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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

PRONG Announce European Tour Dates #originalvideointerview #showshots


Prong LIVE at The Vogue, Indianapolis  Friday the 13th, July 2012
All photos and video by bonnie kenaz-mara © 2013 chiIL Live Shows 


We caught Prong at Cobra Lounge in Chicago last year, right as Carved into Stone was released.   







The last time we caught Prong, we road tripped down to Indy to see them play The Vogue with Clutch and Lionize.

Check out our exclusive interview in Chicago with Tommy and Alexei below.




New York Metallers PRONG have confirmed that they will be heading over to Europe this Summer. The band is scheduled to play a handful of festival dates as well as a string of headline dates. Currently, the tour is scheduled to kick off June 23rd in Clisson, France at Hellfest and will run through July 14th in Serbia at Exit Fest. More dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. A complete list of dates can be found below.




PRONG are touring in support of their latest release Carved into Stone which was released in 2012 on Long Branch Records. The album which is quintessentially PRONG, stretches into the band's earliest and dirtiest foundations on which the band was founded on to the present as a staple of today's post-metal and rock scenes.




Carved Into Stone can be ordered from Amazon HERE. Be sure to check out the deluxe iTunes edition which features an exclusive bonus track which is a cover of the Rammstein track "Feuer Frei".


PRONG's video for "Revenge...Best Served Cold" can be streamed HERE.

Visit the PRONG online merch store HERE.


PRONG European Tour:
6/23: Clisson, France @ Hellfest*
6/25: Luzern, Switzerland @ Schüür
6/26: Freiburg, Germany @ Café Atlantik
6/27: Manheim, Germany @ Alte Seilerei
6/28: Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting*
6/29: Dordrecht, Holland @ Bibelot
6/30: Münster, Germany @ Sputnikhalle
7/12: Zlin, Czechoslovakia @ Masters of Rock*
7/14: Novi Sad, Serbia @ Exit Fest*

*Denotes Festival Appearance*


For more info visit:

The Heard Photo Recap Congress Theater #showshots #funk




all photos by bonnie kenaz-mara © 2013 chiIL Live Shows  








It was great to finally catch The Heard LIVE at The Congress opening for Slightly Stoopid and Tribal Seeds on 3/9.    They put on a rockin' live show and were fun to shoot.






The band will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of their weekly residency at Alive One on Thursday, March 28.   Come check 'em out!












Thursday March 28th / aliveOne Chicago - aliveOne One Year Anniversary Party! We’ll be celebrating The Heard and aliveOne’s one anniversary with fantastic lights, plenty of special guests, and like always, FREE FUNK!




aliveOne Thursday Residency
Every Thursday at aliveOne, 2683 N. Halsted. 10pm. Never a cover. $3 Three Floyds.  (21+)


INCOMING: The Damn Choir at Beat Kitchen (21+) #indie folk


Before heading to Brooklyn to to record with Bryce Goggin (The Ramones, Akron Family, Antony and the Johnsons), The Damn Choir will support The Western and Model Stranger at Beat Kitchen on Friday, March 29th.


Chicago indie folk band The Damn Choir have a busy few months ahead.

The Damn Choir, which features former members of Catfish Haven and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, will share a bill with The Western and Model Stranger at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W Belmont in Chicago, on Friday, March 29 and will be joined by beloved guitarist "Otis the Bearded Angel."


House Call Entertainment, Inc. Presents!!
The Western
/ Model Stranger / The Damn Choir / Bullet Called Life
Friday, Mar 29, 2013 9:00 PM CDT (8:30 PM Doors)
Beat Kitchen
, Chicago, IL
21 years and over

The band has been demoing new material in Chicago (to follow up 2012's critically acclaimed You're My Secret Called Fire) and are planning on recording with producer/engineer Bryce Goggin this spring in Brooklyn.

Click here for advanced tickets.

Click here for ChiIL Live Shows past coverage including live show shots of The Damn Choir. 

Check out The Damn Choir's main site here.




