Punk rock bar mitzvah

The Melody Inn Reception Hall and Banquet Centre will open on April 1 in the space formerly occupied by Sara’s Deli (3822 N. Illinois St., two doors south from the Melody Inn Drinking and Carousing Centre). Dave Brown, co-owner of the Melody Inn, made the announcement last week, and said that former Melody bartender Nichole Scagnoli will be managing the space. The center will be available for most events that require a reception space, including weddings, wedding receptions, private parties and banquets. Call Nichole at 317-657-0006 for more information.

Vogue stories, photos, set lists

We’ve begun collecting stories about the Vogue in recognition of their 30th anniversary. Send memories and manifestoes to vogue30@nuvo.net or c/o Scott Shoger to NUVO’s terrestrial address. Please include any photos you have, and try to keep submissions under 250 words.

This week: Creepin’ Charley, Bon Iver

If you’ve got the time and transportation, consider heading to Bloomington for a show by Jagujaguwar’s Bon Iver on Friday, Feb. 15 at Bear’s Place (1316 E. Third St., Bloomington). Justin Vernon, who’s behind Bon Iver (mauvais français for “good winter”), recorded his hauntingly beautiful album For Emma, Forever Ago, while trying to hibernate in a remote Wisconsin cabin. Check out the Jagjaguwar Web site for a download of the track “Skinny Love”: expect a soulful, closely-mic-ed croon against a stark acoustic background. The Hollows open the 10 p.m. show.

Creepin’ Charley and the Boneyard Orchestra are playing a rare all-ages show at Irvington’s Sleepy Hollow bookstore (5535 E. Washington St.) Saturday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. I’m told that this’ll be one of the few chances to catch them in the near future, and the only chance you’ll have to bring the young ones in your life.

Upcoming: 18th anniversary, Everthus

Note these on your planners: We’re celebrating NUVO’s 18th anniversary with our FREE Barely Legal Bash at Radio Radio Friday, Feb. 22, featuring the talents of Beta Male and Hey Hey Melodica. And don’t miss the Everthus the Deadbeats CD release show at Spin Nightclub and Indy CD and Vinyl Saturday, Feb. 23 (with Arrah and the Ferns at both venues, and Everything Now! and Early Day Miners at Spin). Look for ample coverage of the Everthus show in next week’s NUVO (in print and online).

Last week: PRN, Studio One at Murphy

I caught two fine shows on Saturday night, one punk-rock, the other hip-hop. First to Studio One, a ground-floor space in the Murphy Arts Center featuring artwork by the Twilight Sentinels’ Mike Graves that gracefully melds graffiti and street art with traditional Japanese painting. Mike and his Sentinels took the mics first, working methodically through their newest CD, followed by the rap-rock trio Two Mics and a Kit, and the thoughtful and honest duo Partners in Rhyme.

The Sentinels gave an inspired and energetic performance, with the standout tune for me being “Boundaries of Reasoning” (available for a listen on their MySpace page). They’ll be playing the Melody Inn March 14 at the Winter 2008 release party for local digital-only label Audio Recon (look for a collection of remixes of their new CD on Audio Recon in March).

Then over to Punk Rock Night for the Tremendous Fucking CD release show. Acid Green and The Coke Dares opened the night. I’ll take a moment to sing the praises of Bloomington’s Coke Dares, a band that’s both musically satisfying and funny as hell. A Simpsons writer once said that their show works because the jokes are delivered at rapid-fire, so that if you don’t like one riff, there’s always another around the bend. The same can be said of The Coke Dares: Their upcoming full-length Feelin’ Up (release date TBA) packs 33 tracks onto one CD, and their songs rarely pass the two-minute mark.

Lead singer Jason Groth works a hilarious stage patter, making jokes about a mailman buying an axe at a Bloomington Lowes, coffee consumption at coke-like levels at the Martinsville Starbucks and the propensity of oldies radio stations to carry a Fox News feed. Their compact tunes usually focus on some absurd incident or idea, and meet all the requisite elements for a good punk rock song with the greatest economy possible. Not that they can’t stretch out: A little noodling at the close of the set proved that each band member could take a solo or two, and they get the opportunity to do so when touring with a less coke-addled band, Magnolia Electric Company. Samples and info on their Web site at www.cokedares.com. (By the way: According to the band, all references to coke are shorthand for Diet Coke.)