Columns
File: September 2006
Idol Chatter Hot off the heels of last year’s Devil’s Playground, Billy Idol keeps the product chain coming with a concert DVD recorded at the somewhat-rundown-but-oh-so-punk-rock Congress Theatre.
DVD Zone: September 2006
THE ROLLING STONES UNDER REVIEW 1962-1966 LED ZEPPELIN THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES Music Video Distributors You would think when it comes to The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, it’s all been said before. After gallons of ink have been spilled and miles of paper reams have been used to dissect and analyze every tidbit […]
Mississippi Amersterdam
Big Bill Broonzy: Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953 (Munich) is a double-CD package of musical and historical significance. The recordings capture Chicago via Mississippi legend Big Bill Broonzy in an intimate setting before appreciative crowds at the Ons Huis (Our House) club on February 26th and 28th, 1953. The liner notes provide a glimpse of Broonzy’s […]
Studio Happenings
The Countdown recorded and mixed at THE MATTRESS FACTORY in Chicago with Martin Atkins (PIL, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface), owner of Invisible Records. They are working on a full-length album, which will be the follow-up to the 2004 EP Scratch & Sniff. The LP will be released this winter.
Not-So-Sacred Cow
We were never fans of Erich “Mancow” Muller, the libertarian shock jock who started drawing young male listeners to him like flies when he came to Chicago in 1994. But we were not pleased when Emmis Communications-owned WKQX-FM (101.1) dumped his top-rated “Mancow’s Morning Madhouse” in July.
Roll With It
GRETSCH G400JV Archtop Guitar Fresh from his victorious performance at FitzGerald’s, Jimmie Vaughan has a new piece of signature hardware to show off.
Local CD Reviews
Page [1] [2] Absolutely Perfect deliver an amalgam of lo-fi, guitar-driven rock. With slick, melodic touches such as the agile guitar leads reminiscent of Pretty Girls Make Graves, on “4crease,” and huge, angular riffs on “Burner” and “Ghetto Fabulous,” they show off technical virtuosity that suits their hard rock. Surprisingly, they also toss in phrases […]
Around Hear Page 2
Page [1] [2] Split Series Vol. One (Bone) consists of 11 tracks, the first five by After The Fight, the second six by #HighBall#. Both bands do the emo-punk thing with enough spastic energy and piledriving riffs worthy of any faux hawk-laden mosh pit. But while After The Fight’s rhythm section hit harder, Highball’s hit […]
Hello, My Name Is Bruce
Hello, My Name Is Bruce IE: Are things new and exciting for you? Or are you just Bruce? Day-in and out, you’re Bruce. Bruce Hornsby: I just did this bluegrass album with Ricky Skaggs and I got this jazz record with Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride and I got this box set coming out. I’d […]
File For August
Separate Ways Mama once said, “Boy, don’t grow up to be the lead singer of a washed-up arena rock act, they’ll chew you up and spit you out.” Steve Augeri found this out the hard way. On July 7th, in the midst of Journey‘s tour with Def Leppard, Augeri was forced to leave the band […]
DVD Zone: August
THE BILL COSBY SHOW: SEASON ONE Shout! Factory We all grew up with “The Cosby Show,” whether in its first run or in its ad nauseum syndicated repeats. The show was almost the perfect sitcom, and earned its place in the television hall of fame with its blend of characters you wanted to spend a […]
The Storyteller
In an era when blues records lean toward the pseudo-authentic, Keb’ Mo’s Suitcase (Epic) pretty much tells it like it is. Singer-songwriter, poet, and multi-instrumentalist Mo’ combines the traditional with the contemporary employing Dobros, mandolins, and National Steel guitars with Hammond B3’s, Latin percussion, and electric guitars to tell our stories.
Figured Out
Ice skating and recording, two things with little in common. Yeah, you can point to the dedication, hard work, and tenacity it takes to succeed in both, but the same can be said for almost anything you do in life. The fact is, the average person would probably struggle to draw many parallels between the […]
Tribune Tribulations
There’s a heavy dark cloud draping the gothic spires of Tribune Tower these days, making Chicago ground zero for one of the country’s major media sagas.
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