Live Reviews
Rush live!
Rush First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre, Tinley Park Saturday, September 8, 2007 Some people call Rush dinosaurs. After all, the three bandmates have been around for more than 30 years churning out the same quality pseudo prog-rock that fans know and love. Judging from the myriad plastic dinosaurs adorning guitarist Alex Lifeson’s amp rig, Rush knows […]
Editors live!
Editors Park West, Chicago Tuesday, September 11, 2007 The sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and English post punk quartet Editors have little in common other than the band’s scheduled performance Tuesday night at Park West. The band weren’t even a twinkle in NME’s eye in 2001 and deal almost exclusively in personal politics.
Hideout Block Party review
Hideout Block Party The Hideout, Chicago September 7 & 8, 2007 After last year’s ridiculously perfect pairing of Touch And Go’s eclectic roster of artists and Chicago’s most delicious “dump” (as Frames frontman Glen Hansard eloquently put it Saturday night), the 2007 edition of the annual Hideout Block Party had big shoes to fill.
VHS Or Beta, Walter Meego live!
VHS Or Beta, Walter Meego Subterranean, Chicago Tuesday, September 4, 2007 There are certain shows where it’s obvious why one act is performing as the opener. There’s an apparent schism between skill level, stage presence, and/or notoriety, to name a few differentiating factors. And then there are shows where two or more acts share a […]
African Festival Of The Arts live!
Hugh Masekela, Poncho Sanchez, Goapale Washington Park, Chicago Friday, August 31, 2007 Sunday, September 2, 2007 Hugh Masakela After 18 years, the African Festival Of The Arts appears to be shifting the focus from international African and Diasporan acts, to American oldies groups such as Cameo and the Mary Jane Girls. However, powerhouse performers such […]
Counting Crows live!
Counting Crows Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN Saturday, September 1, 2007 On a glorious September night, a respectable audience, throbbing with an anticipatory sense of nostalgia, gathered to witness the return of genuine alt-rock superstars Counting Crows. Lead singer Adam Duritz has battled his demons, but after reforming body, mind, and soul, he and his […]
Earlimart live!
Earlimart Schubas, Chicago Thursday, August 30, 2007 Earlimart, like the South Central California town for which they’re named, have a propensity to be overlooked. They admit to not touring as much as they should, and their brand of college rock — Yo La Tengo without the manic guitar leads — is about as remarkable as […]
Wu-Tang Clan, Nas live!
Rock The Bells Charter One Pavilion, Chicago Sunday, August 26, 2007 Getting the entire Wu-Tang Clan on the same stage is a gargantuan undertaking. Thus pulling all nine of these erratic, kung fu flick-loving Staten Island rappers together was the primary draw of the original Rock The Bells concert in 2004. Three years later, the […]
New Orleans Social Club live!
New Orleans Social Club Millennium Park, Chicago Friday, August 24, 2007 Of all the stories chronicling the disasters of Hurricane Katrina, few explore the cultural devastation left in her wake. New Orleans was a hotbed of musical and cultural creation. Besides centuries-old jazz traditions, the city has also birthed its own brand of funk, rock, […]
Scott H. Biram live!
Scott H. Biram Schubas, Chicago Friday, August 17, 2007 “My grandma’s got a goat that pisses out its ass – tell you about that later.” Welcome, to a Scott H. Biram show.
Aretha Franklin live!
Aretha Franklin Ravinia, Highland Park Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Living legend Aretha Franklin is known for a plethora of radio smashes, including the enduring “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like),” “Chain Of Fools,” “Freeway Of Love,” “The House That Jack Built,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Spanish Harlem,” “I Knew You Were Waiting […]
Marilyn Manson & Slayer live!
Marilyn Manson, Slayer Allstate Arena, Rosemont Monday, August 13, 2007 Substance trumped style during one of the oddest double-headliner bills in recent memory, as legendary thrash gods Slayer and shock rocker Marilyn Manson performed at the Allstate Arena on Monday. Criticizing Christianity is about the only thing the two artists have in common (with Manson’s […]
Romantica live!
Romantica Schubas, Chicago Wednesday, August 8, 2007 Minneapolis-via-North Ireland folk-pop combo Romantica stopped into Schubas on a chilly August evening, bringing with them an unexpected, resilient warmth not counted upon given the tragic bridge accident just days earlier.
Lollapalooza review
Lollapalooza Grant Park, Chicago Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5, 2007 (Click above for more than 150 exclusive Lollapalooza photos) The summer festival can sometimes be a dicey proposition. Heat, rain, long lines for food/drinks/toilets are all conditions likely to arise. But you can’t deny the opportunity that it presents to hear lots of […]
Lolla Page 2
Saturday August 4, 2007 Resplendent in a costume that looked like a zebra-stripped bat cross-pollinated with a dungeon-dwelling dominatrix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O leveled any remaining doubt as to her status as a brand-new breed of rock star. While Nick Zinner (guitar) and Brian Chase (drums) churned out the tornadic soundtrack that is “Cheated […]
Recent Comments