If you read our fam friendly sister site, ChiIL Mama, we mention Beat Kitchen just about every week.   We're press sponsor for Beat Kitchen's Concerts for Kids Series, an acclaimed weekly showcase of kindie (kids' indie) bands in many genres.   We shoot live show video and stills there frequently, and give away free tickets to every kids' concert.   If you have rock tots, little folk, or punk kin from birth to 10, check it out.   We have a ton of ticket giveaways and rockin' original content.   

NEW RELEASE: Sermon For No One by Safe Haven #blues #bluegrass #folk #rock





Chicago’s Safe Haven (featuring members of The Hue and Falldown) just released Sermon For No One. 



Photo from Safe Haven's FB Page


We've been diggin' what we've heard from Safe Haven.   Their tunes put me 
in the mood for summer festivals and back yard BBQs.   They've melded traditional blues, rock, alt country and other styles into something completely compelling and new, yet comfortably familiar.  
These locals are certainly worth a listen!

Safe Haven is a four piece band that can cover multiple genres in a single show. From blues based electric guitars riffs to mandolins and pedal steel this is a band that’s forging their own sound. True original song writing with elements of Blues, Folk, Rock, and Bluegrass separating them from the typical sound of a Chicago based band.


INCOMING: Black Flag Vs. Flag Tour Dates



Greg Ginn and Ron Reyes April 17, 1980  The Smiling Buddah / Vancouver BC, Canada Photo: bev davies  

BLACK FLAG has reformed and is in the process of putting finishing touches on a new album with founder Greg Ginn on guitar, Ron Reyes on vocals, Gregory Moore on drums and Dale Nixon on bass.

The one constant member throughout the history of BLACK FLAGGinn -- named  one of Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" -- defined the west coast punk sound and the DIY ethos of punk rock. Greg Ginn also currently plays with Good For You and Greg Ginn And The Royal We

Ron Reyes of Decline Of The Western Civilization fame was the BLACK FLAG vocalist from The Church / Jealous Again era. Reyes also currently plays guitar in Piggy.

Gregory Moore has played with Gone and BLACK FLAG (2003) and brings his relentless and driving drum style to the band.

Notorious for not touring, Dale Nixon never-the-less played bass on the My War album and is the author of iconic BLACK FLAG bass lines such as Jealous Again, Nervous Breakdown, Six Pack, TV Party, Revenge, Gimme Gimme Gimme etc... etc... While Dale has lent his skills to the new album, he is currently contractually obligated for a stint on Celebrity Rehab. Still, as he has always done in the past, he will continue to provide insight and spiritual guidance to the current bass player.

The seeds of this reformation were planted when Reyes invited Ginn to perform with him at his birthday party some two and half years ago. Needless to say -- the party was a blast and the two vowed at that time to work on some songs together. The fruition of those efforts will culminate in the release of the new album  later this year.

Far from being a one-time grab, this reformation has BLACK FLAG recording and touring extensively both in the US and abroad. 

BLACK FLAG are excited to announce that they will be headlining the RUHRPOTT RODEO in Hünxe, Germany on May 18th 2013. 

BLACK FLAG are excited to announce that they will be playing the UK's Hevy Fest on Sunday August 4th. Celebrating it's 5th year this summer, Hevy is a completely independent hardcore, punk and metal festival with over 80 bands across 4 stages. The iconic band will be returning to Britain for the first time in almost 30 years, making their only UK appearance of 2013 at the festival.


BLACK FLAG is headlining the Muddy Roots Music Festival in Tennessee, Saturday August 31st, 2013. Muddy Roots is 100% independent and promotes artists ranging from bluegrass, old country to punk rock and everything in between. 3 days of camping WITH 60 bands.

More festival and tour dates to be announced soon including BLACK FLAG US Tour Fall 2013. 


Black Flag -- 2013 Tour Dates (more TBA soon)

May 18 Hünxe, Germany - Ruhrpott Rodeo
June 08 Chicago, IL - Reggie's
June 09 Chicago, IL - Reggie's

June 13 - 16 Brooklyn, NY - Northside Festival 2013
August 04 Kent, UK - Hevy Fest
August 01 Viveiro, Spain - Resurrection Fest 2013
August 31 Cookville, Tennessee - Muddy Roots Music Festival

The other Black Flag reunion, touring under the name Flag, features Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Bill Stevenson, and Stephen Egerton.  They play 3 European festival dates then head back to the US for The Punk Rock Bowling Fest in Vegas.


