Friday, November 30, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: No Bunny, Goblins, Ratso, etc

FRIDAY 11/30
Nobunny, The Goblins, Party Bat, Rhythm Chicken, Ratso and the Rabbits @ Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake St., Chicago, IL

Party Bat pose the musical question, "Do You Wanna Party With A Bat?" My answer is, not really. BUT, as Muggsy will party with anyone, anytime, anywhere—be you a chicken, a bunny, a bat or a rat—I will absolutely party with all of thee above. Even The Goblins. I mean, especially, The Goblins (even though they don't care about the scene anymore).

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Outer Minds

Outer Minds have a "far out" live show.
THURSDAY 11/29
Outer Minds, Summer Girlfriends, Heavy Times, Sidecar Static @ Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL

Outer Minds mine out solid gold nuggets of 60s psychedelic pop and it's a total gas, man!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Music Review: Black Moth Super Rainbow

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW
Cobra Juicy (Rad Cult)
Black Moth Super Rainbow have a history, it’s just that I didn’t know it. So I got my backstory like every other dude on the block: I looked 'em up on the Internet and found out things about them: geography and history and discography and their noms de guerre (if I can get French on you for a second). Now I don't know a whole lot more than I did before and who cares anyway, right? I know this Cobra Juicy record is BMSR's fifth LP and that they've had some line-up mixing ups. I also learned that, while I typically shy away from electronic pop, I don’t know what I was smoking, or wasn’t smoking, drinking or licking because this snake is juicy—Cobra Juicy!

BMSR make mellow (although sometimes with an underlying sense of menace), gratuitously groovy music with breathy vocals featuring mostly electronically created sounds but also real guitars and other instruments. Possibly. "Windshield Smasher" gives me all that I want, subliminally in my sleep, although I'm not sure why I just said that. "Hairspray Heart" also comes with a promise of hypnotization and had me pantomiming a chicken driving a car. "Like a Sundae" is lovely and swirly and melty and the lush pop of “Psychic Love Damage” transports me back to a time and place, but I can't figure out what time and what place and while I was happy to go back and visit I'm also glad that I don't live there anymore. If any of this makes sense to you, get help (and get Cobra Juicy)—Snake [Black Moth Super Rainbow]

Read more reviews, and always...always read Reglar Wiglar!

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Scott Lucas & the Married Men

WEDNESDAY 11/28
Scott Lucas & the Married Men, It's Criminal, Burn Fetish @ Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN

Scott Lucas grew up, got married to some men and now plays adult music. That was not Muggsy's life trajectory, but there your go.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Humminbird

Hummingbird about to bone a flower.
TUESDAY 11/27
Many Places, The Fishermen, The Humminbird @ Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL

Please enjoy this picture of a beautiful hummingbird in lieu of any clever or informative copy about these bands that are playing tonight. Muggsy had a rough night last night.

Monday, November 26, 2012

What's the Point, The Hussy?

Occasionally, Reglar Wiglar Magazine asks a band, artist or musician: What’s it all about? What's the point and why go on? This week we ask Madison's hussy-futters, The Hussy:

What’s it all about?

BOBBY: The show is a big celebration as our last Madison show of the year. This year was pretty exciting for us and we wanted to have one huge blowout as a thank you to our home, Madison. We're also bringing our really close friends from Cleveland, The Wooly Bullies out and they're a band you won't want to miss! I'm recording a batch of songs for them while they're in town too!

What's the point?

HEATHER: To support our LP, Weed Seizure and to piss off any haters. 

Why go on?

HEATHER: We'll be touring a ton in 2013, including a month long tour of Europe. We'll be releasing quite a few things in 2013 as well.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30 @ 8PM ALL AGES
The Hussy, Poney, Wooly Bullies, Dharma Dogs, New Years Gang @ Revolution Cycles, 2330 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Free Drugs

MONDAY 11/26
Dead Native, Free Drugs @ The Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL

Free Drugs at the Whistler! Free Drugs at the Whistler! Tell all your friends and every skuzzy dude you see on the street: Free Drugs at the Whistler!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Muggy's Rock Pick: Turbo Fruits

U.S.A. brah.
SUNDAY 11/25
Turbo Fruits, Little Legend, Dakotas @ High Noon Saloon, 701A Washington, Madison, WI

MONDAY 11/26
Turbo Fruits, The Goondas Turf Club, 1601 University Ave. St. Paul MN

Not even a real quick zucchini has as fast a seed dispersal system as Turbo Fruits.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Pinback

Wallet? Check.
SUNDAY 11/18
Pinback, Solos @ High Noon Saloon, 701A Washington, Madison, WI

You got your Pinback and you got your Nickelback and never the twain shall meet. At least not on stage. I hope.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Ted Leo

WEDNESDAY 11/14
Aimee Mann, Ted Leo @ Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave. Chicago, IL

What's Ted Leo been up to the past four years without poor old George W. to kick around? I wonder.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Monday, November 12, 2012

Cassetty Comics














Read more Cassetty Comics


Music Review: John Cale, Shifty Adventures...

