thursday july 29th-6pm-$tba$

w/ MASSW8 ENT. & I.M.G. ENT and the "CREW"

MASSW8 ENT. & I.M.G. ENT PRESENTS FAM NIGHT OUT - ALL AGES EVENT LIVE DJ -- DJ I90 from I90 PRODUCTIONS BRING YOUR KIDS AS WE TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH FOR THE KIDDIES PERFORMING HIP HOP ON THIS NIGHT WILL BE SKITTELLS, SNAKE C , WAX, KILLA B, GENTILEMENS CLUB, WILD BOYS, P.M.R. and D"A PLUS POETRY BY CHRIS D. SIMS AND JUSTIN SIACHEK this one is for all ages so bring your kids $4.00 per person - $10 for single parents with 2 or more kids-$12.00 for both parents with 2 or more kids - 0 through 12 years of age is considered a kid , 13 years old and up must pay separate BROUGHT TO YOU BY MASSW8 ENT. I.M.G. ENT DJ I90 PRODUCTIONS AND THE HOUSE CAFE

friday July 30th-7pm-$tba$

w/ tigers in the backseat, Pisces at the Animal Fair

Green Shadows, White Whale is an experimental, indie band based in Naperville, Illinois. Originally started as a side-project, the members have now made it their current focus of music. Read more: http://www.myspace.com/greenshadowswhitewhale#ixzz0thYZyIPR

friday July 30th-7pm-$tba$

w/ Green Shadows, White Whale, Pisces at the Animal Fair

Tigers in the Backseat is an Ambient Rock band comprised of members from Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. "Taking cues from bands like Explosions in the Sky, Appleseed Cast, to bands such as Sigur Ros and Dredg; Tigers In The Backseat from Rockford, IL, has become a refreshing new face in the northern Illinois music scene. Incorporating exotic instruments and musical interludes in between their songs, Tigers In The Backseat has created a new sound that has been long overdue." - Going Chicago

friday July 30th-10:30pm-$tba$

w/ Richard Richardson, MZRCDXVL, Like RATs

Press Contact: Earsplit PR - http://www.earsplitcompound.com/ Influences: Megadeth, The Smiths, The Jesus Lizard, etc... Biography: Harpoon is from Chicago and features members of 7000 Dying Rats, Lair of the Minotaur, Gun Kata, and Crazy Stallion. Full-length, self-released CD available recorded by Sanford Parker (Minsk) and mastered by Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer).The new full-length "Double Gnarly / Triple Suicide" CD/LP on Interloper Records (Pelican, Tusk) will be in stores February 10th, 2009. DG/TS was recorded by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) and, once again, mastered by the master...Scott Hull. We also have a split 7" with noise/drone/metal duo, Locrian, just released on Hewhocorrupts, Inc. Woo Hoo!

friday July 30th-7:oop.m-$tba$

w/ tigers in the backseat, Green shadow , white whale

truman/jordan brasko's sense of rhythm/melk/pellow/being itchy/sleeping alone or together/best friends/working thru problems together/LOUD parties/bows on anything/the sounds of sujack anthology/auto-tuna/slayer pits/crab-walking/"i can't wait to have kids"/co2/fateful hair lengths/dr.ppr//the BEAR/mawkfawnt/hitting rabbits with your dad's car

saturday JULY 31rst-6pm-$5,00

Dorian Sharp. im a 17 year old growing musician, and only god knows what time will tell. but with a bunch of hard work, hope and a pinch of luck i hope to make something out of this. i recently starting working with redcord records, were working on an EP a shnazzy new layout and a bunch of other promotional type things. if you can be patient with me, and give me more then one chance (because i know ill need em) i promise you i wont let you down. " Speak Listen Repeat is an energetic indie rock band located in Northern Illinois. Consisting of British-born singer Ella Shea and Nashville based multi-instrumentalist Kory Murphy, they draw inspiration from a variety of sources, including but not limited to Tegan & Sara, Laura Marling, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and mid-90s Britpop. The two met in the winter of 2009 in London the day before Kory flew back to Chicago after a 3-month tour of Europe, and are now writing, recording and exploring North America. If you like bands you've never heard of and music you don't know, look up Speak Listen Repeat. You'll love it. "

monday Aug. 2nd-7:30pm-FREE-

[of the the center of the universe]

w/ sign in at 7:30pm..Every MONDAY night

sign in at 7:30....open mic starts at 8:00pm...If coming any distance please phone first to ensure play time..3 songs each or about 12 minutes per musicians..1-815-787-9547..Every Monday Night...

monday August 2nd-special guests at OPEN MIC

w/ open mic 7:30 signin

We are The Transatlantic and we play honest to goodness rock and roll. The Transatlantic will play prime time on monday night....20 minute or so set....possible early opening set as well....

tuesday August 3rd-7pm-$tba$

w/ Shannon's Last Call, We Play in Traffic , ROITVAN

We're Consumed by Fire. We play Rock & Roll. We love people. We believe in friends more than we do fans. Fans come and go, friends are forever. We hope you love our music as much as we love creating it for you.

wednesday August 4th-7pm-$tba$

w/ JAIK WILLIS , ROB REID

Mason Reed has a story to tell. A story filled with broken hearts, bad luck, bloody concrete, rotten chances, ghosts, devils, witches, and women your mother warned you about. When you listen to his music, you can hear something special happening. Reed’s new five-song EP, “You Can’t Come Back From Heaven,” featuring his unique, soul-filled, smoky voice, is evidence that the singer-songwriter genre still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and that real Americana music hasn’t been fluffed over with soft, computer-generated guitar sounds and auto-tuned pop punk vocals. Instead, some of the genre’s underground heroes, like Reed, are conjuring music and sounds as raw and haunting as ever before. Recorded over five days in January 2010 in Los Angeles, California, and produced by Reed and engineer Steve Holroyd (Ryan Adams, Tom Petty), the new EP features an appearance by bass master Jorgen Carlsson of the band Gov’t Mule on three of the tracks, including the first single, “Not Perfect.” Reed says: “This record is about lost loves and found purpose. It’s a gritty, bare-knuckled representation of giving it all up to face your dreams and demons head on.” In addition to his songwriting skills and musicianship, Reed is also known for his monster work ethic. Reed and band are currently booking a self-proclaimed “never-ending tour” to support the new EP, which will be released February 23, 2010, and will be available online and at shows. “I’m a work horse for sure,” says Reed. “Road, studio, road, studio. This is the schedule we have, and I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even the bad days are okay as long as I keep moving.” It comes as no surprise that the first track lyrically reaffirms Reed’s affinity for the troubadour lifestyle: “I don’t love nobody, but I love that road.” Rob Reid Folk / Afro-beat / Americana Eclectic Afro-folk/Americana storyteller CHICAGO, Illinois

Folk-Rock Soul

w/ MASON REED , ROB REID

JAIK WILLIS He has a most unique soaring falsetto and a wild eyes rolled in the back of his head fierce guitar style. He writes original songs, including a fantastic song about Freedom (the gas station). Jaik's sound is somewhere between Anti-Folk and The Band and it is unlike anything I've heard from anyone else. His energy is fierce, his vocal range is inhuman, his beard is long. You've gotta check this guy out. - ( Independent Media Center ) Jaik is an amazing solo acoustic act based in Chicago and touring the nation. Any words or categories I could use to describe Jaik's live show would not do it justice. This is definitely a must see/must hear performer. - (Budde's Spirits) Jaik is a hardcore troubador somewhere inbetween Steve Earle and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He has wandered around the USA like a modern minstrel, surfing sofas, car camping, and paying dues to sing the blues. It is a high energy solo show featuring Jaik's horn-like voice darting around a blistering broken-string approach to his acoustic flying V guitar, with original songs that are accessible, and message driven - (Chicago Jams)

FRI. AUG. 6TH - 8PM - $7

kickstand productions present

w/ Red Reserve, Bluefish Fellows, Chadwick

Venice Gas House Trolley is a cerebral groove. Based out of Madison, WI, the band initially hearkens back to ancient times when folks would freak out digging ecstatic poets and musicians and then explodes through the present and into the future with vocal effects, bass, and twisting rhythms. The group’s sound and content encompasses groovy funk, aggressive jam, tribal rock, high and lonesome country, avant-garde jazz and ambient chill. The group features the words and voice of Adam Gregory Pergament, a finalist for the 2009 MNSWA “Urban Griot” International/National Performer of the Year and two time Madison Area Music Awards finalist. Tim Peeters, a Madison Area Music Award winner is on bass. Josh Pultorak is on drums.

