Untitled Document Roger Kimball relocated to Springfield from New Orleans in 2005, only a few months before Hurricane Katrina hit. His wife took a position with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and so they just missed the disaster. An all-around musician known for his saxophone work, Kimball grew up just south of New […]
Music
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Just in from the cold
Untitled Document Please join me in sending out hearty congratulations to Scott Richardson and the crew at Roxy Theatricals for putting together a record-breaking weekend at the Sangamon Auditorium with the local production of Disney’s High School Musical. The event, held Jan. 19-21 and featuring more than 50 area high-school students, was a phenomenal success, […]
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Expect the unusual
Untitled Document Menomena isn’t easily pigeonholed. The Portland, Ore.-based experimental trio doesn’t fit easily into any particular genre; it’s much too complex for that. At first glance, the band’s setup seems simple enough — guitar, drums, piano — but then such instruments as the baritone sax and what sounds like a large set of keys, […]
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Come on up, the stage is open
Untitled Document Open mics offer a great opportunity for the entertainment expert and novice to meet and mingle. Generally these events have a host and a signup sheet — and you, the aspiring musician, add your name to the list and patiently wait your turn to grace the stage. The host starts the night with […]
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When anywhere is local
Untitled Document They may hail from balmy Miami, but the Postmarks certainly have a yen for the changing seasons. Their debut full-length boasts such climatologically perverse song titles as “Summers Never Seem to Last,” “Looks Like Rain,” and “Winter Spring Summer Fall” — concepts that are as far removed from most Floridians’ experience as thermal […]
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Resurrection city
Untitled Document In contrast to my column of a few weeks back, which ruminated on the discouraging state of the Springfield music scene, it may be time to sing a different tune. It seems that things here, in our local nightclub world, have perked up considerably. Here’s a taste of things to come: • The […]
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Limited by the source material
Untitled Document The Book of Exodus isn’t one of God’s finer moments. From the moment he first appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush, it’s obvious that Mr. I-Am-That-I-Am has a thing for cheap theatrics. When his staff-into-serpent party trick falls flat, he makes with the real razzle-dazzle. Rivers turn to blood. […]
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Surviving on the lonesome prairie
Untitled Document If success in the music business world is measured on the basis of peer recognition, good bookings, and creative output, singer/songwriter/player Chris Vallillo deserves a gold star for achievement. The multitalented multiinstrumentalist from west-central Illinois began more than 25 years ago as a songwriting guitar picker looking for steady work. Today Vallillo is […]
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Don’t fear the reaper
Untitled Document When it comes to death, most sane people would prefer to put it off for as long as possible. As Dylan Thomas famously advised, “Do not go gentle into that good night/Old age should burn and rave at close of day/Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Guy Blakeslee, whose nom de […]
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Bright lights and dim bulbs
Untitled Document Maybe you’re thinking that the world doesn’t need another Daniel Johnston tribute album, and maybe you’re right. Regardless of where you stand on the highly vexed outsider-art question (are we laughing with ’em or at ’em?), it’s hard to argue that Johnston, who’s been the quintessential cult hero’s cult hero for more than […]
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Wearing the curmudgeon’s coat
Untitled Document Usually I try to walk on the sunny side of the street, but for this look at the Springfield arts and entertainment scene I’m crawling in the shadows. A few music clubs closed their doors in the last couple of months and even more disappeared at the end of the year. Other places […]
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End of the year roundup
Chloe Day, a St. Louis native now residing in LA, first performed in Springfield back in July, at the Underground City Tavern, to a, shall we say, less-than-capacity crowd. I watched those patrons who were fortunate enough to attend the show (or, more likely, who were just hanging out in the bar) become mesmerized by […]
