WICKER PARK — Saturday's music and theater forecast for the Wicker Park area stars a marching band taking a break from jumping up and down, the reunion of a synthesizer-focused trio from the 70s and "Kafkapalooza."
Set for 8 p.m. Saturday at 1st Ward Events, 2033 W. North Ave., Mucca Pazza will perform "Sitting in Chairs," the 22-piece jazzy and brassy band's only summer show outside of their regular confines at Revolution Brewing.
Now in its 11th year, the unconventional band is a mix of musicians of various ages and experiences, an eclectic group that "no other situation would being together," says accordion player Ronnie Kuller.
Kuller described Sitting in Chairs as "another personality of the band."
"When we are moving around so much, we can't really concentrate on music. Sitting down, we can play more intricate music and we have music stands so we don't have to have all of it memorized," she said.
"Sitting in Chairs" tickets are $15-20.
Around the corner from 1st Ward Events, the 3rd annual Kafkapalooza will present a weekend-long festival with 8 original plays based on works by Franz Kafka. Friday night is sold out but there are still tickets ($15) for Saturday and Sunday. Collaboracation, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave; 3rd Floor.
will feature eight original works based on stories originally written by Franz Kafka. Featured writers include Brett Neveu and Ike Holter.
Holter's work, which is based on Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the story of a man who wakes up one day to discover he has turned into a roach, will be told by onstage gossip rather than actually watching a man become a roach.
- See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kafkapalooza-begins-this-weekend-in-chicago-357283#sthash.Nno3kk18.dpuf"Kafkapalooza" will feature eight original works based on stories originally written by Franz Kafka. Featured writers include Brett Neveu and Ike Holter.
Holter's work, which is based on Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the story of a man who wakes up one day to discover he has turned into a roach, will be told by onstage gossip rather than actually watching a man become a roach.
- See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kafkapalooza-begins-this-weekend-in-chicago-357283#sthash.Nno3kk18.dpuf"Kafkapalooza" will feature eight original works based on stories originally written by Franz Kafka. Featured writers include Brett Neveu and Ike Holter.
Holter's work, which is based on Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the story of a man who wakes up one day to discover he has turned into a roach, will be told by onstage gossip rather than actually watching a man become a roach.
- See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kafkapalooza-begins-this-weekend-in-chicago-357283#sthash.Nno3kk18.dpuf"Kafkapalooza" will feature eight original works based on stories originally written by Franz Kafka. Featured writers include Brett Neveu and Ike Holter.
Holter's work, which is based on Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the story of a man who wakes up one day to discover he has turned into a roach, will be told by onstage gossip rather than actually watching a man become a roach.
- See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kafkapalooza-begins-this-weekend-in-chicago-357283#sthash.Nno3kk18.dpufAt Hideout's Summer Psych Fest, Wicker Park musician John Vignola will play songs from an album he and VCSR bandmates Dave Palmer and Bill Vermette were last working on in 1981.
Formed in 1978, Vignola described VCSR (Voltage-controlled Silent Regions) as "loose ambient atmospheric improvations."
"We were kind of obscure at the time and it's interesting to find out that this generation takes interest in this sort of thing," said Vignola, now 58 and the only band member still living in Wicker Park.
Music writer Steve Krakow featured VCSR in his illustrated "Secret History of Chicago Music" column, describing the band as having a sound focused on synthesizers, "morphing toward spacey ambience like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dreams's early transition phases."
Saturday's show coincides with the release of VCSR's 1981 album on clear vinyl through Permanent Records too.
Psych Fest also includes performances by The Chicago Triangle, Moss Folk and Carbonleaf. 8 p.m., Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia. Buy tickets, $10.
Musician John Vignola of VCSR, in his home studio, left, and in January 1980. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser; Facebook/VCSR]
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