Archive for March, 2006

Gear: Part 2

Click here to return to page 1
GODIN
LG EMG Guitar

Godin’s LG EMG black graphite guitar further cements Godin’s recent trend toward offering several guitars for heavy rockers. Godin’s press materials touts the guitar line with a “darkly alluring new black graphite semi gloss finish and full out, blistering tone.” The LG EMG is a single-cutaway design, [...]

Songs For The Soweto Generation

By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
To Americans, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Desmond Tutu may be the most famous South Africans, but if you’re part of the “Soweto generation” (those born in the mid ’70s to early ’80s, just before apartheid was abolished), it’s more likely the most notable South African is Thandiswa Mazwai.

Local CD Reviews

Still looking for a fresh female voice who didn’t get her start on “American Idol”? Chicago-bred Meg Allison may have your answer. Her debut disc, Missing Piece, is full of exactly the sort of low-key, heartfelt, story-telling tracks you’d expect from an inspired singer-songwriter who waits tables by day and plays her heart out in [...]

Around Hear: Part 2

Click here to return to page 1.
The sophomore LP from Cameron McGill is a convincing collection that demonstrates this singer-songwriter’s potential. Street Ballads & Murderesques consists mostly of ballads evoking McGill’s softer side with achingly sentimental tunes. The intimate poetic lyricism is accompanied by simplistic arrangements of acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano, and dashes of violin. [...]

Queen + Paul Rodgers Reviewed

Queen + Paul Rodgers
Allstate Arena, Rosemont
Thursday, March 23, 2006

After testing the waters, so to speak, overseas, the newly rechristened Queen + Paul Rodgers launched its first full-fledged American tour. Considering it’s been more than two decades since the original act stepped foot on Stateside soil, anticipation was high, though the stakes this time through were [...]

Electric Six Reviewed

Electric Six
Double Door, Chicago
Monday, March 27, 2006

Is a man able to smile for 90 minutes straight?

The National, The Cloud Room Reviewed

The National, The Cloud Room
Double Door, Chicago
Friday, March 24, 2006

Traipsing into town beneath an underdog’s flag, The National arrived at the Double Door having moved laterally since September. Though the press clippings piled on at year’s end, The National’s commercial momentum took a hit when Clap Your Hands opened for them last fall.

Serena Maneesh Reviewed

Serena Maneesh
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Norway’s Serena Maneesh, having swung through town three weeks ago en route to South By Southwest in Austin, decided to topple the Empty Bottle once more before fleeing the continent — a final attempt to shake the club to its foundations.

Peter Hook DJ Set Reviewed

Peter Hook
Smart Bar, Chicago
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
For all the time he logged with Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook is certainly connected to the club scene. Not only have both of the bassist’s bands been spun to death over the decades from the DJ booth, but they’ve also become unforgettable examples of how dance [...]

Liz Janes & Create(!), Half-Handed Cloud Preview

Liz Janes & Create(!), Half-Handed Cloud
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Asthmatic Kitty labelmates (home to Sufjan Stevens) rep the label on a Midwest jaunt, pulling on separate ends of Stevens’ nostalgic Americana.

Cracker Preview

Cracker
Durty Nellie’s, Palatine
Saturday, April 1, 2006
We were always sort of impartial to alt-rockers Cracker, who gained fame via a string of hits in the early ’90s. Sure, “Low” got on our nerves to the point that even today we change the station when it comes on the radio, but they weren’t the Gin Blossoms, or [...]

Cindy Woolf Preview

Cindy Woolf
Schubas, Chicago
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Although nothing terribly unique or groundbreaking, bluegrass singer-songwriter Cindy Woolf possesses a couple things that many of her country contemporaries sorely lack: sincerity and heart.

Kelley Stoltz, Page France Preview

Kelley Stoltz, Page France
Schubas, Chicago
Tuesday, March 4, 2006
Studio wonk Kelley Stoltz, though he has toured extensively, won’t be one of those cats who’ll credit his modest victories to breaking his back on the road. No, his is a tale of the magic LP that had to circumscribe the globe before he could scratch out any [...]

Fuel Holding Tryouts For New Vocalist

95 WIIL ROCK is sending someone to Los Angeles to audition for post-grunge rock band Fuel. Turns out they’re looking for a lead singer and the radio station is sifting through locals, finding the diamond in the rough and providing one lucky someone with airfare and hotel accommodations to meet the band and possibly become [...]

The Elected CD Review

The Elected
Sun, Sun, Sun
(Sub Pop)

Rilo Kiley’s other side project doesn’t have the “indie tart stepping into the world on her own” angle. On its second album, The Elected preaches more from the gospel according to the West Coast.