Howdy hi, live music lovers! Grab a barstool, throw your coat in the corner (watch for the spilled beer), and take a gander at the nightlife offered to you this week.
An early evening Thursday search will bring you into the world of two Brians, Curtis and Cutright, that is. BC Squared kicks off the inaugural happy hour (can we still say those words together?) at Phil’s First Street Bar and Grill with some tunes to soothe the soul and stir the mind. Continue your adventure with a visit to Floyd’s Thirst Parlor and the award-winning sounds of Black Magic Johnson. The groovy group attempts to move their successful Wednesday night gig to Thursdays. Never fear fans, the blues-drenched trio plays wonderfully well whatever night of the week they decide to show up on.
Calling all ages to attend the coming of former Springfield residents Ben Jacobs and Jordan Schultz at Club Ten on Bradfordton Road this Friday. In the early ’90s, the musicians played primarily in Ingot, a band located in emo-core land, right here in central Illinois. Jacobs, after a schooling in music composition at the U. of I. in Urbana-Champaign, ended up in at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., performing bass with Eve’s Revenge. Schultz scooted off to Orlando, Fla., for an education in music recording, then found himself in Chicago strumming the guitar for Catamount. The two Springfieldians return to perform with their respective new groups at the 7 p.m. all-ages show. Later in the evening they will reappear at Viele’s Planet for a show geared to those legally of age to consume alcohol. The Timmys will join the groups at both shows; Yeti will attend the all-ages performance only. (For the curious, here’s a description of Eve’s Revenge, quoted from their Web site: “Like an out-of-control locomotive surging toward a dam, we project our musical intensity through whirlwinds of sound and fury that build into pulverizing, cataclysmic breakdowns that command the force of a star collapsing into a black hole.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.)
Our old pal Jason Ringenberg of famed cow-punkers, Jason and the Scorchers, returns to jumpstart our lost souls with some folk-tinged, rock & roll-inspired, country-soaked songs this Saturday at the Underground City Tavern. Mr. Ringenberg brought the Scorchers to town many times during the ’80s and has continued to do solo acoustic shows after the demise on the band. Currently on Yep-Roc Records and his own label Courageous Chicken, the Nashville-based, Illinois native released a terrific solo effort, All Over Creation in 2002 and let loose A Day on the Farm with Farmer Jason, a children’s record, in 2003. He continues to travel the known world singing to anyone who will listen and some that don’t.
Word on the street says the old On Broadway establishment is preparing to rise from the ashes and once again take its rightful place among capital city music venues. That place has more lives than a born-again feline. Keep ’em coming!
Now it’s time to head on home for some well-deserved rest. You earned it.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2004.
