Halloween is Gossip Wolf’s favorite holiday—when else can you see Chicago bands pretend to be even better bands? Almost never! All hypotheticals aside, this wolf hears that a slew of local rockers will don costumes at Cole’s this weekend. The Chicago Singles Club presents a show on Friday, October 28, with ersatz versions of AC/DC (members of Meat Wave, Bleach Party, and Rad Payoff), Weezer (members of Strawberry Jacuzzi, Sheep Numbers, and Soddy Daisy), the Kinks (New Drugs), and Daft Punk (Sophagus and friends). On Saturday, October 29, Chicago’s best (and possibly only) all-female Misfits cover band, Hymen Moments, play alongside “Beck” (aka psych-pop locals Soft Candy), Jimmy Eat Girls (a Jimmy Eat World tribute by folks from Radio Shaq), and “Devo” (members of Soddy Daisy, Big Joy, and MTVghosts).
Speaking of Halloween, it’s the best time of year for the bizarro “doom funk” of locals Gramps the Vamp. We’re all in luck, ’cause they headline Lincoln Hall on Sunday, October 30—the eve of All Hallows’ Eve, if you will—to celebrate their sophomore album, The Cave of 10,000 Eyes. In March 2016, Gossip Wolf mentioned the band’s Kickstarter to fund this very album, and they delivered the LP last week. It’s adventurous, spooky, and a little reminiscent of 70s blaxploitation soundtracks—perfect for DJing a Halloween party. Terrible Spaceship and North by North open the show, which starts at 8 PM.
It’s been a minute since Gossip Wolf checked in on south-suburban rapper and 2008ighties crew leader Calez, but he’s been hard at work on his first full-length in two years. Calez self-releases Baby on Friday, October 28, and in case the album’s title doesn’t give it away, he’s about to become a father—he and his girlfriend are expecting a daughter in December. Calez mulls over his forthcoming parental responsibilities on Baby, whose soul-sampling bump recalls early Kanye West. v
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