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Media: May 2018
If youâre a big fan of WFLD-TV News (Fox 32) in Chicago, you might have noticed that their ace investigative reporter Dane Placko hasnât been on the air for about a month. Donât worry. He isnât the victim of budget cuts. He hasnât been demoted. He didnât get hired away by the networks. He just […]
Photo Gallery: Matt and Kim at The Riviera Theatre
Exuberant!! When using the word in association with Matt and Kim, itâs entitled to more than one exclamation point. The Brooklyn duo bounded onto the stage at the start of their recent performance at the Riviera Theatre and their intensity and enthusiasm never ebbed. Curt Baran found a valued free parking spot in Uptown and […]
Photo Gallery: Five Seconds of Summer at House of Blues Chicago
The line to get in the venue snaked down the sidewalk adjacent to House of Blues, and continued south, crossing the Chicago River, then turned east on West Wacker Drive. Punk-poppers 5 Seconds of Summer were in town and playing a venue much more intimate that their rabid fan base has been accustomed to. Once […]
Stage Buzz: Record Store Day 2018
Record Store Day “goes to 11” in 2018 (eleven years and counting)! Though it has had its share of critics over the years – mainly because of overpriced “limited editions” for some titles, and “vinyl touts” flipping the good stuff online soon after the event is over – it’s hard to argue with the […]
Photo Gallery: Margo Price at Thalia Hall
Margo Priceâs past reads like most classic country song, except her version is not fiction. The former Aledo, Illinois native suffered through obscurity, poverty, tragedy and even jail time. She watched her father lose their family farm, left college at the age of 20 to pursue a career in music, that eventually brought her to […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Darkness at Park West
The Darkness Park West, Chicago, IL Wednesday, April 11, 2018 Heâll take your coat. Heâll share his water bottle if you appear to be parched. Heâll pull you onstage if youâre wearing his favorite shirt (the one bearing his own first name in lightning-strike font). Is there anything Justin Hawkins or his bandmates in the […]
Photo Gallery: Sloppy Jane at Happy Gallery
L.A. collective Sloppy Jane are equal parts rock show/performance art/traveling circus. Lead by resident hellion Haley Dahl, the bandâs size can shrink or swell at will. When they touched down at Happy Gallery this past week, the impossibly huge ensemble crammed bodies and musical instruments into an improbably small space. Of course, no matter the […]
Photo Gallery: Dan Auerbach at The Riviera Theatre
Though heâs currently on a sabbatical from his âotherâ band, The Black Keys, that doesnât mean bassist/guitarist Dan Auerbach is simply kicking back and soaking his feet. He recently released his second solo album Waiting On A Song, and almost immediately hit the road to play it live. His touring bands consists of a whole […]
Photo Gallery: Wolf Alice at Metro
The British quartet Wolf Alice simply eviscerated Chicagoâs Metro during their sold-out show on Friday night. The band has not so quietly become one of the finest live bands from the UK, powered by their stunning 2017 top ten critics album “Visions of a Life. Curt Baran powered through the impossibly crowded Metro photo pit […]
![Cover Story: Judas Priest [Updated]](http://illinoisentertainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/76cc05c4-a9bd-4acd-89fc-bc2b9fcde0f7-150x150.jpg "Cover Story: Judas Priest [Updated]")
Cover Story: Judas Priest [Updated]
After an impressive five-decades long career, British heavy metal pioneers Judas Priest show no signs of slowing down with the release of their explosive 18th full-length studio album Firepower (released March 9 on Epic Records). On 14 blistering tracks, Priest delivers the indisputable, classic heavy metal sound that hearkens back to the bandâs heyday. The […]
Media: April 2018
I was 23 years old the day I walked into the Loop offices for the first time. After getting rejections from the other rock stations in Chicago (and there were quite a few at the time), I had thrown a Hail Mary pass to the biggest of them all, The Loop. I wrote a letter […]
Photo Gallery: Justin Timberlake at United Center
From boy band member from Tennesee to pop music superstar, Justin Timberlake has been no stranger to success. Basking in the afterglow of his recent Super Bowl performance, he brought his âMan Of The Woodsâ tour to United Center for the first of two nights (and he returns AGAIN this October). Curt Baran pulled his […]
Photo: Gallery: Puddles Pity Party at The Vic Theatre
Since he broke out on America’s Got Talent, Puddles has amused and entertained audiences with his sad clown persona, a killer voice, and an vaudevillian shtick. He’s an odd yolking of vintage Andy Kaufman-style performance art and kinescope-era variety acts, like the pioneers of television including Milton Berle and Sid Ceasar. Ed Spinneli was knocked […]
Photo Gallery & Live Review: The Zombies at City Winery
The Zombies City Winery Monday, March 19, 2018 Review by Jeff Elbel Photos by Philamonjaro On Monday, March 19, British Invasion icons the Zombies returned to City Winery for the first of two nights. The band displayed its impressive range from the jump, beginning with the full-tilt blues rock of Bo Diddleyâs âRoad Runnerâ followed […]
![Cover Story: Ministry [Updated]](http://illinoisentertainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MINISTRY43-150x150.jpg "Cover Story: Ministry [Updated]")
Cover Story: Ministry [Updated]
Chicago’s beloved industrial metal machine Ministry is back. After the sudden death of longtime guitarist and friend Mike Scaccia in 2012, leader/vocalist Al Jourgensen decided to put Ministry on indefinite hiatus. During the bandâs downtime, “Uncle Al” spawned a side project, Surgical Meth Machine, and released a self-titled debut record in 2015. It was pretty […]
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