Smile Politely

The Overture: February 4–10

WHAT: Anodes, Regret, the Informer, Hank, Earth Witch

WHERE: Red Herring ($3)

WHEN: Wednesday, February 6th at 8 p.m.

Another great bill lined up at the Red Herring this week with a couple of locals paired with a couple of out of towners. Anodes are a pretty fierce outfit from St. Louis who are coming through town, and joining them are Regret, The Informer out of Kansas City. Plus, local punks Hank and new-ish metal band Earth Witch. Stream Hank’s “That’s a Fact” below.

[[mp3 hank_thats_a_fact]]

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WHAT: Year of the Bobcat, Broken Light

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)

WHEN: Thursday, February 7th at 8 p.m.

Indie rock crew Year of the Bobcat hold things down on Thursday with Indiana’s Broken Light. Year of the Bobcat appears to be finishing up mixing their new EP, which has been in the works for a short while, so that is something to expect from them in the near future. Broken Light is also playing with C-U’s Psychic Twin on the 6th in Chicago, so they’re making a stop here in town before they head up north for that show. Check out YOTB’s track “Trees Swayin'” below.


 

[[mp3 year_of_the_bobcat_trees_swayin]]

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EDITOR’S PICK: JILL ANDREWS, VIVIAN MCCONNELL, COLE RABENORT
Cowboy Monkey ($10) — Thursday, February 7th at 9 p.m.


Hot on the heels of our last installment of the Smile Politely Show Series, we have another remarkable nationally touring act in the mix for the month of February. We know it is a quick turnaround, but it seemed like a no-brainer to us to have this show in consideration of getting the nod. Jill Andrews brings her lovely self to Champaign again after performing at the 2011 installment of Pygmalion, where she played at Cafe Paridiso. Her wonderful alt-country tunes are a must-see this week over at Cowboy Monkey.

We’ll have more later this week about the show, including a full preview, as well as ticket giveaways and photos to recap the show. Not only are you getting the greatly talented Jill Andrews, but she’s grouped with Grandkids’ Vivian McConnell and Anna Karenina/Anna Karina’s Cole Rabenort. Great stuff all around. If I were you, I’d be buying my tickets now to see this one. Definitely a standout. Hear “These Words” below.

[[mp3 jill_andrews_these_words]]

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WHAT: Dino Bravo, Mutts, Gonzo Diablo

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)

WHEN: Friday, February 8th at 8 p.m.

An overall raucous bill put together for a Friday night at Mike ‘N Molly’s with some “post-butt rock” from Dino Bravo, joined by Chicago’s Mutts and Gonzo Diablo. DB appears to have a new cassette coming out later this year on Error Records, per their Facebook update not too long ago. Should be interesting to see what they release coming off of their pretty great self-titled debut record from a few years ago now. Check out one of their most brutal tracks below, “Randy Savage Tribute.”

[[mp3 dino_bravo_randy_savage_tribute]]

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WHAT: Corey Smith, Adam Ezra Group

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($16 advance/$18 door)

WHEN: Friday, February 8th at 9 p.m.

Alt-country musician Corey Smith makes his usual stop to Urbana this upcoming Friday. He typically stops at Canopy Club at least once a year, so this isn’t a shocking booking for the Club. He’s out on the road the entire month with a slew of dates in his back pocket, but here’s your chance to see him around these parts. You can hear Smith’s “Twenty One” below.

[[mp3 corey_smith_twenty_one]]

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WHAT: The 92s, Sun Country, Tomorrow Is Already Here

WHERE: Mike ‘N Molly’s ($5)

WHEN: Saturday, February 9th at 8 p.m.

Indie-synth poppers The 92s headline this bill with Cincinnati’s Sun Country and C-U’s Tomorrow Is Already Here. One of the tracks on the last EP from the 92s was pretty great, snagging them a spot on our top tracks of 2012. You can check out “Full of Tricks” below. Good stuff all around to be seen here.

[[mp3 the_92s_full_of_tricks]]

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WHAT: Keller Williams

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($17 advance/$20 door)

WHEN: Saturday, February 9th at 9:30 p.m.

Another common visitor to the Canopy Club stops through this week in Keller Williams. This one has been on the books for a while and now it’s just getting around to actually happening. No word if there’s an opening act for this one, but if you’re a big Keller Williams fan anyways, it’s probably not going to matter. Stream “Freeker in a Speaker” below.

[[mp3 keller_williams]]

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WHAT: Owl City, Echosmith

WHERE: The Canopy Club ($22 advance/$25 door)

WHEN: Sunday, February 10th at 7:30 p.m.

Remember when this guy ripped off the Postal Service and even admitted that he ripped off the Postal Service? Well, he’s got a show at Canopy Club this upcoming Sunday. One of his new songs has Carly Rae Jepsen in it, too. Awesome. Here his track “Fireflies” below.

[[mp3 owl_city_fireflies]]

Executive Editor

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