Gossip Wolf is a big fan of septuagenarian harmonica player and unsung reggae hero Charles “Organaire” Cameron as well as of Dark Matter coffee—and both turned up in the Reader‘s latest Best of Chicago issue. You can get a dose of them on Sat 8/8 at Double Door: Organaire performs at Simmer Down Sound, a vinyl night dedicated to reggae and dancehall that this time doubles as a release party for Dark Matter’s Pressure Drip, a Jamaican-inspired coffee the roasters made with Chicago’s Jump Up Records. Also on the bill are local reggae outfit Akasha, resident selectors Graduate, Rad Brian, and Marcusiyah (for the reggae impaired, that means “DJs”), and guest DJ King Tony. It starts at 10 PM and it’s free!
A quality split LP is like having two delicious hors d’oeuvres and calling it dinner. And who doesn’t want to feel fancy sometimes? On Mon 8/10 local label Berserk Records releases a scorching split from Chicago glam-garage trio Absolutely Not, described by the Reader‘s Kevin Warwick as “part snotty lo-fi Pop Rocks pop-punk and part sci-fi squiggles,” and ferocious hardcore band Rat Hammer, described by Gossip Wolf as ferocious hardcore! Both groups are in top form, and sound great covering each other’s songs too. Monday night they play a free record-release show at the Empty Bottle with headliners Le Tour, who celebrate a new Berserk/Dark Circles Records LP called Terra Eyes.
Keith Utech of Milwaukee experimental label Utech Records lost his wife, Kim, to breast cancer last month. Keith’s sister-in-law has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help him and his two kids during this difficult time, and many fine musicians have contributed to a 41-track benefit compilation called And Suddenly Everything, Absolutely Everything, Was There. Among the locals involved are Cinchel, Locrian, Trevor de Brauw, and Kwaidan. It costs $10, and all proceeds go to the Utech Family Fund; you can buy it at bit.ly/ase_ae. v
Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.