Brassneck
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Stage Buzz: Municipal Waste at Metro
Richmond, Virginia crossover party animals Municipal Waste return from a two-year recording hiatus with the raging four-track EP The Last Rager (released on Oct. 11 via Nuclear Blast). Featuring vocalist Tony Foresta, guitarists Ryan Waste and Nick Poulos, drummer Dave Witte and bassist LandPhil Hall, the retro-thrash quintet will be returning to Chicago on […]
Live Review: Adrian Belew at Arcada Theatre
Adrian Belew Arcada Theatre, St. Charles, IL Wednesday, October 2, 2019 Avant-rock trailblazer Adrian Belew brought his quartet to the Arcada Theatre with new material from 2019’s Pop-Sided. Featuring songs like “Everybody’s Sitting” and its tuneful critique of modern inertia, the album is Belew’s first solo outing in a decade and follows 2009’s adventurous instrumental […]
Stage Buzz: Art Alexakis at S.P.A.C.E. Evanston
Art Alexakis and Everclear defined the post-grunge ’90s where melodies were king, and dirty guitars were toned downed mercifully down to manageable, yet filthy levels. Singles “I Will Buy You A New Life” and “Santa Monica” are practically genres unto them themselves, which are not only benchmarks for melodic rock in the Friends-era but the […]
Q&A and Live Review: Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman Arcada Theatre (St. Charles, IL) October 4, 2019 Celebrated prog-rock keyboardist and raconteur Rick Wakeman visited the Arcada Theatre on Friday night, performing a set of classically oriented solo piano pieces. The songs performed as part of Wakeman’s Grumpy Old Rock Star tour are connected by stories that were equally poignant and ludicrous. […]
Cover Story: Bastille
Dan Smith can’t help it. He’s one contemporary music artist that always finds himself thinking visually, like a Barry Sonnenfeld-edgy cinematographer, giddily filling every frame with kinetic action. So his British band Bastille isn’t just one-dimensional — it can be appreciated on multiple sensory levels, all the way down to its carefully-situated album cover photos […]
Media: October 2019
Next year will be Rob Hart’s 20th year on the radio in Chicago, and he has worked at several stops along the way, including WGN, News 101, and the Loop. But now he’s manning the anchor desk at the dream destination for any radio newsman: NewsRadio WBBM 780. “It’s a great radio station,” he says. […]
Photo Gallery: Riot Fest 2019 – Day One
Industry reports indicate summer festival attendance is down across the country, but Riot Fest’s healthy crowds show that the 15-year-old homegrown punk and indie rock festival is not suffering from a lack of dedicated fans. Friday’s RF 2019 kick-off delivered a virtually sold-out crowd (it was packed) in Douglas Park in near-perfect September weather. Day One […]
Photo Gallery: Riot Fest 2019 Day Two
Day 2 of the 2019 edition of Riot Fest arrived and the prevailing vibe of the day was Metal! Earth scorchers Slayer eviscerated Douglas Park during what is sure to be their final Chicago performance before calling it a career. In fact, the Riot stage could have been re-christened All Metal – All The Time […]
Photo Gallery: Riot Fest 2019 Day Three
Day Three in Douglas Park proved as worthy as the first two, and the incredibly healthy and dedicated crowds dodged the morning storms by minutes as the gates opened at Ogden and Sacramento. Our day started with Oakland’s Ultra Q, and it was all good from there, capturing sets by “house band” Ganser (as seen […]
Photo Gallery: The Who at Alpine Valley
We had a feeling Alpine Valley was gonna be a good show. Photographer Ed Spinelli confirmed Pete and Roger were in good spirits on their Wisconsin tour stop. Here’s a recap of the setlist to go along with the visuals. Setlist via Setlist FM SHARESETLIST With Orchestra Overture 1921 Amazing Journey Sparks Pinball […]
Live Review: Slayer At Riot Fest
Slayer at Riot Fest Douglas Park, Chicago, Sept. 14, 2019 Slayer killed during a 90-minute headlining set that seemed to be cut short on a perfect late-summer evening in Douglas Park. At 9:56 p.m., minutes before the 10 p.m. curfew for music, singer-bassist Tom Araya told the crowd: “They are making us cut it short. […]
Live Review: King Crimson at The Auditorium Theatre
King Crimson Chicago Theatre Tuesday, September 10, 2019 When progressive rock titans King Crimson last visited Chicago in 2017, the proceedings at Chicago Theatre went so well that the band released an officially sanctioned live album of the concert. On Tuesday night, the English septet stopped at the venerable Auditorium Theatre for its 2019 […]
Stage Buzz: Riot Fest Undercard Preview
Riot Fest returns this fall for its historic 15th anniversary, once again in Douglas Park (Ogden & Ashland). From its humble beginnings in small clubs to its current incarnation as a classic punk, indie rock, and hip-hop celebration, Riot Fest has a connection to Chicago like no other festival. Now in its 15th year, the […]
Photo Gallery: Bush and Live at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
The ’90s were celebrated in full force on Friday night. This year marks the 25th anniversaries of two records: Live’s Throwing Copper and Sixteen Stone from Bush-that emerged from that decade’s “alternative” scene. The previous quotation marks are certainly tongue in cheek, seeing as how there was nothing out of the ordinary about distorted guitars […]
Photo Gallery: ZZ Top with Cheap Trick at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
That “lil old band from Texas” found its way into the southwest suburbs of Chicago Saturday. ZZ Top has hit the road in celebration of 50 years as a band. The trio, know for excessive facial hair and boogie-infused blues, plowed through five decades of hits and crowd favorites, delivered with a charming dollop of […]
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