Graham Parker Takes Imaginary Tour

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 1, 2010 5:40PM

Graham Parker has certainly earned his status as a rock ‘n’ roll legend. The British singer/songwriter’s heyday was back in the ‘70s, when he led the pub rock band Rumour and recorded several landmark records. Though few are aware of his musical career, as he stood in the shadows of his contemporaries such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, he’s been performing solo for more than thirty years and has, especially lately, been making a powerful resurgence.

Just two weeks ago, Parker released his latest album, Imaginary Television. Admittedly, his inspiration for the album is a bit gimmicky: on two separate occasions, Parker was asked to write and record the theme song to a television show. Both times, his songs were rejected, and instead of sulking and binge drinking like any common rock star facing rejection, he channeled his disappointment and crafted this album of folky theme songs to imaginary TV shows. The lyrics narrate fake TV plots and scenarios, like “Snowgun,” which tells about a depressed young Japanese-American ski bum struggling to overcome his loneliness, or “Weather Report,” which narrates the story of an agoraphobe who spends all day watching the Weather Channel and staring out his window. Sure, the album’s quite jokey, but it’s also strangely moving, due in part to the soulful quality of Parker’s raspy vocals, warm acoustic chords and sprinklings of banjo and kazoo throughout the album.

Through April, Parker will be on a ten-stop tour, which he dubs The Imaginary Tour, in support of the album, and he’ll be making a stop in Chicago April 17 at the Old Town School of Folk. The Figgs will play as Parker’s backing band, as well as performing a separate set as the opening band. We don’t think he could have chosen a better venue than the Old Town - it’s intimate, has great acoustics and they’re no-nonsense about music, just like Parker. In fact, that’s what we like most about Parker; he’s a bad ass with a down-to-earth view on the music industry (he’s in it for the money) and a healthy amount of cynicism, guaranteed to entertain with his snarky stage banter.

Graham Parker plays Saturday, April 17, at the Old Town School of Folk, 4544 N Lincoln, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., $22, All Ages