SmilePolitely.com / Tim Hayden

Tom Sheehan Pours From His Fount of Beer Knowledge, Part Two

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Yesterday, I posted the first half of my conversation with Tom Sheehan, bartender extraordinaire at the Esquire Lounge, and residing Champaign-Urbana beer expert. Today, part two of that interview, where Sheehan expounds on Illinois alcohol laws and the local beer culture, among other topics.

Smile Politely: That consistency isn’t as important on the craft level. It’s not necessarily a goal at that level. Speaking of Flossmoor, what’s been your career with beer?

(Photo by Tracy Popp)

Tom Sheehan Pours From His Fount of Beer Knowledge, Part One

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Whenever the topic of beer comes up at local watering holes, the name Tom Sheehan is frequently mentioned as the man you really need to talk to if you want to talk about beer. Tom, age 46, was one of the prime players in helping Champaign-Urbana becoming the oasis of quality beer that it is today. His encyclopedic knowledge of beer is ever impressive. Currently, Tom can be found bartending at the Esquire Lounge in downtown Champaign.

Tom sat down with Smile Politely on a pleasant, early Fall afternoon to discuss topics ranging from the origins of his own interest in the beverage, the unique beer culture in C-U, the state of American craft brewers to the alcohol industry in Illinois. This is part one of the interview; part two will post tomorrow at the same time.

Smile Politely: Tom, when did you first start getting serious about beer?

(Photo by Tracy Popp)

Check Out Trio X For Free Thursday Night at Krannert Art Museum

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0600

This Thursday is a wonderful opportunity to experience an intimate performance from some of the heaviest hitters in free and improvised music, well, for free. In the second installment of this semester’s Sudden Sound Concert Series, Trio X will bring their completely improvised music to the Krannert Art Museum. Consisting of the legendary Joe McPhee on saxophone, Dominic Duval on bass and Jay Rosen on drums, Trio X create some of the most exciting and unique music in jazz. Over the course of a performance, Trio X will range from rapid fire, howling skronk to swinging grooves to contemplative meditation pieces and everywhere in between.

Trio X is performing at the Krannert Art Museum on Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. The Krannert Art Museum is located at 500 East Peabody in Champaign. The show is FREE.

Bang on a Can Marathon From Noon to Midnight Saturday at Krannert

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:00:00 -0600

I must confess that I dismissed the Bang on a Can Marathon listing when I first perused the fall line-up at the University of Illinois’ Krannert Center. I instinctively associated the name Bang on a Can with the theatrical percussive hokeyness of Stomp or Blue Man Group. A little closer look into the Bang on a Can Marathon proved how wrong my assumptions were. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Bang on a Can Marathon performance this Saturday at Krannert’s Colwell Playhouse consists of a full 12 hours of modern composition, plus the Bang on a Can players will be joined by special guests Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth and Glenn Kotche of Wilco.

Bang on a Can is this Saturday, September 27 at the Krannert Center. The performance starts at noon and tickets are $16 for U of I students and $30 for the public.

Monotonix Ready to Mix It Up With Canopy Crowd Thursday Night

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Monotonix, the other band I’m really looking forward to seeing at Pygmalion Music Festival, are playing Thursday night. Monotonix are sharing the bill at the Canopy Club with Robots Counterfeiting Money, Dark Meat and Dan Deacon. If you’ve been hankering to get loose and rock out like I have, then this is the band for you. Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Monotonix are some hairy, raunchy, rock’n’roll mugs. The band which consists of singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Ran Shimoni play riff-heavy rock with ‘70s FM radio hard rock leanings. Shalev’s vocals are not too dissimilar to Ted Nugent’s snotty snarl. Gat’s guitar sound is thick and heavy. It’s definitely not the cute, polite, Jersey State indie rock that’s quite popular around here.

Times New Viking Headlines Opening Night of Pygmalion Tomorrow

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:00:00 -0600

On Wednesday night, Times New Viking, one of the two bands I’m most looking forward to at this year’s Pygmalion Festival, will bring their fuzzed out rock to the Canopy Club. Based out of Columbus, Ohio, Times New Viking are Beth Murphy on keyboards and vocals, Adam Elliot on drums and vocals and Jared Phillips on guitar. Their high energy sound is loud, raw and in the red with pop sensibilities bleeding through the fuzz. Aesthetically, Times New Viking’s songs hearken back to the lo-fidelity recording of the early 90s utilized in the early recordings of Guided by Voices, Pavement and a plethora of New Zealand bands. It’s no coincidence that the recently revitalized Siltbreeze label issued Times New Vikings’ first two releases. In the 90s, Siltbreeze put out records by lo-fi/no-fi noise rock artists such as Shadow Ring, Harry Pussy, The Dead C, The Yips (also from Columbus) and Tower Recordings.

