ACT OUT: CHI, IL LIVE THEATRE ON OUR RADAR

Blast from the past:   
I just got an e-mail update from Andy Eninger,  a friend I've known for over 20 years and used to do improv with, waaay back in the day at Miami University.   I have fond memories of letters he sent from his grad work in Budapest, Hungary.   They were these crazy-creative stream of consciousness missives with negatives from the cutting room floor taped on and sent half way around the world (I think they're still in my basement!).   He did a riff once on my addy labels that had L as my middle initial, and he filled an envelope musing on "What does the L stand for...."

He's now a fabulous fixture at Second City, Annoyance and all over the Chicago scene.   He is currently the head of the Second City Training Center's Writing Program where he gets to warp the minds of young actors.  His rampant creativity has escalated from the back of envelopes to the classroom, and to the main stage, for all to enjoy!   These are his current and upcoming shows.   Check 'em out.

Andy says:
I have a show running now, and two coming up that I'm very proud of.  One is all girls; one is all boys; one is a mix.

A WOMEN'S PATH
A parody of Women's Retreats featuring the funniest women in Chicago.
Thursdays 8pm through May 31st
Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway

Starring the very talented John Loos, Robyn Scott, Becca Levine, Katy Colloton, Lisa Linke, and Brooke Breit
Directed by Andy Eninger
Assistant directed by Aimee Davis 
Check out their main site here for all the info


COMING UP:

STEAMWERKZ! THE MUSICAL
Fall into the rabbit hole and go inside Chicago's infamous gay bathhouse "Steamworks" as only the Annoyance can imagine it: As a discosexual Alice in Wonderland.  (I play the Cheshire cat/older gay dude - a part I will have to do a lot of research for, since I'm only 29.)--Yeah, me too! :)

Previews Fridays in June at 10pm, Opens June 23rd
Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway
Click here for all the steamy details

Process (Title TBD)
A comedy revue created through the Second City process (improvisation into written scenes and songs). A featured part of the Second City Directors Program.

Saturdays 9pm DeMaat Theater @ Second City (3rd Floor)
Tickets available at the door or at http://www.secondcity.com/training/chicago/performances/ after June 10.

Read the blog about the show process - http://revueprocess.tumblr.com/
Directed by Angie McMahon

Polish Technical Death Metal Band Decapitated Videos and More

Polish technical death metal band DECAPITATED

ChiIL Live Shows can't wait to catch up with Decapitated tonight for a video interview right after their set at HOB.  If you didn't get a ticket yet, don't bother comin' down.   It's SOLD OUT.   We'll be there shooting stills all night and we'll have our interview with Polish technical metal madmen, Decapitated, up soon.

DECAPITATED will open the "SCION A/V PRESENTS: The Ophidian Trek" tour with headliners MESHUGGAH and direct supporters Baroness, which launched April 29th.   Decapitated is playing their lucky 13th night of the current tour right here at HOB in Chi-Town tonight. 

DECAPITATED guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka shares:"Our new video for 'Homo Sum' is totally different than the previous one and really simple, but with the same energy!  Check this out!"

Vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski adds: "It was great to record this video in Kraków with our good friends.  Great atmosphere + good mood + hours of moshing equals COOL VIDEO CLIP!  I really like the song.  It's a straight-punch-to-the-face, that's why it works in black and white.  There are no colorful stories inside, no bullshit - just mosh!!!"

"Homo Sum" comes off the band's 2011 album, Carnival Is Forever, which debuted at #11 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
 
Remaining confirmed tour dates are:

5/15/12  House of Blues - Chicago, IL 
5/16/12  St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI
5/17/12  Sound Academy - Toronto, ON - CANADA
5/18/12  Theatre of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA 
5/19/12  Palladium - Worcester, MA
5/20/12  Olympia de Montreal - Montreal, QUE - CANADA 
5/22/12  The Fillmore - Silver Springs, MD
5/23/12  Terminal 5 - New York, NY


Official video for "Pest" 

Visit DECAPITATED online at:
www.DECAPITATEDBAND.net
Facebook.com/DECAPITATED
YouTube.com/DECAPITATEDOFFICIAL
Twitter.com/DECAPITATED

 

Shows On Our Radar: Decapitated Tonight, Sabaton & Peelander Z Tomorrow and More

Metal Tonight:

ChiIL Live Shows will be back at the House of Blues for an early show tonight to see Meshuggah, Baroness and Decapitated.   We've got a video interview slated with Decapitated.

