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Live Review: Adrian Belew at City Winery • Chicago
Adrian Belew Tuesday, July 19, 2022 City Winery, Chicago, IL by Steven Kikoen Gallery photos (at Arcada Theatre) by Jeff Berger Adrian Belew is the sonic equivalent of an M.C. Escher lithograph. Escher created impossible visuals, Belew creates impossible sounds. He is the ‘flux’ capacitor that makes guitar wizardry possible, and his importance in the music world cannot be overstated. John Lennon […]
Stage Buzz – Lollapalooza 2022 Preview: Undercard Picks
The Wombats: Thursday, July 28 (3:15 PM Coinbase Stage) It’s a cliché by now. A huge, critically acclaimed U.K. band comes to the US with only marginal success; add the Wombats to the list. They appear on Day One (Thursday) at Lolla, bringing smart indie rock and five albums of great music to the […]
Lollapalooza Preview: Hello My Name is “Murph” from The Wombats
The overnight popularity of Liverpool power trio The Wombats back in 2007, via its post-ironic breakthrough hit “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” was a welcome post-Britpop surprise. Bandleader Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy and crew proved to be clever, shrewd-hooked songwriters who pinballed through multiple music genres, from pop to punk, folk, R&B, and even vintage disco, […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Fest 2022 – Day One • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day One Union Park Chicago, IL July 15, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran If the return of the Pitchfork Music Festival has proven anything, it’s that Pitchfork, the music website, has consistently been excellent at curating and recognizing emerging talent. Bands that have previously played more miniature stages early in […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Fest 2022 – Day Three • Union Park • Chicago
Pitchfork Music Festival Day Three Union Park Chicago, IL July 17th, 2022 Recap and Photos by Curt Baran Day Three at Pitchfork Music Festival was the most chill day of the weekend, which is the polite way of saying the day with the fewest guitars. Sure, The Roots brought their giant, brassy, boss sounds to […]
Photo Gallery: Rage Against The Machine – United Center • Chicago
Rage Against The Machine United Center Chicago, IL July 12, 2022 Rcap and photos by Curt Baran They warned us. It’s all there on the tape. And then they were gone. Rage Against The Machine seems to be both prophetic and simultaneously obvious. Their politics have always been the stuff of ultra-leftist viewpoints, but they’ve […]
Stage Buzz : Tiësto, 5 Seconds of Summer, Norah Jones, Mames Babegenush
Sleeping with Sirens brings their CTRL+ALT+DEL TOUR to the House of Blues with special guests Don Broco, Point North, and Garzi this Thursday, July 14th. Doors open at 6 PM. Get tickets here. It’s ’90s music day with Train along with Jewel, Blues Traveler, and Thunderstorm will perform at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: ABC at Des Plaines Theatre • Des Plaines
ABC Saturday, July 9, 2022 Des Plaines Theatre Review and photos by Jeff Elbel Never let it be said that ABC founder and frontman Martin Fry doesn’t know his audience, and how to butter them up. “You look too young to be children of the ‘80s,” he said, wondering aloud whether he’d accidentally walked into […]
Hello, My Name Is Martin Fry of ABC
Martin Fry still recalls the exact moment he finally understood the magnitude of what he’d achieved with The Lexicon of Love, his picture-perfect soul-pop 1982 debut with ABC. Produced by ex-Buggle (and future Yes anchor) Trevor Horn, the horn-punctuated concept album had already begun spinning out chart-topping singles like “Tears Are Not Enough” and “Poison […]
Reviewed: American Music Festival – FitzGerald’s • Berwyn
American Music Festival FitzGerald’s July 1-4 Berwyn, IL Reviewed by William Tokash Photos from Day Four by Curt Baran FitzGerald’s legendary American Music Festival returned to Berwyn this 4th of July weekend following a 2-year Covid-induced hiatus with one of the most diverse musical lineups this venerable fest has seen in its 39-year history. This […]
Photo Gallery: My Morning Jacket • Huntington Bank Pavilion • Chicago
My Morning Jacket Huntington Bank Pavilion Chicago, IL July 2, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran There were capes, which can only mean that My Morning Jacket has returned. Frontman Jim James donned his signature said garment multiple times during the quintet’s epic set at Huntington Bank Pavilion Saturday. The Louisville band plowed through […]
Media: July 2022 • “Rich and Ike”
For 48 years, Rich King was a constant presence on Chicago radio and television, first as a reporter/writer/editor at WGN Radio and WBBM Radio, then later with WBBM-TV (Channel 2) and WGN-TV (Channel 9). He hosted one of the first sports radio shows in Chicago and covered all of the biggest sports stories. […]
Cover Story: Tears For Fears • “Heritage This!”
After many years of touring with a bevy of classic pop hits from their ‘80s heyday, including “Change,” “Pale Shelter,” “Shout,” and “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” British band Tears for Fears have returned to the road with a powerful new album. With The Tipping Point, co-leaders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith revisit the heady […]
Stage Buzz: American Music Festival, Hot Stove Cool Music, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Modern English
Our February cover feature and one of the most crucial alt-country bands touring these days (both musically and socially), Sarah Shook and The Disarmers arrive at the venue in Aurora Wednesday, June 29. Jack Johnson arrives on his “Meet the Moonlight 2022 Tour” at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island this Thursday, June 30th […]
Photo Gallery: Dead & Company • Wrigley Field • Chicago
Dead & Co. Wrigley Field Chicago, IL June 24, 2022 Recap and photos by Curt Baran “Let us put men and women together/See which one is smarter/Some say men/I say no/Women run the men like a puppet show.” It wasn’t a mystery as to why those were the words Bob Weir chose to sing during […]
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