August 2010

Sunday, August 1
Closed.

Monday, August 2
Closed.

Tuesday, August 3
Open Mic. in the SideBar, signup at 8pm, starts at 9pm, free.

Wednesday, August 4
White Ghost Shivers plus the Sanctified Grumblers , 8pm, $10 . [JAZZ/SWING]
SXSW/Austin Music Award’s Best 'None of the Above Band' plays truly entertaining 'bawdville.' White Ghost Shivers revels in string band music from the ’20s and ’30s, mixing early jazz, vaudeville, ragtime, western swing and hillbilly while unleashing the underbelly of a pseudo-rock world gone wrong.
whiteghostshivers.com

“...from the ashes of the woodpile rises The Sanctified Grumblers spreadin raggin, old time jug music to the good people! The Sanctified Grumblers features Rick “Cookin” Sherry (vocals, washboard, harmonica, clarinet, jug and foot drum) formerly of Devil in a Woodpile, and Eric “Leadfoot” Noden (vocals, guitar, kazoo, harmonica, foot and 6 string banjo). The Grumblers are currently writing and discovering new material and working it out in their basement practice space on the south side of Chicago.”
sanctifiedgrumblers.com

Thursday, August 5
Spade Kitty Showcase, 8pm, $5. [rock]
Tonight's featured artists are:
8pm: Constantine and the Emporers
9pm: Paris Schutz Band
10pm: Avitas
spadekitty.com

*Also on Thursday, August 5
Euchre, 7:30pm in the SideBar, free. [CARD GAMES]

Friday, August 6
Reely Dan - The Premier Steely Dan Tribute Band, feat. The Chi-Town Sisters, 9pm, $10 , $12 at the door. [POP/TRIBUTE]
“Reely Dan is the nation’s premier Steely Dan Tribute Band! Commandeered by musical co-directors Bob Blom (keyboard/vocal) and Steve Kikoen (guitar/vocal), this 11-piece jazz/rock collective of first-call studio musicians have been stunning audiences in the Chicago area since its inception in 2003. The band also features bassist John Forrest, drummer Gary Claypool, keyboardist Jon Hey, The Chi-Town Sisters (singers Tina Crawley, Lara Jenkins, & Carole Baskin), and The Fabulous Martinis horn section - featuring Michael Hesiak/sax, Henry Salgado/trombone, and Tim Bales/trumpet. ...” more...
reelydan.com

Saturday, August 7
Closed for private event.

Sunday, August 8
Chicago Grandstand Big Band, 5pm door, 6pm showtime, $10, 17 & under $5. [jazz]
The Chicago Grandstand Big Band has been an integral part of Chicago’s entertainment community for over 25 years. This band has an extensive selection of arrangements that encompass everything from the Swing Era (Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Artie Shaw, etc) to Big Band Jazz (Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman etc.
chicagograndstandbigband.com

Jazz programming at FitzGerald's is generously sponsored by public radio 90.9 FM WDCB, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Monday, August 9
Closed.

Tuesday, August 10
Open Mic. in the Club, signup at 8pm, starts at 9pm, free.

Wednesday, August 11
Chicago Singer Spotlight with Becca Kaufman, 8pm, $8. [ECLECTIC]
Chicago Singer Spotlight is a showcase open to anyone: male or female, from the seasoned professional to the aspiring beginner. And the diversity doesn’t end there. A typical show encompasses music genres of all types including: jazz, rock, country, musical theater and original material. Each show consists of four vocalists performing a four-song set with a professional house band.
singerspotlight.com

Thursday, August 12
Euchre, 7:30pm in the SideBar, free. [CARD GAMES]

Friday, August 13
Del Castillo, 9pm, $15 . [LATIN/ROCK]
Del Castillo began as a CD project for family back in the winter of 2000 and has become a symbol of the cross-cultural power of music with their eclectic blend of Flamenco, Rock, Latin, Blues, and World music. Between the release of their first CD, Brothers of the Castle back in 2001, to their 2010 self-titled album, Del Castillo has received an astonishing 18 awards including SXSW/Austin Music “Album of the Year” Awards for Vida (2002) and Brotherhood (2006), “Band of the Year (2003)”, ASCAP’S “Best Independent Group of the Year (2005)”, and Austin Music Pundits “Best Live Act (2004)”. Rolling Stone calls Del Castillo “tumbling brilliance on nylon-string classical guitars” with “eruptions of technique and taste (that) conjure images of Eddie Van Halen fronting early Santana (with an assist from the Gipsy Kings)."
delcastillomusic.com

Saturday, August 14
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound, 9:30pm, $12 . [dance]
“Tommorow Sound Now For Yes Music People, the newest addition to the Cebar catalog, boasts both the open-hearted spontaneous soulful-ness we’ve come to expect from this dedicated musician (Who Can Love Who?, The Same Dog, Marv’s Fluttering Guitar, I’m Qualified) and wild- headed, crazyquilt conjuring (Knock It To Me, Like A Gentleman Oughta, Spread That Sugar) that feels like a bold contemporary invigoration of the inviting verities he has always explored.” ... more...
myspace.com/paulcebartommorowsound

Sunday, August 15
Prohibition Orchestra of Chicago, 6pm, $10, 17 and under $5. [jazz]
“We are a 10-piece band dedicated to playing the music of the early big band era. All of our arrangements were published from 1923 to 1934. It's the real authentic sound, and we're the only Chicago-area band currently playing in this style.”
prohibitionorchestra.com

Jazz programming at FitzGerald's is generously sponsored by public radio 90.9 FM WDCB, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Monday, August 16
Closed.