JOHN CALE
Shifty Adventure in Nookie Wood (Double Six)
John Cale has made over 30 albums, has collaborated with a whole pile of notable bands and musicans from La Monte Young to Squeeze and was the co-founder of, arguably, the most influential band in rock history. I say arguably but only a douche would argue that VU wasn't, 'cause it was. And dude’s like seventy and still making some pretty ambitious music. Shifty Adventures in Nookiewood showcases a dozen Cale compositions exploring pop rock music and using the more modern tools at his disposal. Cale can’t resist the use of autotuner on “Mothra” and “I Wanna Talk 2 U” uses a fairly modern spelling style on the title. But I jest. The Welshman is capable of creating moving moments using various styles and maintaining a sense of humor. Who wouldn't want to have an adventure in Nookie Wood? Hell, I'd settle for Wookie Wood—Chewbacca Jones

Muggsy's Rock Pick: The Life and Times

MONDAY 11/12
The Life and Times, Story of the Sea, Rollo Tomasi @ Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL

The Life and Times of Muggsy is a sad, sad tale—or a real boring one. That's sad too though, isn't it?

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Crappy Dracula

Almost a good idea.
SATURDAY 11/10
Crappy Dracula, Little Otik, Heavy Hand @ Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave., Milwaukee. WI

It's dangerous to put words like "crappy" in your band name. For a smart-ass like Muggsy, that's an invitation to merciless ridicule. I'm lettin' it go this time.

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Muggsy's Rock Pick: King Tuff

The King in repose.
THURSDAY 11/8
King Tuff, Gap Dream, Nude Sunrise @ Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL

King Tuff reminds King Muggsy of British punk rock circa the 70s: Only Ones, Buzzcocks and the like. For that King Muggsy would like to pay tribute in the form of this small blurb.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Comics Review: Prison Pit #4 by Johnny Ryan

PRISON PIT #4
Johnny Ryan (Fantagraphics
If you think Loady McGee is a little too reserved and Angry Youth Comics are a little too vanilla for your tastes, Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pit series might be just what you're looking for in this universe. This is Ryan’s depraved ID unleashed in its purest form: blood, guts, genitalia and fecal matter abound—actually they don’t abound so much as they’re sprayed all over absolutely everything in a fantastical sci-fi orgy of digustedness. Foul creatures stalk and kill each other as they drop F bombs and leap into giant vaginas. Arms are lopped off and things get porked in obscene fashion. This should be required reading in every elementary school across the nation. I should be locked up in a prison pit just for saying that, especially since I really don’t mean it. I only said it so I could make myself look edgy and sound like I get it, but I don't get it 'cause there's nothin' to get. If you are going to lock me up, however, be sure to lock me up with Johnny Ryan. I got some questions for him—Chris Auman [Johnny Ryan]

Muggsy's Rock Pick: The Sword, et al.

A couple more jean jackets would have helped.
WEDNESDAY 11/7
The Sword, Eagle Claw, Gypsyhawk @ Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL

The Nerd Metal part of Muggsy wants to support bands like Sword and Eagle Claw and (gasp!) Gypsyhawk, but the cooler Metal part of Muggsy wants to kick all their asses.

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Comics Review: Cyclical by Shia LaBeouf

CYCLICAL
Shia LaBeouf
On January 30 of this year, I received an e-mail from someone purporting to be Shia Labeouf. This Shia Labeouf claimed to be thee Shia Labeouf. At the time, I wasn’t even sure how you spelled Shia Labeouf (it's spelled Shia Labeouf). Anyway, this Shia Labeouf professed to be a fan of Reglar Wiglar comics reviews (believable enough I suppose) and that he himself was a “WANNABE CARTOONIST", as he typed it in all caps—yes, Shia is an all-cap-typer. Anyway, I wasn’t convinced that I wasn't being punked by S.B. Sweaty or Ashton Kutcher pretending to be Shia Labeouf. I consulted with a few trusted colleagues to see if the story sounded plausible. I was met with a round of skepticism. I Googled “Shia Labeouf comics artist” but came up with nothing. I decided it was for real anyway and responded, telling Mr. Labeouf that I would try to get a review up in the “not-too-disant future”.