Flag tour dates
DATE
CITY
VENUE
4/26
Munich, Germany
Monster Bash Festival
4/27
Berlin, German
Monster Bash Festival
4/28
Meerhout, Belgium
Groezrock Festival

5/24- 5/27 
  Las Vegas, NV    

Punk Rock   
Bowling Fest!


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

ACT OUT OPENING: STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE WORLD-PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF HEAD OF PASSES 4/4



ENSEMBLE MEMBERS TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY AND TINA LANDAU REUNITE FOLLOWING THE
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS, APRIL 4 – JUNE 9, 2013 IN THE DOWNSTAIRS THEATRE

Performances of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s highly anticipated world-premiere production of Head of Passes by ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney begin April 4. Inspired by the Biblical Book of Job, ensemble member Tina Landau directs following her acclaimed collaboration with McCraney for the The Brother/Sister Plays (2010), with a cast featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Jon Michael Hill (May 21 – June 9) and Tim Hopper with James T. Alfred, Kyle Beltran (April 4 – May 19), Chris Boykin, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Glenn Davis, Ron Cephas Jones and Jacqueline Williams. Head of Passes begins previews April 4, 2013 (Opening Night is April 14, 2013) and runs through June 9, 2013 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Tickets ($20 – $78) are on sale now.

In anticipation of her birthday, Shelah’s family and friends gather at her home in the Head of Passes—–the mysterious shifting marshlands at the mouth of the great Mississippi River. As the guests appear, so do ghosts from the past, and Shelah’s convictions about her life begin to dissolve, along with her home in the Louisiana rain. Ensemble members Tarell Alvin McCraney and Tina Landau team up again for this wise, warm world-premiere drama about faith, family and finding your place in the world.

Head of Passes is intriguing in both its content and form—or rather, in the way that the form moves us into the heart of the play's intensifying interrogation of faith,” comments Artistic Director Martha Lavey. “The divine intervention in our lives may come to us in surprising garb and speak to us the language of humility. The membrane between this world and the unseen world may be porous. We must endure our doubt, we must endure not knowing.  Somewhere in that, is our faith.”

The cast of Head of Passes features ensemble members Alana Arenas as Cookie, Jon Michael Hill as Crier (May 21 – June 9), and Tim Hopper as Dr. Anderson with James T. Alfred as Spencer, Kyle Beltran as Crier (April 4 – May 19), Chris Boykin as Angel/Construction Worker, Cheryl Lynn Bruce as Shelah, Glenn Davis as Aubrey, Ron Cephas Jones as Creaker, and Jacqueline Williams as Mae.

The production team for Head of Passes includes: David Gallo (scenic design), Collette Pollard (associate scenic design), Toni Leslie James (costume design), Scott Zielinski (lighting design) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound design and original music). Additional credits include: Erica Daniels (casting), Jacob Padrón (dramaturg), Laura D. Glenn (stage manager) and Cassie Wolgamott (assistant stage manager).

Tickets to Head of Passes ($20 – $78) are currently on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. 20 for $20: twenty $20 tickets are available through Audience Services beginning at 11am on the day of each performance (1pm for Sunday performances). Rush Tickets: half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student Discounts: a limited number of $15 student tickets are available online using promo code “PASSES15”. Limit 2 tickets per student; must present a valid student ID for each ticket. For additional student discounts, visit steppenwolf.org/students. Group Tickets: all groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance throughout the season. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org/groups.

Head of Passes is the recipient of a Joyce Award. Support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Allstate Insurance Company is Corporate Production Sponsor for Head of Passes.

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance in the Subscription Season. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance.

