Coverage of the 18th Annual Great Cover-Up has been pretty huge, so anyone reading this has probably seen the rundown of what bands were covered and who had the craziest costume. So I’ll just highlight a few of my favorite moments from nights two and three. I don’t care for Andrew W.K., really, so imagine my surprise to find myself down near the stage bouncing up and down to his songs as performed by Post Historic and Robots Counterfeiting Money. They completely captured the spirit of the all-party-songs-all-the-time W.K. persona with unison choruses, lots of guitars and tons of fist pumps. It was the perfect way to open Tuesday’s show. Also Tuesday, Common Loon made a fun choice in taking early Madonna songs and making them their own. I was especially happy to hear “Live to Tell.” On Thursday, Silver Moon opened the show with their first-ever appearance as a band (though the group features several familiar faces) by performing songs by Fleetwood Mac (OK and one Stevie Nicks solo song). If their Cover-Up set is any indication of how tight they could sound with their own songs, future show-goers are in for a treat. Altogether, it was a fun week full of interesting choices and lots of friendly faces — hope you made it out.

Speaking of Post Historic, they’re set to headline a show at the Canopy Club tonight, Jan. 29. The show will kick off at 9 p.m. with a set from Kilroy, et al., a local act mostly consisting of Ed Rice along with occasional help from friends. Check out http://www.myspace.com/kilroyetal for song clips. In the second position is the Brian Esmao Trio (http://www.myspace.com/brianesmao), a recently assembled piano/bass/drums outfit. The Number One Sons (http://www.myspace.com/numberonesons) will follow with their unique freak-rock, leading up to Post Historic, who will likely shy away from the Andrew W.K. songs without their RC$ cohorts, but you never know. The cover charge for this show is initially $5 but will jump to $7 if you get there too late.

On Friday night, Cowboy Monkey will host a mega night of hip-hop with tons of local DJs and MCs. Harsh (fresh from his scene-stealing gig as the DJ for Brother Embassy’s set as Limp Bizkit) and DJ Belly are slated to perform with acts like Agent Mos (AMS), Text, Jonah, Cornbread, Duckman, I2K, Paully Wallnuts, Nam1Sekatti and more. The night is being billed as “HipHop101” and will cost you $6 at the door, with show time at 9:00 p.m. You don’t get many chances better than this one to see such a varied example of what local hip-hop has to offer.

Over at Mike ‘n Molly’s, two touring bands will stop by for the evening. Bloomington, Ind., band The Delicious (http://www.myspace.com/thedelicious), on Joyful Noise, will bring their sleek indie-pop along with tour-mates Lucky Pineapple. The latter is a bit harder edged, hailing from Louisville, Ky., and packing horns, percussion and other surprises. Check out http://www.myspace.com/mikenmollys for more info, including a local band on the bill.

On Saturday, the newly formed Shadowboxer Collective will hold their first show. The group, formed by like-minded musicians Ryan Groff, Nic Dillon and Cole Rabenort, envisions a world where quiet shows can coexist with the loud rock shows that currently monopolize most rooms. They are looking to host one or two shows a month that will feature solo acts as well as bands that don’t turn it up to 11. This Saturday’s show will feature Ryan Groff in the headlining position, with support from Columbia, Mo. singer/songwriter Casey Reeves. Casey has made several stops in CU, both as a solo artist and with his former band, Caulfield and the Magic. Opening up the show is Naperville’s Clifton Roy & Folkstringer. The show will run from 7 p.m. until about 10 and carries a $5 cover charge.

Your options expand as the evening wears on, with Caffe Paradiso opening its doors for a show with acts Eureka Brown, Common Loon and Cornbread. The Urbana coffee shop is a great space, and it would be great to see more shows pop up there, so make sure to go out and show your support. The show is free, which helps, and begins at 9 p.m. The dub-pop stylings of Eureka Brown along with Common Loon’s brooding indie rock and Cornbread’s polished hip-hop should make for a helluva lineup.

Keep an eye out for more shows at Clark Bar (the former Nargile/Club E’llusions) as the bar is under new ownership and is working to re-establish itself as a great spot for anything from DJ nights to nights with rock or blues bands. The place has received a nice facelift already, with the cozy frontroom (holding comfy seating and a pool table) sometimes being the music room for smaller acts while the back room with the stage also gets some action. Stop in and check the place out at 207 W. Clark in Champaign. I haven’t had a chance to try the food yet, but I’ve heard good things.

Mike Ingram can be reached at forgottenwords@gmail.com.