Live Reviews
Tenacious D live!
Tenacious D UIC Pavilion, Chicago Friday, November 24, 2006 Click here for Tenacious D Photo Gallery Say what you will about Jack Black, the one thing he’s not looking for is work. With two films in theaters during the holidays, you won’t have to look far to get your Black fix.
Morrissey live!
Morrissey, Kristeen Young Aragon Ballroom, Chicago Tuesday, November 21, 2006 The generally reclusive, somewhat tour-shy Morrissey came out of his shell once again in support of 2006’s Ringleader Of The Tormentors (Attack), even if it was for just a single day in America. Though he’d previously debuted the material at South By Southwest in Austin, […]
Lloyd Cole, Dick Prall Live!
Lloyd Cole, Dick Prall Park West, Chicago Friday, November 10, 2006 On record, Lloyd Cole makes for a generally compelling listen, combining the stocky swagger of Elvis Costello, the mythical sense of Nick Cave, and a wry sense of humor akin to Leonard Cohen. On stage, one would expect all of those qualities to translate, […]
Riot Fest recap
Riot Fest Congress Theater, Chicago Sunday November 5, 2006 Celebrating its second anniversary as an annual event, Riot Fest 2006 set out to prove it’s the one-stop-shop for all things punk rock. A dozen or so equally minded (aesthetically speaking) bands stretched out sets over the course of a smoky, sweaty Sunday at Bucktown’s Congress […]
Trail Of Dead, Blood Brothers live
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Blood Brothers House Of Blues, Chicago Tuesday, October 31, 2006 In a great many obvious ways, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and The Blood Brothers are two very different outfits. Never mind the superficial or aesthetic differences that would […]
Acoustic Africa Review
Acoustic Africa Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Saturday, November 4, 2006 With all of the “unplugged†pop performances and “stripped down†rock tours, an acoustic African tour seems a tad ironic. At its core, African music is acoustic anyway so it makes little sense to jump on that bandwagon. Leave it to Putumayo, […]
Pet Shop Boys Live!
Pet Shop Boys Chicago Theatre, Chicago Friday, October 27, 2006 The Pet Shop Boys’ tour behind 1999’s Nightlife set a benchmark for the dance duo given its lavish production, glittering costumes, beehive-high headdresses, dancers, and two acts of hits. Though the duo hasn’t quite kept up with that since (including a failed musical, overlooked specialty […]
Iron Maiden live!
Iron Maiden Allstate Arena, Rosemont Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Five songs into his band’s Allstate set Bruce Dickinson made the announcement Iron Maiden would play A Matter Of Life And Death, the group’s newest record, in its entirety, from start to finish. This drew one of two reactions from fans: 1.) Excitement because they love […]
Lindsey Buckingham live!
Lindsey Buckingham Park West, Chicago Tuesday, October 24, 2006 The first words out of Lindsey Buckingham’s mouth at a packed Park West appeared to be a brutally honest self-examination that aptly summarizes the content found on his new CD, Under The Skin: “Reading the paper, saw a review/Said I was a visionary, but nobody knew/Now […]
Jerry Douglas, Paul Simon Live!
Jerry Douglas & Paul Simon Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont Monday, October 16, 2006 If Clapton is God, Jerry Douglas is the Holy Ghost. There are things this man can do with a dobro, or even a slide on electric guitar, that a lot of guitarists can’t do with 10 fingers. And we’ve played enough slide to […]
Trivium, The Sword, Protest The Hero Live!
Trivium, The Sword, Protest The Hero Metro, Chicago Tuesday, October 17, 2006 It’s uncommon anymore to see three bands that sound completely different from one another at a non-festival show. This is especially true for heavy metal, where, for whatever reason, headliner-plus-four-sound-alike-openers gigs have become status quo.
Aerosmith, Motley Crue live!
Aerosmith, Motley Crue First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park Thursday, October 5, 2006 “The Route Of All Evil Tour” was a fitting title to this fall’s Aerosmith and Motley Crue outing because both are known for partying, pyrotechnics, power ballads, and last but not least, flowing locks. Though the members of Aerosmith have toned down […]
Jenny Lewis, Viet Nam live!
Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins, Viet Nam Vic Theatre, Chicago Wednesday, October 4, 2006 For someone so concerned with the meteorology of relationships, Jenny Lewis sure doesn’t check the weather reports as often as she could. In January 2003 while fronting her regular gig, Rilo Kiley, she wore a tank top in the Abbey […]
Sleeping At Last live!
Sleeping At Last The Union, Naperville Friday, October 6, 2006 Sleeping At Last may just be Chicagoland’s best-kept secret, so it should be no surprise that they chose to kick off their first headlining nationwide tour in a small, virtually unknown venue. The little old white church building (now a concert venue dubbed “The Union”) […]
Shooter Jennings Live!
Shooter Jennings Joe’s, Chicago Saturday, September 30, 2006 With the exception of a quick “How ya doin’ Chicago?” as he took the stage Shooter Jennings offered little chit chat during the first four songs – “Electric Rodeo,” “Gone To Carolina,” “Little White Lines,” and “Solid Country Gold” – at Joe’s Saturday night.










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