saturday Aug 7th-7pm-$tba$

w/ "TYLER KRIENITZ","M+4"

Music, the people of earth and especially the great city of dekalb, making people happy with our tunes,,generally gettin down,,and sometimes funky Biography: We love life and intend to Hug the Shit out of it!!!

monday August 9th-9pm-$free$

[of the experimental/dub/afrobeat]

w/ open mic crew

A single throat and four appendages attempting to multiply themsleves like cells. Loops and limbs. Mbira and Bass. A polyrhythmic, mono-member musical entity. Asumaya will be special guest at the open mic for the august 9th show....a opening set to open up the open mic and then a prime time return for all open mic'rs to enjoy...

tuesday AUG. 10th-7pm-$5.00$

w/ 7pm lessons...dancing till 11pm

Barb City Swing Connection is a collaboration of three long-time residents of the DeKalb area who love dancing swing (East Coast swing, Charleston, and Lindy hop) and the blues. Brenda Hart, Tom Mack, and Susan Dockus dance regularly in the Naperville and Bolingbrook area and wanted to make swing more available locally. Brenda has been dancing for a number of years, has attended classes with instructors both from the Chicagoland area and of international renown, and has taught swing dancing lessons (with Mike Butler and on her own). Tom and Susan are former students of Brenda's who have joined with her to keep swing alive! See BarbCitySwing.com for information on future events as well as photos of past events. “Some people seem to think that good dancers are born, but all the good dancers I have known are taught or trained.” - Fred Astaire

friday AUGUST 13th-7pm-$tba$

w/ TBA

Classic rock riffage meets old-fashioned, bone crunching beats. A death metal, deathcore, drudgy, bastard child with break neck transitions that will make you want to *** up the emo kid next to you in the pit!

sunday August 15th-7pm-$tba$

w/ 10 lb test , FUE

10 Lb. Test originated when, Phil (percussionist), returned from a missions trip in Uganda . On the trip, a burning passion was deeply rooted in Phil to help children living in plight within developing countries. This passion came to fruition by birthing Child Initiative International (www.ciintl.org), a faith-based, non-profit organization created with that distinct purpose. Realizing the might music encompasses, Phil brought together musicians who had formerly played for local charities across Chicagoland in 2005. Thus, started 10 Lb. Test. With a diverse, catchy, and exceptional sound, the band quickly acquired a following for their music that spanned the genres. 10 Lb. Test stands as a symbol of the most common fishing line in the sport and how the member’s desire to be “fishers of men.” The band consists of Ross, Phil, Eric, Teresa, Jonathan, and Ben. Their influences range from Casting Crowns, Phish, Alabama , Boyce Avenue , Shane & Shane to Jason Upton. As time continues, they hope to be a voice for those suffering and a constant reminder to the difference music makes around the world. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and for believing in our cause. FUE In 2008 Fue began as a group of friends playing music together as a worship team and over time evolved into their own unique original style of music. Their songs bulge with rock sounds, and also capture your ear through the intense emotional vocals of Joanna Rutzky. The other band mates are three brothers Aaron, Ryan, and Tim who have been playing together since day one. In 2009 they all went to Vibehouse Studios in Rockford, IL where they recoreded their first EP titled "Hallelujah". This year they will return to Vibehouse to record their follow up release which is due out late 2010.

THURS. AUG. 19TH - 6:30PM - $12

kickstand productions present

w/ I Am Abomination, Veara,
Till Death, Beneath Us All

Inspired by hardcore and metal, Our Last Night delivers an onslaught of taut thrashing riffs and intense hardcore breakdowns that meld perfectly with lush melodic landscapes and soaring, irresistibly catchy choruses. Sharp technical precision meets raw inspiration on songs like the addictive "Escape" which is currently streaming here Our Last Night, which consists of Trevor Wentworth (growls), Matt Wentworth (guitar, melodic vocals), Alex "Woody" Woodrow (bass), Colin Perry (guitar) and Tim Molloy (drums), was formed in 2004 by childhood friends who were fed up with merely jamming and playing cover songs. With only a few live performances under their belt, Our Last Night entered the studio shortly afterwards to record their first EP, We've Been Holding Back. Vigorous live performances helped the band earn respect and fans throughout the New England area and by 2005 they entered the studio to record their next EP, Building Cities From Scratch. In the summer of 2007, after being impressed by their self-made demos, owner and president of Epitaph Records, Brett Gurewitz, came calling and invited the band to join the label.

