Archive for February, 2009
Blitzen Trapper live!
Blitzen Trapper
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Which version of Blitzen Trapper do you prefer? The acoustic Dylan worshippers? The stomping students of Neil Young? The feverish punk rockers? The swampy psychedelic love child of a merger between The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin?
The Submarines live!
The Submarines
Schubas, Chicago
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Much like a Chicago summer, The Submarines breeze in and out with little fanfare, a heaping dose of sunshine, and the promise of wishful thinking turning into reality.
Appleseed Cast preview
The Appleseed Cast
Bottom Lounge, Chicago
Friday, February 27, 2009
Back in college, The Appleseed Cast and me were best buds. We were into the jagged side of Sunny Day Real Estate, a land where bands like Mineral and Joan Of Arc made welts on their arms by tying guitar strings around them. That poppy stuff like The [...]
Burn Halo preview
Burn Halo
Allstate Arena, Rosemont
Friday, February 27, 2009
I swear (by the moon and the stars and the sky), swear, swear, swear, that when I was plotting the angle of this “Stage Buzz” while listening to Burn Halo’s self-titled debut, I had no idea the group was opening for Avenged Sevenfold.
These Arms Are Snakes, All The Saints preview
These Arms Are Snakes, All The Saints
Subterranean, Chicago
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Predictability’s not the first thing you look for in post hardcore bands, and it seems to have hit home with Seattle’s typically flailing These Arms Are Snakes.
Wolfy preview
Wolfy
Elbo Room, Chicago
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Wolfy’s members aren’t French. Far from it, actually. They’re from Indianapolis. But neirth their home city nor country seems to have had the biggest influence on the band: It’s France.
The Low Anthem review
The Low Anthem
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
(self-released)
All three of Rhode Island’s musicians joined forces three years ago, and after two albums containing a sweeping overview of Western civ, record three lands in time for Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday.
Appearing: Saturday, February 28th at Martyrs’ in Chicago.
The Pretenders live!
The Pretenders
Riviera Theatre, Chicago
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Most of the names and faces may have changed, but the one constant in The Pretenders is Chrissie Hynde, the rugged frontwoman who first cut her teeth on the late-’70s punk/early-’80s new wave circuits. Though those sounds categorized much of the band’s offerings up through the ’90s, its two [...]
Antony & The Johnsons live!
Antony & The Johnsons
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Antony Hegarty learned quickly that levity is a key ingredient to making his concerts enjoyable. While his operatic quiver has the power to decimate an audience — but, hanging on his vibrato, the weight of his compositions is liable to suffocate. He creates an atmosphere where mention [...]
Anni Rossi preview
Anni Rossi
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Friday, February 20, 2009
You have to wonder if her label, the venerable 4AD, knew Anni Rossi would be buried under Joanna Newsom comparisons. It’s hard to ignore the familiarities, despite some rather fundamental dissimilarities.
David Vandervelde preview
David Vandervelde
Schubas, Chicago
Saturday, February 21, 2009
In a storybook world, David Vandervelde’s Chicago-to-Brooklyn-to-Nashville wanderlust would make him the ideal Dylanite troubadour. Sprung from the clutches of Holland, Michigan, he would crush our feeble intellects with a slapdash, rustic urbanity and cut a straight path through the hyper-media mire, grooming himself for a biopic to premiere in [...]
Aidan Moffat reviewed
Aidan Moffat + The Best Ofs
How To Get To Heaven From Scotland
(Chemikal Underground)
There was really nowhere for the droning, life-is-lost ache of Arab Strap to go. Aidan Moffat has accordingly hijacked his own sound and heaved it back into pop convention.
Vetiver reviewed
Vetiver
Tight Knit
(Sub Pop)
There’s great temptation to disparage Devendra Banhart while exalting Andy Cabic, especially as one’s direction seems increasingly right while the other appears so temporary.
D. Rider preview
D. Rider
Hideout, Chicago
Friday, February 13, 2009
D. Rider isn’t M. Yellow, but former U.S. Maple backbone Todd Rittmann has toned down the approach for his solo album, Mother Of Curses, which releases this coming Tuesday on Tizona Records.
In This Moment preview
In This Moment
Pearl Room, Mokena
Sunday, February 15, 2009
If it weren’t for Maria Brink, In This Moment’s 2007 album, Beautiful Tragedy, would have been totally ignorable. Brink’s performance (she’s one of the few females in heavy music able to convincingly pull off “extreme” vocal techniques) single-handedly made an otherwise bland mall-metal record worth at least one [...]
