Mucca Pazza blew the roof off The Hideout last Tuesday, June 12th, in a sold out, sneak peek/album release party for Safety Fifth, now out on Electric Cowbell.Check out their main site for more of a taste of Chi-Town's punk rock marching band.
ChiIL Mama has caught their head muckety muck, Mark Messing, for video interviews twice at Chicago Children's Theatre--once in a duo with Brian Selznick, author/illustrator of Hugo Cabret. (Brian's book was the basis for Oscar Award winning hit movie, Hugo, and The Houdini Box play.)
We shot the heck out of their live show, but didn't try to do anything as formal as an interview at The Hideout. But I did have a few burning questions that Mark Messing and one of the girls were happy to enlighten me on.
ChiIL Live Shows:Does anyone have their old uniforms from school bands they actually used to BE in back in the day?
Mucca Girl: Yeah, one guy does, but he has to remain anonymous because technically he stole it....
CLS: Where do the others all come from?
Mucca Girl: We've had good luck finding cheap ones on Ebay. Sometimes when a band is doing new uniforms they'll contact us and ask if we want their old ones. Or sometimes thrift stores. The wool hatsare handmade, newfor us, though.
CLS: You must be roasting!
Mucca Girl:Yeah, I'm ready to change outta this! Most of the costumes are wool and really hot. I dry cleaned mine recently and it was still a little stinky.
Mark Messing:We spray all the costumes with Vodka, to keep down the funk.
CLS: Wow! Vodka, huh. Does that work?!
Mucca Girl:Not always, but it definitely helps.
CLS: Maybe with all that vodka soaked wool seeping into your pores, the costumes are still ripe, but you just don't notice or mind so much anymore, eh?
There was plenty of funk (of the good kind) to go around at Hideout, and Mucca Pazza certainly didn't stink up the joint.
Space was at a premium and the band created some serious heat with their hot new material, but no one was complaining. Mucca Pazza worked the space well--splitting the sizable (30 member) band to border three sides of the rectangular room, encompassing their captive audience and narrowly missing a few noggins with their brass trombones. They even managed to "march" around a bit in the friendly confines....swapping sides and wending through the crowd. I think I got goosed a couple of times by caution tape pom pom flinging cheerleaders. Fun fun! Been there...shot that...bought the t-shirt.
We snagged a press preview of their new album, Safety Fifth (Electric Cowbell), and have been thoroughly enjoying it!
Mucca Pazza--Italian for crazy cow or mad cow--is always high energy, wabi sabi, and entirely endearing. Over the years, we've seen them play to a zombie cast, rock out on top of a paper mache elephant?! and even march into a port-a-let with a sousaphone!! They're a must see live, but they can't play every night. And when you're jonesing for more Mucca, Safety Fifth can fill the void!
Their third disc can't help but make listeners grin ear to ear. The drums and all the horns make the band, but we also dig all the eclectics like mandolin, glockenspiel, violin, and of course, the accordion. Mucca Pazza defies easy classification with whiffs of New Orleans brass carousing around with Balkan folk, surf, reggae, marching band, gypsy, jazz, and the kitchen sink.Mucca Pazza is....seriously talented musicians, being seriously funny, while having some serious fun. Highly recommended. Just don't lick the uniforms......
Chicago Ukulele Cabaret Presents: The 3rd Annual Great Midwest Ukefest! Four String Fireworks to Benefit Local Music Education .
From Traditional to Extreme and Everything In-Between
*Lanialoha Lee*
* Bone and Bell*
*Harrison Street Ukulele Players*
*Heavy Boxes*
*Jeffrey Weisfeld Combo*
*Hee Haw*
*Discarded Pearls*
*Vic Miguel*
*Troy Martin*
*Uke Skywalker & Tuba The Hutt (all the way from PA!)*
Plus 5 hour afternoon Open-Mic and morning Power Strums 101 Workshop Saturday, July 7, 2012
11 AM-11:00 PM
Chief O’Neill’s Pub and Restaurant
3471 North Elston Avenue
Admission: $10 Adults, $7 Kids
Under 5 FREE
Power Strums 101 Workshop with Lanialoha Lee: $10 proceeds to benefit The Intonation Music Workshop-a local non-profit organization providing band-based music education to children in Chicago’s under-served neighborhoods.
The Chicago Ukulele Cabaret will once again kick off post-July 4th weekend with a 4-string bang at its 3rd Annual Festival. Part curated showcase and part open-mic, this all day fest allows everyone to participate while showcasing several featured performers in full sets.
As always, the show will offer something for everyone, from traditional players, to classical virtuosos, to full band and indie rock interpretations. Building on the success of last year's outing, organizers this year are adding an 11:00 AM Powerstrums 101 workshop with The Old Town School of Folk Music's Lanialoha Lee.
The afternoon will include a 5-hour open mic session, and the curated evening show will feature full sets from perennial cabaret favorites such as Lanialoha Lee, Bone and Bell, Heavy Boxes, Harrison Street Ukulele Players, Jeffrey Weisfeld Combo, Hee Haw, Discarded Pearls, Vic Miguel, Troy Martin, and many more!
