Live Reviews
IE at Austin City Limits!
Austin. Texas. The city whose official slogan is, boldly, “The Live Music Capital of the World.” Insert heated debate…here. Just voted “Best Music Town” by the readers of Frommer’s Budget Travel, Austin boasts over 200 live music venues, in a metro area of just 1.7 million.
Live: Mayer Hawthorne & The County
Subterranean, Chicago Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Crooner-producer Mayer Hawthorne has come a long way with his stage show in the short time he has been performing as a suit-wearing soul purveyor. Seeing him at a Stones Throw Records showcase in the spring of 2009, Hawthorne was just trying to figure out how to introduce his […]
Bell X1 live!
Schubas, Chicago Thursday, October 14, 2010 Bell X1’s lanky frontman lost his dance moves — and with good reason. During a sold-out, whirlwind stop at Schubas, Paul Noonan plopped himself on a stool beside bassist Dominic Phillips and multi-instrumentalist Dave Geraghty and poured over the band’s catalog, stripped-down and acoustic.
Mary J. Blige live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Sunday, October 17, 2010 Even though this year’s Lilith Fair suffered terrible ticket sales, one of the few successes was the attention-commanding appearance by Mary J. Blige. Aside from expanding her audience to convert the Sarah McLachlan-loving masses, “the queen of hip-hop soul” proved she’s finally hitting her stride as a live […]
High On Fire at Riot Fest!
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: High On Fire was great the other night. That could be the lead sentence to any High On Fire live review. Ever read a piece that says the band was just O.K. at such-and-such venue in such-and-such city? Or “High On Fire sounded good, but lacked stage presence”?
Farm Aid 2010
The 25th annual Farm Aid took over Milwaukee’s Miller Park Saturday for an 11-hour beer, cheese, and music fest. We sent photographer Brian Ormiston to investigate.
More Pygmalion recap!
Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th were the last two days of the 6th Annual Pygmalion Festival in Champaign-Urbana. They were also – entirely unsurprisingly – fully loaded, with music running night and day over nine venues.
Jackson Browne live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Thursday, September 23, 2010 Jackson Browne started Thursday’s concert at the Chicago Theatre like a semi-truck navigating rush-hour traffic on the Eisenhower.
Pygmalion Festival reviewed!
The 6th annual Pygmalion Music Festival opened Wednesday with Janelle Monáe, Of Montreal, and Built To Spill — all on the same night. Of Montreal and Built to Spill were at roughly the same time, in fact – an act of schedule juggling that made fans and festival organizers alike crazy. But that bit of […]
Alice In Chains live!
Thursday, September 16, 2010 Charter One Pavillion, Chicago Charter One Pavillion got to play host to some rock legends and a couple of up-and-comers on Thursday night. In an odd twist, the openers were louder than the headliners, as Mastodon and Deftones set the stage for grunge pioneers Alice In Chains.
Roger Waters live!
United Center, Chicago Monday, September 20, 2010 When The Wall was first staged by Pink Floyd in 1980, it may have been the biggest show on the road, but it was still stacked up against the production limitations of the time period. Primitive by today’s standards but no less ambitious, the initial outing played a […]
Billy Idol & Slash live!
Riviera Theatre, Chicago Wednesday, September 8, 2010 A packed, 40-something crowd got a taste of three decades of music at the Riviera on Wednesday night.
Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, & Boz Scaggs live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Saturday, September 11, 2010 Each singer on the Dukes Of September Rhythm Revue tour could’ve headlined the Chicago Theatre on any given night, but when placed together for a marathon evening, it certainly gave fans of Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs more bang for their buck.
But what about some headliners?
A lot of ‘Palooza coverage has focused on a general overview, with brief glimpses of the sets. We sent Jaime de’Medici out with a focus.
Lollapalooza!
Now in its fifth year as a Destination Festival, Lollapalooza sets out to test if bigger is better. This year, the festival grounds have been enlarged, pushing some stages west of Columbus to both accommodate more festival goers and ease the crowding that has plagued past events. Did it work? Kind of.
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