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Interview: Erasure
Tomorrowland One of the synth-pop era’s most innovative, infectious, and flamboyant acts, Erasure has spanned two-and-a-half decades with constant rotation in the clubs, with the occasional, percolating radio smash.
Interview: The Horrors
Cat’s In The Cradle Horrors frontman Faris Badwan is eager to discuss Skying, his quintet’s sonically adventurous new third album – a record that’s just landed him squarely in the Top Five on the U.K. charts.
Backstage@Lollapalooza
Catching up with artists playing Lollapalooza was tougher than we thought. Even with some acts stuck in town after their sets in order to play afterparties, we came up against a wishlist of musicians with schedules more hardwired than the festival’s own rigid set times.
Caught In A Mosh: September 2011
Nouveau Sheet Music Remember last month when I conducted an interview with myself? Pretty awesome, yeah? To defend myself against accusations of narcissism, though, my reasoning for that column needs clarification: The originally planned feature with Swedish band Ghost never materialized.
Sweet Home: September 2011
Race, Rage, & The Blues Nobody expected a brief Alligator Records tribute to become a catalyst for examining blues-industry race relations. When the Chicago Reader ran a profile of founder Bruce Iglauer commemorating the 40th anniversary of the label, buried within the May 19th piece was a quote that inflamed the blues community:
North By Northcoast
Electronic music doesn’t have to be scary. But if you continue to avoid it while it advances at its rapid pace, you’ll be terrified in no time. Here’s our rock-leaning preview of North Coast festival, as well as upcoming gigs by Jim Ward, Plain White T’s, Keegan DeWitt, and Heart-Set Self Destruct.
I Am . . . somebody
We just noticed that two of the biggest local-music showcases, Mobfest and I Am Fest, are acronyms (Music Over Business and Independent Arts & Music). That’s not the only weirdness you’ll find in our preview containing I Am, The War On Drugs, the long-awaited Braid reunion, and Blah Blah Blah’s release show.
Dumb, da-dumb-dumb dumb!
LMFAO are not the most terrible thing to happen to music, ever. Even if it seems that way. They’re in town this week, as are Canon Blue, Kyle Andrews, and Something Fierce.
For your benefit
Another block of weekend shows features two illness benefits, the rebirth of Q101, Shayna & The Catch, and Radiation City.
Lovett every minute of it
Leave it to Lyle Lovett to leave a tribute album to a fellow Texan sounding like an entirely different Texan — the Rick Perry effect? It’s all part of your unpredictable weekend including Tim Kasher, Nikka Costa, Elzhi, and Natalia Kills.
Lollapalooza Day 3
Local natives Gold Motel get Day 3 moving at the north end of Grant Park. Their innocuous brand of pretty pop music is proof that Lolla 2.0 isn’t about being on the cutting edge.
Lollapalooza Day 2
Face paint alert! Walk The Moon are rockin’ the Dayglo makeup and it would appear plenty of those already planted in front of the Music Unlimited stage got the memo. The boys are churning out buoyant pop music for the crowd of believers who are getting an early start on Day 2.
Lollapalooza recap: Day one
It’s was 20 years ago today, Perry Farrell told the bands to play. O.K., maybe not to the day, but two decades ago the Jane’s Addiction lead singer took a concept already popular in Europe and gave it his own alterna-twist. Huge music festivals like Reading and Glastonbury always bring in huge crowds on the […]
Paul McCartney live at Wrigley!
Paul McCartney managed to do in one evening what the Chicago Cubs haven’t been able to do all season: he generated countless hits in Wrigley Field.










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