All are welcome to perform during our five hour open mic segment from 1:00-6:00 PM. Interested acts for the open-mic should RSVP to ukechicago@gmail.com . Click here to Buy Tickets in Advance.
We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Vanessa Napoli, Senior PR Spokesperson for Cirque du Soleil's Touring Shows. She gave us the scoop on Dralion, opening at Allstate Arena this Wednesday, June 20th, then playing at United Center the following week. Check out our original interview above, interspersed with Dralion live show clips, courtesy of Cirque du Soleil. We'll be there for opening night and will have a full show review up shortly thereafter.
One of the questions I asked Vanessa was about Cirque du Soleil's history of philanthropic partnerships in the cities they visit. She told us they do usually try to partner up with local circus arts organizations, especially deserving non profits, but she didn't have specific details at the time. We just got word that Dralion has indeed donated tickets to Chicago's CircEsteeem, so their young team and pre-team performers can catch the show. They will also be running some special workshops with the CircEsteem kids! Unfortunately, we'll be out of town shooting a travel piece, but if we can find another shooter, and if Dralion green lights it, we'll share stills and video from the workshop here as well.
Make 2012--The Chinese Year of the Dragon one to remember for your family!
Chicago Filmmakers
is proud to screen a selection of digital shorts and 16mm films on
Saturday, June 16, at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.,
during BBQ Fest. First up at Noon is a collection of films created by
youth in our Summer Digital Moviemaking Camps.
Following at 2 p.m., we will screen films from our collection by
Chicago’s own Tom Palazzolo including ‘At Maxwell Street’, ‘Jerry’s',
and ‘Ricky and Rocky’. Join us to learn more about our summer youth
classes, film classes for adults, and other ways to get involved. For
additional information visit us at www.chicagofilmmakers.org
Bands
For the 6 Corners BBQ Fest, we strive to give you original talent,
and we feature as many local bands as we can. This year, we booked a
band called Old Irving. How much more local can you get?
Saturday, June 16: Main Stage (on Milwaukee at Irving)
Waco Brothers: Saturday’s headliner
12:30: The Shams Band(We've given away their CD's to our readers, and shots stills and video of The Shams Band for years, and they're one of our local favs! Search The Shams Band in our blog side bar for our past photo filled features, then get out and see them live TODAY!)
4:30 Future Laureates(We've given away their CD's to our readers as well. Future Laureates rock.)
6:30 Voodoo Kings (Highly recommended! Check 'em out. *Our freaky bit of family Voodoo from this week "AKA: pix disappeared, but we got the tee shirt!"--Dug is on a shoot down in New Orleans and took a phone photo at Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo and sent it to us. It didn't go through. The same day, Du-Jay and I moved boxes around in the basement to make room for a new water meter and found a t-shirt on the floor under one from...you guessed it Maria Laveau's House of Voodoo. It had been buried there for over TEN YEARS! I pulled it out, washed it, and wore it. When Dug called to ask how we like the picture we said "What picture?!" Imagine our surprise when we finally saw the photo a day later!)
Yay! Puppets behaving badly....one of my favorite genres. This is one for the big kids AKA: adults & 17+. I've got my ticket, do YOU? They're only in town through Sunday so get your act together and go already. Stuffed and Unstrung is part of the TBS Just for Laughs Chicago comedy festival and also presented by Broadway in Chicago.
If anyone needs to get out and see an R rated puppet show, it's parents of young children. Sure, the childless and the hipsters can come too..... But parents REALLY need a good old raunchy remedy for all the saccharine sweet, PC pablum we put up with in the name of entertaining our littles. So book a sitter and come on out for laugh. YOU deserve it.
We were super stoked to have an advanced press sneak peek at Frankenstein (Version 2) Jonny Lee Miller as The Creature; Benedict Cumberbatch as Victor Frankenstein (2h 5m). Pure theatre geeks will want to check out both versions, documented in this fabulous flip flop of leading roles. We could only make the second version, but chatted up other critics who saw both and they personally preferred the second.
Coincidentally, both actors are currently playing TV versions of Sherlock Holmes, and word is both did stellar jobs alternating in the stage roles of The Creature and Victor Frankenstein. We thoroughly enjoyed Jonny Lee Miller's Creature, who embodied both the innocence and wonder and the vengeful fury of a toddler thwarted. The brief "making of" documentary at the beginning was also an intriguing and informative high point and a welcome prelude.
We've been doing a long form exploration via video interviews on How Creatives Parent and How Parents Create at ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows. This was a stellar example of what we've been discovering. Producing a new human changes you on a fundamental physical and mental level and flows through creative work in a vital way. Miller said there was a lot of his two year old that went into his depiction, and it showed. Even the initial entrance of The Creature was so birth like, as he emerged into this world.
By contrast, the others who saw Cumberbatch's Creature said his characterization was much more lurchy and marionette like.The actors also studied stroke victims and those recovering from accidents, doing physical and speech therapy to regain control of their adult bodies, which also manifested in the physical characterization. All in all, this challenging role was handled with impressive finesse.
