Another Sizzler At Montrose Beach Bash with Surfrider Foundation Chicago

July 12, 2025

One of the performing highlights of the year for us is our annual Montrose Beach summer bash. It takes us far from our W Suburban comfort zone, puts us in front of a whole bunch of lunching strangers who are not necessarily there to hear a band (which makes winning them over that much sweeter), puts us on a big outdoor stage with sand and endless water as our visual vista, and connects us with a Surfrider beach clean up which attracts a corps of volunteers, who hopefully count Alewife's tropical grooves as part of their just rewards, after toiling in the hot sand. See how it works?

Years past typically featured some sort of weather watch. One summer it was chilly-gray, with rain threatening. Another summer (or two) the temps spiked into the 90's, and our unprotected pale bodies fried on that stage. Heat stroke, anyone? This time, it was close to perfect, with a light SW breeze, occasional clouds for relief from the mid-80's sun. No complaints. Another unexpected fire drill was the park cop who threatened to "ticket all these vehicles parked illegally" ... (we were ALL technically parked illegally). As a prelude to soundcheck, this put a small panic into us, and some cars got moved around a bit. (We never saw him again.) Soundman Mark made us feel secure and welcome, smoothing over any rough patches during set up/sound tweaking. At about 12:15 we launched into what would be over two hours of combustible rhythms+riffs, the joy of making music in such a setting was, we hope, plainly evident to those watching us. We were feeling it.

Set 1: Cumbia del Zapotera; Crawfish; Shot In The Dark; Shakin All Over/Skullbucket; Laurenzo de Molina; Psychic Life; Abrade; Love Is The Drug; Aqui Como Alia;

Set 2: Los Twangueros; Clap Hands; My Jamaican Guy; Fairies Wear Boots/Sonido Amazonia; House of Bamboo; Wishing Well/Fire On The Mountain; Anna; Secret Agent Conrad Zero; Jockey Full of Bourbon; I Want Candy; Thunderball; Bosque

"Tropical Happy Hour" Friday Matinee On Fitzgerald’s Patio

Playing Fitzgerald's twice in a month? Unprecedented! May never happen again! OK - Bring it on!

The TGIF/teacher appreciation event in their newly-constructed pavilion was the set up. We were the entertainment. Thankfully, the rain held off, and the crowd gathered. Our two hour set went smoothly, and was noteworthy mostly for the unveiling of a new tune; RUFUS/Tell Me Something Good. Continuing the spirit of invention, we performed Miguel's originals Heap Of Love and Monster Song, and Mitch's original, Laurenzo di Molina.

Set: Cumbia Del Zapotero; Hong Kong Cha Cha; Millionaire's Holiday; Fairies Wear Boots / Sonido Amazonica; Heap of Love; Hypnotique; Abraka; Love Is The Drug / Skullbucket / Shakin' All Over; Shot In The Dark; Anna; House of Bamboo; Lorenzo De Molina; Who Were You Thinking Of?; Psychic Life; Wishing Well / Fire On The Mountain; Bania; I Want Candy; Jockey Full of Bourbon; Monster Song; The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum; Tell Me Something Good; My Jamaican Guy; Mambo Sinuendo; Camino Del Sol

Sunday Scramble: FitzGerald’s SideBar Dinner & A Show

May 4, 2025

RULE 1: Planning outdoor shows = a roll of the dice.

RULE 1B: Planning outdoor shows in the Spring = a roll of the dice w/less favorable odds

When we locked in this date on the calendar back in chilly, wet March, the month of May seemed like a far off, sunny, warm oasis of goodness to look forward to. No worries. It's gonna be great! As the date approached, repeated checks of the long range forecast showed a pattern of ... instability / unpredictability / rapidly changing conditions. Color us mildly uneasy. Day of was ... not good. The newly-constructed PAVILLION structure would offer shelter from the rain. But still, 50 degrees+rainy is a huge damper on crowd turnout. Thankfully, the powers that be redirected us into the empty SideBar. Warm. Dry. Cozy. And, oh yes, since you're not on the patio to sonically intrude on the jazz show in the big room, you can play AS LONG AS YOU WANT. What?

The room quickly filled completely up as we launched into our endless set of tunes (it had been FOUR months since we performed, so ... there was some pent up energy?). The show went beyond the agreed-upon 90 minutes – to something more like 150 minutes once it was all tabulated. The early segment featured a goodly number of families with small children. Interesting. Not our usual demo. Wee ones were bopping and bouncing. Alewife Children Hour. About half way in, the percolating dance rhythms took hold, and the dance floor filled up through the rest of the set. When this room is cooking, there's nothing quite like it this side of the big room next door.

This show featured seven new tunes: Heap of Love, Hynotique, Love Is The Drug, Wishing Well/Fire, Bania, Crying Game, Lunatics In The Asylum.

PS - Fitzgerald's turned right around and signed us up to play Friday, May 30, from 4-6pm on the patio! Teacher Appreciation TGIF party. Come one come all!

SET: CUMBIA DEL ZAPATERO, JARDIN D’HIVER, HONG KONG CHA-CHA, MILLIONAIRE’S HOLIDAY, FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS / AMAZONICA, CRAWFISH, HEAP OF LOVE, HYPNOTIQUE / ABRAKA, LOVE IS THE DRUG /SKULL BUCKET, A SHOT IN THE DARK, ANNA, HOUSE OF BAMBOO, LORENZO DE MOLINA, SHANTY TRAMP, PSYCHIC LIFE, WISHING WELL / FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, BANIA, JOCKEY FULL OF BOURBON, CRYING GAME, MONSTER SONG, THE LUNATICS (HAVE TAKEN OVER THE ASYLUM), CAMINO DEL SOL, WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS, BOSQUE, WALK ON GILDED SPLINTERS, MY JAMAICAN GUY, MANTE ADENTRO