Blue Man Group, the body painted musical/performance art show, is offering all tickets (normally $57-77) for $44. In a nod to this slow economy and what must be a slow theater season, Blue Man is trying to perk up ticket sales. The offer is only good through August 29th, so if you want to see them, get on it. The code for the promotion is "extra", enter it when you purchase through Ticketmaster.
I tried the code online and it does work, but note that there is an $8 service charge for each ticket. You can bypass the service charge and still get the discounted tickets by visiting the box office at the Briar Street Theater, 3133 N. Halsted. At $8 a ticket, it would be worth the trip! If you have any questions, you can reach Briar Street Theater box office at (773) 348-4000.(click for hours of operation)
Insane Clown Violent J warned Tila Tequila before her set (Video)
August 17th, 2010 4:09 am
Tila Tequila
Photo: (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)
We may still be wondering why singer and reality star Tila Tequila was appearing at the 2010 Gathering of the Juggalos at Cave in Rock, IL, a 4 day festival about 330 miles south of Chicago. She was there and she was pelted with thrown 'objects' from the crowd, bottles, feces, and rocks.
According to my favorite source of surprisingly accurate celebrity news, TMZ, where there are pictures of a beat up Miss Tequila, she was warned before her set that she would be attacked.
Insane Clown Posse member and an organizer of the festival, Violent J said, "We told her about the rumor and she didn’t care. We paid her before the show and assured her that even if things got out of hand, she could keep the money if she had to leave the stage."
As you can see in the video below(warning, there's some swearing in it) Miss Tequila tried to perform behind a few security people as the crowd yelled and threw things at her. She said about the attack, "I went onstage and immediately, before I even got on stage, DUDES were throwing HUGE STONE ROCKS in my face, beer bottles that slit my eye open, almost burnt my hair on fire cuz they threw fire crackers on stage, and they even took the sh*t out of the port-0-potty and threw sh*t and p*ss at me when I was onstage."
She went on to say: "These people were trying to kill me. So then after the last blow to my head with the firecracker they threw at me exploded, my bodyguard and the other security grabbed me and ran as fast as they could to the shitty trailer. Since their security SUCKS, the 2 thousand people ran after us, trying to kill me. They almost got me so they finally reach the trailer, blood all over myself, cant stop bleeding, then all of a sudden, all 2 thousand people surround the trailer and busts the windows!!! Even the guys INSIDE with me were shaking! Their hands were shaking cuz they were so scared! So 3 guys inside the trailer had to grab a table and push it over the broken windows and grabbed all the chairs they could find so hold the people from outside back. It was scary as hell!" They chased her off stage and into a trailer, then broke a window in the trailer, all the time throwing things at her.
Violent J's admission that she was warned could easily be turned into an admission that adequate security was not provided for Miss Tequila as she has promised to sue the promoters of the Gathering of the Juggalos for her injuries. She suffered cuts to her head, bruises all over her body and she was terrorized by an angry mob. I wonder if Insane Clowns have insurance for this type of attack?
Lady Gaga was in Chicago last weekend for Lollapalooza and dived into the crowd at the Semi-Precious-Weapons set. She was nearly naked in some mesh body hose with tape as pasties. The lucky crowd got quite a handful as she was passed around and back up to the stage. She screamed something unintelligible and left the stage to her pals Semi-Precious-Weapons. It was the real Gaga, not the fake one seen around town all last week here in Chicago.
She did a similar jump at her own show on the second night in LA on her current Monster Ball tour. She wasn't wearing much more than last week! She looks like she is in a bra and panties. As you can see near the end of the video below, she didn't get so far. She jumped on the back of a surprised security guard and he held her up and carried her to the crowd. I think she wanted him to carry her through the crowd or maybe she was going to crawl over him further into the crowd. He didn't let her get too far and pushed her back where one of her dancers helped her back up to the stage.
Sugar Snow is a Boston band with some Chicago connections. Started by lead singer Simone Berk a couple of years ago, they are finishing up mastering their first CD. I have received a preview and I like what I hear.
The first song is "Riven" and it's the kind of song that Liz Phair wishes she could still write! A smart, quirky, sarcastic song that breaks up with you while explaining that you'll feel nothing unless it's specifically pointed out.