CORN FEST friday AUGUST 20th-7pm-$tba$

The name comes from a reference to page 116 in our copy of The Magician’s Nephewby C.S. Lewis. It is a poignant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void. It starts, “In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction is was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.” ~ C.S. Lewis

THURSDAY AUG. 26th, 7pm-$tba$

[of the ALIVE and WELL TOUR 2010]

w/ PAT MAINE, DUSK ONE,

Part of a new era of HIP HOP. Mc Pig Pen is one of the hardest working mc’s of his time. His gritty and funny style by no means lacks the lyrics that some of the best story tellers posses. He is able to do witty lyrical hip hop that tells stories, while still keeping it raw, gritty and fun. Pig pen has been doing hip hop for over a decade since he started rocking the 1200’s in Denver Colorado as a kid. He has navigated his way through several great hip hop scenes including Tampa Bay, Denver/Boulder, and Salt Lake City. Pig pen has just wrapped up a 15 city summer tour, and is about to embark on a larger 22 city tour in november 09, and has shared the stage with many of the hip hop greats. Just as excited about hip hop today as he was over 10 years ago Pig Pen is getting ready to make a BIG SPLASH in 2010 CHECK ME OUT AT MCPIGPEN.COM

FRI. AUG 27TH - 8PM - $7

kickstand productions present

w/ Loose Lips Sink Ships, Chrash,
Cadence Fox, Adult Videos

To say that the Poison Control Center's "Sad Sour Future" is one of the finest albums you will hear this year is such a misguided response to its soaring ambition that we might as well pack it in right now.

Over 2008 and into 2009, the band's four members living in four different cities tethered their relationship by periodically exchanging a demo-of-the-day to document their daily life. During a week in May of 2009, these four songwriters hauled over 40 songs a collective 1500 miles from their respective homes to a turn of the century schoolhouse on the Mississippi River filled with analog recording equipment. The result is a double-album encompassing the motions and emotions of separation, loss, and the struggles of leaving your 20’s behind and growing older in your own skin, this from a band described as "dynamic, versatile, and just a little bit frightening." (KEXP).

Being here now where we are constantly engaged in external input, "Sad Sour Future" considers that our hearts are not made of gold and we should ignore this bombardment of information generated by others and look at ourselves, being weary of our future. At each track the album is a page turn in a book giving you new perspective about life, language, being lonely, being unlonely, and feeling death, until you can ultimately feel your birth. "Sad Sour Future" doesn't merely tug at heartstrings, it holds on tight, threatening to snap them by the end, a 71-minute experience.

Seeing the band live has always been an out of hand interactive adventure. Whether the band is sharing the stage with Apples In Stereo on tour, at a festival opening for the Flaming Lips or Public Enemy, or just in humid basement at your buddy’s house! That sweaty element of real danger finds its way on to the grooves of "Sad Sour Future".

Teaming up again with indie powerhouse, Afternoon Records (Warner Music Group), the Poison Control Center’s "Sad Sour Future" will be hitting stores May 18, 2010.

SUN. AUG. 29TH - $8 - 8PM

kickstand productions present

w/ Mahara and Sioum

The underground guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis of the critically acclaimed Andreas Kapsalis Trio and Megitza Quartet, has juxtaposed his one of a kind finger tapping style with the world renowned Serbian compositional and improvisational mind, Goran Ivanovic of Eastern Blok. This highly acclaimed cinematic musical experience has been winning over the ears of critics world wide, and is now available for purchase everywhere.

