Recent Articles
Sweet Home: February 2012
When exploring the formidable list of Chicago’s blues divas, Deitra Farr‘s name is always front and center. Versatile and energetic, her smooth and controlled voice tackles a range of genres from soul to gospel but it always remains grounded in the blues.
Feb’s debs
Firing some early February shows across your bow before we launch the new issue: the next CHIRP “First Time” recital, Swearwords’ record release, Stolen Silver’s residency, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Voices Of The Future . . . the future is Sunday!
Ronald McDonald House is hosting a youth-choir benefit this weekend, in order to raise funds for a new facility in Streeterville. The charity’s Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana chapter has organized the event at Harris Theater.
Glen Campbell’s farewell!
When an artist stages a farewell tour, it’s generally just a bluff to sell more tickets and they wind up coming through town for an endless parade of victory laps. (Cher and the Eagles come to mind.) But in the case of Glen Campbell, this really is his last hurrah,
CBB . . . Bye, BB!
Would, say, Lollapalooza be more enjoyable if it were scattered over a couple weekends? Obviously, tearing down and rebuilding the stages/leaving Grant Park blocked would be bad. But we like how Chicago Bluegrass & Blues takes a break and restarts.
Curtis Canino memorial
There’s a benefit/memorial show for Curtis “2C” Canino on the 28th at Bottom lounge. Canino was in Lygate and Death By Design, and had worked at Exit and other chicago venues. “This past summer, the Chicago music community was shocked and devastated by the senseless murder of Curtis “2C” Canino, a well-loved and respected musician […]
Camp’d Out
Sometimes a subtle shift is all a band needs to find rejuvenation. Los Campesinos haven’t pulled a Kid A or even an OK Computer, but they’ve pulled enough to get out of a rut. They’re in town, as are Cheyenne Marie Mize and David Nail.
All-Star Yawns
Converse has been canvassing the land for its new music series, “Rubber Meets The Road,” which follows independent bands on tour. The first episode features local fellows Yawn, who trek to Brooklyn for the shoe manufacturer’s Rubber Tracks recording studio. Click on!
Abba Mia!
If it seems like “Mamma Mia!” tours through Chicago almost every year, that’s because it usually does, if only for Abba’s ongoing popularity and its single-stacked soundtrack.
Bluegrass & Blues!
CBGB in New York is a tourist attraction now. Never mind that it became a punk club. Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival might not be a haven for fundamentalists and zealots, but the first night, this Saturday, makes a case for the styles’ futures.
What to do, what to do . . .
Golden Globes: over. Mitt Romney: inevitable. Packers: safely packed away (though surely God won’t give Eli a second title, right?). Lana Del Rey: crashed and burned. Guess it’s Man Is Man, Martin Sexton, or Machine Head.
Classic Spins: John Lennon Collection
The John Lennon canon is now at the tipping point: with the release of the new 38-song Working Class Hero (Capitol) collection, there are now more posthumous album releases by the ex-Beatle than there are actual solo albums he recorded while still alive.
In case you missed it (we did!)
You may have noticed that we skip coverage of some pretty big-time releases each month. Sometimes, that’s because the artists hold on to music until the last second, at which point we’ve already planned the next issue.
Go local this weekend!
Like Slider’s johnson, the list of bands awaiting an “Around Hear” review is long and distinguished. So we’ll do a solid for some pretty fantastic local bills.
Cover Story: What’s That Sound?
As a number of enthusiasts have pointed out, there are currently more pop-music genres than there are artists to occupy them. Whether such a sneering jab is true, the slotting of acts into ready-made categories has always been a vice of critics and fans.
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