PHOTO COURTESY RAS KASS On the road for their Writer’s Block Tour, national rap stars Ras Kass and Copywrite started in Yuma, Ariz., last week and continue to travel the country making a stop at Bar None during Torch Tuesday’s weekly hip-hop night. Ras Kass, formerly of the hip-hop supergroup The HRSMN along with Canibus, […]
Bar None
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Torch Tuesday Concert Series Tonight at Bar None
GrantFlows from Champaign Tonight marks the return of the Torch Tuesday Concert Series with heigh-level hip-hop talent gathered from across the region. Featured performers will include Champaign artist GrantFlows; Woods G and Yung World (both from Decatur) and Springfield favorites Xtortion and Scoobie Da Lyricist. Beats will be provided by the incomparable DJ Yatti DNY with hosting duties handled by Blacksteel. Click […]
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Walk this way
PHOTO COURTESY SPRINGFIELD ZOMBIE WALK Join the walking dead as they stroll through Lincoln Park on Saturday night, Oct. 19, during Springfield Zombie Walk. Don your best undead attire and makeup because organizers have prizes for costumes. There’s also fun zombie games, such as a tomahawk throw, plus a roaring bonfire, game prizes and popcorn. […]
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Epsom
What’s an Epsom? Dare we ask this Springfield-based experimental and adventurous trio consisting of Scott Faingold (vocalizations, lyrics), Steven Sgro (noises, guitars) and Tim Harte (drums, drums, drums)? The band began in May of 2012 when the former drummer of NIL8 and local roustabout, Gary “Walnuts” Swaggerty communicated to Faingold these fateful words: “We need […]
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Hip-hop heroes
I must admit to being rather ignorant of rap and hip-hop music styles. I’ve heard certain artists and felt the influence of the genre in contemporary music, but overall I’ve not listened deep into the catalogue of this fairly new variety of music. All through the history of popular music the improvisation and musicality of […]
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Hip-hop in the Heartland
[SOUND EFFECTS: needle drops onto vinyl; surface static; reporter clears throat] I’ll never forget the day I stumbled onto Springfield’s underground hip-hop scene. It all started with Raekwon the Chef. Or perhaps it was Fast Orange. I found myself at Bar None one evening in the spring of this year watching local hybrid punk-metal cover […]
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Hip-hop benediction at 5th & Monroe
Okay, this actually happened, and I was there to bear witness. Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan did indeed play a set as part of Bar None’s weekly “Torch Tuesday” hip-hop showcase. To put this morning’s wee-hours performance into a sort of cross-cultural (read: white people) perspective, imagine Neil Young just magically appearing at a typical acoustic […]
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Founding Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon at Bar None tomorrow
In an inexplicable piece of happenstance, one of the most famous and respected rap artists in the world will be performing in downtown Springfield tomorrow night — Tuesday, May 17th — in a bar that can’t even legally admit 100 people. Yes, Raekwon the Chef himself will be, um, “cooking up some marvelous shit to […]
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Tsunami Relief at Bar None: Right Now!
Midafternoon on a Sunday at Bar None isn’t exactly the time and place you expect to encounter a rock show, but that’s just what Tom Irwin has decided to pull out of his back pocket today. A makeshift “power trio” (Irwin on bass, local percussion legend Timothy M. “Grumpy” Harte on drums, and Tom’s guitar-slinging […]
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Waco Brothers And Blue Ribbon Revival At Bar None 1/22/2011
“History is written by the winner / This is a loser’s song.” So sang Waco Brothers leader Jon Langford last night at Springfield’s Bar None. The song was entitled “Walking on Hell’s Roof Looking at the Flowers,” from the band’s most recent CD, Electric Waco Chair, and at last night’s show it provided a rare […]
