Recent Articles
John Doe preview
John Doe Abbey Pub, Chicago Sunday, July 15, 2007 John Doe has established enough of a solo career that it feels uncomfortable and lazy to keep mentioning his old band, Los Angelino punk juggernaut X.
Weedeater preview
Weedeater Empty Bottle, Chicago Monday, July 16, 2007 Some bands eschew “stoner rock.” Fu Manchu, often thought of as one of the sub-genre’s grizzled vets, aren’t fond of the term, for example. Weedeater aren’t either. To hear them explain it, they aren’t stoner rock – how degrading? The North Carolinians much prefer “weed metal.”
Mirah reviewed
Mirah Share This Place: Stories And Observations (K) Mirah Zeitlyn remains traditional on her fifth album, in that she’s still with Calvin Johnson’s K Records and lists close-friend Phil Elverum in the liners. Yet her choice to go deep underground could startle even her closest Olympia-scene compatriots. Appearing: July 17th at Logan Square Auditorium in […]
The Aliens reviewed
The Aliens Astronomy For Dogs (Astralwerks) Despite the wonder contained on their first album (technically a compilation of EPs), The Beta Band can be viewed as a failure. By intentionally throwing fans off their scent, they were never able to refocus in time for people to really start caring again. Which makes Astralwerks’ decision to […]
Gogol Bordello reviewed
Gogol Bordello Super Taranta! (Side One Dummy) Gogol Bordello are to East-European folk what The Tossers are to Irish music, only now they’re caught in a time warp. Appearing: July 15th at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
Apostle Of Hustle live
Apostle Of Hustle Schubas, Chicago Wednesday, June 27, 2007 The clattering sonic wake of Broken Social Scene has never been useful when trying to account for its parts. It’s hard enough to track the contributions of Leslie Feist or Stars or Metric — forget lesser-known quantities like Andrew Whiteman, aka Apostle Of Hustle.
women in docs preview
women in docs National Women’s Festival, Bloomington Thursday, July 5, 2007 Friday, July 6, 2007 The duo known as women in docs sound exactly the way you might imagine given their moniker and the photo sent alongside the album in the press kit. Yes, we’ve all been told not to judge a book by its […]
Sage Francis preview
Sage Francis Abbey Pub, Chicago Friday, July 6th, 2007 Saturday, July 7th, 2007 Make no mistake, Sage Francis, who won 1999’s Superbowl Battle and 2000’s Scribble Jam, considers himself retired from competitive battle rapping. “Won the biggest battle in a Metallica shirt before the album dropped/a week later smashed the trophy at a show/it was […]
Ozma preview
Ozma Beat Kitchen, Chicago Saturday, July 7, 2007 Sound-wise, the parallels between Weezer and Ozma should be enough. If one of them have a “z” in their name, so do the other. Rivers Cuomo even speaks of Ozma in an iTunes store blurb as “beating me at my own game.” In 2007, Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” […]
Rasputina preview
Rasputina, Jana Hunter Abbey Pub, Chicago Sunday, July 8th, 2007 Despite plenty of big-name fans and more than a few brushes with stardom, Melora Creager and her band, Rasputina, remain just under the radar, one of those bands said to have a “cult following.”
Hello, My Name Is Paul
Hello, My Name Is Paul Q&A With Paul Stanley IE: You went to high school intending to be an artist, right? Paul Stanley: Yeah, the one that movie Fame was based on. There was two parts to the school. One was performing arts and the other was music and art. So I went there for […]
Cover story: Crossroads Guitar Festival
Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Fest The Last Stand? In the 20th century, only the automobile rivaled the guitar as an American icon of personal freedom, expression, and rebellion. The explosion is more owed to the electric models, though acoustic guitars traveled the pre-war countryside and established blues and country music traditions. Appearing: July 28th at […]
Fionn Regan interview
Fionn Regan Choose, Chose, Chosen Irishman Fionn Regan’s wry sense of humor often gets buried beneath his mystically serious songs and deadpan demeanor. But one look at the music video for “Be Good Or Be Gone,” the first single off his debut album, The End Of History (Lost Highway), shows a 26-year-old with his tongue […]
1997 interview
1997 A Year By Any Other Name “We used to tell people a lot of different things, that, y’know, it’s the year Titanic came out, so we named it after that, just stupid stuff like that. [Or the] year that we all lost our virginity — but, we were 10 and 11, so, it really […]
Jason Isbell interview
Jason Isbell Not Far From The Tree Let’s get the answer to “The Question” out of the way first. Why did Jason Isbell, one of Drive-By Truckers’ three frontmen and the man responsible for songs such as “Outfit” and “Danko/Manuel,” leave the band? “I hate to say ‘creative differences’ because everyone always says that,” Isbell […]
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