Cougar not a Mirage

Turns out I was behind in my news - around the time I was posting about the cougar in Wilmette, police in Roscoe Village were shooting a cougar! Is it the same one people saw in Wilmette? Who knows, but it seems likely. I admit I didn't really think there was one in Wilmette.

I was surprised to read that Goose Island Brewery's pub on Clybourn is closing at the end of the year. Their rent is going way up at the end of their lease. I guess that part is not surprising, given how the neighborhood has changed in the 15 years that they have been there. I have mostly been there for Clif event staff meetings over the last 5 or so years.

I forgot to mention earlier that Saturday night I saw a really fun local bluegrass band called the Henhouse Prowlers at the Celtic Knot. If you like bluegrass, you might want to see these guys. A friend had been telling me about them for a while. I haven't been out to hear live bluegrass in ages.

One of the band guys told me that Charlie Louvin is playing at the Heartland Cafe Wednesday night. I used to love the Louvin Brothers - old school bluegrass with amazing harmonies! If you want to see a little piece of old time traditional music history, check this guy out. He's probably in his 80's or 90's by now, I would guess?

On his website:

Charlie Louvin has released his first new album in over ten years on the New York-based Tompkins Square label.

The self-titled disc, produced by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Calexico, Candi Staton) and Charlie Louvin, was recorded in Spring/Summer 2006 in Nashville. It features guest performances by Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, George Jones, Bobby Bare Sr., Tift Merritt, Marty Stuart, David Kilgour, and members of Bright Eyes, Lambchop, Superchunk, Blanche and Clem Snide, among others.

The album features several Louvin Brothers classics as well as country favorites first popularized by Jimmie Rodgers, the Delmore Brothers, the Carter Family, and the Monroe Brothers. Charlie also has included a moving tribute to his late brother Ira, with whom he formed the Louvin Brothers in 1940. (Ira Louvin died in a car accident in 1965, at age 41.)

Charlie Louvin's influence on country, alt-country, and their many sub-genres, is incalculable. The unique harmonies and lyrical folk poetry of the Louvin Brothers ("among the top duos in country music history" AllMusic.com) have inspired countless covers of their songs by such artists as Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, the Byrds, Emmylou Harris, Uncle Tupelo and the Raconteurs (with Jack White).