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Photo Gallery: Shania Twain at Credit 1 Amphitheatre • Tinley Park
Shania Twain Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre Tinley Park, IL July 1, 2023 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Although she never technically went away, it really feels like Shania Twain is “back.” The Canadian import largely owned the pop-leaning tendencies of country music during her heyday in the ’90s and early aughts. Her sophomore release, […]
Anniversary Albums: Tears for Fears • The Hurting
Tears for Fears The Hurting (40th anniversary Abbey Road remaster LP) (Mercury/UMC) For a band with its staying power and following, Tears for Fears’ catalog is brief. By all reports, it isn’t a lack of work ethic that suppressed productivity – it’s the internal quality control exercised by principals Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. The […]
Media: July 2023 • Catching up with Mr. Wert
After more than four decades in the media business as a sales manager/general manager/vice president for places like WLS-TV, The Loop AM & FM radio stations, NBC-5 Chicago, and the Tribune Company, Larry Wert considers himself semi-retired. “But I’m working way more than I should be, considering I’m semi-retired,” he admits. “I’m working on […]
Stage Buzz: Between the Buried and Me, Anita Baker, NASCAR Music
Between the Buried and Me are known for their high-concept albums that create thematic sagas within their discography. Their rich storytelling will be on full display when they perform their acclaimed 2012 album The Parallax II: Future Sequence in its entirety this Friday, June 30 at House of Blues. Thank You Scientist and Rivers of […]
Stage Buzz: The Struts, Pride in the Park, Summer Smash
Fall Out Boy will kick off their summer tour with a hometown show at the iconic Wrigley Field with support from Royal & The Serpent, The Academy Is…, and Chicago natives Alkaline Trio. The Wilmette natives, who released their eighth studio album, So Much (for) Stardust in March, will bring over two decades’ worth of hits, […]
Stage Buzz: H.E.R.; Blues on the Fox, Pansy Division, FEAR,
Multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter H.E.R. has numerous accolades to her name. 25 Grammy nominations with five wins, an Academy Award, and an Emmy. And she’s only 25 years old. Now, the singer brings her passion and heart-wrenching soul to the Chicago Theatre for a sold out show this Thursday, June 15 at 8 PM. Taste of Randolph returns […]
Spins: Flaming Lips: The EPs
The Flaming Lips Hypnotist vinyl EP Fight Test vinyl EP Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell vinyl EP (Warner Records) Released in conjunction with the Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots 20th-anniversary campaign, these three EPs add to the picture of The Flaming Lips’ surging power during a period of peak creativity while simultaneously edging […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Cure at United Center • Chicago
The Cure United Center Chicago, IL June 10, 2023 Live Review by Ashley Perez Holingsworth; Photos by Curt Baran Seven years to the date of their 2016 Chicago appearance, The Cure returned for another stunning show in the Windy City. The post-punk elder statesmen delivered a phenomenal 31-song set at United Center filled with classic hits, […]
Photo Gallery: Dead & Company – Night One • Wrigley Field • Chicago
Dead and Company Wrigley Field Chicago, IL June 9, 2023 Recap and photos by Curt Baran To paraphrase one of their songs: Is this the moment when the music finally stops?!? Dead and Company, the collective hexad comprised of former Grateful Dead members, has hit the road on what is being billed as “The Final […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Taylor Swift • Night 3 • Soldier Field • Chicago
Taylor Swift Soldier Field Chicago, IL June 4, 2023 Review by Riley Vernon. Photos: Aubrey and Riley Vernon Just when you think she’s peaked, Taylor Swift keeps climbing. The global powerhouse dazzled Soldier Field by wrapping up the final night of three sold-out Chicago shows on her highly anticipated “Eras Tour.” It’s been a long […]
Stage Buzz Q&A: Ultra Q at Metro • Chicago
When Jakob Armstrong decided to end Mt. Eddy, the band he formed in high school with brothers Enzo and Chris Malaspina, later joined by Kevin Judd, and regroup as Ultra Q, he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. Weeks away from the release of Ultra Q’s debut album, he still […]
Media: June 2023 • Powering WGN AM 720
Mary Boyle is the first female general manager in WGN Radio’s history. The rest of the industry has taken note. This past month she was once again named one of the Most Influential Women in Radio by **Radio Ink Magazine. Her journey up the ladder, to the top job at the most iconic Chicago […]
Cover Story: Moby • Liberating Me
If you had the luxury of compiling a wish list of gab-gifted guests for the Perfect Dinner Party, you could do a lot worse than inviting techno-jazz-pop-ambient-symphonic Renaissance man Moby. Personally — without even touching on his four-decade, genre-jumping musical career— he has a true wealth of achievements to discuss, including his photography […]
Stage Buzz: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Do Division Fest, Legions of Metal
Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a triumphant return last year with their album Cool It Down, their first in nine years. Karen O and co. will play cuts from their latest release along with classics and fan favorites this weekend when they perform at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on Thursday, June 1 at […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Poster Children at Bottom Lounge • Chicago
Poster Children Saturday, May 27, 2023 Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL Review and photos by Jeff Elbel “We are Poster Children from Champaign, Illinois” has been bassist Rose Marshack’s salutation to audiences for decades. After extending a welcome to Saturday’s audience at Bottom Lounge, Marshack took questions while brothers Jim and Rick Valentin tuned […]
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