Recent Articles
Lo Fine reviewed
Lo Fine Not For Us Two (House In The Hills) Kevin O’Rourke, aka Lo Fine, sounds uncannily like Matthew Sweet, which does more for Not For Us Two than it should.
Shelby Lynne live!
Shelby Lynne Park West, Chicago Saturday, March 29, 2008 Since winning the Best New Artist Grammy in 2000 for I Am Shelby Lynne (her sixth album, natch — still mind boggling), Shelby Lynne seems to be wandering through the musical landscape in search of an identity. After the Memphis-soul vibe of I Am, she took […]
Ray Davies live!
Ray Davies Chicago Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, April 1, 2008 No one can ever credit Ray Davies as being a prolific solo songwriter: at age 63, he just turned in his second proper full-length offering, Working Man’s Café (New West). But for fans of his time in The Kinks, a fairly thin individual catalog meant spending […]
Kathleen Edwards preview
Kathleen Edwards Metro, Chicago Saturday, April 5, 2008 “But you have to see them live” should be a given. We hear it all the time, especially from publicists who can’t get anyone to see their bands based on the albums they’ve released. But with Kathleen Edwards it’s pure fact. In order to see how good […]
Ben Jelen preview
Ben Jelen Martyrs, Chicago Sunday, April 6, 2008 Scottish-born singer-songwriter Ben Jelen can’t decide whether he wants to be a musician or save the world. He’s determined to try his hand at both, but listening to his sophomore effort, Ex-Sensitive (Custard), one wonders if he’s stretching himself too thin.
Cherryholmes preview
Cherryholmes Raue Center, Crystal Lake Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Next time you go to a concert and complain about the opening acts, spend too much on drinks, drink too much, and forget most the evening’s highlights by the time the headache wears off the next morning, think of the Cherryholmes family. They went to a […]
Dreams Destroyed
Fire burns music venue/eatery in Lockport hotel Dreams Sports Bar & Eatery, which was located in the same building as the historic Towpath Inn (935 S. State, Lockport), burnt to the ground in a fire early Tuesday, April 1st. A man, believed to be a resident of the hotel, died in the blaze.
Dismember reviewed
Dismember untitled (Regain) They don’t get as much credit as Entombed — rightfully so — for shaping Swedish death metal, and in turn “death ‘n’ roll,” but Dismember were side-by-side in the trenches during the early days. It’s only fitting the band make a full return to the early days on their new album.
Outlaws Rise Again?
Various Artists Outlaw Country (Legacy) Amazingly, “outlaw country” has failed to be legitimately co-opted. Rap has proven you can buy your way in and out of being gangsta, but country fans have always separated white-trash chic from legit white trash. Crossing the fence can rack you: No one considers Hank Williams Jr. to be anymore […]
Avantasia reviewed
Avantasia The Scarecrow (Nuclear Blast) Give it to Tobias Sammet – Edguy frontman and Avantasia mastermind – for being ballsy: On a record of mostly four-to-six minute songs, he puts the only epic, the 11-minute title track, second in the sequence.
Be Your Own Pet reviewed
Be Your Own Pet Get Awkward (Ecstatic Peace/Universal) How do you defend against a band who pop off “I don’t wanna grow up” in their second album’s second verse — especially when they aren’t Toys R Us kids? Appearing: Thursday, June 12th at House Of Blues in Chicago.
Cover Story: The 20 All-Time Greatest Chicago Guitarists
Perpetually under siege by synthesizers, jealous bandmates, “Guitar Hero,” and its own practitioners, it’s almost as if the guitar can’t exist without more tension than what’s going on between the neck and the bridge. So at IE we figured why not spray some gasoline on the fire and, for our annual Guitar Month, debate who […]
Joe Satriani interview
Joe Satriani Surfing With The Web Surfers Valentine’s Day was four days ago, but guitar instrumentalist Joe Satriani is just now writing his dearest a love note. He begins reciting it by phone from his small, professional recording studio on the ground floor of his San Francisco home. “Record Store Day,” he reads aloud, “April […]
The Black Keys interview
The Black Keys Brian’s Song Spikes in Black Keys activity are nearly imperceptible, akin to testing for jumps in a hummingbird’s fluttering heart rate. They are there, however. Appearing: Saturday April 12th at Riviera Theatre in Chicago.
Black Tide interview
Black Tide Age Old Question Alex Nunez definitely remembers his first impression of Zakk Sandler. “He was a dick to everybody,” Nunez recalls. Appearing: Sunday August 10th at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park.
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