I quickly got self-conscious. Would I treat Mr. Labeouf the same as any other aspiring comics artist wishing to share their work with a larger audience? Or would I suffer from some sort of Hollywood bias and not want to displease a megastar? Would I stroke his ego or would I make him an easy target for critical rage. I had fantasies of reaching out to Shia, giving him advice, nurturing his talent and eventually being flown all over the globe on whatever a press junket is, attending Hollywood premiers of major motion pictures with eye candy dangling from my arm. I punted the ball to S.B. Sweaty and forgot about it.

Well, suffice to say, S.B. has never met a deadline he liked, so consequently he's never met a deadline. LaBeouf's comic PDF languished on my hard drive for nine months. That is, until I came across a link to a Rolling Stone interview with none other than Shia Labeouf, WANNABE COMICS ARTIST. I had indeed fumbled the ball and missed the boat, to mix a metaphor. Apparently Shia has self-published physical copies of his work and is reportedly selling them for as much as $20 in some stores. That might be a crime, but that means this was certainly no prank and now I can confidently critique the work.

Or can I? The truth is, it's pretty rudimentary. It looks like the work of someone just starting out in comics. But that's what it is. It's the first attempt at a comic by an admitted newbie to the medium. This isn't exactly like Jordan deciding to play baseball. I don't think Shia is going "all in" at the expense of his movie career. Someone who has the cash to get their books printed and into stores has an edge on most amateurs, of course, but that shouldn't be counted against him. I like the coloring which may be watercolor or colored marker, can't tell. There are some good visual panels. There are some minor spelling errors, sure, and the story is a little generic and a bit juvenile. It's the tale of a biker dude named Raven who attempts to jump his hog over a canyon. (Spoiler Alert: Poor bastard doesn't make it.) It's got a dream-like quality to it and it does have a sex scene, so there’s that. The lettering could be more legible. A small point I would make as well, is that a hat is not necessarily a sombrero even if the hat wearer happens to be Mexican, but you know, whatever. I'm interested to see what the future holds for Shia GONNA BE COMICS ARTIST LeBeouf and I'm sorry this "review" took over nine months. That's a long time even for meChris Auman

Read more reviews, and always...always read Reglar Wiglar

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Andrew Jackson Jihad w/ The Future of the Left

Future of the Left? No, Andrew Jackson Jihad.
TUESDAY 11/6
Andrew Jackson Jihad, Future of the Left @ Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN

Future of the Left, eh? Yeah, I guess we'll find out tonight one way or another.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Our Position on Political Endorsements Is As Follows:

Reglar Wiglar Magazine does NOT endorse political candidates. Therefore, we do NOT endorse Mitt Romney for President of our blessed United States. Get it?



Zine Review: Simple History #10: The Cold War

THE COLD WAR
Simple History #10
J. Gerlach (Microcosm)
J. Gerlach is back with another mini-history lesson, this time on the Cold War between the two Super Powers of the mid-to-late 20th Century: USA vs. USSR. The Cold War is quickly becoming a distant memory as we fry new fish in the 21st century. We like our wars a bit warmer now, but the War on Terror still plays the same games. We still prop up weaker allies whose interests we believe match our own while inadvertently sowing the seeds for future conflicts. This is now and that was then, however. In this current installment, Gerlach lays out all the major events and the players in his Cliff's Notes of History style. You got your revolutions, your arms races, your pacts, your treaties and agreements as well as espionage, air lifts, thaws, freezes, police actions, standoffs and stalemates and it all ended when Mr. Reagan asked Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall in Berlin. Not quite, but I've heard it spun that way. Let us also not forget that the Cold War produced some great movies too. No, I'm not talking about Dr. Strangelove and the Manchurian Candidate, I'm talking about Red Dawn and Spies Like Us!Chris Auman
Read more reviews, and always...always read Reglar Wiglar!

