Live Reviews
Patrick Stump live!
By now, much has been said about the funky and soulful direction of former Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump‘s solo career. Though a departure from the power-punk of the artist’s full band catalog, the recently released Soul Punk (Island) full length strongly plays to Stump’s adventurous pop sensibilitiesâ sensibilities the artist had on display […]
Paul Simon live!
Tipping the scales of 70 seems to have lit a spark in Paul Simon, not necessarily enhancing his laid-back personality, but giving him renewed creative vigor. The recent studio set So Beautiful Or So What (Hear Music/Concord Music Group) is among his most magnetic since Graceland (though it favors folk over African arrangements), while his […]
Ray Davies live!
He may not tour very often, but thankfully Ray Davies’ music never goes out of style. Between an endless stream of classics he wrote and sang for The Kinks to the occasional solo chestnut, there’s plenty of material in his arsenal, which translated to no less than two-dozen tunes in front of a healthy crowd […]
Thrice live!
Towards the end of Thursday night’s sold out show at the Metro, Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue looked back upon his band’s history with the venue. As it turns out, the Metro served as the first stop of the group’s very first national tour, a full decade ago.
Howard Jones live!
When Howard Jones was at the height of his 8-million album-selling career during the mid-1980s, the time period’s limited technology forced him to skip performing several of his more complicated songs on stage.
Duran Duran live!
Very few bands survived the new-wave era with integrity in tact, and though Duran Duran‘s certainly made a few missteps along the way, the Fab Five (well, technically now just Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor), haven’t just survived but thrived. Besides the band’s hysteria-inducing beginnings and a second bout with […]
Portishead live!
Portishead‘s first Chicago show in well over a decade was often magnetic without an excess of on-stage motion. This British group, which stood at the forefront of the trip-hop/down-tempo ascension in the early ’90s, played it cool and composed while revisiting its three-album catalog on October 12th.
Dierks Bentley live!
Dierks Bentley rolled into Chicago Sunday, led by Illinois State Troopers and followed by more than 300 bikers.
Bryan Ferry live!
As the singer of Roxy Music, Bryan Ferryâs already earned seminal status in the glam, art-rock and new-wave worlds, though he continues to make sophisticated strides in his solo career. Touring behind his first non-covers collection in eight years, Olympia (Virgin), marks a suave and soulful evolution for the veteran, who through two hours, spellbinded […]
Toby Keith live!
Toby Keith and his marketing machine hit town Saturday for a one-day blitz. Coming in after a Friday night gig in St Louis, he kicked things off by signing bottles of his new Wild Shot Mescal at a local Beverage Depot.
Jane’s Addiction live!
The record industry loves to gauge success by numbers. How many units did it move? At what spot did it debut? How many weeks did it stay on the charts? But you never see the intangibles on the spread sheet, specifically influence.
Lindsey Buckingham live!
Lindsey Buckingham‘s a great, albeit underrated, guitarist and he knows it. Perhaps that’s why he opened the Chicago stop of his Seeds We Sow tour with a one-man acoustic set that amply showcased his nimble (though occasionally self-indulgent) frethand and well-persevered vocal pitch.
Erasure live!
Touring before a CD drops is generally a challenge, and though Erasure swung through Chicago more than two weeks before Tomorrow’s World (Mute) bows, the material previewed during the first of two shows was so infectious, it was impossible not to dance along. Rather than treading the nostalgic route, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke were […]
Blondie live!
Unlike several veteran bands that cling to a repertoire of old hits, Blondie entertained a capacity crowd at House Of Blues Wednesday night with several tracks from its latest release, Panic Of Girls.
Pearl Jam 20 review!
As career choices go, rock ‘n’ roll isnât exactly the most reliable path. Failure is the rule not the exception. So any time a band reaches any sort of recognizable milestone, itâs usually cause for celebration. When that benchmark is two decades, well, a simple Hallmark card isnât going to do it.
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