We were also quite impressed with the set design, lighting, costumes and make up. The choices were unique and added much to the caliber of the show as a whole. Sometimes it's hard to capture the immediacy and intimacy of live theatre on film, but the camera work is phenomenal and the show is still compelling on screen. We liked the steam punk costume choices for the villagers. The mob made a symbolically and visually impressive entrance when they first met The Creature, on their noisy, industrial, gear laden contraption.
The Creature more closely resembles a man than a big green monster, but the play painfully and poignantly showcases the monstrous nature within man. Mentally and emotionally this adaptation is more true to Shelley's book than most other Frankenstein movies and screen plays, but even more cynical and crackling with dark intensity.The multilayered characters, excellent plot twists, and psychological and moral conundrums have us still thinking about the show days later. Highly recommended.
We had planned to catch a press preview of One Man, Two Guvnors, too, but I ended up making an emergency trip to the vet instead, as my 110lb Akita was yelping in pain. Fortunately it turned out to be a pinched neck nerve, so very painful but nothing lethal. However, sometimes family....even the creatures under our care, have to take precedence.
Music Box tickets for all 3 shows are priced at $15 (advance), $18 (day of), and $20 to see both Frankenstein versions (advance sale only). They can be purchased at the Music Box Theatre box office or online by clicking here.
The Music Box Theatre, Chicago’s year round film festival located at 3733 N. Southport Avenue, is proud to present limited engagement screenings of two National Theatre of Great Britain hits this summer: the 2012 multiple Tony Award-nominated One Man Two Guvnors, featuring the current Broadway cast that transferred from the National, and Danny Boyle's smash hit stage production of Frankenstein, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch, who alternate in the roles of The Creature and Victor Frankenstein.
*Can't make the Music Box dates? You've got one more chance at Northwestern. SAVE 20% ON THE NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE BROADCAST OF FRANKENSTEIN! June 26 & July 24, 2012
Oscar-winner Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire) returned to the theatre to direct this visionary production with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in alternating roles of Frankenstein and the Creature. It will return to cinemas worldwide this summer for a limited season of encore screenings, with two broadcasts at the Theater and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University: Tue, Jun 26, 7pm & Tue, Jul 24, 7pm. The broadcasts will be held in the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. Mention code NUNTL and save 20% on full-price tickets (valid on advance purchase only). (847) 491-7282 or buy online! Dueling Sherlocks
Can't get enough of JONNY LEE MILLER & BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH playing the same characters?
People on both sides of "the pond" and around the world dig Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes, on the BBC series of the same name. A third series of the contemporary take on the timeless characters is slated for 2013. This fall, CBS is set to unveil a new modern day version of Sherlock Holmes, "Elementary," set in New York and starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. Check out the trailer below. The Show On Air:Thursdays 10/9c Starring:Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock Holmes) Lucy Liu (Joan Watson) Aidan Quinn (Captain Tobias Gregson) Executive Producers:Rob Doherty Sarah Timberman Carl Beverly Michael Cuesta In a modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes, the iconic detective is taking on New York. Just out of rehab, he's been assigned to live with his worst nightmare-sober coach, Dr. Joan Watson. Holmes's unsurpassed skills of deduction and Watson's medical expertise come together to create a dream team for solving the NYPD's most impossible cases.
Check out our original HD video interview with Nick, owner of Sundance Bikes of South Carolina. He created this rockin' SEVEN FOOT TALL BIKE and he's been ridin' high and makin' friends. Why settle for a fixie when you can DIY up a fun, funky, true original!
Over 100 comedians make Chi-Town funny ha-ha AND funny weird through this Sunday, June 17th. Check out their main site here. We had the great pleasure of checking out Kevin Smith(a not so silent version of Silent Bob) last night at Chicago Theater. It was a pleasure to give away 10 tickets to our readers and to hear him get raunchy and real in a great Q & A.
At ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows, we've been doing a long running video exploration of How Creatives Parent and How Parents Createwhich you can check out here at our Pinterest Board. I would love to catch up with Kevin Smith for a little one on one convo. about his wife and daughter.
Some great stuff came out at the Chicago Theater about how his family influences and inspires his creative work....from his wife's paranoid pot freak out to his toddler daughter's rocking out to theme music show credits, leading him to seek out a cameo appearance on one of their family favorites, Law and Order in 2000. Smith is married to Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. Their 13 year old daughter, Harley Quinn, was named for the Batman character.
Fan(atics) wait beside The Chicago Theater to get their memorabilia signed by Kevin Smith.
Our favorite TBS promo was the 7
foot tall custom bike! We scored an exclusive video interview with the
rider/bike creator/bike shop owner that we'll have up in the very near future.
Chi-town has character & characters!
Even a street Tina came out to sing and dance with passers by!
TBS Just for Laughs is ubiquitous this week.
We saw their rickshaws and signage over outside of the Cubs game
yesterday and they had a bunch of billboard trucks outside of The
Chicago Theater last night. They also had clever swag dispensers like a
free t-shirt vending machine that works with a Conan code and a human
roulette prize wheel.
