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Photo Gallery: Seal at Ravinia Festival
IE’s Ed Spinelli caught the dulcet tones of vocalist/songwriter Seal on the North Shore Wednesday on the opening night for his Standards tour. After a quarter century as rock’s most unique vocalist, Seal delivered a hits-laden set on acoustic guitar and with his full band to a near sell-out crowd, buoyed by a dynamic version […]
Photo Gallery: Poison, Cheap Trick and Pop Evil at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
If it was 1989, this show could have been billed as the World Series of Rock VIII, playing baseball palaces across the country. But nearly 30 years later this tripleheader is basking mostly in the bleachers of nostalgia. Poison, Cheap Trick and Pop Evil threw Ed Spinelli a few choice curve balls while he captured […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Ray LaMontagne with Neko Case at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Ray LaMontagne with Neko Case Friday June 16th Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Ray LaMontagne Ray LaMontagne was in a decidedly rocking mood as he hit the stage at Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion. The day’s suffocating heat had finally been replaced with a dramatic drop in temperature and steady, cool breezes complements of Lake […]
Photo Gallery: Dave Herrero Band with Marty Sammon plus special guests Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos at 210 Live
210 Live in Highwood pulled out all the stops when Dave Herrero and his Band joined forces with keyboardist Marty Sammon (Buddy Guy, Otis Rush), and very special guests Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. Adding to the festivities Friday was talent buyer and stalwart blues guitarist Dave Katzman and jazz keyboardist Judy […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Primus and Mastodon at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
On paper and in concert, this is an odd bill: Primus, a quirky and influential alternative band from the 1990s, touring with Mastodon, a contemporary metal band at the peak of its career. In common, both bands stuck to their artistic visions on Wednesday. Headliners Primus, led by bass virtuoso Les Claypool who virtually reinvented […]
Photo Gallery: Ace Frehley at Northern Lights Theater
Kiss’s guitar master and Hall Of Famer performed a surprisingly bluesy set in southern Wisconsin, mixing Kiss hits with original classics. Set list is below. Ed Spinelli caught Ace in action in the Cream City. Parasite (KISS song) Play Video Rip It Out Play Video Hard Times (KISS song) Play Video Snowblind Play Video […]
Photo Gallery: Ghost at Riverside Theatre
Swedish psych-metal stalwarts Ghost at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee went beyond fan expectations until tragedy struck shortly before intermission. Jeffrey Fortune from Dane County, WI passed away at set’s end due to natural; causes, despite efforts by paramedics. Ghost posted the following message on their Facebook page: Tonight, in Milwaukee there was a medical […]
Photo Gallery: Yeah Yeah Yeah’s at Aragon Ballroom
It’s been more than five years since New York’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs have released a studio record. Their breakthrough debut, Fever To Tell, turned 15 this year, so instead of any new material, the trio has hit the road supporting a deluxe reissue of that record. The tour is playing a limited number of cities, […]
Photo Gallery: The Head and the Heart and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats at Huntington Bank Pavilion
Summer is here and the time is right for music being played outdoors. Which is precisely what happened when The Head and the Heart and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats kicked off their co-headlining tour at Huntington Bank Pavilion on the shores of Lake Michigan. For The Head and the Heart, this trek is more […]
Photo Galley: Taylor Swift at Soldier Field
Taylor Swift is dead. Long live Taylor Swift. At least that’s what her most recent album would have you believe. Taking the stage accompanied by Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” Swift sent a pretty clear message that even if the haters gonna hate, Taylor 2.0 is completely nonplussed. “The Swifties,” possibly pop music’s most dedicated fan […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: David Byrne at Auditorium Theatre
In press statements, David Byrne promised that his current tour supporting new album American Utopia would present his most ambitious show since staging the 1983 concerts that became the Jonathan Demme-directed film Stop Making Sense with Talking Heads. On the first of three nights at Chicago’s elegant Auditorium Theatre, Byrne and his cohort of 11 […]
Cover Story: Lissie
There is a word – and indeed a whole attendant concept – that singer-songwriter Lissie (born Elisabeth Corrin Morris in Rock Island, Illinois; she long ago dropped her surname for performing) had gradually let slip from her memory, over her recent years spent living in sunny Ojai, California. And it’s not something too easy to […]
Media: June 2018
WSCR (The Score) Morning host Mike Mulligan has the background that Chicago sports fans seem to require. He is one of us. “I grew up on the South Side, and went to school at Quigley, and college at Loyola.” He also grew up listening to the radio, and he understands our unique market history. “I […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: U2 at United Center
U2 United Center, Chicago Tuesday, May 22, 2018 A mere three years ago, U2 set up shop at the United Center for five nights to unveil its ambitious “iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE” concept, accompanied by a boundary-breaking, technologically-innovative visual assault. Bono and the boys then pressed “pause” on the project to celebrate the 30thanniversary of *The […]
Photo Gallery: Sons of Apollo at Arcada Theatre
Bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Mike Portnoy are arguably the greatest hard rock rhythm section of all time, and their newest supergroup Sons of Apollo delivered a dynamic and sometimes awe-inspring show at the Arcada last week. Their bandmates Derik Sherinian, Jeff Scott Soto and Ron “Bumblefoot Thal more than held their own and are […]
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