Live Reviews
The Wreckers Live!
The Wreckers Joe’s, Chicago Monday, August 7, 2006 I wasn’t aware this show was acoustic until I arrived at Joe’s and saw the room half full of tables taking up the usual standing room. It was a welcome surprise, though, since The Wreckers’ record is an organic, country-tinted slice of Americana, obviously written on acoustic […]
Lollapalooza review 2
Page [ 1 ] 2 [ 3 ] BIGGEST SURPRISE Lady Sovereign if only because I was expecting the obnoxious better-at-jumping-around-and-screaming-than-rapping Lady Sov my partner-in-scribe Steve witnessed at Intonation. While the pint-sized MC did plenty of jumping and screaming (provoking her to exclaim “I’m losing my voice, bloody hell!” toward the end of her set) […]
Lollapalooza review 3
Page [ 1 ] [ 2 ] 3 WORST BIG-SCREEN VIDEO EDITING Sleater-Kinney. We know it was probably their last Chicago show ever, but did we need the slow-motion effects? We almost expected the soundperson to cut the power on the Oregon rockers and blast Green Day’s “Time Of Your Life.” (TF) The crew working […]
Muse Live!
Muse Aragon, Chicago Thursday, July 27, 2006 Thursday night’s Muse show inside a sweltering Aragon may not have provided any relief from the unforgiving heat, but it did provide an oasis of sorts. It acted as a respite from seemingly like-minded alt-arena art bands who have since disappeared or abandoned what gained them their notoriety […]
Dashboard Confessional live
Dashboard Confessional Chicago Theatre, Chicago Friday, July 28, 2006 Somewhere along the way, Dashboard Confessional, lead by non-threatening heartthrob/poet laureate Chris Carrabba, switched things up on us. And if you weren’t paying attention, you might not have really noticed. The group — or, more specifically, Carrabba — has gone from acoustic balladeer, writing tender songs […]
Melissa Etheridge Live!
Melissa Etheridge Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Thursday, July 20, 2006 Chances are Melissa Etheridge wouldn’t have had any trouble selling tickets to three nights at the Auditorium Theatre on her own, though it’s safe to say she found additional leverage from the Gay Games being in town last week. “You have a very gay city at […]
The Sword Live!
The Sword Subterranean, Chicago Monday, July 24, 2006 A funny thing happened after The Sword finished their second song Monday night: An audience member, standing toward the front of a packed Subterranean crowd, yelled “Black Sabbath” loud enough for everyone to hear. Sword frontman/guitarist J.D. Cronise smiled as he quipped, “No. We’re The Sword.”
DeVotchKa Live!
DeVotchKa Subterranean, Chicago Friday, July 21, 2006 When a band arrives onstage bearing a Christmas light-bedecked tuba played by a woman, you know you’re in for a good time.
Fiona Apple, Damien Rice live
Fiona Apple, Damien Rice Charter One Pavilion, Chicago Thursday, July 13, 2006 It’s emotionally exhausting to be overwhelmingly heartbroken, so when the essence of this process is flawlessly captured by a song it’s both distinctively illusionary and sensory for a listener. Past frustrations and sentiments become more lifelike with the utterance of each lyric and […]
Sounds Of The Underground review
Sounds Of The Underground First Midwest Parking Lot, Tinley Park Sunday, July 9, 2006 Highlighted by stunning back-to-back sets by In Flames and Trivium, the sophomore year of Sounds Of The Underground tour bids fair to be one of the best of this summer’s many multi-band concerts. Last year’s version was thin on metal, heavy […]
AFI Live
AFI Vic Theatre, Chicago Friday, July 7, 2006 When it comes to the notion of selling out, it’s a tired argument. More often than not, there’s no clear winner. In the case of AFI, however, it can be assumed the group are done performing for the niche crowd they once drew. It’s a fair bet […]
Refugee All Stars Of Sierra Leone, Kekele Live!
Refugee All Stars Of Sierra Leone, Kekele Welles Park, Chicago Sunday, July 9, 2006 With contemporary images of reggae closely associated with weed and hazy mind states, it’s easy to forget the genre started as revolutionary music. That point was vividly brought to life when the Refugee All Stars Of Sierra Leone took the stage […]
Maxi Priest reviewed
Maxi Priest, Baby Cham, Calypso Rose Washington Park, Chicago Sunday, July 2, 2006 Always a good barometer of what’s hot and what’s not in the Caribbean community, the 15th annual African Caribbean Festival Of Life served up an interesting array of classic icons, crossover masters, and hardcore artists. Each proved their relevance and popularity with […]
Intonation Festival
Intonation Music Festival Union Park, Chicago Saturday, June 24, 2006 Sunday, June 25, 2006 The second annual Intonation Music Festival in Union Square was a successful mashup of old and new, rockism and hip-hop. While not as well-attended as a roster of this caliber might deliver individually, the anything-goes format catered to the strengths (and […]
Slayer Live
Slayer, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Children Of Bodom Aragon, Chicago Tuesday, June 20, 2006 There’s an episode of “Seinfeld” where George Costanza, while talking to his date, suggests toilet paper hasn’t changed in his lifetime and never will. In fact, he claims, everything has and will change, but not TP. His bubble is later burst, […]
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