Recent Articles
Hello, My Name Is Melissa
Q&A with Melissa Auf Der Maur IE: So after a long absence, you’re back in a big way, with a three-part conceptual piece Out Of Our Minds, an album, comic book, and 28-minute film directed by Tony Stone. But where in the hell have you been for the past six years?
File: March 2010
Cloudy With A Chance Of Emo Though beloved, The Dismemberment Plan’s breakup several years ago was greeted with joy by headline writers who had a field day with “self-fulfilling prophecy” jibes. With Wilmette’s Fall Out Boy on the brink, it’s open season again. (Given bassist Pete Wentz‘s online logorrhea, credit the folks who waded through […]
Around Hear: March 2010
Local Band Reviews Hailing from Chicago, blues trio The Black Oil Brothers‘ sound is 100-percent pure Mississippi. The band’s debut, Long Way From The Delta, actually sounds like it was recorded right in the heart of it, with soul-stirring blues from start to finish.
Media: March 2010
Chicago’s Very Own: CHIRP Radio & ‘JBTV’ photo by Cara Jepsen Two of the nation’s coolest indie-rock outlets originate right here in Chicago. Both “JBTV” and CHIRP radio are staffed by volunteers who are more passionate about music than money. And both have launched 24-hour Internet stations.
Caught In A Mosh: March 2010
Bow To Your Kreator All the talk nowadays is about the big boys. Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, and Exodus are all touring together in some way, shape, or form, and rumors of a Big Four package (Dave Mustaine told Decibel magazine that Megadeth received an offer) continue to swirl. It’s easy, then, to get swept up […]
Sweet Home: March 2010
Gospel Woman Blues Although she didn’t hear secular music until she was a teen, Valencia Bey always knew she wanted to be a blues/rock diva. She grew up in Chicago but her musical chops were formed in the Mississippi Delta, where she’d spend summers with her grandparents. There, she absorbed the intricacies of gospel music […]
Digital Divide: March 2010
The Informant! Warner Bros. The hip thing to do these days is to take all your anger and frustration about the stagnate economy, aim it at big business, and let the bile fly. All the cool kids are doing it, and rightfully so. Insurance companies make record profits only to jack up premiums to ungodly […]
Gear: March 2010
Tascam DP-008 8-Track Recorder Old-timers will remember Tascam invented the home-recording studio with the original cassette Portastudio 4-track recorders back in the 1970s. Their new DP-008 takes the ease-of-use of those classic songwriting cassette recorders and aims to add the same portability and ease of use for new musicians. Unlike the lo-fi qualities of cassette […]
B.J. Thomas reviewed
The Original Scepter Records Years (1966-73) (Collectors’ Choice) B.J. Thomas was a country-flavored pop crooner in the era of the singer/songwriter. Still, Thomas’ ’60s classic hits, including the infectious “Hooked On A Feeling” and his seminal smash, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” made him a star.
Alkaline Trio reviewed
This Addiction (Heart & Skull/Epitaph) For all the grumbling that Alkaline Trio have strayed from the rawer sound present on the act’s initial outings, the three-man punk outfit don’t seem to have any trouble getting bodies out to see them. Appearing: February 27 and 28 at Metro in Chicago.
Dr. Wax Farewell Concert
McCormick Auditorium, Chicago Sunday, February 28, 2010 To many artists and music fans, Dr. Wax was a Chicago institution. While the local record-store chain lost two locations up North in recent years — one in Edgewater and the other in Evanston — the impact wasn’t felt quite like the announcement of the closing of its […]
Rocky Votolato preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, February 26, 2010 Why is this man smiling? No clue. Singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato — if his work is any gauge — has lost just about every love-based battle he’s fought, something that hasn’t changed for True Devotion (Barsuk), out this week.
Carolina Chocolate Drops preview
FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Saturday, February 27, 2010 It’s invoked to be provocative, but with an album as good as Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch) you almost wonder if Carolina Chocolate Drops have done their music a disservice by drawing attention away from it.
Tinariwen preview
Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Saturday, February 27, 2010 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 […]
John Butler Trio live!
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Monday, February 15, 2010 Those concerned by the inherent radio friendliness of “One Way Road” – the first single from the John Butler Trio’s forthcoming album, April Uprising — can breathe easy. Using Monday night’s sold-out show at Lincoln Hall as a gauge, the songs populating the band’s fifth studio release retain […]
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