Recent Articles
Around Hear: June 2009
Beaujolais‘ Love At Thirty (Parasol) revolves around divorce, with melancholy tracks like “Nightmare In A Healthy Brain” and “Please Don’t Let This Be True” over-sharing Joe Ziemba’s (The Like Young, Wolfie) dark emotions.
Sweet Home: June 2009
TURNING 20 On June 9th, 1989, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells performed a memorable set of acoustic blues at the Front Porch stage during the Chicago Blues Festival. This writer was there, MCing that particular stage. Once the show was over, I was directed to announce to the lingering crowd that they should make it […]
Gear: June 2009
B.C Rich Kerry King V Generation 2 B.C. Rich and Slayer guitarist Kerry King have teamed up to assemble two new guitar models for collectors and first-time players. Bill Xavier, vice president of B.C. Rich, was a proud papa when speaking about this new collaboration with King. “Kerry has an innate understanding of his fans […]
The Dead live!
Allstate Arena, Rosemont Monday, May 4th, 2009 By the time the latest version of the Grateful Dead took the stage at 7:45 Monday night, the circus surrounding this event was already many-hours old.
Leonard Cohen live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, May 5, 2009 With 15 years since he last performed on American soil, it’s no wonder why Leonard Cohen’s pair of Chicago Theatre shows are amongst the most anticipated of the year thus far. Though fans were given a sneak peak of the set list via the CD/DVD collections Live In […]
Flight Of The Conchords live!
Arie Crown, Chicago Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Reality and television converged at the first of a two-night, sold-out stand that brought HBO darlings Flight Of The Conchords to the Arie Crown Theater. Flanked by two screens better suited for the lawn at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement deadpanned their way […]
Cover Story: The Dead
The Afterlife Afterparty Bill Kreutzmann is in Washington D.C. and, from where he’s sitting, a bad place. He’s not getting weird vibes or whatever lame, hippie mysticism people derisively ascribe to his band and their followers – he can’t get an Internet signal. “I’m trying to get my computers up,” he says, pausing to plead […]
Rock ‘N’ Roll At The Goodman
The Goodman Stages A Rock Revolution During the late 1960s, rock’s leading singers and songwriters, and their growing legion of long-haired flower children and liberal followers, were bragging about the a-changin’ times, chanting to give peace a chance, and all wanting a revolution to change the world. Runs: May 2nd through June 7th at The […]
White Rabbits interview
To Move Or Not To Move Drink me, eat me. Eat me, drink me. Drink eat drink eat drink eat. If only the music industry were so cut and dried that artists could simply nosh to determine whether they’d go large or small. It would certainly save a lot of heartache. Appearing: May 31st at […]
File: May 2009
I’ve Got The Power Right-wing bloggers are incensed. Leftist French laborers are kidnapping company executives. Stu, we need cleanup in aisle five! Can anybody hear me?! What in any god’s name is someone doing opening a nightclub in this climate?
The Greencards preview
Abbey Pub, Chicago Thursday, May 7, 2009 The Greencards is a gender-mixed multinational acoustic power trio consisting of singer/bassist Carol Young, violinist/violist Eamon McLoughlin, and multi-instrumentalist Kym Warner. It has taken a shared obsession with bluegrass and American roots music, wrapped it up in a core of fiddle, cello, mandolin, bouzouki, and bass, and created […]
Manchester Orchestra preview
Subterranean, Chicago Friday, May 8, 2009 Just babies when their first album arrived, Manchester Orchestra’s Mean Everything To Nothing presents the band a chance to show us just exactly who they are.
Caught In A Mosh: May 2009
Ooze & Angst Alan A. Nemtheanga‘s Irish eyes aren’t smiling. “Hope I didn’t sound too grumpy,” the Primordial frontman signed off after answering my list of e-mail questions. Truth is, Nemtheanga, who has fronted the Irish band since it truly became Primordial in the early ’90s, simply sounds honest. Grumpy or not, that’s refreshing. Appearing: […]
Media: May 2009
Media Old-Time Radio Guru Chuck Schaden Retires Many people — including former Sun-Times media critic Robert Feder — credit Chuck Schaden with single-handedly keeping old-time radio alive for generations. But Schaden is stepping down in May, after 39 years of doing his Saturday afternoon radio show, “Those Were The Days” (1 to 5 p.m. on […]
Sweet Home: May 2009
Sweet Home Steppin’ Out If you have been out on the town over the past year or so, hanging out at premier blues and jazz clubs such as Andy’s, Buddy Guy’s Legends, or House Of Blues, you may have happened upon up-and-coming guitarist/ vocalist and songwriter Guy King. King is a young guitar master with […]
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