Scott Lucas & the Married Men have a special Christmas present for fans in the form of a streaming special of their holiday special. For the third straight year, the group recorded their holiday show, which took place on December 9th at the Hideout Inn in Chicago, and will broadcast it as an hour-long special -- The 3rd Annual Hideout Holiday Music Hour -- from their website, beginning at 4p.m. on Christmas Eve. It will run repeatedly on the site for a limited time.
At each holiday show, the band pays homage to "A Prairie Home Companion" with the evening's set and structures the broadcast program as an old tyme radio variety show, complete with a host, surprise guests and faux sponsors. Teen indie pop quartet Purple Apple joined the Married Men for a couple of songs at the Hideout and will appear on the Hideout Holiday Music Hour.
Lucas, who is best known as the singer/guitarist for the two-man, Chicago rock band Local H, tackles plenty of Christmas classics throughout the show, including "Run Run Rudolph," "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant," written by Deer Tick's John McCauley, with whom the Married Men toured earlier this year. (The song appears on McCauley's Diamond Rugs album).
Lucas and his six-piece backing band, the Married Men -- a collective which includes violin, organ and accordion -- also perform original songs from their second album, Blood Half Moon, which noted Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot listed in his top 10 Chicago indie releases for the year and proclaimed "a revelation." The band also played several Married Men staples, drawn from their first two releases: George Lassos the Moon and The Absolute Beginners EP.
"The whole idea is to have it on in the background while you're wrapping last minute presents by the Christmas tree or whatever," explains Lucas. "It's meant to be like an audio Yule Log. A companion to your little family get together, perhaps? Or if you wanna listen to it while you sit around getting drunk alone -- that's fine, too."
