Stage Buzz: Screeching Weasel, Abbey Road, BoDeans
Screeching Weasel
If there were a Mount Rushmore of Chicago punk bands, Screeching Weasel would be on it, along with Naked Raygun and The Effigies. Founder Ben Weasel (it’s one constant member) rocketed out of Prospect Heights in the mid -80s with a few early youthful stumbles that eventually led to 14 albums and a long list of bands influenced by their aggressively melodic punk catalog, buoyed by 2 classic albums (Boogadaboogadaboogada! and My Brain Hurts (Lookout! Records, 1991) Appearing at Arcada Theatre, Friday, April 17.
Steven Kikoen’s Beatles tribute band, Abbey Road, which arrives at The Lyric Theater on April 18, is a passion that goes back to his youth. For Kikoen, who also fronts several other original and all-star cover bands, his newest project is also a labor of love for arguably six of the hardest-working musicians in Chicago. Yolking a cast of award-winning and sought-after string and brass ensemble players, the show will include the orchestral component (“Rockestra”) of the band that performs both the hits and Beatles deep cuts you may not hear (âStrawberry Fieldsâ and âPenny Lane,â plus  âMartha My Dearâ and âGlass Onionâ) at a look-alike Fab Four show.
Wisconsin roots rockers, BoDeansâs current 40th anniversary tour heads to the historic Art Theater in nearby Hobart, Indiana, on Saturday, April 18 (and later to the Des Plaines Theatre on June 6). Championed by WXRT from day one for their classic alternative heartland rock, theyâll be bringing the goods to NWI. Read our full interview with co-founder Kurt Neumann.
– David Gedge
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz
