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Live Review: Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets • Old Town School of Folk Music • Chicago
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL Thursday, August 4, 2022 Review by Jeff Elbel Photo: Nick Lowe at Riot Fest 2019 (by Curt Baran) Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets kicked off a lengthy touring jaunt of opening dates for Elvis Costello by warming up with a […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day One • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day One Grant Park Chicago, IL Thursday, July 28th Recap and photos by Curt Baran The big dog was most decidedly not curbed this past weekend in Grant Park. Lollapalooza returned to its summer home in Chicago’s front yard, and it boasted a thick lineup of up-and-comers, as well as repeat offenders Metallica as […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Two • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Two Grant Park Chicago, IL July 29, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Day 2 of Lollapalooza offered just as many choices for music as its predecessor. Headliner Machine Gun Kelly kept things minimalist (Dua Lipa declined our photo request), bringing only ONE giant helicopter on stage with him. Most everyone else […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Three • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Three Grant Park Chicago, IL July 30, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran It seemed like Saturday at Lollapalooza was custom-made for lovers of loud guitars. It was also arguably one of the rare moments when the bands on the undercard seemed to outplay the headliner, J. Cole. The impossibly great back-to-back […]
Photo Gallery: Lollapalooza 2022 • Day Four • Chicago
Lollapalooza Day Four Grant Park Chicago, IL July 31st, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Lollapalooza 2022 wrapped up by making history. J-Hope, part of the BTS collective, became the first South Korean performer to ever headline a major U.S. festival. On the opposite end of Grant Park, Green Day was repeating another appearance […]
Stage Buzz: Anvil • Reggies • Chicago
Canada’s heavy metal trio, Anvil, returns to Reggies on their Impact Is Imminent tour with White Wizzard and Midnite Hellion on Sunday, July 31. Featuring guitarist/vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner and bassist Chris Robertson, Anvil has been pumping out the same trademark tunes for over 40 years now. Formed in 1978, the band released a […]
Stage Buzz: Chicago Domination Fest • Brauerhouse • Lombard
After six successful years of Chicago Domination Fest (CDF), the 7th edition is back after a two-year hiatus (due to the global pandemic) from July 28 to 30 at Brauerhouse in Lombard. With three days of intense, non-stop brutal death metal with 32 bands confirmed, CDF7 promises to be even more crushing than previous fests. […]
Live Review: Adrian Belew at City Winery • Chicago
Adrian Belew Tuesday, July 19, 2022 City Winery, Chicago, IL by Steven Kikoen Gallery photos (at Arcada Theatre) by Jeff Berger To experience Adrian Belew is to watch perpetual motion. His importance in the music world cannot be overstated. Belew creates music without borders – music that, in all of its sophistication, all of […]
Stage Buzz – Lollapalooza 2022 Preview: Undercard Picks
The Wombats: Thursday, July 28 (3:15 PM Coinbase Stage) It’s a cliché by now. A huge, critically acclaimed U.K. band comes to the US with only marginal success; add the Wombats to the list. They appear on Day One (Thursday) at Lolla, bringing smart indie rock and five albums of great music to the […]
Lollapalooza Preview: Hello My Name is “Murph” from The Wombats
The overnight popularity of Liverpool power trio The Wombats back in 2007, via its post-ironic breakthrough hit “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” was a welcome post-Britpop surprise. Bandleader Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy and crew proved to be clever, shrewd-hooked songwriters who pinballed through multiple music genres, from pop to punk, folk, R&B, and even vintage disco, […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Fest 2022 – Day One • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day One Union Park Chicago, IL July 15, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran If the return of the Pitchfork Music Festival has proven anything, it’s that Pitchfork, the music website, has consistently been excellent at curating and recognizing emerging talent. Bands that have previously played more miniature stages early in […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Festival – Day Two • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day Two Union Park Chicago, IL July 16th, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Day Two of the Pitchfork Music Festival saw the rain finally push on, which definitely brought heavier crowds to Chicago’s Union Park. Mitski, Lucy Dacus, and Japanese Breakfast all graduated to larger stages this year. Arguably, the […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Fest 2022 – Day Three • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day Three Union Park Chicago, IL July 17th, 2022 Recap and Photos by Curt Baran Day Three at Pitchfork Music Festival was the most chill day of the weekend, which is the polite way of saying the day with the fewest guitars. Sure, The Roots brought their giant, brassy, boss sounds to […]
Photo Gallery: Rage Against The Machine – United Center • Chicago
Rage Against The Machine United Center Chicago, IL July 12, 2022 Rcap and photos by Curt Baran They warned us. It’s all there on the tape. And then they were gone. Rage Against The Machine seems to be both prophetic and simultaneously obvious. Their politics have always been the stuff of ultra-leftist viewpoints, but they’ve […]
Stage Buzz : Tiësto, 5 Seconds of Summer, Norah Jones, Mames Babegenush
Sleeping with Sirens brings their CTRL+ALT+DEL TOUR to the House of Blues with special guests Don Broco, Point North, and Garzi this Thursday, July 14th. Doors open at 6 PM. Get tickets here. It’s ’90s music day with Train along with Jewel, Blues Traveler, and Thunderstorm will perform at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in […]
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