Currently on stage is The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter, directed by ensemble member Austin Pendleton (through April 28, 2013) in the Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St); and Garage Rep, featuring BlackTop Sky by Christina Anderson, directed by Cassy Sanders, presented by Theatre Seven of Chicago; See What I Wanna See, words and music by Michael John LaChiusa, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, music direction by James Morehead; and She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, directed by Scott Weinstein, presented by Buzz22 Chicago (through April 21, 2013) in the Garage Theatre (1624 N Halsted St). The 2012/13 Subscription Season concludes with Belleville by Amy Herzog, directed by Anne Kauffman (June 27 – August 25, 2013) in the Downstairs Theatre.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America’s longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces—the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and three repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, Garage Rep and Next Up. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and nine Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.


Monday, March 18, 2013

TONIGHT: Dueling Caesars In More Ways Than One



ACT OUT OPENING:

Beware the Ides of March indeed!   (That was March 15th, for those of you wondering...  an infamous line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and thought to be his assassination date.   In lucky 2013, Chi-town has not one but TWO productions of Julius Caesar currently playing.   Babes With Blades dueling Julius was in previews and Chicago Shakespeare's version was well into their run for the Ides of March.    

ChiIL Live Shows will be there for opening night tonight, and we can't wait.    They're one of our local favorites for sure.   I've been a sucker for stage combat since I took college level classes in fencing, and stage fighting as part of my theatre/pr/marketing degree at Miami of Ohio.   

As far as this Julius goes, Babes With Blades is doing an all female version...fair play turnabout for all the years Shakespearian women were played by men!   We've been impressed for years by their creative staging, and adept casts.   We'll have a full review up shortly. 


BWBTC's All-Female-Cast Production of 
"Julius Caesar"
  
Babes With Blades Theatre Company reprises our popular all female-cast format to present Shakespeare's tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal.  As classical simplicity meets modern ambiguity -  when the honorable path is clouded by conspiracy - how do you choose where to stand?

3/9 - 4/20/13
Raven Theatre
6157 N. Clark St., Chicago
(Lot parking / easy street parking)

Opening M 3/18, 8:00
Run Th-Sa 8:00, Su 3:30

The performance on Thursday, March 21 will be a Theatre Thursday event, held in collaboration with The League of Chicago Theatres. Patrons are invited to come to Fritzy’s Tavern, directly across the street from Raven Theatre at 6156 N Clark, at 6:00PM for a pre-show wine tasting event. A professional wine consultant from PRPWine International will be directing a tasting of six different wines, as well as sharing food/wine pairing ideas and other tasty suggestions. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are $25, and reservations can be made online at babeswithblades.org or by calling 773-904-0391 and mentioning “Theatre Thursdays.”

More information about Fritzy’s Tavern: http://www.fritzystavern.com

More information about PRPWine International: http://prpwine.com/

In addition to the Theatre Thursday event, BWBTC is pleased to announce the following updates and discounts:
·         The Thursday performances of 3/28, 4/4, 4/11, 4/18 are industry nights; tickets will be half-price for anyone with proof of industry affiliation (call/walk-in only).
·         The Sunday performances of 3/31, 4/7, 4/14 will be Pay-What-You-Can shows (call/walk-in only).
·         There will be a prize drawing each week of the run. Audience members get one free drawing entry with admission and can purchase additional entries for $2, or three for $5.
·         During the final weekend of the show, April 18-20, BWBTC will be accepting donations for Sarah’s Circle (www.sarahs-circle.org), which provides housing assistance, case management, referral services, and life necessities for women who are homeless or in need of a safe space.
·         Additional discount codes will be made available to BWBTC’s Facebook friends.



Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.  For special pricing and events during the show run, please visit our website.

