Recent Articles
Dave Matthews Band reviewed
Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King (RCA) Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King will go down as the album Dave Matthews Band were making when saxophonist LeRoi Moore died, not that you’d know from the recording. Appearing: July 18th and 19th at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI.
Brand New live!
Subterranean, Chicago Tuesday, July 7, 2009 In the first half of the decade, a new class of sensitive artists emerged and were quickly embraced by wristband-clad teenagers everywhere, epitomized by vulnerable acts like Chris Carrabba’s precious, whisper-laden Dashboard Confessional. Yet among all the new sensitivity and tales of boys with broken hearts, Levittown, New York’s […]
Photo Gallery Update
By the way, our photo gallery is up to date through Pitchfork, so if you want to take a peek, visit ww.illinoisentertainerphoto.com for all the pics you’ll ever need. Ever.
Balthrop Alabama preview
Reggie’s Music Joint, Chicago Thursday, July 9, 2009 When this ragtag batch of Alabaman New Yorkers opened for Dawn Landes at Hideout last year, it was hard not to daydream a sequel to Waiting For Guffman, where Corky grows disillusioned and moves to Brooklyn.
Cryptacize previewed
Hideout, Chicago Friday, July 10, 2009 It’s ludicrous to guess the intentions behind anyone’s art, but with Mythomania it feels like Cryptacize actually see a future in what they’re doing.
Micachu & The Shapes preview
Schubas, Chicago Monday, July 13, 2009 Though the “chu” attached to Mica Levi’s first name refers to her hybrid guitar, it’s also an appropriate description of her music. It’s as if, short on ink for a Rorschach test, she sneezed on staff paper instead.
Ryan Bingham reviewed
Roadhouse Sun (Lost Highway) Of the criticisms levelled against Ryan Bingham’s major-label debut, Mescalito, was its obsession with establishing the author in a fabric of hobos, grifters, and drifters, an attempt to build cred through self-mythology. Appearing: Saturday, July 11 at Martyrs in Chicago.
Cover Story: Cheap Trick
Call And Response You wouldn’t be out of line accusing Cheap Trick of coasting. Their last album was named for their hometown of Rockford and featured cartoon images of themselves on the cover; this summer’s release bears the oh-so-cunning title The Latest. A year ago they toured as an opener for Journey and Heart, and […]
Todd Snider interview
All-Star Snub Lost amid the hoopla surrounding pitcher Zack Greinke’s hot start, this year’s Kansas City Royals are surging thanks to sweet-swingin’ singer/songwriter Todd Snider. “I was with the Cubs last year the whole way,” he admits, “watched most of the games. But I’m with the Royals now because I met some of ’em. They […]
Placebo interview
A Change Of Skin Even with the boundary-less World Wide Web, most of us music lovers go about our listening business unaware there are beloved hit-makers across the oceans who are blips on the radar or completely unknown to us. There are any number of possible reasons for this, really, but with the release of […]
Landy interview
Tip Of The Goldberg Forgive Adam Goldberg. He doesn’t mean to interrupt. But if he could just . . . yeah, ‘scuse me . . . there. Pardon me. Already disguising his sprawling, Mercury Rev-ish psychedelia as Landy (his “band” name), he’s trying to make his debut album as unobtrusive as possible: released on Apology […]
Sonic Youth live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago Saturday, June 27, 2009 Sonic Youth have always seemed like a band who shouldn’t exist. Or, more specifically, should no longer exist. In their embryonic stages, the New York-based quartet (stretched into a five-piece for this tour by adding ex-Pavement bassist Mark Ibold) could barely play their instruments. So they improvised […]
The Horse’s Ha preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, July 3, 2009 Chicagoans Janet Bean (Eleventh Dream Day) and Jim Elkington (The Zincs) have made their Horse’s Ha side-project official. Sommeliers across the county can relax, as they’ve moved on to more salt-of-the-earth venues like Schubas.
Cage preview
Reggie’s, Chicago Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Cage has never really been the typical MC, but within the past four years, the New Yorker has moved further into his own alternative sonic existence.
File: July 2009
God Bless The Queen The blues world has lost its Queen. Koko Taylor, whose raw-edged, impassioned vocals won the hearts of fans worldwide for five decades, passed away at 80 on June 3rd of complications from gastrointestinal surgery.
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