Columns
File: October 2007
Riot, Act III The cuddly, spikes-n-leather gathering we lovingly refer to as Riot Fest marks its tertiary performance in November at Congress Theatre. And just when you thought it couldn’t get anymore, um, riotous, here come some classic and righteous additions.
DVD Zone: October 2007
The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition MGM https://illinoisentertainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dvd_graduate.jpg With all of the hoopla surrounding the 40th anniversary of all things 1967, it’s about time someone got around to the best film of the year, The Graduate. Tons of ink has been spilled about the summer of love, and now MGM has released a two-disc Special Edition […]
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Tempering their jittery new wave urgings with a solid pop sensibility tweaked by an ever-so-slight emo turn gives July Fourth‘s five-song Curtain Of Stars a richness that belies the band’s power trio line-up. Solid drumming keeps these guys’ faces from falling into their shoes or getting too sloggy-proggy for their own good, such that the […]
Around Hear Page 3
On Conversations With A Chamelion Pugs Atomz proves he has moved well beyond his days as a punchline-driven rapper. The chipmunk soul beats provided by Colin Response and others may not be innovative, but they surely set the stage for Pugs to paint verbal portraits of life in a complex city (“The Outlaw”) and equally […]
Crack Music
Jason Novak is busy right now. Really busy. It’s 11:30 a.m.-ish on a Thursday morning in September and the Acumen Nation frontman/guitarist/songwriter is tending to his sick daughter, who is home from school with the flu, supervising the painter working on a new addition in his house, trying to finish some Flash web work (Novak […]
An Apple A Day
APPlE. Inc iMac Somewhat lost among the hoopla of the iPhone and the new-generation iPods, Apple Computer “quietly” introduced its newest iMac last month.
Jazz Hands
WNUA-FM (95.5)’s Ramsey Lewis is not the only game in town when it comes to jazz musicians moonlighting as DJs. Sax player Bruce Gibson and bass guitarist Nick Calabrese co-host a show called “Local Jazz Focus” each Tuesday night from 7 to 9 on Triton College’s WRRG-FM (88.9). They’ve had a whole host of musicians […]
Paradise Behind The Console
Michael Kolar recently took one of the biggest leaps in his five years of owning Soundscape Studios: moving from a hidden space within a factory on Fulton Street to a bustling building in the recently revitalized near South Side. Sitting in the deluxe, custom-designed Red Room of his new studio on South Wabash, the engineer […]
Bringing It All Back Home
Eric Bibb comes from a musical place. His father, folk-singer Leon Bibb, made a name for himself in the 1960s New York folk scene, his uncle was John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the legendary Paul Robeson was his godfather. Bibb grew up surrounded by musical icons. Bob Dylan advised him to “keep […]
Hello, My Name Is Tom
Hello, My Name Is Tom Q&A With Tom Smith of Editors IE: The lyrical phrases that keep popping up on your new An End Has A Start are bones, flesh, and death. Tom Smith: Heh-heh. Yeah. A lot of the songs do have me mulling over or thinking about things coming to an end. But […]
File: September 2007
I mean It This Time Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen swears his new album, The Last Sucker (13th Planet/Megaforce; September 18th), is Ministry’s last. At least until they release their very last record, Cover Up, an all-covers set planned for 2008. Among the tracks included will be previously released material such as Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut” and […]
DVD Zone: September 2007
The Elvis Re-Releases Warner Home Video You could say that Warner Home Video is commemorating the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death by re-releasing a healthy portion of Elvis’ Hollywood work. There’s a six-film box set, two “Deluxe” editions, and one giant oversight. However, “commemorate” is the wrong word. Let’s just call it what it […]
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Perhaps releasing a two-CD set in eco-friendly packaging was meant to preserve resources, but by offering 33 lackluster tunes on Unified Folk Theory The Giving Tree Band simply wear out their welcome. Songs like “Sunshine Baby” and “Where Am I?” capture the spirit of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, but altogether ignore those artists’ insight […]
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