Meshuggah – The Ophidian Trek 2012

Buy Meshuggah – The Ophidian Trek 2012 concert tickets for the show at House of Blues Chicago		Tuesday 05/15/2012 Doors: 05:00 PM Show: 06:00 PM Prices: $27.50 - GA - Advanced $30.00 - GA - Day Of Ages: all House of Blues Chicago 329 N. Dearborn Chicago, IL 60654 (312) 923-2000 Driving Directions
Headlining Artist: Meshuggah Other Artists at this Event: Baroness Decapitated		Additional Info: • tickets subject to all applicable facility fees and service charges • applicable fees and charges apply to all ticket sales • NO REFUNDS / EXCHANGES / CANCELLATION
Listen to Meshuggah Songs Bleed Combustion ObZen

Tomorrow night, join us for a rockin' double feature at Reggie's Rock Club:

We'll be interviewing Swedish power metal band, Sabaton, then shooting their show at Reggie's Rock Club.   We're also going to try to catch up with Peelander Z on the flip side, playing in the Music Joint!

Thursday night check out Melismatics Album Release party at Double Door.

$5

8:30pm

21+ 

The Melismatics formed at the turn of the century in the fertile ground of the Minneapolis indie-rock scene. Their debut album “Postmodern Rock” quickly caught the attention of college radio stations around the country and garnered favorable reviews from critics around the world. Shortly thereafter, Minneapolis indie-rock king pin Ed Ackerson (Motion City Sountrack, The Replacements, The Jayhawks) signed the band to Susstones Records and produced their next two albums “New Infection” and “Turn It On”.

The Melismatics toured the country numerous times over and continued to win loyal fans with their high-energy and unpredictable live shows. Their music has been featured on MTV’s “The Hills,” “The City”and “Laguna Beach,” NBC’s “Windfall”; Animal Planet’s “Jockeys” and they’ve played such notable events as Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and CMJ.

The Melismatics released “The Acid Test” on CC Entertainment/E1 Music (2008). Renowned producer John Fields (Jimmy Eat World, Rooney, Har Mar Superstar, etc) caught the band performing at 2007 SXSW in Austin, Texas and signed on to produce the album. The music video for “Digging Deep” charted at #4 on MTVU and received widespread airplay.

The Melismatics’ upcoming album “MANIA!” was produced by Jon Auer of The Posies and Big Star, along with Ed Ackerson (Motion City Soundtrack, Golden Smog, The Replacements) and was mixed by John Fields. The LP was mastered at Sterling Sound in NYC by Chris Athens (Coldplay, Beastie Boys, NERD, etc) and features collaborations with Dan Wilson (Adele, Semisonic) and Jon Auer who also lends vocals to several tracks.

The Melismatics have found a sound all their own that is familiar yet unique, euphoric and adventurous. The Melismatics’ sound is constantly evolving and developing– as The Onion put it, “no one ever accused The Melismatics of being predictable.” 

MANIA! Out Now on Chicago's Pravda Records

Check out Dbl Door's events page for more info

Friday night check out Yamantaka at Schubas

10pm

21+

$8 adv/$10 door

Click Schubas page here for more show details

YAMANTAKA // SONIC  TITAN are not your average band. They are from Montreal, and describe themselves best as a "psychedelic noh-wave opera group fusing noise, metal, pop and folk music".  The live show combines performance art sensibilities with straight up rock and roll.

