For my money, Jesse De La Pena is right up there with the best DJs in Chicago. Combine his deep crates and casually technical prowess with the fact that he often plays at no-frills clubs and lounges (with slim cover charges), and you can almost guarantee a good time. Well versed in club-music history, De Le Pena is somewhat of a chameleon, with his sets moving from New Wave classics, EBM and house to R&B and funk. De Le Pena is just a few years shy of being officially over the hill, but for DJs like him, being a graybeard can be a good thing. For his birthday bash, expect a crowded dance floor and many club classics. With Major Taylor, Uncle Milty, Willy Joy and more. (Michael Hirtzer)
Especially For You: A Preview of the Smithereens at the Memorial Opera House Serious music scholars all, the Smithereens distilled their musical loves into something that ultimately sounded like nobody but them. Diken points to Gary Lewis and the Playboys as an influence; it’s worth noting that the studio cats who played on those records—immortal pop tunes like “Count Me In” —included Leon Russell and drummer Hal Blaine.
Do It Again: A Preview of Brian Wilson at Horseshoe Hammond While today former bandmate Mike Love leads a group calling itself the Beach Boys, that band features no Brian Wilson. Wilson’s group, on the other hand, includes original Beach Boys member Al Jardine as well as late-prime-era Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin, and is jaw-droppingly facile at recreating the Beach Boys sound.
