Pushbuttons at The York, 2-24-24: Photos

It had been a while since Pushbuttons had played at a venue outside of the members’ homes, not since the pandemic started. Funny how that’s a common marker of time these days. Pushbuttons is a group of talented and accomplished musicians who get together every once in a while to play some delicious 1980s covers. This is one of those purely-for-fun projects. I learned about this band because Derock Goodwin is the guitarist. He was the guitarist for The Peak Show, one of the best live bands I ever saw. The drummer for Pushbuttons, Kate Schellenbach, is the drummer for Luscious Jackson, a band I got turned onto in the early 1990s when I was a DJ at KWVA. “Citysong” still gets in my head on a somewhat regular basis (though “Deep Shag” was my favorite song from that album). Darren Embry and Laura Embry are, along with Derock Goodwin, the core of Burning Manilow, another band that I wish would play more often.

The York is a cool venue, located almost directly across the street from the old Peak Show Compound. I had spent many great nights in this neighborhood, though most of them were twenty years ago, and the area has changed a bit since then. The bar at The York is right in the center of the room, so half of the place does not have a great view of the stage, which is just to the left as you enter. But I grabbed a chair directly in front of the door, right near the stage, where there was space to dance. Some light bulbs in wire cages hung over the tables on the left side of the bar, a strange bit of décor that I couldn’t help but like. After a somewhat lengthy soundcheck (though it might just have felt that way because I was eager for the music), the band kicked off the show at 9:20 p.m. with a totally fun cover of Gary Numan’s “Cars.” And the night was underway. Other highlights of the first set included Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone,” The B-52s’ “Private Idaho,” and “Head Over Heels” from The Go-Go’s. A half-hour set break gave folks a chance to get to know each other. This place, or this band, attracts a really good group of people. The second set included the fun “Situation” from Yazoo, as well as a cool rendition of The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah,” among other gems. The show ended at 11:32 p.m., and afterward I heard the good news that this gig is likely going to become a regular thing, every month or two at this venue. So you will have more opportunities to check out this wonderful band.

 

The York is located at 5018 York Blvd. in Highland Park.