Music Review: Parquet Courts, Light Up Gold

PARQUET COURTS
Light Up Gold (Dull Tools)
It’s fitting pehaps that Parquet Courts use footage from old hardcore shows in their video for “Light Up Gold II”. They’re anything but a hardcore band, but they defitnitely wear their influences on the sleeves of their throwback jerseys (yep, that's a football reference). I have a feeling this is a band of former record store clerks—record collecting geeks at the very least. I hear so many bands I love in each song and in the Court's whole approach to the band thing. There’s Minutemen for brevity ("Donuts Only"). There’s Camper Van Beethoven for jangly sing-alongs ("Light Up Gold II"). There’s Modern Lovers (“Stoned and Starving”) complete with ad hoc guitar solos. There's the lo-fi pop weirdness of GBV (“Caster of Useless Spells"). The record also has general themes of humor “Careers in Combat”, “N. Dakota” and what could be called a love song (“Yonder is Closer to the Heart”). These guys soaked it all up to make a classic record complete with the requisite imperfections of wrong notes, out-of-tune guitars and pitchy vocals. Light Up Gold is a welcome relief from some dudes who get it. I get it. Get this record!—Joey Germ [Parquet Courts]

Read more reviews, and always...always read Reglar Wiglar!

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Misfits

Boo!
MONDAY 11/5
Misfits, The Attack, Private Instigators @ House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL

Muggsy kinda lost track of what passes for the Misfits these days, but he wonders if this particular franchise has still got the goods or if they're just peddling the same played out merch. There's (Jerry) only one way to find out.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Poetry Review: anxiety is a rambling dagger

anxiety is a rambling dagger
Ian Kahl
Ian Kahl suffers from mental health issues. They are chronic, clinical and, I would imagine, debilitating at times. Instead of allowing his struggles to hold him back, he considers them one of his greatest assets as a creative person. He actually does let his mental health problems define him. His poetry reflects this. “Anxiety is a rambling dagger” is the latest collection of Ian’s poetry. Ian considers this collection to be a journal and the poems are autobiographical. His poems are about family and suicide and depression and they're pretty sobering. They're hard to take in as large a dose as Ian probably needs to produce them. Hopefully, his work will be an inspiration to others who suffer in similar ways to Ian and who will see some of themselves in his work. www.iankahl.com


Zine Review: Unsinkable by Robnoxious

UNSINKABLE
Robnoxious (Microcosm)
Part Huckleberry Lewis and part Meriwether Finn, Unsinkable is a tale of life on the river—that river being the Mighty Mississippi and that life being a few months spent aboard the shanty boat Snowball. Now I knew punks lived on the streets and I knew punks lived out in the sticks. I knew punks hopped trains and criss-crossed the country like the hobos of yore, but it never, ever occurred to me that there were punks on America’s waterways. But there are and leave it to Robnoxious to provide me with an education on the subject. 

The subtitle of the zine is "How to Build Plywood Pontoons & Longtail Boat Motors Out of Scrap” and Unsinkable is a bit of a how-to mixed with a travel diary (I’d say it’s about 90% travel to 10% how-to). I’m not a very technical person, I don’t build things out of other things, so I was more interested in the human side of the story. The Flight of the Snowball, the journey itself started in Kansas City, Missouri and follows Robnoxious and friends, both human and canine, on a river voyage that ended in Caruthersville, MO. Floods, strong currents, and things that float off in the night were just a few of the hardships the crew of the Snowball had to contend with. Drinking, smoking, camping, chilling and letting the river set the pace provided the balance. It sounds like a soggy, muddy and sometimes dangerous good time. Also included is a humorous article on the Asian Carp by Savannah who got caught in a fish mosh by this invasive species. The Asian Carp fearlessly fling themselves at the heads of unwary water travelers and as a result can do some serious damage to your cranium. Come on, Asian Carp! That kind of rude behavior is gonna get your ass on a Long John Silver’s menu, but probably under a different name and very heavily batteredChris Auman

Read more reviews, and always...always read Reglar Wiglar!
[Robnoxious]

Muggsy's Rock Pick: Wintersleep

SUNDAY 11/4
Wintersleep, Elliott Brood @ Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL

Wintersleep? Wasn't that the name of the castle house band in Game of Thrones? I think it was.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Axl Gives the Grease!

"It's like this and like that, homey."
Screaming rock banshee and, at times, temper "mental" tyrant Axl Rose gives an exclusive interview with USA Today in which the volatile rocker reflects on his life in GNR. Axl, sounding at times like a sane and rational person, talks about the early days, his decision to skip the RNR HOF induction and how Slash and Seymour said he sucked. Rose also promises the next album will be out a whole hell of a lot sooner than ye olde Chinese Democracy (but in RoseWorld that could still be a half decade or so).


Chinese Democracy