this monday at the hideout
Bitter Ex-Beatles. Nora O'Connor, Steve Dawson, Scott Stevenson, and Gerald Dowd.
this monday at the hideout
Two things, kind of separate. First, I'll be filming a little promo stuff for my next record, Upland Stories. It'll be me with my guitar, plunking through 4 or 5 tunes and talking about them as space aliens with spherical cameras for heads flit sinisterly about the room in a half-crouch -- fun!
Then, the real show, which is me and three of my friends (though I would never advertise it that way, the way they always do, "Robbie Fulks and Friends," because what kind of moron gets wet about that? "Get this -- for only ten dollars we get to see not only the great Robbie Fulks, but a couple of his friends! I bet his friends are something else! It's going to be such a friendly show...I know how much I love my own friends, and I'll bet anything that I'll form a similar attachment to Robbie's friends, who are perhaps even more musically talented than my own!"). The names of my friends are Gerald Dowd, Liam Davis, and K.C. McDonough, and we're going to bash through about 15 Alex Chilton tunes. Big Star, Box Tops, later Alex, love it all, I'm just that old.
The first thing, the video promo thing, is limited seating and advance tickets and sold out, so forget about that. It's due to start at 7 and end at 7:40, and I really don't think that's unrealistic. So if you get there at the usual a-bit-past-seven and are sad or pissed-off that a flunky will be denying you entrance to the music room, just "smoke some dope," as we used to say back when Alex Chilton was living, and wait for 7:40 to roll around, and walk in the fucking room.
this monday at the hideout
It's my final Hideout get-together with my friend Justin Roberts. Justin's music for children is celebrated across the Anglosphere, but we'll be doing mostly music for mature, if not clinically depressed, persons. We'll be joined by Anna Steinhoff and Matt Brown, who'll make a pared-down hipster string section for us on cello and violin.
this monday at the hideout
Lou and Jerry Reed. Steve Dawson, Steve Doyle, Alex Hall, and I explore this classic theme.
this monday at the hideout
Jim + Rob Show, starring Jim DeWan. Enjoy the chef, Tribune food writer, and knife-book author reliving his early 1990s incarnation as a twitchy cabaret comic diva. Slated: flatpicking, songs-of-the-month new and old, swing, Irish, beloved Jim DeWan original ballads such as "Hitler and Jesus," and assorted gimlet snarkery in the key of B-serious.
this monday at the hideout
It's an evening of Sondheim favorites this Monday, as the curvaceously imperial and dauntingly Stritch-esque divas Keely Vasquez and Bethany Thomas, pianist Scott Stevenson, and rude fuck Jon Langford join yours truly for an adventure in exquisite lyrical craft and utter musical confusion. Fans of Assassins and Sunday In The Park With George will not be disappointed; many, many others likely will be.
the new look
From the Russian Tea Room to the Trump Tower! What a snazzy makeover we've gotten here at the worldwide. The friendly navigational tools are sure to make blog-reading and record-shopping like falling off a log. The magnificent (except for the subject) photos taken by Andy Goodwin provide an environmental hue so warm and deep and cozy, you'll be tempted to bring your business partners here to butter them up and shoot them. Many thanks to Mike Sosin of the fledgling "Bloodshot" record label of Chicago, Ill. for bringing this website to life and ignoring all helpful input. Be sure to let us know what you think! We can't wait to ignore you.
this monday at the hideout
High Plains Jamboree is the group name for Brennen Leigh, her husband Noel McKay, fiddler Beth Chrisman, and a bassist I know only as Simon. Brennen's one of my faves. You might remember her from a show we did at the Hideout last year. She sang sweet country duets with both me and Noel, showed off her songwriting chops, and picked tasty bluegrass mandolin.
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
My old friend Michael Miles returns to duet with me.
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
It's a brand new year -- but I'm up to the same old tricks at the Hideout, as I continue the countdown to the end of my residency with a reboot of some old favorites.
Read Morehow out of it?
It's time to play How Out Of It Am I? Animating event: tonight at DCA airport the place I sat down to eat at had ipads to order from. Yeah, asshole, I managed to put in my order, no problem there. But when it came time to swipe my card, I couldn't figure out where to do it. A black guy sitting next to me noticed me limply brushing my credit card against a black plastic rectangle jutting out from the bottom of the screen. "It's over there," he said, pointing to the familiar short vertical shelf sitting some nine inches to the right. "Thanks!" I said with sincere gratitude, adding explanatorily, "I was born a very long time ago." The black man was so gracious, he said, "No, it confused me at first, too."
Read Moreone more end-of-year show...
As a reminder, I'll be doing what looks like the last of my garish DIY-scale Bollywood revues celebrating the year's high and low points at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn, on December 31 and January 2.
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
I sing musical songs with Kelly Hogan, the only musician friend I have who can not only go toe to toe with me but often kick my butt on such questions as, What year was Fat City released? and What was Susan Tyrell's character's name in Big Top Pee-Wee?
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
How much do I have to do for you people? I've jumped into standing pools of water, knocked teeth out, broken noses with flying shoes, held high F# for 20 seconds, rapped freestyle, taken off my pants, fiddled, memorized dozens of pages of single-spaced text for a one-time-only performance, picked up and down as fast as possible, and turned my private affairs into jokes at the risk of permanently alienating everyone I love just to get a chuckle from you.
Read Morehank williams at the birchmere
Not himself in person but a bunch of people who love his music and anyhow who doesn't? I'll join Robin and Linda Williams, Rickie Simpkins, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Dave Chappell, and Mark Schatz, all legends, especially Dave, who's just about my favorite black comedian.
Read Moreyear-end show!
The good news, if you can call it that, is that once again this year's show will take place at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn and across two dates. December 31 and January 2 are the dates. As always, buying tix in advance is strongly encouraged, so that you'll be assured of getting in the room.
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
I forgot to post last Monday's show details. I played with a segment of the punk rock group the Mekons, in support of our new release, Jura. It was the best attended Monday Hideout I've done (possibly excepting the Michael Shannon show, I think the numbers were about identical) so I guess not posting anything here is the key to success.
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
Hey, that was a killer Kinky Friedman show last night!
Read Morethis monday at the hideout
I'm ending my Monday night residency, but not soon. I'll be reprising my favorite themes and revisiting my favorite guests, or at least those who live around here, as a sort of sentimental last hurrah, and it'll take about a year.
Read Morehey u. of illinois people
Would anyone at the school -- faculty or students -- care to walk me and and my son around campus for an hour one day over the next couple months, in return for lunch and laffs? Contact me here.