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Live Review and Photo Gallery – Dirty Honey at Bottom Lounge
Dirty Honey Tuesday, February 11 Bottom Lounge, Chicago For the past year, some music industry folks have been working themselves into a piranha-like frenzy over L.A. blues-rock quartet Dirty Honey. Formed in 2017, the band features singer Marc Labelle, guitarist John Notto, bassist Justin Smolian, and drummer Corey Coverstone. The buzz surrounding the band is heightened in […]
Live Review: DeadMau5 at Navy Pier
Deadmau5 “Cube V3” Saturday, February 1 Navy Pier, Chicago From 2008 to 2015, Joel Zimmerman, aka Deadmau5, was the inescapable force in the world of electronic dance music, one of the most prominent and most easily recognizable names in the genre, putting out albums like Album Title Goes Here and While(1<2). To many people, he […]
![Cover Story: Grace Potter [with added Photo Gallery from Riviera Theatre]](http://illinoisentertainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/gp9-e1581298059207-150x150.jpeg "Cover Story: Grace Potter [with added Photo Gallery from Riviera Theatre]")
Cover Story: Grace Potter [with added Photo Gallery from Riviera Theatre]
In the DC Comics universe, Superman always had his Fortress of Solitude, a secluded palace on the frozen Arctic tundra where he could go to muse on his complex relationships with villains, the Justice League, and indeed his planetary protectorate, humankind itself. Not bad, as exotic getaways go. Vermont-bred folk-rocker Grace Potter, on the other […]
Cover Story – Caroline Polachek
The relationship between art and its attendant inspiration has been analyzed countless times over the years. The French painter Henri Matisse, for instance, said that the main impetus for creativity was simply courage, while author Jack London believed that you had to hunt it down with a club. Renowned acting coach Stella Adler posited that […]
Stage Buzz: Signal The Launch at House of Blues
The members of the Chicago power trio Signal the Launch share a strong musical bond. The Lane Tech College Prep and Rolling Meadows High School graduates — brothers Mariusz (guitars/vocals) and Dan Owczarczak (bass), and Kevin Karpa (drums) — formed the band in 2016 after a life-altering incident that happened to Mariusz while driving […]
Hello My Name Is…Michael Des Barres
Michael Des Barres doesn’t want to sound jaded like he’s seen it all before. But at a sage-like 71, he has, in many ways. So don’t fault the Renaissance man for his cynical view of most pop stars’ careers: “They pretty much have a formula now,” he chuckles. “Young kid writes some songs, has some […]
Media – January 2020
When Brad Edwards was asked to be the co-anchor of the 5, 6, and 10 pm newscasts on CBS-2 Chicago in March of 2019, he was a little taken aback. Edwards had been a big part of the award-winning CBS investigative team since 2012, and “anchor” was a whole different ballgame. He knew what […]
Holiday Hangover at House of Blues Chicago
House of Blues Chicago is kicking off the 2019 Holiday Season with their first-ever Holiday Hangover – ten days of top national tribute bands along with a roster of Chicago’s best tributes. The format has been a blast at other HOB locations across the country, and the talent buyers at the Windy City location […]
Cover Story: Sam Fender
Ostensibly, this is an article about British rock newcomer Sam Fender and his brilliant, one-in-a-million debut disc, Hypersonic Missiles – easily the best album of the year. Nothing can touch it; it’s so far ahead of the pack. But it’s also a moment where we can’t help but break with a few staid journalistic traditions […]
Live Review: Madonna at The Chicago Theatre
Madame X Tour Chicago Theatre October 16, 2019 “Artists are here to disturb the peace.” One has to wonder if Madonna Louise Ciccone has accepted this James Baldwin quote as her life’s mantra. Let’s face it; the native Michigander has always had a reputation as a rabble-rouser. So, when it was announced that she would […]
Cover Story: The B-52s
Kate Pierson may not have coined the suddenly-popular new portmanteau “glamping,” a mashup of glamorous and camping. Nor did she come up with its posh concept —experiencing the great outdoors, but through the comfortable buffer of the most modern of conveniences. No, the bouffant-haired B-52’s founder had nothing to do with any part of this […]
Cover Story: Perry Farrell
It took Brazilian author Paulo Coelho just two weeks to write back in ’87, but the compact little novel The Alchemist is one of those metaphysical, feel-good reads that not only deserves to be on every literate bookshelf alongside The Little Prince, but demands to be revisited every couple of years lest its wisdom be […]
Cover Story: John Paul White
It’s a morsel of time-tested wisdom — initially put forward by Mahatma Gandhi — that just becomes more relevant with each passing day: “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” As in, stop kvetching about Donald Trump and all his horrific misdeeds and get involved with the grassroots groundswell of fighting […]
Media: June 2019
No one in this town has been a part of the Chicago media scene longer than WGN-Radio’s (and The Chicago Tribune’s) Rick Kogan. He was literally born into it. His parents, Herman and Marilew, were both fixtures in the heyday of Chicago’s print media. They lived the life. They hung out with Chicago’s glitterati. […]
Cover Story: Steve Earle
It’s a puzzlement, a Sphinx-like riddle for the ages. How in holy hell has resident alt-country iconoclast Steve Earle managed to keep his mouth shut over the past three Trump-and-Brexit bedeviled years? Make no mistake, what he’s offered instead has been stunning —2017’s picture-perfect loper So You Wannabe an Outlaw — polished still brighter by […]
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