Director: Wyatt Kent
 
Violence Design: Libby Beyreis*
 
CAST: Diana Coates (Antony), Alison Dornheggen* (Casca), Catherine Dvorak (Trebonius), Ashley Fox (Lucius), Kim Fukawa* (Portia), Sara Gorsky (Cassius), Kimberly Logan* (Brutus), Kalina "Kitten" McCreery (Metellus), Jennifer L. Mickelson* (Cinna), Aila Peck (Calphurnia), Maureen Yasko (Caesar)
 
STAFF: Leigh Barrett* (Lighting Design), Leigh Barrett* & Amy E. Harmon* (Production Managers), David Blixt (Dramaturgy), Kjerstine Humiston* (Stage Manager), Kimberly Morris (Costume Design), Grant Sabin (Scenic Design), Melissa Schlesinger (Sound Design)

*denotes BWBTC ensemble members


Fighting Words

Our 2013 new plays development series continues!  Want to be a part of the creative process? Please join us for the first readings of these exciting new plays and give your input.

180 Degree Rule by M.E.H. Lewis & Barbara Lhota*
5/4, 1pm at Profiles Alley Stage (4147 N. Broadway, Chicago) 

Patchwork Drifter by Jennifer L. Mickelson*
6/8, 1pm at Profiles Alley Stage (4147 N. Broadway, Chicago)

Want to know more about Fighting Words?  Go here.
  
*denotes BWBTC ensemble members



Check Out These Babes

Dawn Alden moved to Los Angeles in January of 2009 to pursue film and television work.  Since arriving in SoCal, she has appeared in indie features, short films, webseries, on stage, and even an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant."  She is still pursuing her goal of a recurring role on a sci-fi television series.  Updates on her adventures are at her website, www.dawnalden.com.

Brooke Elliot is starring in Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva as Jane/Deb. Check it out! 

Lisa Herceg is now an Ensemble Member with Stage Left Theatre, as well as an Artistic Associate with Babes With Blades Theatre Company.  She will be appearing as Dana Wing in SLT's upcoming Leapfest X production of Blue Whitney by Steven Haworth, opening in June at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph.   

Barbara Lhota's play Echo is a Semifinalist for the 2013 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.  The play has also been selected for the Athena Project Festival in Denver, Colorado, March 14-31.  The play has a one-in-four chance of full production by the Athena Project in 2014. 

Kimberly Logan is super-excited to be a newly-minted Artistic Associate with Stage Left Theatre.  After playing as Brutus in BWBTC's production of Julius Caesar, she will be appearing as Jan Jan in Fight Girl Battle World with Infusion Theatre (5/14 - 6/16).

Kathrynne Wolf and Dawn Alden can be seen on the new web series, "Dark Age" - http://www.darkage.tv.

Niema Lightseed recently published a book, "Cosmonautica: Graphic Love Songs to God", a collection of poems based on the Heroine's Journey as channeled into a quest for the Beloved.  https://www.createspace.com/3696619, check out her website: www.lightseed.info.       
  
Calling all active & emeritus Babes: please keep us up-to-date on your activities! Email notgonnalie@babeswithblades.org about a listing in the Babes With Blades BroadSheet!

Fabulous Women (and Friends) At Work  

Genesis Theatrical Productions (Elaine LeTraunik, Associate Artistic Director) will be producing Woman Before a Glass by Lanie Robertson as part of their Athena's Wisdom Series.  For more information, please visit the website.

Is your organization providing opportunities for women in theatre or film? Want the Babes to promote your work? Email postal@BabesWithBlades.org about a listing in the Babes With Blades BroadSheet!  



Chicago Shakespeare's Caesar

by William Shakespeare
directed by Jonathan Munby
in Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier 600 E. Grand Through March 24, 2013
Audience Notice: Gunshots, strobe lights, loud sound effects, stage blood and haze will be used in the performance.
performances Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays/Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 2pm and 6pm.  Tickets are $58-$78, and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com).  (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes an intermission)




When men feel they can no longer trust their elected leader, where is the line between patriotism and personal ambition? Acclaimed British director Jonathan Munby—whose work has graced the stages of Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe—ignites the fiery power of the most enduring political assassination in history. Within the uniquely personal setting of CST’s Courtyard Theater, audience members feel each spark of emotion as words are wielded like knives in Shakespeare’s epic tale of ambition, betrayal and consequence.
Approximate Running Time: 2 hours and 30 min (includes intermission)




all production photos by Liz Lauren

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