On Jan. 12, local entrepreneur Joe Shanahan presented a benefit concert featuring tribute performances to three queer icons for the Northshore Kellogg Cancer Center at his venue The Metro.
First up was Wing Tips, who started the evening with a blast of atmospheric retro glam and literally drugged the SRO crowd. Rowdy Dave Springer and his band, Fun House, then tore through a muscular set of Iggy Pop covers ( "TV Eye," "Gimme Danger," "Some Weird Sin" ) that woke up the house and sent the audience into a pogoing frenzy. The main attractionChris Connelly and his band, Sons of the Silent Agetook the stage and roared through David Bowie's album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps ( RCA, 1980 ) from start to finish.
At the time of its release, Scary Monsters was one of Bowie's least financially successful albums but has since proven to be one of his most prophetic and timely. The sold-out crowdmany of whom were not born when the album was releasedsang along to every word. Twice Oscar-nominated actor and hometown boy Michael Shannon made a guest appearance as Lou Reed and led the band and crowd through "Vicious," "White Light/White Heat," "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "Satellite of Love." Connelly ended the night with Bowie treasures like "Heroes," "Panic in Detroit," "Moonage Day Dream" and "Golden Years" before the wild audience let him leave the stage.
On a far quieter note, Thalia Hall hosted the kickoff show for a stateside tour of pristine blue-eyed soul Jan. 23 with co-headliners Daley and JMSN ( pronounced "Jameson" ). First up was Michigan native JMSN ( aka Christian Bershaj ), who had problems getting through his set list because he kept stopping the show with his intense performance. "Bout It," "Drinkin,'" "So Badly" and "My Way" profited from the singer/producers seamless mix of hard rock and soul while his affable nature made his set nothing short of spectacular. Brit vocalist Gareth Daley easily won the rowdy crowd over with a lighter touch, presenting music from his latest full-length, The Spectrum ( BMG Records ), with songs including "Selfish," "Slow Burn," "Until the Pain is Gone ( which sampled "Careless Whisper" by WHAM! )" and "Sympathy."
Heads up: Tickets are still on sale for Elton John's final Chicago performances ( at The Allstate Arena on Feb. 15-16 ), Boy Harsher and NGHT CRWLR have added a second show at The Empty Bottle ( the first for Glitter Creeps is long sold out ) for Feb. 9, and queer rocker Mike Maimone hits Lincoln Hall for a single release set Feb. 8, while queer punkers Absolutely Not ( with Meat Wave's Chris Sutter in tow ) play The Empty Bottle on March 2. And for those who like that sort of thing, KISS plays The United Center on March 2.
————— Forwarded message ————-
From: Vernon Hester
Date: Sun, Jan 27, 2019 at 4:53 PM
Subject: Sons concert coverage #2january 2019
To: Andrew Davis , Matt Simonette
by Vernon Hester
Sons of the Silent Age, Fun House, Wing Tips, and Michael Shannon @ The Metro, January 12
Daley, JMSN @ Thalia Hall, January 23
On January 12, local entrepreneur Joe Shanahan presented a benefit concert featuring tribute performances to three queer icons for the Northshore Kellogg Cancer Center at his venue The Metro. First up was Wing Tips who started the evening with a blast of atmospheric retro glam and literally drugged the SRO crowd. Rowdy Dave Springer and his band Fun House then tore through a muscular set of Iggy Pop covers ( "TV Eye," "Gimme Danger," "Some Weird Sin" ) which woke up the house and sent the audience into a pogoing frenzy. The main attraction, Chris Connelly and his band Sons of the Silent Age took the stage and roared through David Bowie's album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps ( RCA, 1980 ) from start to finish. At the time of its release, Scary Monsters was one of Bowie's least financially successful albums but has since proven to be one of his most prophetic and timely. The sold out crowd, many of whom were not born when the album was released, sang along to every word. Twice Oscar nominated actor and hometown boy Michael Shannon made a guest appearance as Lou Reed and led the band and crowd through "Vicious," "White Light/White Heat," "I'm Waiting for the Man," and "Satellite of Love." Connelly ended the night with Bowie treasures, "Heroes," "Panic in Detroit," "Moonage Day Dream," and "Golden Years" before the wild audience let him leave the stage.
On a far quieter note, Thalia Hall hosted the kick off show for a stateside tour of pristine blue eyed soul on January 23 with co-headliners Daley and JMSN ( pronounced Jameson ). First up was Michigan native JMSN ( aka. Christian Bershaj ) who had problems getting through his set list because he kept stopping the show with his intense performance. "Bout It," "Drinkin,'" "So Badly," and "My Way" profited from the singer/producers seamless mix of hard rock and soul while his affable nature made his set nothing short of spectacular. Brit vocalist Gareth Daley easily won the rowdy crowd over with a lighter touch, presenting music from his latest full length The Spectrum ( BMG Records ) including "Selfish," "Slow Burn," "Until the Pain is Gone ( which sampled "Careless Whisper" by WHAM! )," and "Sympathy."
Heads Up: Tickets are still on sale for Elton John's final Chicago performances ( at The Allstate Arena on February 15 and 16 ), Boy Harsher and NGHT CRWLR have added a second show at The Empty Bottle ( the first for Glitter Creeps is long sold out ) for February 9, queer rocker Mike Maimone hits Lincoln Hall for a single release set on February 8, while queer punkers Absolutely Not ( with Meat Wave's Chris Sutter in tow ) play The Empty Bottle on March 2. And for those who like that sort of thing, KISS plays The United Center on March 2.