steroidal Bay City on "Saturday Night's
Alright"; and Ed Sheeran tucks his sack
back for "Candle In The Wind." Only
Miguel (who does to "Bennie & The Jets"
what he did to "Adorn" on "SNL") and The
Band Perry (who dueling banjo-fy "Grey
Seal") find inspiration. An AARP discount
also nets fans a '73 concert performance
with a cheeky nod to Rudolph's red nose,
some stray outtakes and demos, and a
DVD (that we didn't get to preview).
- Steve Forstneger
6
311
Stereolithic
(Self)
311's eleventh studio album is a big
deal: it's their first independent release
since their debut, it's their first with producer Scott Ralston since 1998's
Soundsystem, and it was released on –
when else – March 11th (what they've
always deemed "311 day"). 25 years into
their career, the Omaha quintet has perfected their formula for success and committed to never stray too far from it. In fact
Stereolithic sounds like it could've been
released in the '90s, and in this case, that's
a good thing. Nick Hexum's vocals are as
distinct and sincere as ever, while SA
Martinez's still lays down the positive
party raps, all over a layer of chunky
hooks and pounding bass. The 15-track LP
definitely has more interesting musical
diversity than 2011's Universal Pulse but it
lacks the hard-hitting moments of 2009's
Uplifter. Regardless, 311 still makes it very
clear that they have no plans any time
soon to slow down – or to change.
- Carter Moss
7
JONNY TWO BAGS
Salvation Town
(Isotone)
Given that after three-plus decades So
Cal punk stalwarts Social Distortion are
currently best recalled for their 1990 cover
of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," it's probably not so surprising that the first solo CD
from their lead guitarist (since 2000) Jonny
Two Bags (aka Jonny Wickersham) is redolent of the ‘70-'80s SoCal country/rock
sound perhaps best epitomized by Jackson
Browne. Indeed, Browne himself provides
guest vocals on one song, his long-time
guitarist virtuoso David Lindley jumps in
on four cuts and neighbors the Hidalgos
(both father and sons) grace another – with
numerous other of Jonny's "cowpunk" fellow travelers (including SD cohorts) in
support throughout. True to the CD's title,
Wickersham's 10 original songs revolve
around judgment, the push-pull temptation of demons vs. angels and, ultimately,
redemption that, at its best in his song
"Clay Wheels," transcends the inherent
sweetness of Browne to the grittier yearning of Gram Parsons. Or, as Wickersham
himself best sums up in the opener, "one
foot in the gutter and one foot kicking in
the door to heaven."
7
- David C. Eldredge
Cirrus Falcon voted Chicagoland's "Best Acoustic Band"
www.cirrusfalcon.com www.facebookcom/cirrusfalcon
Cirrus Falcon CDs are available at all shows and selected record stores.
Call for booking info - 847.401.8126, or [email protected]
April 2014
4 Scapa Clarendon Hills
7:30-11:30pm
www.scapaitaliankitchen.com
5 Grand Tavern Brookfield
19 Quigley's Naperville
9pm-1am • www.quigleysirishpub.com
25 Winberie's Buffalo Grove
9pm • www.grandtavernbrookfield.com
6:30pm-9:30pm
www.selectrestaurants.com
11 Private Event 6pm
26 Private Event
12 Mance's Pub Hodgkins
Call for booking info - 847.401.8126, or
[email protected]
9pm-12midnight
48 illinoisentertainer.com april 2014
down; we just kept going forward. And as it
turns out in the long run, we ended up in a
really great place. Now we're playing with the
bands that used to headline over us, and
they're opening up for us. It all sort of
switched around, not completely, but certainly
to a very satisfactory point. And a lot of these
other bands who were the headliners in the
'80s are almost in the same boat as we are now.
So a lot of stuff has gotten equ [^