 
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN Announce US Tour with Xiu Xiu
Nominated For MTV's Album of The Week
Self-Titled Album Out Now

 

Quotes

"YT//ST creates full-scale events, complete with eerie face-paint, monochromatic paper sets and Boredoms-style drum blasts that blend black metal and kabuki into a jaw-dropping new form. The group’s debut album is equally epic, yet it’s all just a glimpse into their master plan to freak out the squares with a stage production so large no theatre in the world could contain it." - Noisey

"the record feels wholly substantial and satisfying in its own right, and even those with no prior knowledge of YT//ST's history and elaborate intentions can just enjoy it for what it is: volcanic prog-rock colored with equal parts post-punk urgency, stoner-metal heft, and psychedelic pop whimsy." - Pitchfork

Tracklisting

1. Racoon Song
2. Queens
3. Oak Of Guernica
4. Reverse Crystal // Murder of a Spider
5. Hoshi Neko
6. A Star Over Pureland
7. Crystal Fortress Over The Sea Of Trees

Check out ChiIL Live Shows like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often for upcoming features on all of the following:

  

• Original video interviews, live show shots and footage:

English Dogs & Casualties (Reggies), Royal Baths (Empty Bottle), Veronica Falls (Empty Bottle), Red Baraat (Schubas), Revocation (Ultra Lounge), Oberhoffer (Lincoln Hall), Suidakra (Bottom Lounge)

• Live original show shots and footage:  

Spiritualized (Metro), Suckers (Empty Bottle), Balkan Beat Box (Metro), The Tossers (Metro), The Cribs (Schubas), Adrenaline Mob & Kill Devil Hill (HOB), Fela (Lincoln Hall), Over Kill (Bottom Lounge), Dirty Ghosts (Empty Bottle), Bloodiest (Empty Bottle), Steampunk Chicago & The Squidling Brothers Circus present:  Gearbox Fantastique II (Reggies), Bear in Heaven (Schubas), Lawrence Arms (Metro), Cymbals Eat Guitars (Lincoln Hall), Meshuggah, Baroness (House of Blues), Decapitated (House of Blues), Gomez (The Vic)

• Original video interviews, live show shots and footage from major music fests:

Summer Camp Music Festival
Pitchfork
Lollapalooza
North Coast Music Fest
Riot Fest

Flamenco Weekend-Multicultural Magic-A Traves Del Espejo-Through The Mirror

SHOWS ON OUR RADAR THIS WEEK:

It's that once a year chance to catch the annual flamenco dance show from Studio Mangiameli "A Traves Del Espejo (Through The Mirror)."  It runs May 18-20th.  




A Través Del Espejo (Through The Mirror)
Adventure Stage Chicago



A friend of ours is performing with thirty flamenco
students from Studio Mangiameli and many of Chicago's flamenco scene's finest live musicians.   She's a Chi town mom, a pediatrician, and a flamenco dancer.   Here at ChiIL Live Shows/ChiIL Mama we love to highlight parents pursuing their passions in the creative arts--music, dance, theatre, visual arts and beyond.   There IS life after birth.   

We also had the great pleasure to snap stills and shoot the Q & A at another accomplished flamenco dancer/ Chicago mom show a few weeks back.  Wendy Clinard's work was a joy to see, and originally inspired by her travels with her young daughter.

Chi, IL Live Dance-Multicultural-"From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer)"   We're still editing and building a feature and will have that for you shortly. 

Here's the scoop on this weekend's show --Studio Mangiameli "A Traves Del Espejo (Through The Mirror)" from their official release:

Mirrors are a dance student's best friend and worst enemy, exposing moments of beauty and clarity as well as missteps and faulty technique. A Través Del Espejo is about those occasional magical and transcendent moments when a dancer looks not just into the mirror but through it, where one inhabits one's fantasy and is transformed by the power of one's imagination. Those moments are what keep us going through  countless classes and rehearsals, hours of frustration and fatigue.

Developed by Artistic Director Chiara Mangiameli, whom The Chicago Tribune calls a "formidable flamenco dancer" for her work alongside master chef Rick Bayless in the current production of Cascabel,  A Través Del Espejo brings together and ensemble of nearly thirty flamenco students from Studio Mangiameli with some of the most accomplished professional musicians in Chicago's flamenco scene such as members of Las Guitarras De España and El Payo.


True to flamenco and its emphasis on personal expression, the student body displays a large age range, each dancer interpreting  the various moods and emotions behind each piece.

Featuring
Chiara Mangiameli, dance and vocals
Carlo Basile, classical and flamenco guitar
David Chiriboga, flamenco guitar
David Gonzalez, vocals
Kinan Abou-afach, cello and oud
Omar Almusfi, percussion

Note: Free parking is available on Friday and Sunday in the Roman Polish Catholic Union lot on 984 Milwaukee Ave.
Street parking on Saturday.

