’Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the pubs, plenty was stirring in every night club.
We all know by now that Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest party-out, bar-going night of the year, right? According to experts such as MSNBC and Mike Parkes at the Brewhaus, the night before the turkey feast surpassed New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day years ago as the biggest night out of the year. Of course it makes sense when you think about it. It’s the start of a four-day weekend for most, the holiday doesn’t require a lot of preparation for the partying crowd (only for the folks staying home cooking and cleaning), and after eating the big meal the only thing to do is sit on the sofa and stare at the TV. Perfect for recovery time from a night on the town.
The relevance to Now Playing readers is not, I repeat, is not, the fact that drinking booze is involved but the mere fact that live music is used by the bars and clubs to entice and attract whatever portion of the large Thanksgiving Eve crowd they can. So you see it is to a music lover’s benefit that Wednesday night is packed with party people and plenty of bands. In fact, the whole weekend just shines with great opportunities to check out good music in extraordinary circumstances.
Starting with the Wednesday crowd, the Groove Daddies inhabit their new favorite haunt, Frankie’s 49er, while Hoosier Daddies invade the Koo-Koo’s Nest. Cabin Fever holes up at the Boar’s Nest in Athens, Up Front gets down at the Final Four in Sherman and Royal Pain gives you the what for at Atomic Tunes in Girard. The Damwell Betters and Micah Walk Band gang up on patrons at Bar None while Big Fur gets fired up and fuzzy at Marly’s Pub. Still Kick’n knocks out the hits at Knocker’s and the Dirty Ernies get down and dirty at Riverside Rock-n-Roll. Rachel Rambach remembers the songs at the Alamo and Rob Killam Quartet with Frank Parker jazzes up things at Remy’s. There are plenty of others including Vince Herman and Alabaster Brown doing the Harvest Hoedown at the state fairgrounds, but I think you get the idea that we’ve got a diverse and different Wednesday night Springfield scene lineup happening here.
On through the weekend, The Trippin’ Billies, considered America’s number one Dave Matthews tribute band, slide into Marly’s on Friday, Nov. 27, returning to the capital city after a few years’ absence. This could be your best bet to get your Dave fix on without leaving town. Also on Friday, The Station hosts their second annual Central Illinois Foodbank Benefit Concert with guests Indecision and Avidity at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Not only can you dance to some provocative and entertaining music by the group voted Best Original Band in IT’s recent “Best of Springfield” issue, you can help feed the hungry. After a day of gluttony this is a wonderful way to ease your conscience and aid your waistline as well. Friday is full and overflowing as NIL8 with The Timmys and the Nephrons wail away at Bar None.
On Saturday at Bar None we welcome the return of They Came in Droves, one of the area’s most cutting edge, alternative rock bands of the 1990s. With special guests Swoon Method from Chicago, the original line-up of Glenn Dillman on vocals, Ted Brannon on guitar, Gary Hawthorne on drums with Mark Finney and Colm Brewer sharing bass duties, relive the glory days of yore. Man, it was fun back then. Check out the band news at www.myspace.com/theycameindroves.
Here’s hoping everyone has a happy, healthy and un-hungry holiday.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com
