Bric-a-Brac throws a fundraiser that’s also a call for unflooded inventory

Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles has been closed since a pipe burst in the Avondale shop on Christmas morning, destroying thousands of LPs, seven-inches, VHS tapes, and toys. Thankfully the damage was mostly confined to the front of the shop. “Everything looks a lot worse than it is right now,” says co-owner Nick Mayor. “We definitely lost a lot of stuff, but it could’ve been much worse.” This week, the store will replace the drywall on its ceiling and north wall. Mayor and co-owner Jen Lemasters are getting their insurance claim in order, and if all goes well Bric-a-Brac will reopen by the end of January.

If you want to help Bric-a-Brac, you can preorder one of the fundraiser totes ($20) or T-shirts ($25) that the shop is selling to raise funds—both feature a cheeky “Wet From Above ’22” illustration by Ryan Duggan, and preorders close Saturday, January 7. On Thursday, January 5, the Empty Bottle hosts a Bric-a-Brac fundraiser with DJ sets by Mayor and one of his co-owners at horror-themed coffee shop the Brewed, DJ Intel. Bric-a-Brac hopes to replenish its inventory of used records, VHS tapes, toys, and collectibles, and at the Bottle it’ll be buying and accepting donations of that stuff. For further opportunities to sell or donate inventory to Bric-a-Brac while the shop is closed for repairs, watch its social media accounts. 

Short-lived avant-rock band the Fire Show consisted of songwriters and multi-instrumentalists M. Resplendent (aka Michael Lenzi) and Olias Nil (aka Seth Cohen), both formerly of Number One Cup, joined by a rotating cast of other musicians. They burned brightly in Chicago’s music scene in the early aughts, releasing three albums on Perishable Records between 2000 and 2002. At the time, Reader critic Peter Margasak hailed the band’s “dublike attention to dynamics” and “swirling din of guitar, samples, off-kilter string arrangements, prepared piano sounds, and junk electronics.” The Fire Show’s music has aged well, and it’s recently gotten a lot easier to find. Last month, the band issued a beautiful box set called Here Lies the Fire Show: Recordings 2000-2002 via Cohen’s In Situ Sound label. It consists of 2000’s The Fire Show and 2002’s Saint the Fire Show, along with a third album of live recordings. It’s pressed to three 180-gram LPs (one red, one white, and one black) with lovely inserts inside a gatefold sleeve. The set is limited to 300 copies, available from the Fire Show’s Bandcamp page.

Here Lies the Fire Show is for sale as a digital album and a triple-LP set.

Gossip Wolf is a little salty that Ester bandleader Anna Holmquist hasn’t released a new episode of their awesome Bad Songwriter Podcast since 2021. But it’s hard to complain too much, because Holmquist is easily among the city’s best songwriters—and they’re still getting better! This week Ester drop their first single since the excellent 2020 album Turn Around, “Red Rover” b/w “Change Is Allowed,” and both tunes confirm Holmquist’s excellent touch with elegant, atmospheric folk. A new album from the band is due later this year, and this wolf’s appetite is thoroughly whetted.

Both sides of Ester’s new single were recorded and mixed by Michael Mac at Bim Bom Studios.

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