It's Valentine's Day week but you're on your own for that. For the rest, I have your back with some events you might want to go, see, be and do.
SOUL ASYLUM / LOCAL H
Tuesday at 7 p.m. @ Turner Hall Ballroom
The '90s are back in town as Soul Asylum and Local H come to Turner Hall Ballroom for a double-header of iconic '90s alternative hits.
JOHN 5
Tuesday at 8 p.m. @ Shank Hall
John 5 is an axe-man. A guitarist for hire, John 5 has shared and shredded for Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Rob Halford. He has also worked with an impressive array of names, from all walks of music, including KD Lang, Rod Stewart, Dave Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Tina Guo and Steven Adler. Tuesday night is all his, however, as he headlines Shank Hall.
SUMMER IN WINTER BEACH PARTY
Tuesday at 7 p.m. @ Boone & Crockett
Pina coladas? Ice cream sammies? A DJ playing your dad’s favorite jams? They say beat fire with fire, but what about the cold? Answers lie herein…
GINUWINE
Thursday at 8 p.m. @ Northern Lights Theater
Did you forget about Ginuwine? Let me refresh your memory…
VALENTINE’S DAY BACHATA BASH WITH JOAN SORIANO
Friday at 9 p.m. @ ELMNT Lounge
Born in the rural countryside near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Joan Soriano fashioned his first guitar from a tin can and fishing line and has never looked back. Soriano plays steel string bachata with equal parts romance and grit. The Afro-infused rhythm that permeates his music has made him a dance-floor favorite. If I could pick one Valentine’s Day music event to get out to, this might be the one.
JOSEPH
Friday at 7 p.m. @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Not since the Oracle of Delphi was the world seen as bewitching a group of sister-singers as the band Joseph. When you talk sigling bands, the Beach Boys or the Everly Brothers—or, more recently, First Aid Kit—come to mind. A band like that makes you believe their talent is genetic, and perhaps it is… you can find out for sure on Friday.
ARROW + LADY CANNON
Saturday at 8 p.m. @ Anodyne Coffee
The members of Arrow have been in the scene since the mid-1990s. Now, they’ve found a direction to point themselves into as Arrow, a band with swagger, plus a healthy dose of the '70s on an edgy rock vibe. Martha “Lady” Cannon is hardly the first songwriter to note that romance is complicated, but few of her peers capture the ugly particulars of those complications with quite as much nuance. If you’re looking for a post-Valentines Day show, this could be the ONE.
ORQUESTA SALSA POWER
Saturday at 9 p.m. @ Freight 38
I feel like you’re either all the way in or you’re you just don’t dance when it comes to salsa music. Don’t know a ton about this show but that DJ Tico and DJ Rick will be on the decks to get the party started and if their music matches their name, Orquesta Salsa Power could be the answer for all your Saturday night questions.
CHICAGO FARMER + JOSEPH HUBER
Sunday at 6 p.m. @ Anodyne Coffee
Storyteller, humorist and heartfelt proponent of the core values of humanity itself, to say Chicago Farmer is a compassionate artist is putting it mildly. Milwaukee’s Joseph Huber opens; a subtle artist whose simple style belies his depth.
