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Recap and Photo Gallery: Mammoth WVH with Nita Stauss at The Forge • Joliet
Mammoth WVH The Forge Joliet, IL Saturday March 2, 2023 Recap and Photo Gallery by Edward Spinelli Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH treated fans to an intimate sold-out show at The Forge in Joliet on Saturday. After a stunning show at The Vic Theatre last Fall – WVH’s return to the Chicago area shows the […]
Cover Story: Ministry • Age of Disinformation + March 14 Aragon Ballroom Photo Gallery
My apologies, Dear Readers. And I’m not joking here. I really believed that — after an adventurous, always enlightening, occasionally drug-blurred four-decade career in rock journalism that kicked off in the Midwest fresh out of high school back in halcyon 1977 — I had nothing left to offer, no moving words left to conjure, no […]
Media • March 2024 : Tom Skilling’s Parting Words
You won’t be surprised to discover that retiring WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling has loved the weather since he was young. “My parents couldn’t figure out where the heck this weather passion came from,” Skilling admits. “I had a psychic tell me one time that I was a ship captain in a previous life. It’s […]
Recap and Photo Gallery: Porno For Pyros • Salt Shed • Chicago
Porno For Pyros The Salt Shed Chicago, IL February 26, 2024 Recap and photos by Curt Baran The “Final” tour in the Rock milieu has become about as dependable as the boy who cried wolf. But considering that he’s now reached his mid-60s, it certainly makes it easier to believe that Perry Farrell is packing […]
Photo Gallery: Deap Vally with Sloppy Jane at Thalia Hall • Chicago
Deap Vally Sloppy Jane  Thalia Hall Chicago, IL February 10, 2024 Recap and photos by Curt Baran Final tours in rock and roll are the equivalent of deaths in science fiction. Are they really dead? Well, Deap Vally seems pretty convincing that this is their last go-round. The L.A. duo consisting of Lindsey Troy (guitar, […]
Photo Gallery: John 5 at Arcada Theatre • St. Charles
John 5 Arcada Theatre St. Charles, IL February 1, 2024 Photos by Edward Spinelli Acclaimed guitarist John 5 arrived at Arcada Theatre on Thursday. 5 made his mark with a musical resume that includes such diverse artists as k.d. Lang, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, David Lee Roth, Meat Loaf, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, Lynyrd Skynyrd, […]
Cover Story: Alkaline Trio • Urgent Energy
Alkaline Trio is no stranger to the macabre. The Chicago punk outfit doesn’t shy away from talking about heavy topics like loss, addiction, and depression. But even when they’re talking about how everything sucks, they do it with a wink and nod. Their wry lyrical wit paired with punchy high energy music makes their […]
Media • February 2024 • Remembering the Early Loop
One of the great advantages of writing an oral history like I recently wrote about WLUP Radio (The Loop Files) is the opportunity to hear the stories right from the horse’s mouth. I interviewed over a hundred of those horses (Loop employees). Since the book came out a few months ago, I’ve heard from […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Black Pumas at Salt Shed • Chicago
Black Pumas The Salt Shed, Chicago, IL Saturday, January 27, 2024 Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Philamonjaro. Austin, Texas-based psychedelic soul duo Black Pumas crowned a triumphant three-night run in Chicago with Saturday night’s sold-out performance at the Salt Shed. Singer Eric Burton and former Grupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada led a sharp six-piece backing […]
Media • January 2024 • Brent’s Food Destinations
Growing up in suburban Chicago, Brent Petersen never thought he would become one of the top foodie podcast hosts in the world. “My first career was in radio,” he explains about his stints in Champaign, Peoria, and Providence, Rhode Island. “I wanted to find a way to get back into that audio medium because I […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Claudettes at Old Town School of Folk Music • Chicago
The Claudettes Old Town School of Folk Music December 9, 2023 Review by Jeff Elbel. Live Photos by Timothy Hiatt. The Claudettes concluded a sprint of travel dates with a sold-out hometown gig at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Lincoln Square on Saturday. The band’s wide-ranging set list drew from the […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Rick Holmstrom Band at SPACE • Evanston
The Rick Holmstrom Band Thursday, November 30, 2023 SPACE, Evanston, IL Review and photos by Jeff Elbel. For music fans with boundary-bypassing tastes running through jazz, blues, roots, soul, folk, swamp-rock, R&B and gospel, Evanston’s SPACE was the place to be on a drizzly Thursday evening. California guitarist Rick Holmstrom brought his expert rhythm section […]
Media – December 2023 • In Memoriam
Every December, I write a column dedicated to the great pros we lost in the media this year. This year was a particularly cruel one. We lost writers like Bill Zehme and Joe Goddard (Chicago Sun-Times), television stars like Jerry Springer, Richard Belzer, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, and Richard Moll, recording and movie stars […]
Cover Story: Trans-Siberian Orchestra • A Quarter Century of Christmas
If you still haven’t experienced the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s annual winter holiday show, you should seriously consider adding it to your bucket list. The TSO traveling holiday rock opera is a multimillion-dollar act that has grown exponentially since the band’s inception, making it one of the biggest-grossing concert bands in the US. In true holiday-giving […]
Hello My Name is… Geddy Lee of Rush – talks about his “Effin’ Life”
Rush bassist and frontman Geddy Lee makes it clear that the word “retirement” has no place in his vocabulary. Rush may be finished (or is it?), but Lee is a whirlwind of activity. His series for Paramount+, Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?, premieres on December 5 as an outgrowth of his best-selling […]
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