Tuesday, August 17
Open Mic. in the SideBar, signup at 8pm, starts at 9pm, free. [eclectic]

Wednesday, August 18
Rob Parton Big Band, 5pm doors, 6pm showtime, $10, 17 and under $5. [JAZZ]
The Rob Parton Big Band features a group of the finest musicians in Chicago. Musically, the band mirrors that of the European Radio Orchestras, where new music is the focus. The music features the sounds of the electric guitar, electric bass, percussion and musical styles outside of the traditional swing setting, hitting upon funk grooves, hip hop grooves, latin grooves and of course the essence of it all, swing. In some ways it might be very similar to Gordon Goodwin’s Big PHAT Band intersecting with Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra.
rparton.com

Thursday, August 19
Double Album Night, 8:30pm, $7. [POP/TRIBUTE]
Jay Gepner & band perform Lennon’s Imagine album, Phil Angotti & band perform McCartney’s Ram album.

*Also on Thursday, August 19
Euchre, 7:30pm in the SideBar, free. [CARD GAMES]

Friday, August 20
Paul Thorn plus Naomi Ashley, 9pm, $20 . [Americana]
Among those who value originality, inspiration, eccentricity, and character - as well as talent that hovers somewhere on the outskirts of genius, the story of Paul Thorn is already familiar. Now, Thorn reveals another layer of his fascinating history on the album Pimps & Preachers, addressing that subject on the title cut and in the intriguing “family portrait” he painted for the cover, which highlights his daddy the preacher and his uncle the pimp. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised among the same spirits (and some of the actual people) who nurtured a young Elvis generations before, Thorn has rambled down back roads and jumped out of airplanes, worked for years in a furniture factory, battled four-time world champion boxer Roberto Durán on national television, signed with and been dropped by a major label, opened for Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, and John Prine among many other headliners, and made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time.
paulthorn.com

With her gorgeous cream-and-Kahlua voice, Chicago’s Naomi Ashley is a dazzling performer who brings her songs to startling, vibrant life. When she's singing, she disappears into the song. Her pitch-perfect voice has the ability to convey pitch perfect emotional life. The music she makes is intimate, plainspoken and gorgeously sung – drawing on the American folk, blues and country traditions – which surge with all the contradictory impulses of real, imperfect life. Between songs, she's free-spirited, forthright and very funny, connecting easily with her audience. A born-storyteller, she weaves witty, often hilarious observations and touching stories from her life in Chicago, and as a girl growing up on her parent's farm in Moville, Iowa. Naomi’s band will open at 9pm.
naomiashley.com

*Also on Friday, August 20
SideBar Songbirds, 9:30pm, pass the hat.
Great Performers – catch them while you can!

Saturday, August 21
Candye Kane, 9pm, $15 . [BLUES]
“Superhero is the name of Candye’s original song and the title of her latest CD for Los Angeles based label, Delta Groove Records. It is also an apt description of the jump blues singer and songwriter from East Los Angeles who has earned this moniker the hard way. Nominated for three 2010 National Blues Foundation Awards for BB King Entertainer of the Year, Best Blues Contemporary CD and Best Contemporary Blues Female (the highest honor for blues artists) and beating down pancreatic cancer in the last two years, Kane is one tough cookie. ...” more...
candyekane.com

Sunday, August 22
John Burnett Orchestra, 6pm, $10, 17 & under $5. [jazz]
The John Burnett Orchestra specializes in '40s-style big band swing - keeping alive the sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and others. Each musician is highly professional and most have played with many of the top American big bands such as the Miller, Herman and Buddy Rich Bands. In addition to swing music the orchestra performs current big band jazz charts and many vocal ballads such as those of Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. The orchestra is directed by John Burnett, morning host of 90.9FM WDCB - Public Radio From College of DuPage - Chicago’s leading jazz radio station. John hails from England and attended the Royal Academy of Music. The orchestra consists of five saxes, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, bass, drums and at least one vocalist. It is rapidly establishing the reputation of being one of the best bands in Chicago, grabbing the attention of both old and young alike.
johnburnettorchestra.com

Jazz programming at FitzGerald's is generously sponsored by public radio 90.9 FM WDCB, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Monday, August 23
Closed.

Tuesday, August 24
Open Mic. in the SideBar, signup at 8pm, starts at 9pm, free.

Wednesday, August 25
Quiz Night, 7pm registration in the CLUB! competition starts at 7:30pm, $20 per team. [GAMES]
Test your trivia skills at our monthly Quiz Night!

