Live Reviews
Photo Gallery: The 1975 at United Center
Manchester’s The 1975 were greeted with an expected rapturous ovation when they took the stage at United Center Thursday. Hand it to the band, they’ve diligently worked Sunday side stages at Lollapalooza, and “smaller” shows at Lincoln Hall and the Riviera to slowly build an audience to finally play the United Center. The band is […]
Recap and Photo Gallery: PUP at Metro
Toronto punks PUP have quickly grown out of the small venues they frequented only a few years ago. Whereas their last Chicago visit saw them playing Empty Bottle, this time they brought their high-octane energy for the first of two sold-out nights at the Metro with fellow Canadians Casper Skull and Chicago punk rockers Ratboys […]
Photo Gallery and Recap: Wax Trax! Records Industrial Accident Screening and Launch Party at House of Vans Chicago
Could there have been a more brilliant way to end Record Store Day than with an Industrial Accident? The Wax Trax! documentary distills the history of Chicagoâs seminal record label and store into an entertaining yarn about love, family, music, sex, drugs, rock & roll and how not to run a business, if you wish […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at Chicago Theatre
Nick Masonâs Saucerful of Secrets Chicago Theatre, Chicago April 4, 2019 Thursdayâs concert by Nick Masonâs Saucerful of Secrets was a dream come true for fans of early Pink Floyd and psychedelic rock. Focused exclusively on material released prior to 1973âs epic Dark Side of the Moon, Mason and his cohort of four musicians delved […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Andrew Bird at Green Mill
Andrew Bird Green Mill, Chicago April 2, 2019 On a brief introductory jaunt for his new album My Finest Work Yet, Andrew Bird returned to his old stomping grounds for the first of two intimate shows at Uptownâs 160-capacity Green Mill. Befitting his surroundings in the venerable jazz room, Bird began with the 1944 Jule […]
Live Review and Gallery: Michael Bublé at Allstate Arena
Michael BublĂ© Allstate Arena, Rosemont Sunday, March 17, 2019 A six-year gap in between tours for a post-2000s artist may as well be a lifetime, but in the case of Michael BublĂ©, it didnât come at the hands of a laborious creative pursuit or some self-indulgent exile. Instead, his infant son was dealt an extremely […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Eric Johnson at Arcada Theatre
Eric Johnson Friday, January 25, 2019 Arcada Theatre, St. Charles Eric Johnsonâs Ah Via Musicom tour, featuring his original 1990 bandmates â drummer Tommy Taylor and bassist Kyle Brock, pulled in to The Arcada Theatre on Friday night for a rescheduled show from October 31. Anticipation from ticket holders was high, to say the […]
Live Review and Gallery: Alkaline Trio at Metro
Alkaline Trio Metro Thursday, January 3 Alkaline Trio played the first of four consecutive sold-out nights Thursday at Metro, marking their first hometown club show since the release of their latest album, 2018âs Is This Thing Cursed? The record represents arguably the bandâs strongest output in over a decade, as it captures the spirit of […]
Live Review: Guided By Voices at Bottom Lounge
Guided By Voices Monday, December 31, 2018 Bottom Lounge, Chicago On Monday, Dayton, Ohioâs Guided By Voices visited Bottom Lounge to add to its memorable history of New Yearâs Eve shows in Chicago. In 2004, the band played what was intended to be its final show at Metro, reeling through a four-and-a-half hour, career-spanning set […]
Live Review: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats Aragon Ballroom Thursday, November 29, 2018 On Thursday, radio station WKQX closed the first of five nights of its âThe Nights We Stole Christmasâ series at the Aragon Ballroom with a sold-out headlining set by Denverâs Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. The sweat-soaked performance began with the deep […]
Live Review: Echo and The Bunnymen at the Vic Theatre
Echo & the Bunnymen The Vic Theatre November 24, 2018 Liverpool may have been put on the map by the Beatles, but Echo and the Bunnymen continue to prove that the town in Northwest England has other musical gifts to offer the world. On Saturday, the Bunnymen returned to Chicago with a six-piece lineup […]
Recap and Photo Gallery: Nine Inch Nails with Jesus and Mary Chain at Aragon Ballroom
Since Nine Inch Nails embarked on the Cold and Black and Infinite tour back in September, theyâve kept fans on their toes by switching up the setlist every night and dropping in random covers and deep cuts where they see fit. It wasnât any different on the last of three nights at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Phil Collins at United Center
Phil Collins United Center, Chicago Monday, October 22, 2018 Too many superstars perform so often that they oversaturate the marketplace and play to diminishing returns, but that hasnât been the case for Phil Collins thus far this century, who outside of his âFirst Final Farewellâ Tour in 2004 and a brief Genesis reunion in 2007 […]
Photo Gallery and Recap: Gorillaz at United Center
âThe last time we played here was 2010,â Damon Albarn told an enthusiastic crowd at the United Center during the second to last night of The Gorillazâ Now Now tour. Albarn and his 13-member ensemble turned the arena into a nightclub, where everyone from longtime followers to fans barely in their teens danced the night […]
Live Review & Photo Gallery: Lindsey Buckingham at Athenaeum Theatre
Lindsey Buckingham Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago Wednesday, October 17, 2018 The first time Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac, it was on his own accord, though by all indications including a very public lawsuit, the latest round was a result of being asked to leave. But one bandâs loss is another manâs gain, at least as far […]
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