The Roots, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane
House Of Blues, Chicago
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Considering the popularity of crunk, “pop, lock, and drop it,” and everything else that passes for hip-hop these days, a tour highlighting the golden days of beats and real rhymes proves to be sorely necessary. With hip-hop revolutionaries The Roots leading the way, the Hip-Hop Honors Tour delivered a welcome dose of hip-hop done right.
Common
Charter One Pavilion, Chicago
Thursday, September 20, 2007
If he were born a century ago, Forrest Gump might have uttered “Life is like Common: You never know whatcher gonna get.” On the one hand there’s the Gap commercials and wannabe-Lothario stage antics — a newsboy-cap wearin’ radio hopeful who references Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn’s split on his new album.
The Chemical Brothers, Ladytron
Riviera Theatre, Chicago
September 24, 2007
Since 1993, The Chemical Brothers have consistently churned out an evolutionary form of electronica music that could find dual footing in a club or on the radio. Thankfully the dance-derived duo are also known for an equally enthralling stage show, complete with lights, lasers, and smoke that could fill theaters, stadiums, and even massive festival settings.
Turbonegro, Mondo Generator
Metro, Chicago
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
For the first stop on their U.S. tour, Turbonegro took not one, but two encores. For most rock bands this would be one too many and a bit pretentious for a group playing a 1,100-capacity club. For this Norwegian act, though, it was perfect – maybe even two too few.
Blaqk Audio
Double Door, Chicago
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Given the over-the-top cartoon goth character Davey Havok perpetually lives in as the frontman for AFI, it’s understandable even he might need an escape. The concept came to life last Tuesday at the Double Door, where Havok and AFI bandmate Jade Puget debuted the Chicago appearance of the pair’s synth-minded side-project, Blaqk Audio.
Gruff Rhys
Schubas, Chicago
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Frontman for the chronically miscast Super Furry Animals brings the crowd closer for an intimate gig.
The Good Life
Subterranean, Chicago
Friday, September 28, 2007
What’s in a name? The Good Life seem like a band who might produce happy-go-lucky tunes about the joys of existence – that is, if you go by the name alone. But, the reality is quite the opposite. Lead by Cursive’s Tim Kasher, The Good Life rest chin deep in the ashes of love. Hailing from Omaha, the band’s fourth full-length, Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek), mirrors the barren landscape of their home base and never lets up.
The Black Lips
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago
Friday, September 28, 2007
A couple years ago, The Black Lips seemed like Johnny-come-latelys on the Nuggets-revival bandwagon, and yet they stuck with it long enough to parlay it into part of their success. Part.
Naked Eyes
Lincoln Park Fest, Chicago
Friday, September 28, 2007
You might not fully remember Naked Eyes, but they remember The Beatles. And Jimi Hendrix. And Elvis Costello. And The Rolling Stones. And . . .
Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch
Knights Of Columbus, Arlington Heights
Wednesday, October 2, 2007
Holy shit . . . thrash really is back! We’ve been hearing that for a few years now, thanks in large part to the sliver of mainstream success bands like Lamb Of God, Shadows Fall, and Trivium have enjoyed. But now there is a full-blown underground movement, and two of its most noteworthy players are on the road together!
Mekons
Natural
(Quarterstick)
For their 30th anniversary, the Leeds-born punks forage off the country roads and through the fields.
Appearing: September 28th at Old Town School Of Folk Music in Chicago.
Boris With Michio Kurihara
Rainbow
(Drag City)
Low-end, Japanese noise terrorists call in a reinforcement for psychedelic doodling.
Appearing: October 30th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Wall To Wall Guitar Festival, Take Two
Krannert Center, Urbana
September 13 - 15, 2007
When curator and artistic director David Spelman brought the first Wall To Wall Guitar Festival to Champaign-Urbana’s Krannert Center For The Performing Arts in 2005, it presented the guitar as an object worthy of Serious Study. Through 30 artists and three days, the guitar was sagely considered by artists who normally should have known (and played) better. Over-eager and under-confident, the first Wall To Wall Festival approached the guitar with a reverence that buried the guitar’s most enduring, endearing trait: It’s fun as hell.
Rilo Kiley, Johnathan Rice
Riviera, Chicago
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Stationed in front of a gold lamé curtain Saturday night at the Riviera, Rilo Kiley proved they’ve officially gone Hollywood. Then again, the quartet (now aided by two backup singers/instrumentalists) have always had ties to Tinsletown. Guitarist Blake Sennett and lead vocalist Jenny Lewis’ former child-actors status aside, this tour finds the band on a major label (Warner Bros.) and together after a solo album-imposed hiatus courtesy of the once romantically linked songwriters.
Okkervil River
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Okkervil River are a sloppy band — it’s largely what makes them so effective. Frontman Will Sheff sings as if he has no control over his voice while the rest of the Austin band claw at their folk rock with more crazy, less horse.
