Live Reviews
Yeah Yeah Yeahs live live live
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Riviera, Chicago Friday, April 14, 2006 Chapter Two, the Second Act, the Sophomore effort; these things take on an almost mythical proportion when used in the Rock milieu. And if your band was birthed on hype and word-of-mouth buzz, than you can also add razor-sharp scrutiny to the aforementioned hyperbole.
David Gilmour live
David Gilmour Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont Thursday, April 13, 2006 There’s a fine line between boring and hypnotic. Appearing in support of On An Island, his first new material since Pink Floyd’s 1994 work The Division Bell, David Gilmour managed to cross that line both ways.
Sia live
Sia Martyrs’, Chicago Wednesday, April 12, 2006 It was an uncommonly warm April evening in Chicago on the 12th. There was an insubstantial threat of rain and the wind moved briskly, but nothing else was amiss, although the moon turning full. But could that cliché omen explain why Australian starlet Sia was crazy with a […]
Elbow live
Elbow Double Door, Chicago Sunday, April 16, 2006 In a slightly muted performance on Easter night, Elbow frontman Guy Garvey proved not to be kidding when he said they brought the weather with them. Countering the chugging momentum of their third album, Leaders Of The Free World (V2), Elbow’s delayed return to Chicago felt a […]
Say Anything review
Say Anything Beat Kitchen, Chicago Friday, April 7, 2006 Over the last few years, pop punk has gotten a bad name — at best a guilty pleasure and at worst a cred-destroying scarlet letter in your iPod, bright red against a backlit screen. Which is a large part of why Say Anything are a refreshing […]
Mates Of State, Maria Taylor Live!
Mates Of State, Maria Taylor Metro, Chicago Thursday, April 6, 2006 The initial effect Mates Of State have on people is how much sound the two of them produce — though their giddily happy marriage is a close second. So when opener Maria Taylor and her five-piece band joined them onstage prior to the encore, […]
UB40 Live!
UB40 House Of Blues, Chicago Friday, April 7, 2006 It would be easy to dismiss UB40 as an adult-lite version of true roots reggae, and their Friday performance at HOB wouldn’t have won over skeptics, as they performed nearly all their tried-and-true hits. Modern roots reggae in the U.S.A. still lives in the shadow of […]
Mat Kearney Live!
Mat Kearney Park West, Chicago Wednesday, April 5, 2006 Mat Kearney made a second appearance in Chicago within a few days, playing the House Of Blues on April 2nd, with a detour to Kentucky for a performance, and then back to the Park West. Although the singer-songwriter has never called Chicago home, he provided more […]
Neko Case live!
Neko Case Vic Theatre, Chicago Friday, March 31, 2006 While the debate rages whether Fox Confessor Brings The Flood is a darker affair than 2002’s Blacklisted, Neko Case used Friday’s gig at The Vic to bring considerable levity to her material. Casting the cloak of reverential austerity aside, Case led a five-piece band through a […]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live!
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Metro, Chicago Monday, April 3, 2006 To say it has been a busy year for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would be quite the understatement. An Internet phenomenon and a word-of-mouth success story, the Brooklyn quintet’s self-titled, self-released debut (unleashed in 2005) has not so quietly sold in the neighborhood […]
Beth Orton live!
Beth Orton Vic Theatre, Chicago Monday, April 3, 2006 Like she told us in our April feature, Beth Orton has been revitalized by her latest album, Comfort Of Strangers. While it did yield her best album since her debut, it also skewed her vision at the Vic on Monday and presumably on this tour. Somehow […]
Art Brut live!
Art Brut Metro, Chicago Thursday, March 30, 2006 Rock ‘N’ Roll has always been fueled by excessive ego and/or id. Oasis is the greatest band ever; just ask them. The Hives once told a capacity crowd at Metro, “Thank you Chicago! You’ve been great. And so were we.†So it was a bit odd that […]
Queen + Paul Rodgers Reviewed
Queen + Paul Rodgers Allstate Arena, Rosemont Thursday, March 23, 2006 After testing the waters, so to speak, overseas, the newly rechristened Queen + Paul Rodgers launched its first full-fledged American tour. Considering it’s been more than two decades since the original act stepped foot on Stateside soil, anticipation was high, though the stakes this […]
Electric Six Reviewed
Electric Six Double Door, Chicago Monday, March 27, 2006 Is a man able to smile for 90 minutes straight?
The National, The Cloud Room Reviewed
The National, The Cloud Room Double Door, Chicago Friday, March 24, 2006 Traipsing into town beneath an underdog’s flag, The National arrived at the Double Door having moved laterally since September. Though the press clippings piled on at year’s end, The National’s commercial momentum took a hit when Clap Your Hands opened for them last […]
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