Live Reviews
Testament live
House Of Blues, Chicago Friday, May 15, 2009 Contrary to what you’ve heard, a classic, Bay-Area thrash-metal band released one of the finest albums of its career in 2008, marked by a return to form, crisp production, and an ability to capture what made the band great in the first place.
Fall Out Boy do ‘Soundstage’
Soundstage, Chicago Tuesday, May 12, 2009 When Death Cab For Cutie hit PBS’ “Soundstage” program last month, it proved a sensible pairing. Coming out of their time as acclaimed indie darlings, the group has grown into a band that seems practically designed for a sensible setting like “Soundstage,” all traces of college rock replaced by […]
The Dead live!
Allstate Arena, Rosemont Monday, May 4th, 2009 By the time the latest version of the Grateful Dead took the stage at 7:45 Monday night, the circus surrounding this event was already many-hours old.
Leonard Cohen live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, May 5, 2009 With 15 years since he last performed on American soil, it’s no wonder why Leonard Cohen’s pair of Chicago Theatre shows are amongst the most anticipated of the year thus far. Though fans were given a sneak peak of the set list via the CD/DVD collections Live In […]
Flight Of The Conchords live!
Arie Crown, Chicago Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Reality and television converged at the first of a two-night, sold-out stand that brought HBO darlings Flight Of The Conchords to the Arie Crown Theater. Flanked by two screens better suited for the lawn at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement deadpanned their way […]
Travis live!
Travis The Vic, Chicago Saturday, April 18, 2009 Sporting a bit more of gray around the temples than when Fran Healy and Scottish quartet Travis arrived on the scene as an answer to the swaggering, spiteful lads in Oasis, the band’s impish frontman still flutters around the stage with the fervor of a garage band […]
Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab For Cutie WTTW Soundstage, Chicago Thursday, April 16, 2009 Given where Death Cab have landed in their career, their appearance on a program like WTTW’s “Soundstage” seems fitting. The established-artist showcase syncs up with the group’s continual march from former indie darlings to mature, adult-alternative act, as evidenced on 2005’s Plans as well […]
Junior Boys live!
Junior Boys Metro, Chicago Thursday, April 2, 2009 Ain’t no party like an indie-dance party and that’s why the indie-dance parties must be stopped.
Eagles live!
Eagles Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates Thursday, March 26, 2009 I haven’t thought of the Lanky Blonde — the older sister of a high-school buddy — in a long time. But, when the Eagles of my youth, all put back together and looking rather dapper in dark suits, took to the stage Thursday night, there she […]
La Coka Nostra live!
La Coka Nostra House Of Blues, Chicago Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Big B? Blaze Ya Dead Homie? The Kottonmouth fucking Kings? These are the kinds of acts Everlast used to blame for giving white rappers a bad name, yet here he and his fellow La Coka Nostra members are on the Bring Tha Noize tour, […]
Shiny Toy Guns live!
Shiny Toy Guns Gallery 1028, Chicago Thursday, February 26, 2009 Click here to see more Shiny Toy Guns live pics. It can be nearly impossible to keep a secret in our leak-friendly world these days, but Grammy-nominated dance rock act Shiny Toy Guns decided to try it anyway. In a cross-promotion with NBC, they offered […]
Jimmy Eat World live!
Jimmy Eat World Metro, Chicago Saturday, February 28, 2009 In 1999, a little-known college radio act out of Mesa, Arizona released an album entitled Clarity. To say the record received no fanfare, let alone even any notice, and landed without a sound would be an understatement, just as it would be to note Clarity would […]
Blitzen Trapper live!
Blitzen Trapper Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, February 19, 2009 Which version of Blitzen Trapper do you prefer? The acoustic Dylan worshippers? The stomping students of Neil Young? The feverish punk rockers? The swampy psychedelic love child of a merger between The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin?
The Submarines live!
The Submarines Schubas, Chicago Tuesday, February 17, 2009 Much like a Chicago summer, The Submarines breeze in and out with little fanfare, a heaping dose of sunshine, and the promise of wishful thinking turning into reality.
The Pretenders live!
The Pretenders Riviera Theatre, Chicago Sunday, February 15, 2009 Most of the names and faces may have changed, but the one constant in The Pretenders is Chrissie Hynde, the rugged frontwoman who first cut her teeth on the late-’70s punk/early-’80s new wave circuits. Though those sounds categorized much of the band’s offerings up through the […]
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