, Julie Meckler).

Laura is a frequent performer on the Midwest festival scene. She has played at the Independent Chicago Songwriter Festival, Metamora Folk Festival, Lakeshore Arts Festival, Cain Park Arts Fest, and Ravenswood Remix. In January, 2013, she was awarded as a top finalist in the Broward Folk Club Songwriter Competition in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Laura has also opened for Hammel on Trial, Staceyann Chin, and Greg Klyma.

HELP OUT: The Luck of Eden Hall Kickstarter for London Gig With Limited Edition Vinyl Premiums

Chicago’s The Luck of Eden Hall will be opening for the legendary band The Pretty Things at The Borderline in London on August 10! 

The band has set up a Kickstarter campaign with some amazing limited edition vinyl premiums to raise money to get across the pond: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1353737515/the-luck-of-eden-hall-london-calling

They've just made what they need for the trip but you have a chance to score sweet collector vinyl till their campaign ends on June 30th.

Click here for ChiIL Live Shows prior coverage on The Luck of Eden Hall including live show shots.

Here's our interview with Curvey and his young daughter, Seda.

Click here for the band's main site.

Bruce Lamont-Clark Kent of The Metal World (Upcoming Gigs)

 LZ2 at HOB Chicago January 2012

Chicago's own Bruce Lamont is Fearless Frontman by night, and Mild Mannered Mixologist....also by night.   

By day you're likely to find him at a Sox game.

Check out his metal magic with Yakuza, Bloodiest, A Corporate Death, Solo and even Led Zeppelin 2.



His costume (or lack thereof) was so complete with his transformation to Robert Plant, that I didn't even recognize him when I shot their set at Do Division last year!   





It wasn't till some music industry friends clued me in that I went back and checked out the shots and realized it was true!  


 


Check out our original photo filled coverage from LZ2's sold out January gig at House of Blues Chicago by clicking right here.










He's got a superman worthy summer schedule too.   Catch him live: 

Led Zeppelin 2--Tomorrow-Saturday, 6/16/12 South Side Chi-Town in Merrionette Park Buy tickets: 115bourbonstreet.com Only $5!!

Led Zeppelin 2 tore it up for sold out shows from Chicago to Texas earlier this year, and now they're coming back for more!  Timeout New York: "Led Zeppelin 2 is far and away the best Zep band around." Dallas Observer: "...the closest thing to seeing the real Led Zeppelin." Atlanta's Backstage Beat: ": “...such authentic raw flair, the entire crowd bought it, no questions lingering… It was nasty… hard to believe how balls out fantastic they are." Visit www.zep2.com for more info!

6/21/12 - Bongripper / Winters In Osaka / Bruce Lamont / Akkolyte / Machismo

free show with RSVP link..https://docs.google.com/a/emptybottle.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFo5TVpnR05paDFrbXJvSnBERmpWV2c6MQ

• Bloodiest at Lincoln Hall--Saturday, June 23, 2012 9pm
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Yes, the rumors are true -- this will be be Del Rey's last* real headlining show before going on an extended hiatus.
• 
  
• After spending the better part of 15 years as one of Chicago's most formidable space-art-math-post-whatever-rock outfits, the band will be taking a break of unknown duration.
• 
  
• So come on out and bask in the cosmic soundscapes and epic odysseys that Del Rey has made its trademark while you still can. We'll also be previewing some material from a yet-to-be-released new recording that's currently in the works.
• 
  
• We're very honored to be sharing this momentous occasion with Bloodiest (metal-meets-psychedelia-via-early-AmRep) and Ken Camden (spaced-out guitar explorations).
• 
  
• (* The band reserves the right to get back together whenever it damn well pleases, thank you very much.)
• 
  

Bloodiest:   

We're still editing, but we will have loads of live video and stills from the last Bloodiest Empty Bottle show up in the near future.   Live, they lead the listeners on a haunting, eerie and intense journey.   Their sound is primal, heavy, meditative and entirely compelling.   This music resonates on the molecular level.   Go.  

Yakuza

As fun and excellent as LZ2 is, Yakuza is the real deal!   They're honestly
one of my favorite local bands, and I see and review and shoot a LOT of bands.  What they are doing is unique and addictive.   I can't remember who turned me on to their stuff back in the day.  I was saying how much I adore sax with a heavier edge and how there should be a setting on Pandora to search out new/similar bands for punk/metal with sax, when my friend said, you've gotta check out Yakuza, then.   I caught them at a rare metal show at The Hideout where Bruce was doing the hair band/head bang thing and got his hair wrapped around and stuck on the strands of Christmas lights.   He stoically finished the song, then got a little help from his friends to get free.   I was hooked.   Since then we've seen & shot stills at their shows numerous times all over town--most recently at Reggie's.   Their music is amazing, and doubly so live.


I was telling this friend that I only half jokingly told my young kids they should grow up and make mama proud by learning the sax and forming a punk/metal band.   My grandfather played and so did my little sister.   So far, the 9 year old's rocking the guitar and my 11 year old son's learning drums.   

Weirdly enough, though, I recently did a video interview with the drummer, Alexei from Prong, who said he played sax, too.   And the same scenario happened in our video interview with the band,  The Royal Baths.   Their drummer also plays sax.  His parents flew in for their Empty Bottle Show and outed him.....much to the surprise of his bandmates, who only knew him as a drummer.  Not that I ever ask that as an interview question....it just came up in conversation.  

So stoked we have Yakuza to break the sound barrier and pave the way for more avant-garde metal!


Help Locally--Yakuza Doc Kickstarter Campaign needs a serious kick in the ass!!   Pony up--this will be one for the archives and you can say YOU made it happen.   Click here for full kickstarter details.   Going till 6/23.   

Here's an excerpt from a recent Reader article--by Miles Raymer

local filmmaker Justin Baron has been working off and on for almost a decade on a documentary about local metal group Yakuza, whose integration of jazzlike elements—front man Bruce Lamont plays a variety of saxophones—has made them a tough sell for mainstream metal audiences. The archetypal "band's band," they seem to have made fans out of half the metal musicians in the world, but without earning widespread popularity.

"I just feel called to do this," Baron explains, "and whatever that means for me, I have to incur the cost of that life decision to make this happen, you know?" He's currently putting the finishing touches on the doc, entitled Be That as It May: Yakuza's Seismic Consequence; it combines footage of the group in the studio recording 2010's Of Seismic Consequence (Profound Lore), live clips, and interviews with high-profile Yakuza fans, among them Greg Kot, Jim DeRogatis, modern-jazz heavyweight Ken Vandermark, and members of Mastodon, Celtic Frost, Neurosis, Municipal Waste, and more. 

A couple weeks ago Baron launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,500, hoping to pay for the editing, postproduction, manufacturing, and distribution of the film. The campaign runs till Sat 6/23, and incentives range from a thank-you e-mail from Baron (for a $5 donation) to one of Lamont's saxes (for $3,500). Baron says all the work he's put into the movie so far has been worth it, just for the experiences he's had in the burgeoning Chicago metal scene. "There's something going on right now, and Yakuza is definitely a big part of that," he says. "I just sort of felt like Charles Peterson from the 90s Sub Pop grunge era." 

ChiIL Live Shows past coverage:

Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) & Winters in Osaka at Empty Bottle-Show Photos/Metal 

Scott Kelly w/ Bruce Lamont "Cortez the Killer" 1/4/12 (video) 

Macabre-*Yakuza-Novembers Doom-*A Corporate Death (show photos/metal) 

*also Bruce Lamont