Monthly
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Festival 2021 • Day One
When COVID-19 shuttered the 2020 Pitchfork Music Festival, it left in its wake a deafening “what could have been.” The good news is that over the past weekend, P4K returned, salvaging a sizable chunk of its previously planned lineup, and mighty shored up the gaping wounds of the artists that were unable to make it […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 • Day Two
Day Two of the 2020 Pitchfork Music Festival could have, arguably, been the greatest single-day lineup in the fest’s already storied history. The undercard boasted a cavalcade of names that, judging by their performances and the receptions they were greeted with, all but assured they’ll return to grace the larger stages in the future. Who […]
Photo Gallery: Pitchfork Festival 2021 • Day Three
Day Three was certainly the most eclectic day of the Pitchfork Music Festival. So it says a lot about its attendee’s discerning taste that it was also the first day to sell out. Those who hopped in the virtual queue that has now become the box office were treated to performances by Tomberlin, Special Interest, […]
Stage Buzz: Live Review and Photo Gallery • Colin Hay at Park West
Colin Hay Park West, Chicago, IL Sunday, August 29, 2021 Review by Jeff Elbel, photos by Philamonjaro Colin Hay has spent decades building his brand as one of popular music’s premier solo acoustic entertainers and all-around raconteurs. His performance benefits from a miraculously ageless voice, fluid and dexterous guitar playing, and stories that overflow […]
Cover Story: Ministry • “My House is My Art”
Any other modern bandleader would be a tad nervous, if not downright filled with floor pacing anxiety. But not calm, cool, and collected Svengali Al Jourgensen. Sure, his notorious, pioneering industrial outfit Ministry is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year by — gulp! — heading out on post-lockdown, but mid-Delta-variant tour, which hits Chicago […]
Media: September 2021 • “The Big ’89 to Hollywood”
Kris Erik Stevens’s arrival in Chicago in the late ’60s involved a bit of serendipity. “I was on my way from San Francisco to a gig I had just taken in Pittsburgh, and I stopped in Chicago along the way to see an old buddy of mine, Lyle Dean, who I had worked with […]
Photo Gallery: Doobie Brothers at Huntington Bank Pavilion
Ed Spinelli captured the 5oth anniversary tour of The Doobie Brothers birthday tour that yolked two eras of the band — the Tom Johnston-led band of the early 1970s, and the even more popular R&B influenced Michael McDonald-led version of the late ’70s. The near sell-out performance was as inspired as you might expect (perhaps […]
Stage Buzz: Review and Photo Gallery • Wilco, Sleater-Kinney at Pritzker Pavillion
Wilco, Sleater-Kinney, Nnamdï Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, IL Saturday, August 28, 2021 Review by Jeff Elbel Photo Gallery by Curt Baran Saturday’s performance at Pritzker Pavilion was Wilco’s first hometown show since December 2019, when the band supported 2019’s Ode to Joy album at the Chicago Theatre. After 20 months of waiting, Jeff […]
Stage Buzz: Photo Gallery • Korn with Staind at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Two titans of hard rock’s Nu Metal movement descended on Tinley Park’s Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Friday. Korn and Staind, torchbearers that flat out owned the genre in the late 90’s, have hit the road together for a tour that’s bringing the down tuned heaviness to the late summer Shed’s across the country. The two acts […]
Cover Story + Podcast : Rise Against • “Mission Statement”
For the members of Rise Against, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the live event industry in 2020 provided something wholly unfamiliar for the band: downtime. “It’s kinda madness, when you look back on it all and think about what we did, and then managed to create this band and all the albums we […]
Spins: Jeff + Ping • The Threefinger Opera
Jeff Elbel + Ping The Threefinger Opera (Marathon Records) A few years ago, Chicago-area musician Jeff Elbel experienced a crushed nerve ending that denied him the use of two fingers on his left hand. This is bad news for someone who not only fronts his own band, the expansive Jeff Elbel + Ping but sits […]
Stage Buzz: Lollapalooza 2021 • Day One Photo Gallery
Live music has returned! Lollapalooza celebrated its 30th Anniversary by returning to Chicago’s front yard. There was, however, a palpable mix of emotions that filled Grant Park with the specter of COVID still very much lurking. Proof of vaccination and/or negative test results were required for entry. Those who couldn’t provide either were required to […]
Stage Buzz: Lollapalooza 2021 • Day Two Photo Gallery
Day Two of Lollapalooza 2021 was greeted with what was, arguably, the greatest weather the festival has ever seen. Overnight storms not only tramped the dust down but also shoved the previous day’s suffocating humidity to places unknown. This blank meteorological canvass got splashed by aural brushstrokes from Oston, Rookie, Mob Rich, Tai Verdes, Black […]
Stage Buzz: Lollapalooza 2021 • Day Three Photo Gallery
It’s Day Three, and Lolla keeps rolling on. Tonight’s total head-scratcher has Post Malone and Journey headlining on separate ends of Grant Park. Yep…not a typo. Let’s also toss in a recently revived Limp Bizkit to really keep it weird. But hey, there was no shortage of contemporaries like Cannons, Jessia, Porches, Michigander, Rence, BIA, […]
Stage Buzz: Lollapalooza 2021 • Day Four Photo Gallery
The curtains are now drawn closed on yet another Lollapalooza. Don’t call it a comeback. The final day featured great sets from The Aquadolls, Brooke Alexx, Sir Chloe, Sofia Valdes, RMR, Princess Nokia, Sarah Barrios, MXMTOON, Brittany Howard, The Front Bottoms, Rico Nasty, Modest Mouse, and Band of Horses. Until next summer… -Curt Baran […]
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