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Live Review: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats Aragon Ballroom Thursday, November 29, 2018 On Thursday, radio station WKQX closed the first of five nights of its âThe Nights We Stole Christmasâ series at the Aragon Ballroom with a sold-out headlining set by Denverâs Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. The sweat-soaked performance began with the deep […]
Cover Story and Gallery: The Struts
It was a popular, yet perhaps far-fetched concept that was titillating impressionable society a few years back. And it was relatively simple, all told, and loosely based on comic Danny Wallaceâs book Yes Man, which was later satirized to a zanier degree in Jim Carreyâs film version of the same name: If you simply responded […]
Cover Story: Greta Van Fleet
Iâm sure Iâm not alone in my lament that rock & and roll is on life support, and rock stars are fewer and farther between than in the past. Iâm going to bet, though, that youâll feel like youâve sucked a deep hit off an oxygen tank the moment you hear Greta Van Fleet. […]
Cover Story: The Voidz
âA manâs got to know his limitations,â Clint Eastwood once observed as the defiant renegade cop Dirty Harry. Similarly unforgiving Strokes bandleader Julian Casablancas is still gradually discovering his own with his latest splinter combo âinitially dubbed Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, now known simply as The Voidz â and its sleek, sophisticated sophomore […]
Cover Story: Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr just made the best record of his life. And he knows it. Dubbed Call the Comet, itâs the ex-Smith guitaristâs third, following 2013âs The Messenger and 2014âs Playland. And it finds him: Lyrically delving into grim socio-political issues that heâd often avoided; Letting his axe provide the chiming hooks in places instead of […]
Remembering Aretha Franklin 1942-2018
Aretha Franklin, who passed away on August 16th of pancreatic cancer at age 76, embodied her title of âQueen of Soulâ in a wholly spectacular way but that name didnât fully capture all that she was. Aretha wasnât just a gifted singer, and she wasnât just a master of soul singing. She sang every American […]
Cover Story: Børns
Today Garrett Borns might be the foppish baroque-pop trendsetter who records as simply Børns, with three adventurous albums to his credit, including the new Blue Madonna, his second for Interscope. But there was a time not so long ago when the Michigan native was at the mercy of a pack of marauding masked bandits after […]
Stage Buzz: Real Friends “Composure” Listening Party & Interview
On Friday night, Tinley Park’s Real Friends held a “secret” listening party for a select group of fans in support of their forthcoming third full length, Composure. The evening event was the last of three listening party events held throughout the day across the Chicagoland area. In the modern industrial workspace of Chicago’s Rowboat Creative, […]
Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater: 1935-2018
Blues legend Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater, who passed away on June 1 of heart failure, towered over the Chicago music scene both literally and figuratively. At six feet four, he cut a striking figure, slashing his left-handed guitar with his signature blues, rock and funk riffs. Born in a Mississippi cotton field and nurtured by […]
Cover Story: Dorothy
In the music industry, never underestimate the sound man. From his back-of-club vantage point, he usually sees â and knows â all. Two years ago, singer Dorothy Martin was playing a small San Francisco nightclub with her namesake outfit Dorothy, to a rabid crowd of mostly teenaged girls, who had copied the quasi-Goth look she […]
![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 […]
![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 […]
Cover Story: The Vaccines
Fans will have to forgive the cheesy film reference, chortles Justin Young. But for a while there recently, the anchor for brainy British folk-punkers The Vaccines actually came to believe that heâd somehow lost his magical inner mojo, just like Austin Powers in Mike Myersâ hilarious espionage spoof The Spy Who Shagged Me. And no […]
Live Review and Gallery: Robert Plant at Riviera Theatre
Riviera Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, February 20, 2018 Leave it to Robert Plant, arguably rock nâ rollâs most famous and ferocious front man of all time, to keep his eyes focused primarily on recent interests rather than recycling his glories of yesteryear. The man who turned down more cash than could ever be counted to reunite […]
Eddie Shaw (1937-2018)
A huge, gaping hole has been left in the foundation of the Chicago blues scene with the passing of Eddie Shaw, who died on January 29 at age 80. Beloved by all for his warmth and charisma, Eddie was also a walking encyclopedia of blues history. Born in Mississippi, he learned to play blues by […]
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