Capital Brewing at the Blind Pig – An Evening of “Leisure With Dignity”

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0600

Stop on by the Blind Pig tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. for a unique opportunity to sample the beers of Capital Brewery, one of the premier Midwestern craft breweries. Not only is this a great opportunity to check out some tasty brews that are not yet available in our area, but Capital’s brewmaster, Kirby Nelson, will be on hand to wax about his creations and field questions.

Krukid, The Chemicals and Scurvine Bring Back the Rock to Cowboy Monkey

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0600

Trot on down to Cowboy Monkey tonight to check out three local acts: Scurvine, The Chemicals, and Krukid rock the restaurant/club that’s getting its feet wet again with live bands. After closing its doors for a few months earlier this year to remake/remodel, the Cowboy Monkey re-emerged with a new menu and music in the evening provided by disc jockeys.

Plenty of Good Selections on Tap at Bentley's and Mike 'N Molly's

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:00:00 -0600

In this edition of "B-double E-double R-U-N, Beer Run," I’m featuring two of the more comfortable and homey bars in downtown Champaign: Bentley’s Pub and Mike ‘N Molly’s.

Album Review: Sonic Youth with Mats Gustafsson and Merzbow, Andre Sider af Sonic Youth

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Andre Sider af Sonic Youth, which translates to English as “Other Sides of Sonic Youth”, captures an improvised live set at the Danish Roskilde Festival on July 1, 2005. Issued on Sonic Youth’s own SYR imprint, this recording features SY still as a quintet with Jim O’Rourke. They are joined by Mats Gustafsson on saxophone and Merzbow on laptop. Gustafsson (from Sweden) and Merzbow (from Japan) are two heavy hitters in their musical fields – free jazz and noise, respectively. Gustafsson regularly works with Peter Brotzman, Ken Vandermark from Chicago and drummer extraordinaire Paal Nilssen Love. Merzbow began his high volume sonic terrorism on guitar nearly 20 years ago and has switched to laptop in recent years. This is the eighth release in a SYR series.

Album Review: Jay Reatard, Singles 06-07 and King Khan, The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:00:00 -0600

Jay Reatard and King Khan have a lot in common. They each started out in the late 90's - a teenage Jay with the legendary, obnoxious and moronically brilliant The Reatards out of Memphis, and King Khan with the Montreal garage punkers The Spaceshits. Both come from the same DIY punk scene championed by such record labels like Goner, UFO Dictator, Hozac and Sympathy for the Record Industry. Since then, their various bands have shared record labels and stages numerous times. In fact, Jay Reatard and King Khan played together at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago this past Saturday. (Photo by Tracy Popp)

Album Review: Flying Lotus, Los Angeles

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 -0600

Flying Lotus ’ new album Los Angeles is quite similar to a piece of visual art in that the more time spent with it, the more you get out of it. While Los Angeles grabbed me immediately, I keep getting more out of it with repeated listens. Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) successfully blends hip hop and electronic sensibilities to create heavily layered and textured songs without creating a sonic mess. This is Ellison’s second full-length, and his first for Warp Records.

Beer Variety Abounds at Local Taverns

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:00:00 -0600

Champaign-Urbana really is a beer enthusiast’s paradise. Though C-U lacks its own brewery, beer drinkers have virtually hundreds of quality beers to choose from at the local watering holes. Many of the area bars make a concerted effort to provide their customers with a worthy variety of North American craft and choice European beers on tap and in bottles. What’s even better is that a number of bars bring in new selections on a regular basis. In this monthly column, you can find out what’s new on tap and in bottle in the bars, taverns, lounges and saloons of C-U.

Album Review: Nigeria Rock Special

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0600

The crate diggers at Soundway Records have put together another excellent record which paints a fuller picture of the rich 1970s West African music scene. The bands featured on Nigeria Rock Special: Psychedelic Afro-Rock & Fuzz Funk in 1970s Nigeria display a heavier rock and funk approach to the popular Afro-beat sound happening in West Africa at the time. Afro-beat blended the lock-groove precision of 1960s Western R&B acts such as James Brown’s backing band, the JBs, with indigenous timing and pop sensibilities to create a lively, undeniably danceable new form of music. Nigeria’s legendary Fela Kuti is the most well known Afro-beat musician. Fela and his backing bands, the Africa 80 and the Nigeria 70, mixed populist, power-to-the-people lyrics with the endless groove.

Vinyl Lurks in Unsuspected Places

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0600

If you haven’t heard, records are making a strong comeback. Actually, vinyl never went away, but renewed interest in the LP format in recent years has breathed new life into this medium. A new generation of music fans are discovering records. More and more new releases are consistently issued on vinyl, often with a free digital download of the album included. Classic and obscure albums are being re-issued on LP. Happy days are here again for vinyl lovers, and there are plenty of local businesses that offer opportunities to seek out hidden treasures!