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Friday, July 5, 2013

ChiIL Picks: Summerfest Milwaukee Closing This Weekend



Our neighbors to the north know how to throw a party.   We've been promoting Chi-town bands up at Milwaukee's Summerfest, all along.   This weekend is your last shot at Summerfest 2013, and there are more sweet bands on our radar playing there.

We're still waiting on final confirmation, but we plan to head up ourselves and shoot stills this Sunday.   If you haven't made it up there yet, go already.   This is your last chance till next year!


Bands On Our Radar:

There's a wide range of musicians, genres & action, so there's literally something for everyone.   Check out the full weekend lineup here.

Saturday Favorites:

John Mayer 
311 
Buddy Guy 
Briar Rabbit 

Division BMX Stunt Team


Sunday Favorites:

Bad Religion
Archie Powell & The Exports
Future Laureates (Tiki Hut Stage--small stage located on Summerfest map, it is by the lake, at 6PM)
Eagles
Jimmy Eat World
Trampled by Turtles

Division BMX Stunt Team

  • EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

The U.S. Cellular® Connection Stage with Leinenkugel’s and FM 102/1 will once again host the Emerging Artists Series, highlighting emerging talent each evening from 3:00 - 7:30 pm. Check Summerfest.com for information on nightly competitions, Text-2-Screen™ technology, music downloads and much more. Vote for your favorite band each day at Summerfest!

  • LUCILLE'S PIANO BAR

Lucille’s Piano Bar is open from Noon - 11:30 pm daily. Located near the South Gate, patrons can enjoy recorded music from Noon - 4:00 pm and piano performers from 4:00 - 11:30 pm, with the Dueling Pianos show starting at approximately 7:30 pm nightly. Additionally, there will be band performances on Saturday, June 29 and Saturday, July 6 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm.


Our ChiIL Picks For Summerfest:

  • Sunday, July 7

Join hundreds of Fest-Fans to help form the Summertfest Smile in Urban Park on the last day of Summerfest 2013! 

If you have already registered:Follow the signs to the appropriate check-in table, where you will receive your red Summerfest t-shirt. You will then be instructed where to stand to form the Summerfest Smile.

If you did not pre-register:Arrive by 11:30 and queue in the "Walk-Ups" line. You will be registered and directed where to stand. IF YOU DID NOT PRE-REGISTER, YOU MUST WEAR A RED SHIRT TO PARTICIPATE! 

After checking-in, Summerfest staff will direct you to form the Summerfest smile. 

**Sunday is also Summerfest Fan Appreciation Day, and all attendees are admitted FREE until Noon. All participants will be able to enter the grounds for free.**

Presented by:

SUMMERFEST BIG SMILE PHOTO OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED BY FORWARDDENTAL

Help “The World’s Largest Music Festival” smile on in a big way! Register online to participate, then come down to Summerfest on Sunday, July 7 to pick up a red Smile On t-shirt and help create the Summerfest smile with hundreds of fest-fans. Participants will form the smile, be photographed from above and be a part of Summerfest history. More Info


  • New for 2013, recycle to help keep the Big Gig® clean and get a cool t-shirt!  Patrons that visit the South Gate Information Booth during Summerfest and pledge to “Go Green at the Big Gig®” can pick up a bag to fill with recyclable cups, bottles and aluminum pints. Return the full bag to the same spot and get a cool t-shirt for keeping the festival clean!  Visit the South Gate Information Booth or #SFLive Lounge for more details.


Family Friendly Fun:

  • VERLO MATTRESS SKYGLIDER

Take a ride on the Skyglider, a true family favorite! Located high above the main walkway, this gentle ride provides passengers with a scenic view of the Summerfest Grounds, Lake Michigan and the entertainment below. One-way and round-trip fares available.
  • KLEMENT'S SAUSAGE PRESENTS THE ELIZABETH "BO" BLACK FAMILY FOUNTAIN WITH B93.3

Your day at Summerfest would not be complete without a stop at the “Splash Pad.” Kids of all ages splash and play the day away while keeping cool. In addition, each day from 1:00 - 2:00 pm the Racing Sausages will be available for photo opportunities (weather permitting). Listen to B93.3 for special Summerfest promotions.

