At this point in the game, predicting the continual advent of the next generation of Chicago hip-hop talent is hardly a new or groundbreaking call. Nearly every music magazine in the country has written about at least some, if not the majority of the talent that has emerged the last few years. In fact, many of said features lump the talent together, with single articles being utilized to focus on a diverse array of artists.
Atmosphere
Metro, Chicago
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It doesn’t seem much of a stretch to see life imitating art in the case of Minneapolis hip-hop outfit Atmosphere. After all, the group’s just-released record is titled When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, which might explain the impressive level of output released by co-conspirators Slug and Ant within the last year — a year that has seen four fairly consistant EPs (some moreso than others), one mix tape/album (the free downloadable Strictly Leakage), and an impressive proper new record added on to the Atmosphere discography. All of which provided plenty of different arenas for Atmosphere frontman Slug during his group’s recent stop at the Metro, the second of two.
Earth
The Note, Chicago
Friday, April 25, 2008
“Dude, I’m bored,” announced a friend of a friend in a Venom-themed Boris T-shirt. “Are you guys going to leave soon?” It was a damned good question. After six songs of blandly introverted, lightly amplified twang, many at the quaint Wicker Park bar were starting to come to grips with what has become a rather dull and clinical instrumental jazz band. Chatter — a death knell to any live band — had arrived like a swarm of determined little midges, and there was nothing on tap that could take back the night. Yeah, we were going to leave soon.
International Pop Overthrow
Various clubs, Chicago
April 15th - 27th, 2008
Back in 1998, when David Bash organized the first International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles, he probably couldn’t have imagined how much his low-budget, annual celebration of power pop would flourish. By 2001, International Pop Overthrow, named after a Material Issue song and album title, had branched out to Chicago and, two years after that, made its first visit to Liverpool. This year, Bash added Kalamazoo, Detroit, and Milwaukee to the mix, bringing the total to 13 cities. All the while it continues to fly under the radar of the mainstream media.
Iron And Wine
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Just as bookends maintain a shelf’s order and organization, the breathtaking opening and closing numbers of Iron And Wine’s tour-closing show on Tuesday – the second of a two-night stand in Chicago’s Vic Theatre – kept the rest of the set list from going off kilter.
Counting Crows
To preview his upcoming interview with Adam Duritz in the May issue of Illinois Entertainer, we shipped Jaime de’Medici to a pair of outposts to catch Counting Crows getting intimate.
Vampire Weekend
Metro, Chicago
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Vampire Weekend rolled into a sold-out Metro on Sunday night – quite a jump from the quartet’s last local appearance at Schubas – but such is the result of the hype machine’s ever-churning gears.
Shelby Lynne
Park West, Chicago
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Since winning the Best New Artist Grammy in 2000 for I Am Shelby Lynne (her sixth album, natch — still mind boggling), Shelby Lynne seems to be wandering through the musical landscape in search of an identity. After the Memphis-soul vibe of I Am, she took a walk on the slick, overproduced, Sheryl Crow side with Love, Shelby, some stripped-down soul searching with the aptly named Identity Crisis, and the even sparser Suit Yourself.
Ray Davies
Chicago Theatre, Chicago
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
No one can ever credit Ray Davies as being a prolific solo songwriter: at age 63, he just turned in his second proper full-length offering, Working Man’s Café (New West). But for fans of his time in The Kinks, a fairly thin individual catalog meant spending plenty of time in the original British Invasion, recalling the group’s seminal classics that have since shaped several generations of alternative acts. (Oasis anyone?)
Louis XIV, What Made Milwaukee Famous
Metro, Chicago
Saturday, March 22, 2008
When Louis XIV picked up steam in 2004, it was on the road alongside The Killers and Von Bondies, and quickly led to a deal with Atlantic Records. Even though the industry was riding the resurrected garage and dance rock crazes to excessive extents, the San Diego quartet were a distortion-slapped breath of fresh air, not really catering to either craze, rather revisiting the grimy swagger of AC/DC and The Rolling Stones, plus a hearty blast of T. Rex (in all its glammy extravagance) on the full-length debut, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept.
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Friday, March 21, 2008
The patchwork wall between indie rock and jam bands came crashing down Friday night, as a plodding Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks burned holes through the Vic stage with their eyes.
Justice
Riviera, Chicago
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Somewhere in the midst of Justice’s whirlwind set last Thursday at the Riviera, it became difficult to distinguish exactly what song the electro duo were performing off their 2007 breakthrough album †. Good thing that was hardly the point.
The Raveonettes
Double Door, Chicago
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
At this point in The Raveonettes’ career, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have inarguably established themselves and their sound — specifically, feedback-drenched fuzz pop with a healthy mix of ’50s love songs and The Jesus And Mary Chain as their primary influences.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Bradley Center, Milwaukee
Monday, March 17, 2008
When Bruce Springsteen and the recently reconvened E Street Band kicked off his Magic tour last fall, the set lists leaned heavily on the new album, along with the signature mix of deep cuts and a handful of hits. Though little changed on the outing’s second leg, the audience was much more familiar with the new material, making the hearty helping of tracks from the album seem less like time fillers until the next tune and actual assets to the set list.
The Gutter Twins
Metro, Chicago
Friday, March 7, 2008
It isn’t entirely accurate to print The Gutter Twins show happened Friday the 7th, because, in actuality, the outfit didn’t take the stage until well after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Then again, a so-late-it’s-almost-early performance is hardly surprising, given the nocturnal aesthetic of the talent.
