Expo 76, one of the most eclectic cover bands working in the Chicago area, is no stranger to FitzGerald’s in Berwyn. So while the band’s May 20 gig is just one of many, it happens to coincide with the last go-round for CBS talk-show host David Letterman.
Letterman’s final “Late Show” will be displayed on a 9×16 foot screen while Expo 76 provides the soundtrack.
“We play at FitzGerald’s once a month,” says Dag Juhlin, Expo 76 band leader and guitarist. “What we find ourselves doing is playing different situations on different days. I think it’s just a way to keep our appearances fresh; there are occasionally concepts connected with what we do. We had absolutely no kind of grand plan or anything conceptual going on; it’s just a fun little tie-in that the people at FitzGerald’s thought of.”
Expo 76’s website describes them as “70s AM radio ear candy,” but that would be telling only part of the story, since their set list spans the decades. This quartet (usually augmented by a horn section) plays covers that aren’t so obvious that they’ll send you running from the room, but not so obscure that the neophytes won’t get it.
“What we find ourselves doing more and more now is just going off the set list and playing what feels right at the time,” Juhlin said. “We’ve done plenty of sets where we just called it out. We only have two rules: we don’t wear shorts on stage, and we don’t play the Doors. Not even ‘Light My Fire.’ Kenn (Goodman, Expo keyboardist) is so adamantly against the Doors.”
Goodman conceived the idea of Expo 76 in 2009, while on the road with R&B wildman Andre Williams.
“We started the band and I never thought about who we were going to play for, or what our ‘demographic’ was going to be. Let’s just be great and everything will take care of itself,” Juhlin said. “We wanted to be in a cover band where (you wouldn’t be) killing yourself because you had to cart out ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’ or ‘Dock Of The Bay.’ Let’s do this stuff that we dig! What we have is kind of a mix of bonafide hit songs, songs that you forgot about, songs that you don’t know but you love, songs that are flat-out obscure, songs that your parents know.”
While the band plays regularly all over the city, they’ve probably become best-known for their stints at Simon’s (5210 N. Clark St., Chicago), which Juhlin describes as “home base, where we cut our teeth. It’s been crucial in our development as a band. It’s a small area and we have to sit seven people up there with a guest singer or two. We’re on top of each other!” he laughs.
While there is no doubt that the eclecticism of Expo 76 would save any night, is Juhlin afraid that David Letterman’s last show might steal his steam? He laughs: “It’s his show. We don’t have any bits planned, but our keyboard player Kenn Goodman happens to look quite a lot like David Letterman’s keyboard player, Paul Shaffer. Maybe we’ll give him some wacky white glasses and exploit that.”
Expo 76/final Late Show with David Letterman screening
9 p.m. May 20
Fitzgerald’s, 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn
Free
(708) 788-2118, fitzgeraldsnightclub.com
