Recent Articles
High Places reviewed
High Places High Places (Thrill Jockey) If you thought esteemed local label Thrill Jockey has been paying too much attention to outre performers in he last three years, consider High Places the sort of band you could take home to an indie rock mom.
Fucked Up reviewed
Fucked Up The Chemistry Of Common Life (Matador) Fucked Up’s only album for Jade Tree, 2006’s Hidden World, wasn’t all that fucked up compared to the band’s trajectory on a score of singles and EPs. The Chemistry Of Common Life (Matador, 2008) doesn’t match the bar set by their name, either, and gives varying signals […]
Tina Turner live!
Tina Turner United Center, Chicago Friday, October 3, 2008 Tina Turner must have forgotten she vowed 2000’s tour would be her very last (though it’s certainly not the first time a diva’s done one or the other). Apparently the decision was motivated by her show-stopping duet with Beyoncé at the 2008 Grammy Awards, but without […]
Beck live!
Beck Aragon, Chicago Friday, October 3, 2008 Beck and his four-piece band tore through 25 songs in less than 90 minutes Friday night at the Aragon Ballroom with nary a wave or hello. Stripping away the gimmicks of yore – goodbye marionettes – Beck played it straight . . . really straight. Skewed dance moves […]
Bayside preview
Bayside Metro, Chicago Thursday, October 9, 2008 Having weathered the death of drummer John Holohan on last year’s The Walking Wounded, Queens-based Bayside made a conscious decision to start over with drummer Chris Guglielmo for the new Shudder.
Two Cow Garage preview
Two Cow Garage Bottom Lounge, Chicago Saturday, October 11, 2008 Speaking In Cursive (Suburban Home), Two Cow Garage’s fourth album, is a surprise. It isn’t a change in direction, a leap forward in melody and ferocity, or a candidate for the Nobel in literature. No, it just seemed a smart bet the band would have […]
Sleeping In The Aviary preview
Sleeping In The Aviary Ronny’s, Chicago Saturday, October 11, 2008 Sleeping In The Aviary wears its heart on its sleeve, combining wry, yet heartfelt lyrics with an acoustic punk aesthetic. The Madison quartet has much to lament on its sophomore effort, Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel (Science Of Sound). Recording on the heels of […]
Amon Amarth preview
Amon Amarth House Of Blues, Chicago Monday, October 13, 2008 Sweden’s Amon Amarth picked the perfect time to release Twilight Of The Thunder God (Metal Blade) because somehow, someway, “viking metal” has become hot shit.
Killing Joke preview
Killing Joke House Of Blues, Chicago Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Consider yourselves lucky, Chicagoans. Not only is Killing Joke coming to town for one of only four United States dates, it’s bringing the original lineup.
Kids do Aerosmith!
Punk No Kids This weekend, some veteran punk rockers will wrap their children in swaddling clothes and carry them off to Riot Fest. Others, still deeply distrustful of all that blue hair and aggression, will have their kids up onstage in a grand tribute to Aerosmith.
The Little Ones review
The Little Ones Morning Tide (Chop Shop/Atlantic) On a 2006 EP, Los Angeles-based quintet The Little Ones reminisced “Way back when, we were the latest around.” Through protracted label twists and turns their sell-by date drew ever near, and finally here’s the happiest of happy debuts. Appearing: Tuesday, October 21st at Schubas in Chicago.
Cover Story: My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket: Urge Overkill? When My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James spoke to Illinois Entertainer in 2002, his point was drowned out by an enigmatic admission. Expressing the relationship between his band – having just released the wide-eyed, country psychedelia of At Dawn (Darla) – and their native Louisville, he casually offered “I think […]
Hannibal Buress preview
Hannibal Buress Morseland, Chicago Thursday, October 2, 2008 The connection between comedy and hip-hop has grown beyond Def Comedy Jam in recent years. Like the best observational MCs, Comedy Central’s own Hannibal Buress can create thought-provoking conversations out of everyday occurrences. The difference with the Chicagoan is he can consistently make you laugh.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds live!
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Riviera, Chicago Monday, September 29, 2008 The script goes: we see a veteran act and report back how whoever it is may have lost a step but is much more seasoned. Monday night, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds slipped out of our hold and jammed a finger in […]
Hot Chip, Growing live!
Hot Chip, Growing Metro, Chicago Sunday, September 28, 2008 Who knew five pasty British guys armed with synthesizers could put on the year’s best rock show? On Sunday night, the first of a two-night Metro stand, Hot Chip egged on a libido-soaked crowd until the band’s angular, repetitive “Bendable Poseable” served to characterize the frenzied […]
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