"The Word" is a dreamy, sexy, ballad with a haunting, repeating guitar melody. There is an earlier version of this song on Sugar Snow's Myspace that I had heard before and liked very much. I went back and listened again. While the first recording is good, the new one is sublime. It's a very slow song, and it marches forward with a vocal power that has a beat of its own.
Berk is an impressive song writer and performer. Her voice is sweet, strong, spot on, yet her messages are stronger. She has a sneaky writing technique that gently hits you over the head.
For more information on Sugar Snow, peruse their non-musical blog as it outlines their top secret plan to break out huge in the music business.
Tonight, August 11th at Reggies, 2109 South State Street, there's a great Rock-a-Billy/Rock/Psychobilly show starting at 8pm. It's a $12, 18+ show and with 5 great bands, you'll get your moneys worth!
The last time I saw Thee Invaders, lead singer, Matt McVader, began one song, offering to eat all of the audience's brains! The show flew from there. McVader's vocals are gritty and aggressive, he holds your attention with his disaffected glare! Jason Larsen is a wizard on lead guitar. He plays a beautiful Gretsch that perfectly broadcasts his amazing razor sharp lead lines. Traci Trouble is on bass and she is simply the hottest bass player in the city. These guys are veterans of many Chicago bands and great to watch and hear.
US Army Golden Knights over Chicago in a past show (Photo US Army)
In what will be his most dramatic performance in Chicago, Vince Vaughn will parachute with the U.S. Army Golden Knights this Saturday at North Avenue Beach to kick off the Chicago Air and Water Show.
The Golden Knights will be performing Saturday and Sunday at the 52nd annual Chicago Air and Water show, the largest free show of its kind in the United States.. It has featured a Golden Knights team for 51 years. At 11am on Saturday Vince Vaughn will tandem jump with the Golden Knights. Bill Murray made the jump in 2008 (see video below). Like Murray, Vaughn will be securely strapped to his designated parachutist the whole trip.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights will headline the 52nd Annual Chicago Air and Water Show along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point. Although most of the water portion takes place near North Avenue, the air show can be seen as far north as Foster if you want to avoid the huge crowds. New for this year; the water and air portions have been combined for one continuous show beginning at 11 am and ending at 4 pm both days.
Lady Gaga crowd surfs at Lollapolooza (Video) Lady Gaga crashed the Semi-Precious Weapons Lollapalooza show yesterday and surfed the crowd, all in a sheer, almost naked body hose outfit. It''s the real Gaga, not the fake one seen around town this week. Check out the video below from my favorite source of surprisingly accurate celebrity news, TMZ. She jumped from the stage at the 4:15 show at the BMI stage and gets a royal groping from the surprised crowd... Gaga later headlined the South Stage and wrapped up the first day of Lolla or as Jim Derogatis called it, "Walmart on the Lake". Her show received blandreviews with plenty of lip syncing suggestions. I even heard from some stage crew that were there earlier in the week that she 'rehearsed' with a prerecorded voice track. While she cuts corners on musical integrity, she makes up for it in production value. The stage show was very theatrical and complex. She is one of the most visually interesting artsits working today and you can mute the sound on her videos, but you must admit that they are works of art.
Vaudezilla Productions Rollin Out of Here Naked (Photo Lee Klawans)
Vaudezilla Productions presents "Rollin Outta Here Naked: A Big Lebowski Burlesque" at the Greenhouse Theater Sept 3rd through the 25th. It's written by Keith Emroll and Logan Conner and directed by Emroll and Red Hot Annie. I saw this show at its sold out run last fall and I was not sure what to make of it before I saw it.
Vaudezilla takes bowling, The Big Lebowski, and burlesque strippers and what do they get? A very entertaining and funny show! It was a bit odd seeing characters in drag(women playing men) with drawn on mustaches and beards stripping down to their panties and pasties, but it does work and well. It is a great show! It is presented in about 15 mini-acts which keep it moving and the acting steals the show. Vaudezilla could easily call itself a theater company.