wednesday sept.1rst-7:oop.m.tba-$5.00

Truman's Ridge is a traditional bluegrass band. The band has been together since early 2008 The band features Steve Sarver on 6-string guitar and lead vocals; Mark Fowler on mandolin and harmony vocals; Bruce Wallace on 5-string banjo and harmony vocals; and Doris Clayton on upright bass You will enjoy the band's fast-paced blend of traditional bluegrass, tradition-based original, and old-time gospel songs. We sing two and three part harmonies in the prairiegrass style. Record Label PaSaKa Productions

THURS. SEPT. 16TH - 8PM - $8

kickstand productions present

“Drawing comparisons to 90’s rockers Pearl Jam, Matchbox 20, Tonic, and Live with the sentimental songwriting style of John Mayer, it seems Painkiller Hotel has found it’s niche in the music community. Performing a tiresome jam packed schedule of 100-120 tour dates a year over the last few years, the group comprised of bassist Adam Harker, guitarist Klaus Luchs, and drummer Jeff Kissel is putting on a live show that is a MUST SEE.” - Suburban Nitelife Magazine

SAT. SEPT. 18TH - 8PM - $7

kickstand productions present

w/ How Far To Austin, Morris Mills

Mathien is a band blessed with an overabundance of talent in its arsenal: a clever and prolific songwriter whose lyrics are loaded with wit and a sense of tactile immediacy, a graceful and melodic lead guitarist, and a versatile vocalist equally comfortable crooning a soul ballad or shifting to hip hop. The restless diversity of the collective allows Mathien to cross musical boundaries that recall early '70's soul, funk and R&B while remaining rooted in the contemporary and avoiding the derivative.

FRI. OCT. 15TH - 8PM - $8

kickstand productions present

w/ A

Chicago’s oh my god has had more than one band’s share of bad luck and trouble since forming in ’99. Just weeks after meeting, organist ig (who’d played on stages with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, Jeff Healey and Otis Rush in addition to his punk pursuits) moved his music equipment into singer Billy O’Neill’s rehearsal space. After a few practices, the building burned down. Not only did the nascent oh my god lose all their equipment, but they got sued by the building owner who alleged that their carelessness sparked the blaze. The band was exonerated (after almost 10 years of sporadic legal action); they used the prosecuting attorney’s deposition attack on the band as the poster quote on their 2005 tour of the UK:

“Oh my god…use their equipment in such a way…as to cause it to ignite and burst into flames.”

Oh my god had guitar at first, but soon stripped down to the lean, mean, striking sound of distorted organ, overdriven bass guitar, driving drums and harmony-rich vocals, drawing comparisons to everyone from Quasi to Queen. They recorded a self-titled EP (2000) and the albums Well (2001), The Action Album! (2002), Interrogations & Confessions (2003) and You’re Too Straight to Love Me (2004), playing up to 140 shows a year. Billy’s back-and-forth move to Phoenix followed, with their time off leading to the release of a new album: their first with guitar, Fools Want Noise (2007).

NOT SO FAST. Already having suffered a 2004 van break-in that cost them most of their equipment and, shortly thereafter, a rear-end collision that forced them to do an entire tour without the use of the van’s back doors (now crushed), oh my god got into a devastating van crash in September 2007. An Ohio woman was drunk at noon on a sunny Friday and swerved into the wrong lane; the collision was head-on at 55 m.p.h. She was killed and oh my god’s injuries required helicopters, ambulances and over six months of physical therapy to badly broken legs and hands. The tour was cancelled and the release of Fools Want Noise was delayed a year.

During recuperation, Billy and ig dug deep into songwriting, recording throughout 2008 and early 2009 with producer Jim Tullio (John Martyn, Rick Danko, Steve Goodman, Mavis Staples…). The songs brought them joy, but life was quick to temper it as Billy and his wife moved steadily toward divorce and ig’s wife (they’d been together since high school) was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Brutal. But the emotions poured productively into the writing and recording of the songs on oh my god’s new album The Night Undoes the Work of the Day (released by Split Red Records, who also put out Fools Want Noise). Billy and ig have used several drummers and guitarists in the studio and on tour; they’re happy to be taking along two longtime friends and fantastic musicians on the fall 2010 tour: Zach Verdoorn (bass/guitar/vocals) and Danny Yost (drums), both from the Chicago (via South Dakota) band The Kickback.

Come on, life: go easy.