The month of May is serving as a precursor to the multiple happenings with Pride. In the upcoming weeks, there are several noteworthy LGBT music events throughout the Chicago-area.
The Alt Q Festival is taking place on Saturday, May 14, at The Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. The annual all-queer showcase is organized by the godfather of Chicago's LGBT-music scene, Scott Free. The event will feature Ellis, Nicole Reynolds and Levan D. Hawkins as well as local talents Sister Speak, Jeffrey Altergott and Ian Wilson.
This marks Alt Q's 11th anniversary. Each year, Free seamlessly accomplishes the task of assembling a fantastic assortment of LGBT-identifying artists, who cover multiple genres. The Old Town School of Folk Music is the perfect setting to hear these outstanding singer-songwriters deliver their take on the queer experience through music and storytelling.
This year's Alt Q Festival will benefit St. Leonard's High School of Chicago, a free alternative high school for those who were incarcerated. For more information and tickets, please visit www.altqfestival.com .
Fresh from a recent concert with Everest, Wilson's former band, Canasta, will be headlining at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, on Friday, May 13. Also on the bill are Dastardly, Soft Speaker and Secret Colours. These four bands took top honors in the Deli Chicago's Best Emerging Artists' poll. Wilson departed from Canasta after last year's release of The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather.
Having performed at The Alt Q Festival previously, Coyote Grace will be at The Space, 1245 Chicago, Evanston, on Wed., May 11, with Girlyman. On Coyote Grace's 2009 album Ear to the Ground, vocalist and upright bassist Ingrid Elizabeth beautifully captures the essence of a pure love, as she swoons over her bandmate Joe Stevens. The successor EP Buck Naked is out now. Coyote Grace has become a trio with the new addition Michael Connolly.
On Saturday, May 7, the queer-focused monthly art-house show Cake Chicago returns to Red Line Tap, 7006 N. Glenwood. Madsen Minax from The Homoticons and Actor Slash Model will be performing with members of Homoticons. Cake Chicago's founder and regular contributor, Ripley Caine will be joined by the Full Moon. Also on the card are The Dykings and comedy by Ever Mainard. Cake Chicago is on Facebook.
On Friday, May 6, another monthly LGBT concert series, The Flesh Hungry Dog Show, hosts three local bands at Jackhammer, 6406 N. Clark. With a new line-up, the female rock trio 8 Inch Betsy issued its sophomore outing, The Mean Days. Blane Fonda delivers quite the workout with its high energy live show. In addition to blurring the genres of rock, new wave and soul, Blah Blah Blah also has a positive message prevalent in its work. In between the sets, burlesque artist Titty Perkins and female illusionist Vallery Dolls will entertain the crowd. For tickets and more information, please visit www.fleshhungrydog.com .
Matt Alber has performed twice at The Flesh Hungry Dog Show. He returns to the Windy City with a special acoustic performance at Schuba's, 3159 N. Southport, on Wed., May 25, in support of UCAN Foundation of Illinois. This organization is devoted to working with teens and their families.
Alber's stunning full-length solo debut, Hide Nothing, features the romantic "End of the World;" a remake of Imogen Heap's "Hide & Seek;" and the absolutely heavenly numbers "Slow Club" and "Monarch." Alber is working on the follow-up to Hide Nothing. For a sneak peek of his new material, a live rendition of "The River" is on YouTube.
Oscar winner Joan Crawford's final film, the 1970 science-fiction camp classic Trog, is spoofed in TROGG! A Musical. This staged version from Hell in a Handbag Productions is written by David Cerda with Cheryl Snodgrass and Taylor E. Ross; Scott Fergusson directs.
Fans of Chicago's Crawford-inspired New Wave-rock band The Joans can expect a reworking of "Do the Trogg" during the show. Get your mind out of the gutter; the numbers "Big Furry Monster," "Exploring the Cave" and "Real Gone Gal" actually help tell the story about the discovery of a caveman living in coastal California in 1967 and the impact this plays on two female scientists.
TROGG! A Musical is in previews starting Saturday, May 14, with a run from Sunday, May 22, through Sunday, July 3, at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. For tickets, please visit www.brownpapertickets.com .
"I Should Be So Lucky" that Kylie Minogue would return to Chicago with her Aphrodite: Live 2011 tour. However, her 2011 trek is skipping the Midwest altogether. Aphrodite: Live 2011, which kicked off in this hemisphere in Montreal, has the same stage technology as the troubled Broadway musical Spider Man: Turn off the Dark.
If you are unable to travel "Light Years" to see her live show, The Call, 1547 W. Bryn Mawr, is hosting Club Kylie, a night dedicated to all things Minogue, on Friday, May 13, with DJ Riley York.
Minogue's Aphrodite, which I dubbed as the best album of 2010, is out now. A digital EP with live versions of five of Minogue's hits like "Get out of My Way" and "Can't Get You out of My Head" was just released. Another digital EP, with remixes to "Put Your Hands Up," is due out Tuesday, May 31.