  • KOHL'S CAPTIVATION STATION

Returning in 2013, Kohl's Captivation Station, created in partnership with Kohl's Cares, will offer educational and musical experiences for children and families, featuring: 
  • Discovery World - Kohl's Design It! Mobile Lab
  • Milwaukee Art Museum - Kohl's Color Wheels
  • Penfield Children's Center - Kohl's Building Blocks Workshop
  • Milwaukee County Zoo - Kohl's Wild Theater

  • PADDLEBOAT WATER EXPERIENCE

Celebrate Summerfest on the water! Presented by Badger Meter, this family friendly activity provided by Lakeshore Paddle Sports will give patrons the opportunity to relax and take in views of the festival and downtown Milwaukee. From Noon – 7:00 pm each day, paddle around part of the lagoon for 30 minutes in boats that hold up to four (4) people. Located at the boat dock on the north end of the grounds, this is a can’t miss experience!

HELP OUT: New Launch Uniting Bands, Fans & Great Nonprofits #UrgencyNetwork


Paul McCartney, Richard Branson, and Linkin Park offer ultimate fan experiences to launch new fundraising and awareness platform THE URGENCY NETWORK.

The Urgency Network connects nonprofits, musicians, celebrities, fans, and brands in a single online community to create positive impact on a global scale.

Starting on July 2nd, Urgency participants can win larger than life experiences by completing social actions like watching awareness videos, donating, or opting-in to mass tweets. With each campaign, the more actions you complete, the more entries you’ll earn towards the Grand Prize drawing.

The Urgency Network is working with several partners to assure that each Grand Prize will be an incredible experience from beginning to end.  

“We’re proud that we will be collaborating with like-minded startups such as Airbnb and Lyft to deliver truly unique experiences for our users and increase the impact we can make for nonprofits,” commented co-founder Donald Eley.

While it’s free to participate, fans who donate can choose from a variety of rewards like concert tickets, merchandise, memorabilia and vouchers as a thank you.  

Additionally, The Urgency Network provides top-performing campaigns an opportunity to win a portion of The Jackpot, which is fueled by foundations and corporate sponsors.

The first Jackpot up for grabs will be a $1 million dollar media grant provided by PVBLIC Foundation who harnesses the power of unused media space to help nonprofits amplify their message.

The Urgency Network’s launch campaigns include: 

  • Meet and greet with Richard Branson in New York City (Carbon War Room)
  • Backstage experience with Paul McCartney at Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco (Greenpeace)
  • Trip to Japan to hang out with Linkin Park at Summer Sonic Festival (Music For Relief)

Whether you donate five dollars or a fortune, five minutes or a weekend: no good deed goes unrewarded.
www.twitter.com/urgencynetwork  /  #UrgencyNetwork


The Urgency Network officially goes live as of 10:00am PST on Tuesday, July 2nd 2013.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

ACT OUT CLOSING: bully.punk.riot and BONEdanse! Last. Show. EVER.


Highly recommended!   You'll be kicking yourself if you miss this one.   BONEdanse is one of our ultimate favorites and this is potentially their last show stateside EVER.   So go already.   Final show 6/30.   7pm TONIGHT at Constellation 3111 N. Western.    Click here for tickets.   Aimed at adults but fine for savvy, urban tweens & teens too.

bully.punk.riot. digs into the inherent herding mentality to reveal the transformation, the blurred lines, and the potential danger of the herd as friend or foe.

Premiering new work by punk rock choreographer Atalee Judy, alongside choreographic up-and-comers Melissa Ganser and Megan Klein. Featuring Janna Barta, Maria Macsay, Cheryl Cornachionne,  and Nicole Scatchell. Lighting Design by Jacob Snodgrass.


  
- Chicago Reader Review - "Less like dance than like the Hawks crashing into the boards, it's been her calling card ever since she founded Breakbone DanceCo., now BONEdanse, in 1997."
  
- Chicago Tribune Recommended Review of bully.punk.riot.
  
- Rogue Ballerina - Preview of bully.punk.riot.
  
- Examiner.com Dance Preview of 'bully.punk.riot.'
  
- TimeOut Chicago Dance Events to see in June

- Windy City Times Cover & Summer Preview of HOT EVENTS!







INCOMING: A Night of Funk & Soul at City Winery 7/7 (all ages)


Chi, IL Live Shows on our radar:




Got Rock Tots, Banger Babies or Punk Kin?! Win 10 Family Friendly Freebies To ChiIL Out With This Summer #Giveaways




Most of our family friendly fare lives over at ChiILMama.com.   But Mama says it's great to share, and since we know lots of our readers at ChiIL Live Shows have kids, and everyone knows someone who does... we're going to share these sweet giveaways over here, too.   

We're celebrating summer with hundreds of bucks worth of freebies including live concert tickets, 20 kindie (kids' indie) CDs and much more.   Check it out.

ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama This Summer--Here are all our rockin' current giveaways in one easy place.   Enter any or ALL.  Good luck!


Enter here for your chance to win loads of books, DVDs/Blu-Ray, CDs, games, toys and more (open to anyone 18+ in the USA) and a ton of sweet Chicago theatre and family concert tickets.


We love summer time and want to share our ChiIL Picks List for rockin' kindie music, movies, eco-friendly finds, events and more with you, so 2013 can be the best summer vacation EVER.   We're giving away great fam friendly freebies all summer long!!  


Disclaimer:   Thanks to all the kindie musicians, theatres, authors, publishers, Warner Brothers and American Girl for providing us with giveaway prizes and review copies.   All opinions are our own.


Check back with us like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often, for loads of original content including video band interviews with kindie (kids' indie) favs, reviews, photo filled features, free downloads, new releases, and more great giveaways.


Here's the scoop:

Click the name of the giveaways below to enter & see our full feature on each.


#1/#2.  2 ChiIL Picks Book Bonanzas:



*Lost in Suburbia : A Momoir, by Tracy Beckerman (5 paperbacks available/$15 value each) Now extended through midnight 7/30. 












*The Ordinary Acrobat by Duncan Wall (5 hardbacks available/  $26.95 value each).  Enter through midnight 7/30. 


Watch for loads of our original circus content throughout the month of our giveaway.  We have video interviews with Cirque Du Soleil performers featured in the book, live show clips we've filmed at CircEsteem Shows, and loads of stills from international touring circuses including Cirque Shanghai, performing on Navy Pier all summer in Chicago, and more!


#3/#4.   ChiIL Picks Blu-Ray & DVD Movies







*Jack the Giant Slayer Blu-Ray/DVD combo!

Enter through midnight 7/9($44.95 value)








*Saige Paints the Sky (American Girl) Blu-Ray/DVD combo!  Enter through midnight 7/30. ($26.99 value)








#5/#6/#7.   

Rockin' 20 Kindie CD Extravaganza 


We're giving away sets of awesome brand new releases along with 2012 & 13 favs of ours.   All entries are open through midnight 7/30.   Winners will be announced on Winning Wednesday, July 31st!


It's road trip season ya know.   And time to ChiIL out and kick back with some of the best kindie artists around.   Throughout the month we'll be bringing you our original reviews and full info on each of the 20 CDs, along with original kindie band interviews, live show footage and more.   Enter to win any or all of these sets.   All of these CDs make it onto


ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List.


*Set 1:  Great American Tunes 

for July 4th & beyond 

($74.95 value)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway


One lucky reader will win these 6 sweet CDs:












  • Ozomatli Presents Ozokidz (LA culture mashers known for singing about immigration protests, gang violence & hurricane Katrina they've now expanded their boundaries again and released a rockin' CD of kids' tunes about photosynthesis, spelling, balloons, germs, skateboards and a runaway moose that's so good you won't want to stop playing it the second you drop the kids at camp.  Freakin' hilarious, great musicians bringing quality, multicultural music in a range of genres.) $10



With five Parents’ Choice® awards to their credit, Ben Rudnick & Friends have what it takes to make recordings families love. Families also love their live shows, where the band’s unique dynamic transforms a concert into an event. The events are celebrations.

On July 11, 2008, the band set up at one of their favorite venues, the town green of Lexington, MA. The same green that saw the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Flying high from the string of

shows that comes with summer, saying goodbye to their accordion player Mark Yacovone who was moving to Mississippi the next day, and joined by Rob “It’s Saturday Night” Lee on saxophones, the band turned in an unforgettable performance.

Featuring songs from their first six recordings and some favorite cover tunes, Live in Lexington fills every available second on the CD with good time tunes as only they can deliver.