*Also on Wednesday, August 25
The Chicago Salty Dogs, 7:30pm in the SideBar Music Rm, $10. [trad. jazz]
In 1947, a group of Purdue University students formed the Salty Dogs Jazz Band. In the earliest days of jazz, Indiana was the place where the great bands played, recorded and set down their musical roots. The Salty Dogs Jazz Band was born from that tradition and they continue today as living testament that great hot jazz will live forever. The roots of the Salty Dogs dig deep to the early jazz musicians of the 1920s - Hoagy Carmichael, King Oliver, The New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Biederbecke, Hitch's Happy Harmonists, and Louis Armstrong. The Salty Dogs have played at FitzGerald's for 30 years, but they had been performing in this very building since the early 1950's (then known as the Hunt Club – check out their 1955 photo on the front wall in the club!
saltydogsjazzband.com

Thursday, August 26
Country Night in Berwyn, 8pm, $5. [COUNTRY]
Tonight’s bands include:
John Wesley's Band - myspace.com/johnwesleysband - 8pm
Long Gone Lonesome Boys - myspace.com/longgonelonesomeboys - 9pm
Hillbillys from Space - myspace.com/thehillbillysfromspace - 10pm
3 bands -$5 bucks - 8 o'clock - $2 PBR & Whiskey special!

*Also on Thursday, August 26
Euchre, 7:30pm in the SideBar, free. [CARD GAMES]

Friday, August 27
Wanda Jackson & The Lustre Kings, 9:30pm, $15. [ROCKABILLY]
Oklahoma-based singer and guitarist, known since the 1950s as the Queen of Rock-a-billy, Wanda Jackson has just recorded a new album with producer Jack White. In an era when rock & roll and rockabilly was dominated by men, Jackson was a ground-breaker who more than held her own with a ripping voice like no other and hard-headed songs about no-nonsense female protagonists. Her career has spanned rockabilly, rock and roll, country, and gospel; and she’s shared stages with all the greats from Elvis Presley to Jerry Lee Lewis. Jackson’s first release with Third Man Records shows her putting her own distinctive spin on two cover songs, Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ classic rocker “Shakin' All Over.” In 2009 Wanda was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Springsteen were just a few of the high-profile artists that encouraged the Hall to induct the Queen over the last few years.
wandajackson.com

*Also on Friday, August 27
Cannonball, 8pm in the SideBar, pass the hat. [ROCK]

Saturday, August 28
Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women, plus Jon Sieger & The Subcontinentals, 9pm, $20 . [Americana]
Dave Alvin, Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and self-described “barroom guitarist,” is widely considered to be one of the pivotal founders of the current Americana music scene. Dave Alvin’s current labors of love, the albums Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women and Man of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney are inextricably linked. After the death of long-time Guilty Men accordionist and best friend Chris Gaffney, Alvin set out compiling a tribute to the man and his songs, racking up tracks by heavyweights like Calexico, Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, James McMurtry and many others. Even though Alvin knew that Chris would want him back in the studio creating and doing what he loved as fast as possible, Dave felt the wound was still too raw to record with the Guilty Men. However, turning his considerable creative forces to a fresh project was just what the doctor ordered. The Guilty Women line-up of Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Christy McWilson, Sarah Brown, Amy Farris and Lisa Pankratz debuted at the 2008 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Alvin knew instantly this was the band he would record with. “It just felt so natural,” says Alvin. “It was like I had been playing with them for a hundred years.”
davealvin.net

Mike & John Sieger, who harmonize like only brothers can, had found a sister who had just the right amount of soul (a ton) and taste to make for a fine harmony singing retro-soul band. The Subcontinentals was born! Please check out “This Here's A Groove” for a little taste (click on the weblink below). It's from their soon-to-be-finished first record, The Early Years. That work-in-progress is being produced by John in his home studio, Room w/a VU, with the hope of finally getting it done this summer. The three songs available here are all written by John, but the Subs do plenty of of cool covers, from Louis Prima and The Crystals to, believe it or not, Rosemary Clooney. The guiding philosophy behind their choice of covers is this: If Kelli brings it in and wants to sing it, it will work. Hasn't failed yet!
myspace.com/subcontinentals

Sunday, August 29
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, doors at 6:30pm, showtime at 7:30pm – 2 sets! $20 . [ROCK]
The legendary Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express has returned! The famed B3 and keyboard player, has created a distinct voice that combines jazz, rock, soul and funk, that is clearly recognizable to his millions of fans. With over 20 albums to his name and lengthy stints on the RCA and Warner Bros. labels, Brian Auger has accumulated Grammy™ Nominations, 10 albums charting in Billboard’s Hot 100, a #1 single, and the title of “The Godfather of Acid Jazz.” Brian’s bands over the years have featured Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll and even Jimi Hendrix. In addition, Brian has recorded with great luminaries as The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Eric Burdon, and Down To The Bone. The new incarnation of the Oblivion Express is a family affair featuring Karma Auger on drums and Savannah Auger on vocals, who live up to the Auger name and make the Oblivion Express smoke.
brianauger.com

Monday, August 30
Closed.

Tuesday, August 31
Open Mic. in the SideBar, signup at 8pm, starts at 9pm, free.