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File: October 2007
Riot, Act III The cuddly, spikes-n-leather gathering we lovingly refer to as Riot Fest marks its tertiary performance in November at Congress Theatre. And just when you thought it couldn’t get anymore, um, riotous, here come some classic and righteous additions.
DVD Zone: October 2007
The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition MGM https://illinoisentertainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dvd_graduate.jpg With all of the hoopla surrounding the 40th anniversary of all things 1967, it’s about time someone got around to the best film of the year, The Graduate. Tons of ink has been spilled about the summer of love, and now MGM has released a two-disc Special Edition […]
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Tempering their jittery new wave urgings with a solid pop sensibility tweaked by an ever-so-slight emo turn gives July Fourth‘s five-song Curtain Of Stars a richness that belies the band’s power trio line-up. Solid drumming keeps these guys’ faces from falling into their shoes or getting too sloggy-proggy for their own good, such that the […]
Around Hear Page 3
On Conversations With A Chamelion Pugs Atomz proves he has moved well beyond his days as a punchline-driven rapper. The chipmunk soul beats provided by Colin Response and others may not be innovative, but they surely set the stage for Pugs to paint verbal portraits of life in a complex city (“The Outlaw”) and equally […]
Crack Music
Jason Novak is busy right now. Really busy. It’s 11:30 a.m.-ish on a Thursday morning in September and the Acumen Nation frontman/guitarist/songwriter is tending to his sick daughter, who is home from school with the flu, supervising the painter working on a new addition in his house, trying to finish some Flash web work (Novak […]
An Apple A Day
APPlE. Inc iMac Somewhat lost among the hoopla of the iPhone and the new-generation iPods, Apple Computer “quietly” introduced its newest iMac last month.
Jazz Hands
WNUA-FM (95.5)’s Ramsey Lewis is not the only game in town when it comes to jazz musicians moonlighting as DJs. Sax player Bruce Gibson and bass guitarist Nick Calabrese co-host a show called “Local Jazz Focus” each Tuesday night from 7 to 9 on Triton College’s WRRG-FM (88.9). They’ve had a whole host of musicians […]
Paradise Behind The Console
Michael Kolar recently took one of the biggest leaps in his five years of owning Soundscape Studios: moving from a hidden space within a factory on Fulton Street to a bustling building in the recently revitalized near South Side. Sitting in the deluxe, custom-designed Red Room of his new studio on South Wabash, the engineer […]
Bringing It All Back Home
Eric Bibb comes from a musical place. His father, folk-singer Leon Bibb, made a name for himself in the 1960s New York folk scene, his uncle was John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the legendary Paul Robeson was his godfather. Bibb grew up surrounded by musical icons. Bob Dylan advised him to “keep […]
Hip-Hop Honors Tour live!
The Roots, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane House Of Blues, Chicago Saturday, September 22, 2007 Considering the popularity of crunk, “pop, lock, and drop it,” and everything else that passes for hip-hop these days, a tour highlighting the golden days of beats and real rhymes proves to be sorely necessary. With hip-hop revolutionaries The Roots […]
Common live!
Common Charter One Pavilion, Chicago Thursday, September 20, 2007 If he were born a century ago, Forrest Gump might have uttered “Life is like Common: You never know whatcher gonna get.” On the one hand there’s the Gap commercials and wannabe-Lothario stage antics — a newsboy-cap wearin’ radio hopeful who references Jennifer Aniston and Vince […]
The Chemical Brothers live!
The Chemical Brothers, Ladytron Riviera Theatre, Chicago September 24, 2007 Since 1993, The Chemical Brothers have consistently churned out an evolutionary form of electronica music that could find dual footing in a club or on the radio. Thankfully the dance-derived duo are also known for an equally enthralling stage show, complete with lights, lasers, and […]
Turbonegro, Mondo Generator live!
Turbonegro, Mondo Generator Metro, Chicago Wednesday, September 19, 2007 For the first stop on their U.S. tour, Turbonegro took not one, but two encores. For most rock bands this would be one too many and a bit pretentious for a group playing a 1,100-capacity club. For this Norwegian act, though, it was perfect – maybe […]
Blaqk Audio live!
Blaqk Audio Double Door, Chicago Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Given the over-the-top cartoon goth character Davey Havok perpetually lives in as the frontman for AFI, it’s understandable even he might need an escape. The concept came to life last Tuesday at the Double Door, where Havok and AFI bandmate Jade Puget debuted the Chicago appearance […]
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