Live in Lexington has garnered BR&F their SIXTH Parents' Choice Award.
ChiIL Mama had the great pleasure of catching the Okee Dokee Brothers for a video interview and shooting their live show at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago, where we sponsor an annual, weekly kindie music concert series.   They're down to earth, cool guys, with an eco-friendly bent and talent to spare.   We've given away copies of Can You Canoe earlier this year.   Now check out one of their earlier albums, Parents Choice Silver Award Winner and one of our favs, Take it Outside. $15




($77.93 value)


*Set 2:  

Kidzapalooza Favs ($82 value):  


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama at one of the best kindie fests in the nation!   We've covered Kidza all 3 days of EVERY year of it's existance.   We'll be back again for 2013.   To get you jazzed for the fest, we're giving away a CD set including Ella Jenkins' latest release-Get Moving, and kindie favs that have graced the Kidza stage in years past.   One lucky reader will win 6 CDs from these Kidzapalooza Favs:









(These guys are long time favs of ours and we've had the pleasure of shooting their live shows at Kidzapalooza and catching them for a video interview.   They have a new release out--Deep Sea Diver.   But we also adore their last two, In Tents and Flying.)



($82 value)








Here's the rockin' 2013 Kidzapalooza lineup! 

  

Ralph’s World

The Not Its

The Q Brothers

The Blisters

Peter DiStefano & Tor

Jambo

School of Rock

Ella Jenkins

Kristian Bush

Perry Farrell

Special Guests



*Set 3:  

Windy Kindie CDs ($96.80 value!!)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Our own home town kids' musicians are awesome.   Look for these Chicago favorites at street fests all summer & at Beat Kitchen's Concerts for Kids again this fall.   One lucky reader will win these 8 CDs by Chicago Kindie favorites:




($96.80 value!!)



#8.  Mini Bunny Bonanza ($39.95 value)


Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


For those summer days when some bunny needs a nap and some big bunny needs a break!!   Let Randy Travis & Lilly Tomlin take over on the endless story reading detail for a while.   Then watch your little one drift off to sleep to Deborah Poppink sweet, original tunes.   She's an over 40 mom of 2, and she gets it!


Hop from Spring into Summer with bunny fun from our ChiIL Picks List for birth to 7 year olds.   *Some bunny will win both a DVD story collection & DidiPop CD! (Since bunnies know how to multiply over the summer months... we'll double this winning!!  2 winners chosen.)



  • Scholastic Storybook Treasures Read Along DVDs--The Springtime Collection featuring Max's Chocolate Chicken.   12 stories on 3 DVDs with narration by Lily Tomlin, Randy Travis and others.  $24.95 


Deborah Poppink is a kindie musician with 2 daughters of her own.  She says DidiPop comes from when I was a kids (“Debbie Poppins”) and because it’s fun to say and sing. The Beatles are my inspiration, and I was raised on pop radio from the 60s and 70s and musical theater. I started playing piano when I was 3, guitar at 9 and songwriting at 17. My mom says I sang the day I was born. I’ve always loved great music, a catchy chorus and interesting story.

“Bunny In The Moon: bedtime songs for falling asleep" is a new album of 14 original songs, designed to wind your child down to dream-land.

The “Goodnight Moon of children’s music. Your child will look forward to turning out the light and listening as s/he falls asleep to this intimate collection of winding down songs. 

Deborah says, as a mother who waited until she was 40 to start having kids, I pour as much art, music and mindfulness into my girls as I can… in small and fun doses. I hope that you will and can give your child music and art that inspires and teaches. I make music for my girls because it was my very best love as a child and it provided me with so much. I hope to share that love and present mindedness with you and your child…through song, rhythm and magic.


ChiIL Out in Chi, IL with theatre & live music:






#9.  Chicago Tickets-Family 4 Pack to Shrek at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre ($100 value) Your choice of any dates pending availability 7/13-9/1!   Enter through midnight 7/9.





#10.   Chicago Tickets-Family 4 Pack to Justin Roberts at Ravinia-Pavilion Seats

($40 value).  Enter through midnight 7/9.


Check back soon for his brand new release!!   We'll be reviewing it right here and giving one away.




Disclaimer:   Thanks to all the kindie musicians, theatres, authors, publishers, Warner Brothers and American Girl for providing us with giveaway prizes and review copies.   All opinions are our own.

SUPERSUCKERS to deliver new album to Acetate Records, distributed by MVD Entertainment Group





Acetate Records announces the addition of legendary Seattle band Supersuckers to their roster. The as of yet untitled album will be recorded at Willie Nelson's famous Arlyn Studio, in Austin, TX.  It will be the band's ninth studio record and their first since 2008's Get It Together, released on the band's own Mid-Fi Recordings label.  


