What a long, strange trip it’s been for Frank Orrall and the ever-expanding universe of Poi Dog Pondering. Founded in Hawaii in 1985 and later settling in Austin, TX before relocating to Chicago in 1992, Poi Dog Pondering have organically grown a massive, loyal cult following. With their signature expansive, multi-instrumental songs (often featuring brass, strings, keys, synths, hand percussion & samples in addition to a solid guitar/bass/drums foundation) and borrowing from a broad range of genres, Poi Dog Pondering’s music goes hand-in-hand with their eclectic, multimedia live shows.

On May 26 and 27, 93XRT is bringing Poi Dog Pondering to our stage for a two-night residency dubbed “The Spring Double-Header.” We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer than with a couple nights with one of this city’s most legendary bands performing songs from their decades-long career.

The best part? We’re giving away a few pairs of tickets this week and next week – Keep your eyes open and locked on our Facebook wall and Twitter feed and we’ll tell you how you can win.

Join the Facebook event for the Saturday, May 26 show.
Join the Facebook event for the Sunday, May 27 show.

Check out the video for Poi Dog Pondering’s cover of The The’s “Uncertain Smile,” off of their Audio Love Letter EP:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Francesca’s Forno 2- $50 gift certificiates

Revolution Tattoo 1- $100 gift certificate

The Orbit Room 2- $50 gift certificate

Gold & Braid Salon 3- Men’s or Woman’s Haircut with Heidi Chankin.
Or value can go toward a more involved service.
Value of $45-men $60-women

Asrai Garden 1- $150 gift certificate

Piece Pizza 1- $25 gift certificate

Upgrade Cycle Works 1- King of the Mountain Tune Up
Value of $79

The Bike Lane – TBA

Chicago Tattoo – TBA

Odd Obsessions – TBA

Dr. Martins Store – gift certificate for a pair of boots

Big Star – gift certificate

Penny’s Noodle Shop  – gift certificate

Floyd’s Barbershop – gift certificate

Double Door / Santullo’s Dinner and a Show gift pack:
- 2 passes good for complimentary admission to any Double Door concert
- 4 $10 Santullo’s gift certificates
- 8 drink tokens.

Rudy Carrillo and Sarah Weinstock Adam of AM Taxi Photographed by Tasha Schalk (redwallphotography.com) In February, our friend and security guard Rudy Carrillo was riding his bike home around 3 o’clock A.M., after his shift at Double Door, when he was struck by a car. Rudy was thrown from his bike and his jaw was dislocated and broken. The driver did not stop and there were no witnesses at the scene to help. Injured, in shock and agonizing pain, Rudy somehow managed to walk home. He was then rushed to the hospital by his girlfriend where he underwent reconstructive surgery on his jaw and face. He will have permanent damage from the accident. With surgery expenses and increasing costs of medical visits, it is our hope that this benefit concert will help ease Rudy’s financial burden so he can get back to a normal life. Thurs. 4.19.12 @ Double Door THE RUDY CARRILLO BENEFIT Featured Bands AM Taxi * Hammerdown * Rotten Finko and The Convicts * Villains Company Doors 8pm Show 8:30pm $10 suggested donation at the door. All proceeds donated to Rudy for a healthy recovery. 21 plus show New Belgium will donate a keg of Fresh Hop IPA. All proceeds from that keg will go to Rudy as well. www.doubledoor.com for more info Get tickets here : http://ticketf.ly/IlSozH

A flamboyant garage doo-wop band of hooligans, a living, breathing representation all that is good and green in rock n roll, and a group of triumphant, bearded reggae vets from New Zealand and Chicago’s biggest current band walk into a bar…

They will all be walking into this bar this week, because, well, they’re all playing here. Onward to the weekend!

Tonight (my weekend starts on Thursday, I don’t know about you) Hunx & His Punx will be performing. They are on tour in support of Hunx’s new solo record, Hairdresser Blues. And, well, their music is kind of hard for me to describe. It kind of has that Phil Spector 1960s wall-of-sound thing going on, but also has that ragtag charm of an outsider garage band, but it’s really fun and catchy, too. Oh wait, their band bio actually sums up their deal very succintly and accurately! Thanks for doing my job for me:

"Hunx and His Punx might be the first ever “girl group” fronted by a flamboyant gay male whose dream in life is to sound like a girl. They have created a unique new sound they refer to as “Young Oldies,” a mixture of 50s teenage rock ‘n’ roll, 60s girl groups and bubblegum pop."

