Live Reviews
The Raveonettes live!
The Raveonettes Double Door, Chicago Tuesday, March 18, 2008 At this point in The Raveonettes’ career, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have inarguably established themselves and their sound — specifically, feedback-drenched fuzz pop with a healthy mix of ’50s love songs and The Jesus And Mary Chain as their primary influences.
Springsteen live!
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Bradley Center, Milwaukee Monday, March 17, 2008 When Bruce Springsteen and the recently reconvened E Street Band kicked off his Magic tour last fall, the set lists leaned heavily on the new album, along with the signature mix of deep cuts and a handful of hits. Though little […]
The Gutter Twins live
The Gutter Twins Metro, Chicago Friday, March 7, 2008 It isn’t entirely accurate to print The Gutter Twins show happened Friday the 7th, because, in actuality, the outfit didn’t take the stage until well after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Then again, a so-late-it’s-almost-early performance is hardly surprising, given the nocturnal aesthetic of the talent.
Clutch live!
Clutch Metro, Chicago Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Clutch have been called a lot of things in their 15-plus years together, including hardcore, hard rock, alt-rock, nu-metal, and stoner metal. Truth is though, all those labels are more the result of industry and label types trying to squeeze Clutch into changing musical tastes than they are […]
Bon Jovi live
Bon Jovi United Center, Chicago Saturday, February 23, 2008 The boys in Bon Jovi never fail to capitalize on the periphery fluff that made them household names. Sure, now-classic songs “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” from 1986’s chart topping Slippery When Wet fanned the flame of their popularity, but […]
James Blunt live
James Blunt Riviera Theatre, Chicago Friday, February 22, 2008 James Blunt needs to watch a tape of himself performing so he can work on eliminating the wacky faces his mug contorts into mid-song. They’re a cross between disconcerting and just plain weird. Click here for a full photo set from Friday’s show.
Shannon Wright live
Shannon Wright Schubas, Chicago Friday, February 22, 2008 Shannon Wright’s fifth album, Let In The Light (Quarterstick), dropped the guitars from 2005’s Over The Sun like a three-headed kitten. But such a feline has more than the customary nine lives and Wright cashed one in Friday at Schubas.
A.A. Bondy live!
A.A. Bondy Beat Kitchen, Chicago Thursday, February 14, 2008 In his previous life, A.A. Bondy was Scott Bondy, frontman for Verbena, dirty sexy Southern grunge darlings from Birmingham, Alabama who burned hot fast then fizzled before they had a chance to warm up to more than a small but staunchly devoted following. The band’s implosion […]
Gallows live!
Gallows Metro, Chicago Sunday, February 3, 2008 The Super Bowl and a snowstorm proved a lethal combo for Gallows, as the U.K. punks played to a nearly empty house Sunday night.
Todd Rundgren live!
Todd Rundgren Park West, Chicago Thursday, January 31, 2008 It has been four years since Todd Rundgren’s last proper studio CD, Liars, but he has been far from inactive during the gap. Outside of embarking on an extensive solo tour (which spawned the Liars Live DVD in 2005) he became the unlikely though fairly well-fitting […]
Joe Henry live!
Joe Henry Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Saturday, February 2, 2008 A rare tour by producer/songwriter Joe Henry found him in “Storytellers” mode at the Old Town School on Saturday night. During the first of two shows, he mocked his role in the world while quietly lamenting the country’s.
The Teenagers live!
The Teenagers Dark Wave Disco At Sonoteque, Chicago Saturday, January 26, 2008 There’s a good chance a group whose most notorious song is a document of the narrator sleeping with his step-cousin shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Perhaps that should’ve been the first indication of what was to come.
Lenny Kravitz live!
Lenny Kravitz Riviera Theatre, Chicago Saturday, January 26, 2008 These days Lenny Kravitz is more likely to play an arena than an intimate setting, making a pre-release warm up tour at the Riviera Theatre a somewhat unusual occurrence. The retro rocker likened it to being “just like the old days,” but with longevity under his […]
William Elliott Whitmore live!
William Elliott Whitmore Reggie’s Rock Club, Chicago Friday, January 18, 2008 It has become tradition when William Elliott Whitmore plays Chicago for audience members to continuously feed him booze. Couple that with the fact each time Whitmore comes to town he plays a bigger venue, which means even more fans, which means even more whiskey […]
Exile In Old Town School
Tribute To Exile On Main St. Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Friday, January 18, 2008 Having an ensemble recreate a classic album is hardly a novel concept, but there was something diabolically reverent and iconoclastic going on with Exile On Main St. on Friday. As performed by Old Town School faculty, alumni, and […]
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