The Killers
MÃ s Vegas
You have to hand it to Brandon Flowers. The guy certainly knows how to make an entrance. And it’s never exactly what his audience is expecting.
Appearing: 10/17 at Congress Theatre (2135 N. Milwaukee) in Chicago.
Hello, My Name Is Ian
Q&A with Ian Anderson
IE: How is touring with the orchestra project different than touring with Jethro Tull?
Ian Anderson: Well, it’s a little bit scaled down. We don’t use as many people in the crew; we have less in the way of equipment, but we do have more *people to move around. I have the same hand-picked orchestra, which are traveling with us all the way through the 22 shows in North America.
The Damwells
Go Airborne
Ask any number of aspiring/up-and-coming rock songwriters who their influences are, and you’re likely to get a response that includes names from the last two decades, or predictable staples like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Bob Dylan. These are respectable idols, but the exponential inbreeding of styles has given us a homogenized medium with very little lasting impact.
Appearing: 10/6 at Double Door (1572 N. Milwaukee) in Chicago.
Califone
The End Is The Beginning
At the bottom of a career-threatening funk following the tour behind Califone’s 2004 release, Heron King Blues, Tim Rutili happened across an old mix CD a friend had given him, and found his salvation somewhere in the middle. It came via Psychic TV’s “The Orchids,” released on the band’s 1983 album, Dreams Less Sweet: “In the morning after the night I fall in love with the light it is so clear I realize and here at last I have my eyes . . .”
Appearing: 10/21 at Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western) in Chicago.
The Hold Steady
Ratted Out
“I’ve had kids come up and say to me, ‘God, you guys and Drive-By Truckers are the only bands that I ever go see that look like they’re having any fun at all,’” recounts Hold Steady vocalist Craig Finn. We’re discussing his band’s triumphant, early-afternoon appearance at Lollapalooza back in August. “We definitely, honestly, have a great time when we play and try to convey that, and I think that gets contagious. I think we really did a pretty good job putting on a Big Rock Show. It was early in the day and obviously we’re not as big as the other bands . . . But there was the Jumbotron, so that was cool.”
Appearing: 10/26 at Metro (3730 N. Clark) in Chicago.
Catfish Haven
Floor To Ceiling
To say George Hunter, of Chicago-based trio Catfish Haven, was having a bad day is an understatement. First, he had double booked IE’s phone interview with some dog-walking he had agreed to do for his bass player’s business. When the time came to do the interview, he was four pooches deep and his cell-phone battery had died. By the time he got to another phone to call back, it was too late.
Appearing: 10/26 at Metro (3730 N. Clark) in Chicago.
The Rakes
If It All Ends Tomorrow
The story behind London’s The Rakes is one that has been written countless times before. The group built major U.K. buzz and scored an international record deal after about a year of touring. Upon being imported to America, they lit up the CMJ Festival in New York followed by this spring’s South By Southwest in Austin, playing to packed houses and leaving hundreds of badge holders lingering on the streets. Before all this, the members met one another at work and through mutual friends, another tale taken to the well a time or two (thousand). So how in the world have The Rakes stood out in the clutter?
SEVEN SAMURAI
The Criterion Collection
Countless films over the years have been dubbed “masterpieces.” From Fritz Lang to John Ford, Peckinpah to Scorsese, all have created what many consider quintessential pieces of filmmaking. Few films, however, actually change the very nature of cinema itself.
HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR
Eddie Van Halen knows two things very well: smokin’ guitar licks and smokin’ cigarettes. Apparently adult entertainment and curing cancer can be added to the list. The six-string maestro called Howard Stern’s Sirius Satellite show on September 8th, Launch Radio Networks reports, to promote a porn movie (more on that in a minute) and tell Stern he was free of the tongue cancer he has been battling for years.
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Finding an ethical new center — that was merely one part of Flowers’ quest. Where else did he find solace? Again, fans who think they have him pegged will be somewhat stunned. In the work of — believe it or not — Bruce Springsteen, he happily confesses. And it all started with a simple review of Hot Fuss, he says, “where somebody compared a part of one song, or mentioned that it was ‘Springsteenish.’ And I thought ‘Weeeelllll . . .’” Had an insult been hurled? “At first, that was probably how I took it,” he laughs. “I didn’t know. Like everybody else, I immediately thought of Born In The U.S.A. — he’s just something I took for granted, and everybody knows the seven fucking singles from Born In The U.S.A. Those were just inescapable.”
“Chicago ain’t been this great since Jordan,” declares Terror Squad president Fat Joe about Logan Square rep Ace Mac on All Aces Mixtape Vol. 1. So Joey Crack’s co-sign is a little inflated, but Mac does kick some pretty entertaining “gangsta shit.” Atop a barrage of mostly borrowed, bass-heavy beats from Rick Ross, Twista, and others, he spits convincing raps about pistol packing, gang ridin’, and holding down his ‘hood. (www.myspace.com/acemacillanoizeboy)
– Max Herman
The three-song sampler for Secrets To Be Told, Rob Nicholas And A Moment’s Notice’s debut CD, is tolerable but by no means terrific. “Lost Yourself” and “You Say” are run-of-the-mill alt-rock odes, with “Crave” adding a dash of jazz guitar to an otherwise mediocre melody. Hopefully the full-length disc features more originality, as quite honestly this trio of tunes is nothing special. (www.rnicholas.com)
– Jeff Berkwits
Seven-One E/Z bring some unique elements to the razor-edged hip-hop songs and freestyles on their self-titled demo by mixing in synthesizers and using deep vocals as percussion. The gritty, first-person accounts of pimps and gangstas make this an R-rated effort, while others will be more offended by a steady flow of the “N” word and hateful attitude toward women. (www.myspace.com/sevenoner/z)
– Terrence Flamm
It’s like the other islands, it’s easy-going and you don’t have stress. The water surrounds it and it’s like a small, beautiful jewel,” says Sara Tavares from a car on a busy Lisbon street. This fanciful summary could be about Maui or Bermuda, or some other small, tourist-heavy beach paradise. But she’s talking about her ancestral home of Cape Verde, 10 tiny islands off the West African coast that inspire the rich cultural mix of her music.
ANDY MASON GUITARS
The Mermaid
Only a guy who built a triple-neck guitar for Led Zeppelin could devise something like The Mermaid.