"The band is really firing on all cylinders here lately and we're super stoked to get into the very same studio where we recorded Sacrilicious (SubPop, 1995) and create this rock-n-roll juggernaut," writes frontman Eddie Spaghetti. "We're also excited that we'll be releasing the record through Acetate Records, a new home for us and we're all in the honeymoon stages of the relationship now, so things are rosy and looking up."

To celebrate this union of rock, Acetate Records and Supersuckers are offering fans a FREE E.P. entitled "50,000 Middle Fingers Can?t Be Wrong," featuring selections from their past catalog.   The EP is available at http://www.acetate.com.

"It's been a rough few years for us, but that means more angry rock for you to enjoy! So batten down the hatches, lock up your wives and trim the hedges! The Supersuckers are fucking BACK!!!," concluded Spaghetti.

The new album will be released at the end of 2013.

INCOMING: The Cairo Gang at Millenium Park With Dawes





Homegrown sons The Cairo Gang are playing Millenium Park with Dawes on July 8th. The title track  from their upcoming album recently premiered on Pitchfork, you can check it out here.

Stereogum Premiere The Cairo Gang's 'Take Your Time'
Tiny Rebels Out July 23rd On Empty Cellar Records + Cassette Out On Burger Records





'Tiny Rebels' Track Listing:
Side A
1. Tiny Rebels
2. Take Your Time
3. Shake Off
Side B
4. Shivers
5. Father Of The Man
6. Find You With A Song
 

Praise For The Cairo Gang:
"The Cairo Gang cuts across musical movements of several years' span to create music sounding distinctly out of time.” 
-- Pitchfork

“Their slow-motion melodies and arrangements crest and ebb, coalescing in close-harmony choruses and easing apart, with each song emerging as a series of casual incidents.” – The New York Times

"Strong, true and uncannily beautiful" --Uncut [UK]

“One can’t help but feel that [Emmett] Kelly is a man with two great loves that he’s trying to reconcile: order and chaos, two contradictory forces that have fueled many of the greatest moments in pop. Other musicians have managed a balance in the past, but Kelly is admirably attempting to find some new ground.”-- Tiny Mix Tapes

"Kelly’s songs veer between the visceral incantations of Neil Young and the airy mysticism of British folk, but he reshapes 
both to fit his own strength." -- The Chicago Reader

 










Tiny Rebels is a new collection of songs by The Cairo Gang. They are about awareness. They show a new economy in the work of The Cairo Gang's leader Emmett Kelly, conjuring up quick and defined songs un-housed in the shimmering of two burning electric 12-string guitars. the sound of them a swirling desert night sky under which songs call to arms multiple voices that long to be freed from the contraints of song. to be re-blooded in a frenzy of hard hitting drums and bass. all the while set against a wild array of compressed overtones that jangle by the hand of Kelly's inversly delicate touch.

In The Cairo Gang's previous efforts The Corner Man and the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy collaboration The Wondershow of the World, Kelly displayed a heaviness in subtlety. The songs laboured over and performed so that the fire and rage were things to play in tandem with, as a pranaic exercise even. the result is audience for a certain type of in-tuneness, that although powerful and realized, nurture both the playing and the fire and the rage... this can be a dangerous place. this leads to Tiny Rebels

Recorded in a week, it is an epiphany of sorts. it is the boiling point that which Kelly surrendered to in one sense, but obliterated in another. the songs are empowering leaps of faith:  "Say what you want, babe. dont just sit and listen to what you are told. you've got what it takes.
Lord knows the only way that can suit you well."
And from that leap they fall at a speed..

The sound of this record is what distinguishes it the most from previous works. Each song has the same instrumentation. two electric 12-string guitars, bass, and drums, with many voices often double tracked exciting a gorgeous spring reverberation and cut fiercely onto quarter inch tape. always in the red and fighting for space, the layers are deeply compressed and pulsating, creating an un-ease that fluctuates as if the listener is in a vacuum, pushing and pulling. or a wave pool. when cranked, it sounds as if there is music happening beyond the music. in the abstraction of the guitar sound. in the spacial irrecognition of the tape and reverb. the non-presence of the drums.. the jagged tremoloes.. The Cairo Gang has armed itself well on this record. turn it up loud and let it wash over you like an ocean.

Links:



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