MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? 9/12, Metro On these self-proclaimed aliens’ latest album for Touch and Go, Made From Technetium, they sound less than ever like a surf band and more like, well, a Touch and Go band–less twang, flintier riffs, more singing. I think they’ve assimilated into their adopted environs a little too well.
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SPECTRUM, FRONTIER 9/12, Empty Bottle Speaking of astro-men…the vitriolic breakup of Spacemen 3 has led to revealing exaggerations of its leaders’ true natures. While Jason Spaceman surrounds himself with a cast of thousands on the latest Spiritualized record, with Spectrum’s new Forever Alien (Space Age Recordings) Sonic Boom retreats into relative psychedelic solitude, with only two other guys and lots of vintage analog synthesizers. I’m sure it’s not lonely in his brain, though–one of the tracks is a shout-out to LSD pioneer Augustus Owsley Stanley, and my guess is plenty of others were written in his honor. Local Sturm und Drone meisters Frontier (whose second album, Heater, is out now on the Empty Bottle’s Tug-o-war label) use not a single synth but plenty of dry-ice fog to get a similar effect.
STUDEBAKER JOHN & the HAWKS 9/13, Rialto Square Theatre On his new Tremoluxe (Blind Pig), “Studebaker John” Grimaldi’s melodious but dirty boogie-blues swallows every well-loved blues cliche whole–and they do go down smooth. If you’re already in Joliet, it’s worth it, and if you’re not, think about it: this show, organized by Blind Pig and Alligator, is a benefit for SOS Children’s Village, an alternative foster-care community for abused and abandoned children, and considering that the hottest games in Joliet are the casinos and the prison, those kids probably need all the help they can get. The band also plays the restuarant Redfish on Friday and Buddy Guy’s Legends on Thursday.
