Weekly
Empires live!
JBTV Studios, Chicago Tuesday, March 9, 2010 When treated as concerts, televised band performances can be a mixed bag. It would be all too easy for artists to treat such a venture as little more than a promotional exercise, one that doesn’t “count” and ends up more phoned-in than anything. Which is what made last […]
House Of Pain preview
Congress Theater, Chicago Friday, March 12, 2010 This will make you feel old: It’s been 18 years since House Of Pain’s “Jump Around” was a hit single. Eighteen years. Seriously! (It’s been 13 since Notorious B.I.G. was killed!) So who cares about a HOP reunion now? This guy.
Ben Sollee & Daniel Lee Martin preview
Space, Evanston Friday, March 12, 2010 Solo singer/songwriter Kentuckians get semi-Appalachian on songs bemoaning the mining destruction of the homestate’s environment.
Pumpkins auditions
Billy Corgan’s bassist Ginger Pooley has left Smashing Pumpkins to concentrate on raising a family, which creates an obvious void. Before you clamor for “D’Arcy!!,” Corgan’s going to the fans.
Heligoats preview
Schubas, Chicago Sunday, March 7, 2010 Chris Otepka began Heligoats during his tenure in Troubled Hubble, an Elburn-based band whose reams of critical praise didn’t amount to much commercial success.
High On Fire reviewed
Snakes For The Divine (E1) By all reasonable accounts – ignoring the kinds of people who insist Mastodon’s Remission is better than Leviathan – High On Fire’s 2007 Death Is This Communion is its magnum opus. That’s partly because High On Fire is High On Fucking Fire and doesn’t bother with shit that doesn’t rule […]
Alkaline Trio reviewed
This Addiction (Heart & Skull/Epitaph) For all the grumbling that Alkaline Trio have strayed from the rawer sound present on the act’s initial outings, the three-man punk outfit don’t seem to have any trouble getting bodies out to see them. Appearing: February 27 and 28 at Metro in Chicago.
Dr. Wax Farewell Concert
McCormick Auditorium, Chicago Sunday, February 28, 2010 To many artists and music fans, Dr. Wax was a Chicago institution. While the local record-store chain lost two locations up North in recent years — one in Edgewater and the other in Evanston — the impact wasn’t felt quite like the announcement of the closing of its […]
Rocky Votolato preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, February 26, 2010 Why is this man smiling? No clue. Singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato — if his work is any gauge — has lost just about every love-based battle he’s fought, something that hasn’t changed for True Devotion (Barsuk), out this week.
Carolina Chocolate Drops preview
FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Saturday, February 27, 2010 It’s invoked to be provocative, but with an album as good as Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch) you almost wonder if Carolina Chocolate Drops have done their music a disservice by drawing attention away from it.
Tinariwen preview
Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Saturday, February 27, 2010 Tinariwen are exactly the sort of guitar band who you feel could break Joe America’s skittishness toward “world” music, yet stand in their own way. The title of their fourth album translates to “companions,” which suggests an unfortunate, one-world Benetton pretense. If people only […]
John Butler Trio live!
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Monday, February 15, 2010 Those concerned by the inherent radio friendliness of “One Way Road” – the first single from the John Butler Trio’s forthcoming album, April Uprising — can breathe easy. Using Monday night’s sold-out show at Lincoln Hall as a gauge, the songs populating the band’s fifth studio release retain […]
Mariah Carey live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Saturday, February 13, 2010 As someone who’s accustomed to playing arenas, seeing Mariah Carey in a theater setting could either be interpreted as a rare, intimate treat for die-hards or an indication that she can’t quite sell as many tickets anymore. Sure, two sold-out nights at the Chicago Theatre aren’t anything to […]
Wild Beasts preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, February 19, 2010 Looking back, Wild Beasts could have gotten away with about anything on their debut, Limbo, Panto (Domino). One unhinged instrument sounds even less controlled when the rest of the orchestra moves in time, so why not air them all out?
El Perro Del Mar preview
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Monday, February 22, 2010 No one cares about it, but my love/hate affair with El Perro Del Mar’s music has been documented on this site. Icy, repellant, a feast for Kate Bush fans — she’s upsetting but compellingly sure of her direction.
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