So there you go. People are going to be drunk and dancing here tonight, and it’s going to be glorious. Check out Hunx’s first single from Hairdresser Blues, commitingly titled "Always Forever.": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llL72Ah__I4

Speaking of drinking, have you heard J. Roddy Walston and the Business? I’m going to be combining those two things tomorrow night, with (fingers crossed) great success: drinking and listening to J. Roddy blast the rock n roll gospel through our PA system via his boogie-woogie piano skills and large and in-charge band. The guy’s voice sounds like a beer can filled with cigarette butts, and the band is all guitars, bass, drums and ROCK. YES! I LOVE ROCK MUSIC. Especially bands that can cop a Led Zeppelin Groove and make it their own:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tTQttyKlItY

Seriously, though, this show is going to rule, and it’s going to sell out. The secret’s out about these guys. Get a ticket while you can, because if you call the office tomorrow at 5pm after we’re sold out and I pick up the phone, I’m definitely going to mess with you.

Alright, on to Saturday. What started as a New Zealand-based Bob Marley Tribute band in the late 90s has turned into four albums, a chart-topping New Zealand single (2003′s Giddy Up) and a career as a touring reggae machine. Their latest album, 2010′s On The Road Again was inspired by their worldly travels.

We’re always honored to have guests from other parts of the world in our house, and we’re always psyched for reggae. Have you ever seen anyone listen to reggae and be in a bad mood? No?

Here is Katchafire’s video for On The Road Again, which kind of reminds me of the animation style from MC Hammer’s "Hammerman" cartoon show in the 90s. No talking shoes, though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fmWNkenPncs

On Sunday we are going to wind down the weekend with a pummeling hard rock bill: The arfully named Persistence of Memory headlines with I Attack, Still Searching, and The Walking Shadows. We will be hoisting up the devil horns, no doubt.

Before I forget… We’re doing this not-secret-anymore launch party for New Belgium Brewery’s new Shift Pale Lager. This show is free to the public. No RSVP needed. Oh, and this band you may have heard of, COMPANY OF THIEVES is playing! Holy shitballs. What if I were to tell you that one of the coolest microbrewers in the country is debuting a brand new beer (the distributor isn’t even going to get the beer until Saturday, that’s how freakin’ new it is), and one of the best and brightest talents to come out of this city’s illustrious music scene, who just sold out Metro, for crying out loud, will be playing HERE? WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN THAT?

Doors open at 9pm to the general, 21+ public… Get here early. You don’t want to miss Genevieve and Co. slay this number: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYTYWKghs1Y

Jumping into early next week,
Sunny Ledford will be bringing his proud redneck twang and his big personality here on Tuesday. You gotta check out his video for his song, "Pontoon Boat," which features the best lyric I’ve heard all week: "I ain’t wearin’ a pair of board shorts / Wal-Mart suits me fine / I kinda like the mesh holdin’ my balls / Reminds me of another time." Preach on, brother. Preach on. This is going to be a fun one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzDky8-9Kl4

One of our favorite recent bands, The Bright Light Social Hour, is another great young group whose sound is a loving tribute to the history of rock n roll, if the history books ended in 1979. We’re enjoying the rowdy throwback ride. Check out their cover of "Young Man’s Blues": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Do0dXhH_E

This show is going to have some truly stellar local support bands, too, including Aktar Aktar, Mike Golden and Friends (their last show here was amazing) and Made By Man.

Finally, it was brought to my attention this week that some people actually read this thing – and enjoy it! To you I say HI and THANKS.
These things can get a bit verbose.

Dan
dan@doubledoor.com

Who’s ready for BJ THE CHICAGO KID?

Our hometown hero BJ is set to perform tonight, and we couldn’t be more excited. His new record, Pineapple Now-Laters, is getting tons of critical buzz as a modern R&B work of art. Take a listen over on Spotify. We recommend "Sex X Money X Sneakers" and "Lady Lady."http://open.spotify.com/album/2wFvP1NMsXK3g2gtzkIJXM

We have some great opening acts set to perform as well, including Lili K, Tim Million, R.O.E., Alpha Clef Project, Legit, and Rap Muhammed.

Do you want more hip-hop in your life, perhaps…tomorrow? You’re in luck, because Slum Village is playing here tomorrow. These guys have been at it forever and their recent effort, 2010′s Villa Manifesto is a warm, fuzzy hug to old school hip hop. Check out "Lock It Down.": http://open.spotify.com/album/0BdDuGAK4KJ7maN3o2YkWZ

The rest of our week is looking mighty fantastic: Local electronica/pop/rock band Red Jr. are bringing the synth-pop to the stage on Sunday for an early show. Their song "Starry Eyed" is a glitterbomb: http://soundcloud.com/redjrmusic/starry-eyed

Closing out the night will be
our Simmer Down Sunday Reggae Night w/ resident DJs The Graduate and Rad Brian. Simmer Down Sunday creator Cosmos Ray was nice enough to curate a Reggae/Dub playlist that runs the gamut from classic Reggae essentials to new-school stuff that will get your head bouncing: http://open.spotify.com/user/realschmiel82/playlist/7a3tCc7BR3IusR1fk3pLnW

The party continues on Monday night with a FREE Dirtroom show: DJ Shitty Wizard Presents Blue Monday. DJ SW plays all the non-shitty music from the 80s that you forgot you loved. We have a pretty great Spotify playlist for that, too: http://open.spotify.com/user/realschmiel82/playlist/5pJ7o7PpCh5THAg8GzVVRn

On Tuesday, The Wedding Present will be performing their Seamonsters record in its entirety, which rocks. Take some time to appreciate this little magnum opus: http://open.spotify.com/album/6PToNau7uGQATIDCbq8jb1

That’s our week, folks. Show calendar, social media updates and other fun stuff below.

