Live Reviews
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 […]
Serena Maneesh Reviewed
Serena Maneesh Empty Bottle, Chicago Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Norway’s Serena Maneesh, having swung through town three weeks ago en route to South By Southwest in Austin, decided to topple the Empty Bottle once more before fleeing the continent — a final attempt to shake the club to its foundations.
Peter Hook DJ Set Reviewed
Peter Hook Smart Bar, Chicago Tuesday, March 28, 2006 For all the time he logged with Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook is certainly connected to the club scene. Not only have both of the bassist’s bands been spun to death over the decades from the DJ booth, but they’ve also become unforgettable examples […]
Arctic Monkeys review
Arctic Monkeys Metro, Chicago Saturday, March 18, 2006 It seems as if not a week goes by that the British music press doesn’t anoint some band as “The Next Great Band In The History Of Next Great Bands.†Occasionally, they get a few right (Blur, Franz Ferdinand, Supergrass), or, at the very least help elicit […]
Richard Butler reviewed
Richard Butler Abbey Pub, Chicago Monday, March 20, 2006 Some rock ‘n’ rollers sure do take their time when it comes to releasing records, and Richard Butler certainly fits into that category. The ultra-cool frontman for The Psychedelic Furs and later Love Spit Love has been hinting at a solo album since the late 1990s, […]
Taste Of Chaos review
Taste Of Chaos UIC Pavilion, Chicago Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 The annual Taste Of Chaos tour has been called “the winter Warped.” And with last year’s event headlined by The Used and joined by tourmates like My Chemical Romance, plus the fact Chaos was put together by the powers behind Warped, it was a tag […]
Recent Comments