Recent Articles
Arctic Monkeys preview
Arctic Monkeys Riviera, Chicago Tuesday, May 8, 2007 England’s year-old next-big-things survive the sophomore jinx on Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino) but almost get stuck in gear.
Au Revoir Simone preview
Au Revoir Simone Empty Bottle, Chicago Tuesday, May 8, 2007 “Depressing things are empty beds and lonely dinners and women who are middle-aged with naked fingers” sing the interchangeable voices of Au Revoir Simone on “Fallen Snow,” a track from the trio’s first full-length release, The Bird Of Music (Our Secret Record Company).
James Apollo reviewed
James Apollo Hide Your Heart In A Hive (No Alternative) Hide Your Heart In A Hive sounds recorded not “on the road,” as the liners state, but in a single sitting, almost as if James Apollo never got up from behind his piano. And if he did it probably wasn’t for more than to dig […]
The Dreadful Yawns reviewed
The Dreadful Yawns Rest (Exit Stencil) It’s (pick one: stupid, lazy, comically shortsighted) to attach a young band to a 40-year-old song, but The Dreadful Yawns are everything right about The Byrds’ “Ballad Of Easy Rider.”
The Greencards reviewed
The Greencards Viridian (Dualtone) Tip-toeing around a traditional genre, The Greencards keep subtlely updating bluegrass with Viridian, their third album. Appearing: May 5th at Schubas in Chicago.
Cover Story: The Police
The Police Red Light, Green Light It is just after 10:30 a.m. on Monday, February 12th, and a group of about 150 international entertainment journalists, music-industry insiders, and rock star celebs are ushered into Los Angeles’ famed Whiskey A-Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard. Joining them is a small but fiery group of hardcore fans who won […]
Bebel Gilberto interview
Bebel Gilberto The Parent Trap Bebel Gilberto speaks with the same soft, sensual cadences she uses when she sings — that graceful blend of sun, urbanity, and rhythm that turns the familiar into something exotic and the exotic into something intimate. Given Gilberto’s singing style, this is probably to be expected (or, if you’re male, […]
JJ Grey & Mofro interview
JJ Grey & Mofro Ain’t No Place Like Home When speaking with JJ Grey, you’re not likely to hear this proud Floridian call himself an activist. But since dropping the Blackwater album in 2001 with his band Mofro, this singer-songwriter has stood up for the oft-forgotten residents who dwell in the swampy outskirts of his […]
Megadeth interview
Megadeth Angry Again No Metallica. No Ellefson. No religion. These were the ground rules laid down for the Illinois Entertainer prior to our interview with Megadeth founder/frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Appearing: May 5th at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
Nachtmystium interview
Nachtmystium Cosmic American Black Metal In determined, jagged strikes, the young girl slashed her own skin with a razor blade she had smuggled into the all-ages show. As blood and consciousness escaped her, she collapsed onto a floor of broken glass. Her salvation came not from the band she showed up to worship, but from […]
Shadows Fall interview
Shadows Fall Full Speed Ahead “Loud. Loud and sloppy, but it’s all good” This is Shadows Fall bassist Paul Romanko’s account of the group’s just-completed sound check at Myth Nightclub in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 23rd, the first day of the Stone Sour-headlined Jägermeister Music Tour. Shadows Fall, along with Lacuna Coil, serve as […]
Hello, My Name Is Kevin
Hello, My Name Is Kevin This month’s conversationalist is erstwhile IE cover vet Kevin Cronin, who has REO Speedwagon back on the road.
File: May 2007
FREEDOM FRIES “Burger King, look the fuck out!” Such a statement hardly seems like the kind of impassioned declaration you would expect in the midst of rock ‘n’ roll history being made. But then you realize this is no ordinary rock ‘n’ roll history – this is Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman, at the Chicago stop […]
DVD Zone: May 2007
Smokin’ Aces Universal Picture if you will Ocean’s Eleven with a mob hit at the center of the plot instead of a casino heist. Now amp up the gunfire and mayhem, and you get Smokin’ Aces.
Indie Label Month: Inside Delmark
A Day In The Life Of Delmark Records The name Delmark Records isn’t just synonymous with Chicago jazz and blues, but has steadily become an American institution as the second oldest independent record label in music history. Since 1953, the company’s wide ranging roster has included such royalty as Junior Wells, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, […]
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