All Entries in the "Live Reviews" Category
But what about some headliners?
A lot of ‘Palooza coverage has focused on a general overview, with brief glimpses of the sets. We sent Jaime de’Medici out with a focus.
Lollapalooza!
Now in its fifth year as a Destination Festival, Lollapalooza sets out to test if bigger is better. This year, the festival grounds have been enlarged, pushing some stages west of Columbus to both accommodate more festival goers and ease the crowding that has plagued past events. Did it work? Kind of.
Natalie Merchant live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago
Thursday, July 22, 2010
After Natalie Merchant spent 2003 sifting through the vintage and contemporary folk vaults for The House Carpenter’s Daughter, it was apparent she was steering toward a more organic route than the jangle rock of 10,000 Maniacs and her blissful solo beginnings. Seven years later, she ups the random meter by [...]
Lilith Fair live!
First Midwest, Tinley Park
Saturday, July17, 2010
Sarah McLachlan’s 2010 version of Lilith Fair arrived in Chicago carrying some heavy baggage, having already canceled over a dozen of the 35 showcases scheduled for other cities. A few days before the tour hit the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in suburban Tinley Park, it was announced that Kelly Clarkson [...]
Sting live!
Ravinia, Highland Park
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Ever since Sting first left The Police in 1985, his career’s taken several unexpected twists, many of which have soared and a handful that have sunk. No matter the public’s reception level, the singer’s certainly been unpredictable, from his early jazz origins to a more straightforward pop/rock flavoring throughout the [...]
James Taylor & Carole King return!
United Center, Chicago
Friday, July 9, 2010
Time-tested classic songs performed by musicians entertain. These same songs, sung by the writers send their message. So, when James Taylor and Carole King cha-cha’d by the United Center Friday night — the second local performance in their Troubadour Reunion Tour — one had to figure there were going to [...]
Against Me live . . . on TV, sorta.
JBTV Studios, Chicago
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Prior to taking the stage that evening at the Aragon Ballroom, Gainesville, Florida’s Against Me stopped by the JBTV studios for a brief afternoon set. Performing plugged-in and stripped-down in front of a crowd of roughly 50, the five-man live act played a handful of cuts across 25 minutes, primarily [...]
Crossroads Guitar Fest review!
Toyota Park, Bridgeview
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Eric Clapton called in enough favors Saturday to make Bridgeview the one-day center of the musical universe.
Erykah Badu, N.E.R.D., Janelle Monáe live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago
Thursday, June 3, 2010
If you thought pop music had dissolved into flashy diva spectacles with lots of hooks and no soul or substance, you may have missed a few musical revelations. Specifically, Erykah Badu’s singular brand of tripped-out soul and hip-hop funk, N.E.R.D’s vivacious rock and hip-hop mélange, and Janelle Monáe’s genre-smashing melodies [...]
Carole King & James Taylor live!
Allstate Arena, Rosemont
Monday, May 24, 2010
Forty years ago, right on the crest of the singer/songwriter movement, Carole King and James Taylor first shared the stage at West Hollywood’s now legendary Troubadour. Though their paths have crossed on the pop and rock charts repeatedly since (and they’ve also swapped album credits), the Troubadour Reunion Tour marked [...]
A-ha live!
A-ha live!
Riviera Theatre, Chicago
Thursday, May 13, 2010
To the bulk of American audiences, A-ha will always be remembered for its monster smash “Take On Me,” which once topped the charts and has since been spun an average of 375 times a day. But to the rest of the world, especially in Europe, the group’s gone well [...]
Ben Folds live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Anyone who’s ever seen Ben Folds perform live in front of a crowd of die-hard fans (and really, is there any other kind of Ben Folds fan?), or is even just familiar with the piano man’s solid 2002 live disc, Ben Folds Live, knows full well the events are notorious [...]
Thom Yorke live!
Aragon, Chicago
Saturday, April 10, 2010
It’s not unusual for musicians to moonlight when an opportunity presents itself. Thing is, for every so called supergroup that finds a genesis in the curiosity of what could be, very few achieve the critical or commercial success of, say, Blind Faith or The Traveling Wilburys. More often than not, they [...]
Drive-By Truckers live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Friday, April 9, 2010
Chicago is a special place for Drive-By Truckers. The band still talk about the lift they felt by a line outside Hideout back when nobody else cared they were making records.
Florence + The Machine live!
House Of Blues, Chicago
Monday, April 12, 2010
Florence Welch is no fluke. The British 23-year-old wowed an already converted, sold-out audience during her debut Chicago appearance. In just over an hour, the fiery redhead’s bellowing vocals and surprisingly demure demeanor brought her lone album, Lungs to life with the determination of a woman poised for world [...]
