Look out below as we whip on through the month of March like a lion laying down with the lamb, or something such as that anyway. More music bubbles to the surface of the scene as we all continue to do our best to follow safety precautions while the pandemic seems to slip-slide away ever so slightly with our much-needed help and participation.
Every week, I keep looking forward to announcing some weeknight gigs but those are going to come slowly it appears. As venues recover from basically a year of lost revenue, only time will tell on how it all plays out, but things appear to be working their way back to you babe, to paraphrase the now classic, but always cool, Spinners' song. Those off-night shindigs help in sustaining our venues and in providing a place for musicians and music aficionados to get together and "music-ise" with each other without the constraints of big gigs or populated performances. So, here's to the open mics and weekly house spots coming soon as a gauge of the health and vitality in our local live music happenings.
And with that setup segue, let's see what is a-happening in the clubs this weekend, as we wait for the weeklies. The Curve Inn, our Best of Springfield consistent winner for a club-sized, live music venue, presents Broken Stone on Friday and Jameson Freeway on Saturday, starting at 6 p.m.
Broken Stone is celebrating 15 years together as "Central Illinois' best modern rock band," covering the likes of Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, Volbeat and many more radio rock groups. From a Facebook post, the group is requesting fans wear the band colors of black and red to the celebration because "it would be cool to see a sea of black and red for the show!!" and indeed it would.
With a wide range of songs on tap, Jameson Freeway ranges from Miranda Lambert to Prince, Tom Petty to Eric Church, Journey to Head East and rambles around with many other artists, too. This Saturday they'll be celebrating the birthday of their drummer, the inimitable James Mangis, as well as heralding the band's first performance of 2021.
On the north end of town, Weebles sets up for a big weekend with After Sunset on Friday and Off the Wall on Saturday. With both groups among the top bands in town for longevity and popularity, plus these being some of their first shows of the year, prepare for an explosion of attendance and generally good times all around. After Sunset gets in a good collection of 80s hits with an edge of funk and hip hop added into the regular rock. On Friday, come to welcome bassist Kevin Roberts as the newest member of the band at his first gig with AS, but most certainly not his first rodeo by any means, as Kevin has been a fine fixture on the scene for decades.
As one of the most popular area bands for years now, Off the Wall needs no explanation or introduction while they consistently hit up the "party rock" genre with gusto. Through interactions with audience members (the most fervent followers are known as "Wallers"), the personalities of the individual band members always shine and make hanging out with this band a friendly, feisty, familial experience every time.
Most of the other bookings listed are in our neighboring towns and surrounding communities, including my friend and yours, Lyman Ellerman, at the Backroom Lounge in Riverton on Saturday. So take a good look, then take good care out there. See you on the flip-flop.
