Mimi Betinis to Perform Live In Valparaiso, Indiana, Sunday June 10th.

 

MIMI BETINIS

w/Special Guest

Scott May & His One-Armed Orchestra

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Showtime: 7pm

Back in the mid-to-late 70’s and the early ’80’s, Mimi Betinis’ Pezband ruled the Chicago power-pop music scene.  Mimi was (and still is) a master of melody-and-hook-laden pop, all full of crunchy, tasty guitar riffs.  Members of Pezband went to to form other legendary Chicago bands such as Off Broadway.

Mimi took some time off to raise a family and to pursue his other passion – art. Mimi went back to school and obtained his teaching credentials and has taught art in Chicago-area schools for years.

However, the call of the music was never too far away and last year, Mimi recorded and released an amazing solo album, “All That Glitters,” and started putting a band together to get back out playing music for live audiences. I’ve got the album, I listen to it all the time.  It’s a remarkable piece of work.  All the more reason to be excited that he’s working on a new one right now…

I felt a kindred spirit with Mimi.  Not just because he’s become a friend (Thanks to local rock legend Tom Lounges) but because like One Night Jam, Mimi is also on the comeback trail.  So we sat down over a tasty BBQ dinner and worked out the details of a concert.

The third man at that dinner was another member of Chicago rock royalty – Scott May. Scott is one of those guys who has been around, and I mean that in a good way.  His main music gig is keyboardist with the legendary Ides of March.  But he’s also played with almost everyone in the Chicago music scene since the late ’60’s, including Mimi.  He’s also one of the first-call guys when a radio show needs a live musician – you’ll probably remember him from Kevin Matthews’ shows on WLUP back in the day. So when I was thinking about an opening act for Mimi, Scott was right there with his hand up, saying, “Me!! Me!! I’d love to play a show with Mimi.  Are you kidding me?” And so it happened.

Because he’s just got too much music inside him for one band, Scott recently assembled the One-Armed Orchestra – a misnomer for sure, since it’s a full band with chick singers and all – and started working on original songs he’s had bouncing around in his head for years.  Back in the Pezband days, Scott was lead guitarist with another giant of Chicago rock – Dreamer.  In fact, there are very few instruments that Scott can’t play.  He and I have been talking about CST since the original run of ONJ – he’s really excited to finally get to play here.

This show is gonna rock.  It’ll be electric, but not so loud that your ears will bleed and you’ll end up with a migraine.  We’re going electric so we can get the sound of those incredibly catchy songs, but we’re being sensible about it.  Think “Tone Without Pain.”

The combination of Mimi and Scott continues the ONJ tradition of spectacular original music performed on the set of a play – in this case, Jim Henry’s “Brother of All” – with comfortable seats and a healthy dose of respect for the artist and the music.  You don’t want to miss this one.  It’s just going to be flat-out Fun.  With a capital “F”.

• If you call the box office early, you can take advantage of the “Couch Seat Special.” There are four comfy couch seats front and center that include an 8×10 of you with Scott and Mimi, shot before the show, that you can get signed after the show.
• Visit Mimi’s Website for more information.
• See our review of Mimi Betinis, All That Glitters (One of our Faves of 2011)

— Paul Braun, Director