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Riot Fest 2012 day 1 photos
You couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to stage an expanded, outdoor version of Riot Fest.
Update: Amanda Palmer to pay musicians
Update: Amanda Palmer will pay the local horn and string players she previously enlisted to volunteer when her band of merry players rolled into town. A barrage of criticism aimed at the singer (see below) caused her to rethink the practice. She addressed the kerfuffle and change of heart on her blog: “for better or […]
Season of resurrection
In the choose-your-own-adventure saga of this weekend’s non-festival offerings, turning the final page will have you dancing, crying or screaming.
Bob Mould: Silver Age
BOB MOULD Silver Age (Merge) Guitar album. No matter what precisely that means to you, it’s a tag that describes most of Bob Mould‘s recorded output over the past three decades of making music.
Kiss live shots!
Members of the Kiss Army united on Sept. 7 to watch the painted road warriors blast through their hits at Tinley Park’s First Midwest Bank Amphitheater. The rock ‘n’ roll jaunt shut down long before sunrise, but these fellas are keeping their promise to party at least every other day. All photos by Curt Baran.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band live!
Before Bruce Springsteen began his sold-out, two-night stand at the ultimate summertime “land of hope and dreams” – Wrigley Field – he owed a debt to his loyal Chicago fan base.
Day-Glo soul
Call it a soul resurgence or just chalk it up to a younger generation realizing that even with striking advances in modern medicine, the clock is ticking for the voices of yore. How else to explain the teaming up of Charles Walker and Bettye LaVette in the performers’ third act? Walker used to warm up […]
Northcoast Music Festival interviews
Now in its third year, the North Coast Music Festival has cemented itself as an end-of-summer staple, showcasing an eclectic mix of electronic talent, jam acts, and hip hop artists.
Cover Story: Riot Fest
It will be hard for Riot Fest to sneak up on people this year – though unlike for Cinderella teams in sports, that’s a good thing. Due to its previous construction as a multi-venue, à la carte/elective smorgasbord, Riot Fest gained higher esteem among punk aficionados and outsiders than average Chicagoans. No more. By taking […]
Interview: Shoes
There was a sense of déjà vu as the three members of Shoes gathered in vocalist-guitarist Gary Klebe‘s home recording studio in Kenosha, Wis. to discuss Ignition, their first release in 18 years. And it wasn’t simply because this writer was the same one who interviewed the band about its Stolen Wishes album 20-plus years […]
Interview: James Iha
Ask ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha why it’s taken him 14 ponderous years – an eternity in showbiz – to release Look To The Sky, the follow-up to his 1998 debut Let It Come Down, and you’ll get a long pause in response. Then a wry chuckle. And then an innocent, “Umm . . . […]
Hello, My Name Is Elliot
IE: How difficult is it to collaborate with your sister [Natalie Bergman] in Wild Belle? Isn’t the point of growing up to escape your relatives? Elliot Bergman: There’s benefits and drawbacks because we’re very close. We’re pulling from all the same reference points. We grew up knowing all the same songs. She grew up stealing […]
To Chicago, with love
Your feet might not leave Chicago, but these shows will take your ears to West Africa before popping in south of the border.
My Morning Jacket & Band Of Horses live shots!
My Morning Jacket spent a lovely summer evening serenading the throngs at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park on Aug. 22. Band Of Horses warmed up the crowd. All photos by Ed Spinelli.
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