Dan
dan@doubledoor.com

CONTEST ALERT…CONTEST ALERT…

Double Door doesn’t have a dress code, but how cool would it be if people dressed to the nines for Robert Glasper? We think it would be awesome, and we want to give a free pair of tickets away to the best dressed fans. Take a photo of yourself or your friends dressed up at The Robert Glasper show on Saturday and tag @doubledoor on Twitter. We’ll pick our favorite photos and give away a free pair of tickets to any of our upcoming shows (your choice) to the lucky winners.

We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with! See you Saturday night.

We had a great time this past weekend with shows from Estelle and Workout Music. Estelle was a class act, peppering her set with some crowd-pleasing covers – Can’t Hurry Love and Is This Love are both slam-dunks – and working the crowd into a frenzy with fresh material from her forthcoming album, "All of Me," and with her hit, "American Boy." Workout Music brought the party, bussing in fans and friends from their native Chicago Heights, and ended the night with a balloon drop and silly string. Nicely done, boys.

We have a jammy weekend coming up with The Wakarusa Winter Classic tomorrow night with Little Big Fat, Thinner Teed, The New Old Calvary, Tonal Caravan, and Dr. Ed & Friends. Enjoy some extended jams, improvisational solos and good vibes while you sip a craft IPA. Good times!

Saturday we have Echonine, Passing Thoughts (formerly Terminal Bliss), and The Handsome Devilz, which is a Smiths Tribute act.

Cover is between $3-5 for all shows this weekend, and we are running some great drink specials (see below).

Looking ahead into next week,
we are hosting the Valentine’s Day Rock N Roll Prom. The Siderunners, Wanton Looks, The Handcuffs, The Sonnets, The Demerits, & DJTAFKAVince are performing, and we are encouraging people to dress up. Couples, singles – all are welcome.

Also – check out our Instagram Photo of The Week contest below. Tag Double Door and win tickets.

Dan
dan@doubledoor.com

Coming off the Grammy-winning success of her U.S. debut, Shine, Estelle Swaray is back with a new album, All of Me. Featuring “Fall In Love (Featuring Nas) and “Break My Heart (Featuring Rick Ross),” and her latest single, “Thank You,” All of Me is poised to be a strong follow-up to a successful breakout. All of Me drops on February 28.

Joining Estelle for this show are R&B crooner Luke James and soul singer Elle Varner.

The show starts at 9pm and is part of the BET Music Matters Tour!

Check out Estelle’s smoldering new video for her song “Thank You,”:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Strap those tennis rackets to your feet, grow a beard, and fire up the bobsled because the snow is here. Weather is definitely one of the many trials and tribulations of being a Chicago music venue, but hey, I guess that is what we signed up for by not having our venue in Arizona or something. A little bit of a snow never stopped us from rocking! A lot of snow, though, turns our venue into an indoor wiffleball field. But seriously, our weekend shows are on like winter parking spot wars.

Mr. Monch is back with a new album, “W.A.R. (We Are Renegades).” You can listen to it on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/user/realschmiel82/playlist/2v6OYvPlTfUHYKNx3f0ZAh

The album currently has a 86/100 on Metacritic, and was rated a perfect 5/5 on hiphopgame.com.

The show starts at 9pm and Mass Hysteria, Primeridian, and dj Intel+Score will support.

We are going to finish out this snowy weekend with a $1 show on Sunday. Les Animaux, Run and Punch, Something To Do, and Turbo Vamps! will be perfoming on this lovely winter evening. Here is a video of Run and Punch perfecting their punk/ska tunes at their tiny practice space: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gX_xUYPb0F4#!

We will be shoveling snow on Monday and Tuesday.

But then, on Wednesday, we are having a Dirtroom show with A Light Sleeper, Fotosputnik, Cross Record, and Dinosaur Party.

Some things worth noting:

• We have some new shows going on sale this Saturday, including Black Taxi on 2/7, Passing Thoughts (formerly Terminal Bliss), Coldcock Jones & The Shithawks cut a live record on 2/19, St. Bagu on 3/6, Gag Order on 3/13, Nneka on 3/21, and Katchafire on 3/31.

• The Soul Summit is having their Two Year Anniversary Party here on Saturday, 1/21. DJs Dave Mata, Duke Grip and Sloppy White will be spinning their favorite soul jams, as well as guest DJs Meaty Ogre and Dreas. There will be Sam Adams and Tito’s Vodka specials all night.

That’s all I got for today. Stay warm!

Dan

Happy New Year!