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Media: November 2009
Last Chance To Gigglesnort Bill Jackson, creator of the late, great children’s programs “Cartoon Town,” “The Gigglesnort Hotel,” and “The BJ & Dirty Dragon Show,” will draw, tell tales, and recreate his most memorable characters at a December 5th benefit for the Museum Of Broadcast Communications called “Saturday Morning With B.J. And Dirty Dragon: Live […]
Caught In A Mosh: November 2009
The Witch Is Back The first time “Mosh” heard from — or of — Skeletonwitch was summer 2007. This column was exactly one-month old when Witch guitarist Scott Hedrick e-mailed pimping his band’s July show at Empty Bottle, inquiring about coverage for its Prosthetic debut, Beyond The Permafrost, and wondering if ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER needed freelance […]
Hello, My Name Is David
Q&A with the Pixies’ David Lovering IE: How do you feel about doing an old album in its entirety? Some bands are weirded out by it. David Lovering: It’s kind of cool because Doolittle, for me the drummer, it’s the easiest record we did. So I was happy [we chose it]. We’re all loving doing […]
Hello, My Name Is Bernard
Q&A with Bernard Sumner IE: Do you look at Bad Lieutenant as a continuation of your legacy or an entirely new act altogether? Bernard Sumner: I look at it as a new band, though there are some faces people already know. [Drummer] Steven [Morris] was in New Order [and Joy Division], [guitarist/keyboardist] Phil [Cunningham] played […]
File: November 2009
ONE FOR THE BOOKS “My Bucket Song” by Psalm One from Psalm One on Vimeo. As we mentioned last month, the Chicago Public Library capped a “we’re not just books” promotion with a music contest, challenging Chicagoans to write songs about the city.
Dead Man’s Bones live!
Schubas, Chicago Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Chalk it up to the season, proximity to an Academy Award-nominated heartthrob, or a gaggle of irrepressible, singing children dressed up in facepaint as ghouls, but Dead Man’s Bones (already carefully treading the line between shtick and valid art form) passes the test . . . at least during […]
David Foster & Friends live!
Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont Wednesday, October 21, 2009 He’s arguably the most successful pop-music producer in history and has worked with every major player since the ’70s. Between Whitney Houston, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Cher, and Josh Groban, his work has helped sell so many millions of albums it should fall to NASA […]
Monsters Of Folk preview
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Supergroups have less allure than they used to, because today everyone plays on everyone’s records. In the ’60s and ’70s, many Draconian industry contracts codified label monogamy (at least if you wanted credit); now, comparatively, indie rock and hip-hop are like Playboy-mansion orgies. So what if M. Ward, […]
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Thao Nguyen appears to love obstacles — especially the kind you can stack. Already challenged in the heart department, confronting her are the dreaded sophomore-album slump, having to refresh her melancholic-sunshine milieu, and making a concerted stab at being more mature. Good luck.
Simian Mobile Disco preview
Metro, Chicago Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Simian Mobile Disco were already dead once, so it’s probably useless to alert them of their suicide mission.
Two Dethklok/Mastodon reviews!
Mastodon/Dethklok/Converge/High On Fire Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul Friday, October 16, 2009 A curious bill of artists mixing an odd hodgepodge of metal styles, a fictional band brought to life, and a psychedelic astral journey set to prog-metal made for an astounding, exhausting night of music.
The 69 Eyes preview
Reggie’s, Chicago Saturday, October 24, 2009 Rock ‘n’ roll has come a long way since “The Monster Mash,” incorporating all manner of ghosts and ghouls — even spawning a genre called “heavy metal.” But attempts at ferocity grew proportionately with ridiculousness, which has opened the door for levity via Alice Cooper, Gwar, Rob Zombie, and […]
David Bazan preview
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Saturday, October 24, 2009 For years, David Bazan was the bane of Christian rock. Not because of pointed, Christopher Hitchens-styled atheistic attacks or a hyper-commercialized bastardization of their idiom. Bazan, as Pedro The Lion, was the rare God rocker with credibility outside the genre and, to outsiders, the only “good one.”
Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard reviewed
One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur (F-Stop/Atlantic) Son Volt’s Jay Farrar and Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard met after being asked to record songs for the Jack Kerouac documentary that shares titles with this album. They then bonded and wrote some more. Appearing: Monday, October 26th at Lincoln Hall in Chicago.
Tinariwen reviewed
Imidiwan: Companions (World Village) Tinariwen are exactly the sort of guitar band who you feel could break Joe America’s skittishness toward “world” music, yet stand in their own way. The title of their fourth album translates to “companions,” which suggests an unfortunate, one-world Benetton pretense. If people only stayed to find out what’s meant by […]
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