Smushie celebrates new album "Cicero Pizza Anthology" at The Hideout

spiralgroovezine
Jul 19
2 min read

Updated: Jul 21

Written by Mina C.

Photos by Mina C.

Smushie performing at the Cicero Pizza Anthology release show at The Hideout — Smushie performing at the *Cicero Pizza Anthology* release show at The Hideout

Long Island native turned Chicago dweller, Smushie, is back with his second LP, the twangy indie-garage Cicero Pizza Anthology. This record comes about two years after his DIY folk-rock debut, Doofus Casanova, but don't be fooled -- between now and then, Smushie has taken no time off; having also released music in 2024 with longtime collaborator, Ben Astrachan, under the name Berta Bigtoe. Beneath the alias is Austin Koenigstein, who rounded up Astrachan (guitar/backing vocals), Jeb Backe (guitar), Augustus Martini (bass), Joe Powers (keys/bongos), and Zak Taylor (drums) to form his live band. The chemistry exuding from this group of cherry-picked musicians is palpable. It's no wonder the people of Chicago came out to jive on Saturday, July 12th.

From left to right: Jeb Backe, Augustus Martini, Austin Koenigstein, Ben Astrachan, Zak Taylor, Joe Powers

Surrounded by dear friends and strangers alike, the sextet began the set with "Scream Fire," a stripped-down cowboy anthem that sits at the middle of the new record. The band performed tracks spanning across the Smushie discography, even briefly turning into Berta Bigtoe for "Hold the Fort." Deep cut "Old Myron" was performed solo by Koenigstein while the rest of the band took a brief sit-down on stage.

Smushie performs "Old Myron" on piano, sans band

Skipping the encore pleasantries to allow as much playtime as possible, Smushie invited openers, local rockers Butthole and solo singer-songwriter Edie McKenna, onstage to close out the night. The stage turned into just as much of a dancefloor as the actual dancefloor. Koenigstein eventually abandoned his guitar to bump around with the crowd.