Tickets are $20, $25 cash only at the door (no discounts will be given at the door).

Minimum Age: 7
Kid Friendly: Yes!

Email:  studiomangiameli@gmail.com
Web:  http://www.studiomangiameli.com

Click here to purchase tickets

Two New Songs From Clip Art & The Hudson Branch Record Now Out

Check out Clip Art's newest two releases  “Death V. Decline” and “Pains of the Young" right here.   


 


 
ChiIL Live Shows has a bunch of great live show shots of Clip Art in action at their month long residency at Schubas earlier this year.   Check 'em out here.   Chicago's got talent!

Clip Art Live Show Shots 1/9/12
Clip Art Live Show Shots 1/16/12


They just released these two new songs at The Hudson Branch record release at Lincoln Hall on 5/8/12.


For more info on Clip Art and The Hudson Branch click the links right here.

Riot Fest 2012 Early Tickets On Sale and First Lineup Announcements

Rise Against * Iggy & The Stooges

The Offspring * Elvis Costello

A Day To Remember * Coheed and Cambria

Gogol Bordello * Descendents

Dropkick Murphys * NOFX

The Jesus and Mary Chain * The Gaslight Anthem

Alkaline Trio * Slapstick (reunion) * AWOLNation

The Promise Ring * Chiodos (original lineup reunion) * Gwar

August Burns Red * Frank Turner * Less Than Jake

Built To Spill * Rev. Horton Heat * Fishbone

Nobunny * A Wilhelm Scream * Screaming Females

Teenage Bottlerocket * Off With Their Heads * Sister Crayon

Deals Gone Bad * White Mystery * Larry And His Flask

The Story So Far * Japanther

…AND MANY MORE…

Check out ChiIL Live Shows (free downloads, original pit photos, band video interviews and live show footage) and ChiIL Mama (alt punk parenting) for loads of coverage from Riot Fest 2010 & 2011.  Bring your punk kin & banger babies.   All Riot Fest shows are all ages unless stated otherwise.  If we can walk together why can't we rock together!  

Check out Riot Fest's main page here for details, early ticket pricing and more.

Got Littles?: Winners for CircEsteem Spring Circus and Little G Band

ChiIL Mama has two family 4 pack ticket winners to announce today.   Big congrats!

CircEsteem Spring Circus-your choice of 6 dates--congrats to 4 ticket winner, Nicole F!  

Check out our past coverage including full show details, video/photo links and more, here.   Highly recommended!   

ChiIL Mama's own Sagezilla and Du-Jay are performing along with 150+ Chi-Town kids ranging from the after school program beginners to the advanced, traveling performance team!   My two have been learning circus arts for two years and have advanced to the pre-team.   Come check out all these astounding kids in their biggest show of the year.   The theme is CHICAGO.   

This is THE must see of the next two weekends.   Shows are tonight (Friday 5/11-also Sage's 9th birthday!) and Saturday 5/12 at 1pm and 5pm.   Next weekend shows are on Saturday at 1pm and 5pm and closing show Sunday at 2pm.   Type CircEsteem in the side search bar at ChiIL Mama for loads of photo filled features, interviews and performance videos from the past two years.

 ChiIL Mama is a proud sponsor of Beat Kitchen's Concerts for Kids

Little G Band (for kids birth through 10 with parents) at Beat Kitchen SATURDAY AT 3PM--congrats to 4 ticket winner, Teresa O.

About Little G Band (from their Facebook Page)

We are a family power rock trio. My daughter is 9 and plays 4 instruments,
my son is 7 and plays 5 instruments... At professional level, no less.
Yes, really.   We can't wait to check em out.  

Here at ChiIL Mama we love families that rock together!    *NOTE:   This Beat Kitchen Kids show is SATURDAY AT 3PM


You can enter this week to win more great 4 packs of concert tixs to Beat Kitchen Concerts for Kids including Mr. Singer and The Sharp Cookies CD Release Party at Beat Kitchen next Sunday!

 
**CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!**


As always, we have frequent, fabulous give aways, live concert footage, original video interviews, photo filled recaps, and the heads up about upcoming events, so check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We'll tell you the best places to ChiIL Out this spring and summer!    There IS life after birth.