n On New Year’s Eve, Café Kanichi-Wa (1117 S. Grand Ave. E) presents, exclusively
for your entertainment pleasure, a wild and ferocious battle of the bands pitting
Springfield Shaky against Perfunctory This Band for a fight to the finish from
10 p.m.-3 a.m. Audience members are asked to drink to their chosen point of
inebriation and to be prepared for nonstop music as these two titans of the
local music scene duke it out, set by set, song by song.
n What’s this — are we becoming cool and hip here in the capital city? The
Warehouse (2548 S. First St.) features Copper on New Year’s Eve, and Club 217
(3075 Normandy Rd.) hosts Magna-Fi on Monday. Both bands are hot on rock radio
and will come ready to blast out the jams and show the world that they’re prepared
to wear the mantle as the latest and greatest band to sing sweetly and rock
hard. Visit wqlz.com for Copper
info and springfieldconcertweb.com for the lowdown on Magna-Fi; I really doubt that you’ll find any cross-information
on the Web sites. More on that later.
n Your MOM wants you to be at Floyd’s Thirst Parlor (212 S. 5th St., 217-522-2020)
every Monday to listen to good music and to behave yourself while having a pleasant
time. What’s wrong with this idea? Nothing, if you’ve got a mom like that, but
if you don’t (and who does?), just play along, understanding we’re talking about
Your Monday Open Mic. The weekly event, hosted by Eric Welch and the Disputes,
features a different artist each Monday in a half-hour set before the stage
is opened up to all comers. Sara Schneider is the honored guest for Jan. 3.
n First Night Springfield hosts another fine collection of area musical groups
making the last difficult decision of the old year deciding where to go. The
event has something for just about everyone, featuring folk, bluegrass, blues,
jazz, gospel, youth, and classical music. We have received no confirmed reports
of any zany zealots on zithers and xylophones or dancing debutantes on didgeridoos
from Timbuktu, but maybe that’s a good thing. Many of the shows are being presented
in the Hoogland Center for the Arts; others are scattered around downtown at
various venues within walking distance of the center. Happy Gnu Year to you,
too.
This article appears in Dec 30, 2004 – Jan 5, 2005.
