Hey Champ SXSW Live Review
Hey Champ
Vice, Austin, TX
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
It was around midnight last night when Hey Champ took the stage at dance club/rock venue Vice, which, while hardly late by SXSW standards, was still almost an hour and a half after than the band’s initially set start time. Yet the room didn’t seem to mind too much, [...]
Kid Sister SXSW Live Review
Kid Sister
Beauty Bar, Austin, TX
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Chicago came at Austin hard on Wednesday afternoon, with a hyper-kinetc set from Kid Sister at the glam-dive Beauty Bar. Throughout her set, the local rapper alternated between playful and heavy, switching from hamming it up to serious juking on a moment’s notice. The MC tore through selections [...]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club preview
Metro, Chicago
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Disregarding their vampiric, L.A.’s Jesus & Mary Chain looks, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have worn a surprising number of hats in their underrated career.
The Black Dahlia Murder preview
Reggie’s Rock House, Chicago
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Although The Black Dahlia Murder has generally been described as a blend of melodic death meal with a heavy European black metal influence, the emphasis has been on traditional blast beats and rapid-fire riffs.
House Of Pain preview
Congress Theater, Chicago
Friday, March 12, 2010
This will make you feel old: It’s been 18 years since House Of Pain’s “Jump Around” was a hit single. Eighteen years. Seriously! (It’s been 13 since Notorious B.I.G. was killed!) So who cares about a HOP reunion now? This guy.
Ben Sollee & Daniel Lee Martin preview
Space, Evanston
Friday, March 12, 2010
Solo singer/songwriter Kentuckians get semi-Appalachian on songs bemoaning the mining destruction of the homestate’s environment.
Pumpkins auditions
Billy Corgan’s bassist Ginger Pooley has left Smashing Pumpkins to concentrate on raising a family, which creates an obvious void. Before you clamor for “D’Arcy!!,” Corgan’s going to the fans.
Heligoats preview
Schubas, Chicago
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Chris Otepka began Heligoats during his tenure in Troubled Hubble, an Elburn-based band whose reams of critical praise didn’t amount to much commercial success.
High On Fire reviewed
Snakes For The Divine
(E1)
By all reasonable accounts – ignoring the kinds of people who insist Mastodon’s Remission is better than Leviathan – High On Fire’s 2007 Death Is This Communion is its magnum opus. That’s partly because High On Fire is High On Fucking Fire and doesn’t bother with shit that doesn’t rule and partly [...]









