Recent Articles
Ready Art Brut?
The negative reaction to Art Brut‘s new album — that there is a new album — is, to paraphrase Kanye West, a pretty strange way to start a conversation.
The weekender
Can’t stand dodging strollers and lollygaggers at streetfests? Head indoors this fine June weekend with Jeremy Messersmith and Gardens & Villa. It’s gonna rain anyway.
New pics online!
Visit our photo page for new shots of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at House Of Blues and Panic At The Disco at the Riviera!
Drinking In L.A.
Without being so daft as to suggest it has fallen off the map, Los Angeles doesn’t seem so central to rock ‘n’ roll these days. So to hear that superbuzz band Foster The People hail from sunny SoCal, it’s kind of like, Oh, really?
Temperance movement
The title of Panic At The Disco‘s new album, Vices & Virtues (Fueled By Ramen/Decaydence), puts you in a section of the ballpark where most casual fans sit.
Holy and unholy
Alela Diane‘s gift for conveying traditional folk songs has led some people to believe she’s some divine vessel, a cipher drawing together influences from British and American sources. David Bazan made his name because of his literal holiness.
Janelle Monae and Bruno Mars live!
Halfway into the 24-city Hooligans In Wondaland tour, everywhere-on-the-charts Bruno Mars and leftfield multitalent Janelle Monáe hit Chicago, performing before a crowd as varied as the sounds on stage.
Combo platter
Monomynous indie-pop stars don’t grow on trees. (There’s a joke, What do you call people who only go by one name? Famous.) If two were to conjoin, you’d think artistic curiosity would necessitate they came from different fields. Thao And Mirah look to do the defining on their own.
Cover Story: Dispatch
Stop Making Sense Even serious music fans pass through life without ever hearing certain pivotal artists. Usually it’s a lack of awareness; often it’s willful, but always unfortunate. Appearing: Tuesday, June 7th at Pritzker Pavilion (50 S. Michigan Ave.) and Wednesday the 8th at UIC Pavilion (1130 W. Halsted) in Chicago.
Interview: Sam Roberts Band
Here Comes A Regular Sam Roberts always wanted to be Norm Peterson. Not in the portly beer-chugging, barfly kind of way that George Wendt so eloquently portrayed on “Cheers,” but the Canadian singer/songwriter long fancied walking into an establishment to the sounds of a familiar greeting and being seated to find a plate of “the […]
Interview: Interpol
Welcome To The Enormodome Scoring an opening-act slot on the highest-grossing tour of all time might seem like the perfect opportunity for mainstream domination, but in the case of Interpol riding shotgun on U2’s 360 juggernaut, it’s just another natural step in the group’s ascendance from indie obscurity.
Interview: Matt & Kim
The Crush Of Love Constantly in the company of his girlfriend/bandmate, one might think Matt Johnson would relish the chance to tell his story: She abuses me. I can’t take it anymore. Appearing: Saturday, June 25th and Sunday the 26th at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Around Hear: June 2011
Local Band Reviews What separates the men from the boys among old school Chicago guitar heroes is a dash of humility. Of course T.D. Clark has the chops on his new CD, Shreddtime Stories, but his web site won’t be the one
Caught In A Mosh: June 2011
The Coroner’s Report For various reasons (some sensible, some stupid), metalheads are skeptical of reunions. Especially wary are death-metal fanatics, who just can’t seem to decide whether they love or hate the current comeback trend. It was lame-as-fuck, apparently, when Carcass (disbanded in 1995) toured in 2008 but awesome that Exhumed (hiatus since 2005) is […]
Digital Divide: June 2011
Take A Number And Get In Line I Am Number Four Touchstone No one ever said high school was easy. In fact, there are many who subscribe to the theory that “the greatest days of your life” are nothing but a constant series of kicks to the teeth. However, no matter how bad things get, […]
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