Gossip Wolf loves a record-release show, especially when more than one act is partying! On Thursday, April 20, five solid local bands play at two different venues, and they’re all celebrating new releases. This wolf is gonna need a wheelbarrow to carry the merch! The Hideout hosts three of the bands in question: psych merchants Dark Fog (see concert preview), stoner-rock combo Bionic Cavemen, and funky rock weirdos the Velcro Lewis Group, who describe their own Taking Frogg Mountain as sounding like Funkadelic bootlegs, Euro-horror erotica, and Hawkwind. Meanwhile the other two play at the Empty Bottle: garage-rock trio the Bingers stack up the sticky-sweet bangers on Stay Satisfied (Tall Pat Records), and Peach Fuzz slather the self-released four-song EP Laundry in sizzling organ, silly innuendo, and romantic dissatisfaction (their green-screen video for “Disco Ball” is a perfect preview).
Gossip Wolf last heard from local punks Young Marshall in March 2016, when they released a two-song cassette to benefit dog-rescue organization One Tail at a Time. Nice move, dudes! On Saturday, April 22, they drop Sad!, a new full-length cassette on Midwest Action—its earnestly raging punk should satisfy fans of Uncle Tupelo, the Replacements, and Napalm Dream-era Tenement. That night Young Marshall play the Auxiliary Art Center with the Cell Phones and Boss Fight.
Gossip Wolf is still smarting from missing Malcolm London’s release show for his debut full-length, Opia, at 1st Ward in November. But on Thursday, April 20, the rapper, educator, poet, and activist returns to the Wicker Park venue to headline the first show of a short tour behind the album. London has assembled a great local lineup: rapper Femdot, soul-pop combo Burns Twins & Kaina, and singer-songwriter Tasha Viets-VanLear, aka Tasha. The show starts at 8:30 PM, and tickets cost $13—or $38 with a meal from Chop Shop. v
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