File: June 2010
Buddy Buddy With A New Space
We like to laugh, so we’ll look back at the henny-penny from a couple years ago and loosen a huge guffaw. When Columbia College first announced its interest to convert Buddy Guy‘s Legends — a tenant on its property — into space for students, the mood of the time was the club was about to be ruthlessly evicted without notice. Several years on, Legends has found its new home and the only schedule it was racing was that of Blues Fest. Open at 700 S. Wabash (using the same property as the old Hothouse on Balbo) now, the two-floor, 11,000 sq. ft. building will make the old club look like the dingy dive it was. We’re happy he kept it in the city. He told IE in 2005 that he wished he’d originally opened the club in the suburbs. A grand-opening event will be the Blues Fest kickoff, June 9th.
Make Me Spill My Beer
Because dads are undoubtedly fueling the fantastic surge in craft beer sales — not Kraft beer sales, yuck — the fine folks at California-based Lag-unitas Brewing have combined with the world’s leading dad rockers to create Wilco Tango Foxtrot Ale. The limited-edition brew — available only in 22-ounce bottles — is subtitled “A malty, robust, jobless recovery ale” that’s heavier than a Rogue Dead Guy but not quite as filling as a Goose Island Hex Nut Brown. (Taking one of these down with a grilled steak will beach you on your couch for the evening.) Despite its small batch size, it’s modestly alcoholic (7.8 percent) for ales of this class, and quite kind to the budgie, as IE picked up a bottle at Mandy’s in Lincoln Square for $5. And wouldn’t you know, Father’s Day is around the corner. (See “Caught In A Mosh” for some metal beers!)
Dio Down
Ronnie James Dio fronted a lot of bands in his time, but it wasn’t because he was difficult. To the contrary, he was the antithesis of a prima donna. Sadly, stomach cancer took him May 16th. He performed with Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow, revitalized Black Sabbath as Ozzy Osbourne’s replacement, and authored a couple of classic metal albums under his own name. I only spoke to him once, so while I can’t say I knew him I understood why Tony Iommi and Sabbath took to him: he was the opposite of Ozzy. Despite his stage persona — he’s credited with sparking the devil-horn salute — he was composed and thoughtful in speaking, and his private life bore none of the blemishes that make a mockery of his peers. “If you have any idea how many times I’ve done ‘Holy Diver’ or ‘Heaven & Hell’ or ‘Old Man & The Silver Mountain,'” he said, “people must imagine I’m going through the motions. But it’s not like that for me. Every time I sing, I have to be great at it. And I try to be each time. The songs have lyrics that need to come alive. Once the song starts — boom, I’m into it.”
All The Dewyzer For It
Mount Prospect native Lee Dewyze only sang Elvis Presley on “American Idol,” but when he came home for a weekend in mid-May you’d have thought he was The King himself. The “top 3 coming home” episode is always an “Idol” season fave, and reports suggest Dewyze (no relation to ex-Sox outfield DeWayne Wise) appeared overwhelmed. That can happen when you receive the key to your city, throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game, and perform for 30,000 people at Arlington Park Race Track. DeWyze actually cut an album in December at Chicago’s Gravity Studios with engineer Doug McBride. Something tells us the hard drives from those sessions just went up in value.
— Steve Forstneger