It starts more or less with Lebowski on the phone with the business man at the other Lebowski home. He complains about the rug and so on... It is a funny scene and this play was good comedy, stealing liberally and literally from the movie. The show is more theater than burlesque and the stripping is inserted masterfully. Maria May I (as Jesus Quintana) does a sexy strip from a workman's jump suit with a bowling ball as a prop. As I mentioned earlier, Maria does all of this with drawn on facial hair and makes it disturbingly sexy!
The costuming was fabulous! Please note the unbelievable bowling pin head dresses in the photo album. There is attention to detail in every aspect of costuming. The actors wore the sets!
Red Hot Annie did an artful strip with a sheet and also strips in the self painting scene from the movie. Keith Emroll flexed his acting muscles as the Stranger and hosts two intermission contests, in character, very effectively. The audience had a fun time answering trivia and completing quotes from the movie for sponsor's prizes that were quite generous.
Mat Devine saves a guitar in the Swiss Alps (Photo-Kill Hannah)
The last couple of years have been rough for Chicago musicians. Kill Hannah in 2008, had a fire aboard their tour bus in Switzerland and lost almost all of their gear and personal belongings. Then last November their entire bus and trailer were stolen while they slept in a hotel room in Philadelphia, PA. Kill Hannah lost over $120,000 in gear and merchandise, including one-of-a-kind vintage custom guitars and vintage custom effects.
I just wrote about Chicago band, Russian Circles today! They had an accident in their brand new tour van in Baton Rouge, LA. and lost a lot of equipment as well as their van and a rental trailer. Another Chicago band, The Branded had all of their gear damaged beyond repair due to flooding in their practice space last month. They have heartbreaking pictures up on their site of water logged vintage tube amps and rusted guitars(below).
Some simple searching on the net led me to Music Pro Insurance, which covers your gear year round anywhere in the world. I am not recommending them specifically, they just popped up first in my search. According to their site, you can get $25,000 of coverage for $275 dollars a year, less than a dollar a day. $50,000 to cover equipment is $550 a year. It's a small price to pay. Homeowners or renters insurance may also cover any loses, check with your agent to be sure and don't end up like this poor poor Les Paul.
Chicago band Russian Circles was involved in an accident Friday night in Baton Rouge, LA., just three days into a huge tour. They lost their new van, a rented trailer and a bunch of gear. Luckily, no one was injured, but they have been stuck in Baton Rouge until they find a new van.
An announcement from their site explains their dilemma, "The band have been stranded in Baton Rouge since Friday and are so sad to have had to miss playing the Baton Rouge, Atlanta and Carborro shows. But they are on the way to buy their second van in a week and will make it to play DC and the rest of the tour dates barring any other disasters." The tour continues through NYC to Canada and then back through the Midwest.
They have more pictures on their website of the damage. You would think that instruments in cases would have been saved, but the impact was so severe that it crushed drums in their cases. It's assumed they had some insurance for the van, but the instruments were probably not covered. The band is taking donations through PayPal to help replace the damaged items. The donation info is here.
Jan James is an overlooked Chicago treasure. In addition to playing all over town locally, she has performed in Europe and Scandinavia to huge audiences. She has shared stages with James Brown, Koko Taylor, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Jeff Beck and B.B. King. At Chicago's Royal George Theater Jan had the starring role of Janis Joplin in a musical play based on Janis’ letters and songs.
James, with her band, has a CD release show this Friday, August 6th, at Martyrs. You can listen to samples from her new album, Ring Around The Moon, on her website.
The new record is a showcase for her dynamic voice. Click right now and listen to "That's Alright With Me"(click the link there if the player won't play). It's a great Motown style song with a funky beat and strong, fat saxophone by Josh Shapiro. The album has a wide range of songs with some country leaning with a twangy pedal steel guitar as in "Grains of Sand" to an hymn-like "Someday, Somebody". The more you listen, the more you will like and appreciate this album.
Jan James grabs your attention from the first note of every song and doesn't let go. She has the kind of voice that doesn't need a microphone or modern effects. It's a pure powerful instrument in itself and she is a master with it. James is backed up by her longtime companion/collaborator, Craig Calvert, who has co-written their songs. Calvert also plays a very mean yet subtle guitar effortlessly on every track and whether he is in the background or taking the lead, he's playing something interesting.
Head out to Martyrs Friday and you will discover a great Chicago band.
