Live Reviews
Tori Amos live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Monday, August 3, 2009 Over the last two decades, Tori Amos has become one of the most prolific recording artists to emerge from the alternative era. With 10 studio albums in addition to a box set brimming with b-sides, the piano siren’s sheer output is a bit overwhelming. Especially when her 2002 […]
Jackson Browne live!
Ravinia, Highland Park Thursday, July 30, 2009 With six years between studio CDs and just as long since last playing a proper Chicagoland concert, Jackson Browne had no trouble selling out Ravinia, marking his fifth appearance at the venue since 1977. “It’s always a pleasure to be in Chicago and Ravinia’s very special to me,” […]
Dead Weather live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago Wednesday, July 29, 2009 The reality of Jack White’s celebrity was a given way before his latest project, The Dead Weather, sold out two nights at the Vic Theatre. His blues-based classic rock milieu will always find fans in America, but his prodigious ability to shake its junky old parts up and […]
Coldplay live!
Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI Saturday, July 25, 2009 Once in awhile, a concert comes along that is so captivating in all of its parts that after its short-lived moment, one leaves feeling brighter and more inspired than before. This past Saturday, Coldplay brought such a show — complete in flawless, live performances and luminous […]
The Veils & Foreign Born live!
Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, July 23, 2009 Venturing out to experience Foreign Born and The Veils on Thursday proved to be fortuitous. Previewing the show last week, I wrote of a darkness on FB’s debut, Person To Person (Secretly Canadian), how you could trip over extension cords while listening to it, and blah blah blah.
Def Leppard live!
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Friday, July 17, 2009 This past Friday, Def Leppard rocked a sprawling, First Midwest crowd eager to experience a band that claims to inspire the “Rock Of Ages.” By the night’s end, it proved the claim.
Green Day live!
United Center, Chicago Monday, July 13, 2009 If there were such a thing as a punk rock year book, Green Day’s entry would be on the “least likely to succeed” page. Graduates of the famed 24 Gillman Street shit hole, the Berkley trio were at one time indistinguishable from the now countless bands that called […]
No Doubt, Paramore live!
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Saturday, July 11, 2009 There are really only two reasons bands reunite and hit the road to tour together again: they either have a new record to promote, or they simply need the money. In the case of No Doubt, they have no new album to promote (no new […]
Brand New live!
Subterranean, Chicago Tuesday, July 7, 2009 In the first half of the decade, a new class of sensitive artists emerged and were quickly embraced by wristband-clad teenagers everywhere, epitomized by vulnerable acts like Chris Carrabba’s precious, whisper-laden Dashboard Confessional. Yet among all the new sensitivity and tales of boys with broken hearts, Levittown, New York’s […]
Sonic Youth live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago Saturday, June 27, 2009 Sonic Youth have always seemed like a band who shouldn’t exist. Or, more specifically, should no longer exist. In their embryonic stages, the New York-based quartet (stretched into a five-piece for this tour by adding ex-Pavement bassist Mark Ibold) could barely play their instruments. So they improvised […]
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood live!
United Center, Chicago Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Considering the nucleus of Blind Faith hadn’t toured together since 1969, it was particularly monumental when Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood performed a short set together at Bridgeview’s Toyota Park in 2007 as part of the Crossroads Guitar Festival. Given that evening’s rave reviews and the pair’s unfathomable […]
Q101 Block Party review
Charter One Pavilion, Chicago Sunday, June 14, 2009 Mother Nature made a lot of people happy Sunday night, as she gave Q101, 311, and a whole slew of music fans a perfect night of weather for Q101’s annual “Block Party.” The not-quite-sold-out crowd enjoyed a beautiful summer night of quality live music, and judging by […]
PJ Harvey & John Parish live
Riviera, Chicago Friday, June 12, 2009 PJ Harvey has never shied away from the dark spaces. In fact, they almost seem to define her work. So it wasn’t at all unusual to find her singing “When you call out my name in rapture/I commit my soul to murder” during the opening moments of Friday night’s […]
Passion Pit, Harlem Shakes live
Empty Bottle, Chicago Sunday, June 14, 2009 On the surface, Passion Pit are seemingly doing everything right. A synth and keyboard-heavy outfit, the group invite instant comparisons to last year’s heatseekers MGMT. What’s more, blogs across the Internet are heaping wild praise upon the group, with remixes of songs from the band’s recentManners (Frenchkiss) record […]
Phoenix live
Park West, Chicago Saturday, June 13, 2009 I admit to having hesitated seeing Phoenix in concert. Bringing their artful, yet precise studio pop to the performance stage seemed as wise as transporting a world-war-trending Risk board from the kitchen to the basement mid-match.
Recent Comments