Rest easy, friends of all ages: Your pals at Bread
Stretchers (322 E. Monroe St., 217-753-3366) are back on the booking trail,
bringing the finest in all-ages entertainment to downtown Springfield.
Paradyme, Forum, and Din fill the floor on Friday, April 15. On Saturday,
April 16, So Long Forgotten, Missing the Point, Midnight Falls, and
Sherlock rock the sandwich shop. So Long Forgotten and Midnight Falls are
both out promoting just-released CDs. Don’t forget to order a yummy
sub while you wait for the 9:30 p.m. shows to begin.
A couple weeks ago, Ralph and
Juanita Noe of Repeat Offenders lost all of their equipment after a gig,
including microphones, guitars, amps, karaoke gear, and sheet music. One of
Ralph’s guitars turned up a few days later at a local pawn shop, and
police arrested two teens. As for the rest, most is still missing in
action. If you are offered equipment at a price too good to be true or hear
anything of the theft, please call them at 217-528-4743. Meanwhile,
they’ve gotten tech support from Kyle Kiesling and the Harris family,
among others, allowing them to play with borrowed gear. On Friday they rock
out at the Eagles Club, 2700 E. Ash St. from 8 p.m.-midnight, and on
Saturday they roll into Ted’s Tavern, 107 N. Seventh St. in
Petersburg, for a 9 p.m.-1 a.m. gig.
I was checking out Victoria
Vox at the hopping “Your Monday Open Mic” at Floyd’s
Thirst Parlor (212 S. Fifth St., 217-522-2020), and, yes, she is a talent
to be reckoned with. Her schedule in April and May would make any
singer/songwriter green with envy — and Vox is doing it all with a
friend and a Honda. Good luck, girl. After her set, Dave Carter (drums),
Dave Littrell (sax, vocals and guitar), and Jeff Cunningham (bass virtuoso)
laid down some wickedly tasteful grooves and jams. Turns out it was a sweet
preview of their Saturday-night Jazz Central Station (700 E. Adams,
217-789-1530) show. I can’t imagine the Tres Amigos (the trio’s
chosen name) going the entire time without some other musicians joining in
and making it Mas Amigos — a jam band of immense proportions.
Downtown parking may be a bit
tricky over the next few days, but with any luck the pain in the neck will
balance the pleasure in the brain. This weekend’s pub-crawl forecast
calls for packed houses and overflowing cups, plus jolly good times with
all of those strangers preparing for the overwhelming excitement of the
Lincoln-related festivities.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2005.
