Weekly
Snoop Dogg, Redman & Method Man live!
Congress, Chicago Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Upon leaving Snoop Dogg’s Wonderland High School Tour show at the Congress, a middle-aged, hippie-looking man approached me a block from the venue and asked me if I was at the concert – the one with “the music from California.” Admittedly, the long-haired guy wasn’t familiar with Snoop’s […]
Heavy Trash preview
Schubas, Chicago Sunday, November 15, 2009 It would be shocking if Heavy Trash’s Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray were up on daylight savings time. Neither of them seems to know what year it is.
Devendra Banhart preview
Vic, Chicago Monday, November 16, 2009 Regina Spektor proved that a proud anti-folk member could make it work for a major label, though her success didn’t exactly offer clues as to who would be next. After making a gentle leap to glamor-indie XL, hirsute cosmonaut Devendra Banhart is shilling for Reprise.
BK-One preview
Metro, Chicago Thursday, November 18, 2009 Brother Ali, who’s headlining this Metro gig, is a lot to handle. He’s bright white, self-righteous, on the big-boned side, and spits like a llama. You might not notice his DJ.
Lupe Fiasco live!
Congress Theatre, Chicago Thursday, October 29, 2009 Lasers, big lights, a JumboTron screen, and a full band featuring an animated guitarist were all pieces of Lupe Fiasco’s ever-visual Halloween show that drew a near-capacity crowd. While this West Side-raised rhymer has been quiet this year, his epic performance at the Congress reaffirmed his budding star […]
The Gaslight Anthem live!
House Of Blues, Chicago Tuesday, October 27, 2009 It seems like every few months, The Gaslight Anthem is out somewhere in Chicago. Just this past August, the group played a Lollapalooza after-party at Double Door, in addition to the outfit’s set at the festival proper. Before that, it was an April appearance at Double Door, […]
Lissie preview
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Thursday, November 12, 2009 For those of you hoofing it to the Ray Lamontagne show on Thursday, might we intrude a bit to introduce the opener before you doze off during the headliner’s set — and she’s from Rock Island, no less.
Submit To WXRT’s Holiday Spectacular!
Richard Milne Wants You We don’t expect you to actually bow down to 93.1-FM, but 2009 is advancing in age, which means it’s time for local holiday jingles.
Baling The Beatles
The Beatles Stereo Reissues At the Entertainer, we do it for you. We suffered through some 14 albums of some obnoxious old band called The Beatles, who’ve plagued the universe with new versions of their old albums. The following are our results. Beware.
Dead Man’s Bones live!
Schubas, Chicago Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Chalk it up to the season, proximity to an Academy Award-nominated heartthrob, or a gaggle of irrepressible, singing children dressed up in facepaint as ghouls, but Dead Man’s Bones (already carefully treading the line between shtick and valid art form) passes the test . . . at least during […]
David Foster & Friends live!
Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont Wednesday, October 21, 2009 He’s arguably the most successful pop-music producer in history and has worked with every major player since the ’70s. Between Whitney Houston, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Cher, and Josh Groban, his work has helped sell so many millions of albums it should fall to NASA […]
Monsters Of Folk preview
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Supergroups have less allure than they used to, because today everyone plays on everyone’s records. In the ’60s and ’70s, many Draconian industry contracts codified label monogamy (at least if you wanted credit); now, comparatively, indie rock and hip-hop are like Playboy-mansion orgies. So what if M. Ward, […]
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Thao Nguyen appears to love obstacles — especially the kind you can stack. Already challenged in the heart department, confronting her are the dreaded sophomore-album slump, having to refresh her melancholic-sunshine milieu, and making a concerted stab at being more mature. Good luck.
Simian Mobile Disco preview
Metro, Chicago Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Simian Mobile Disco were already dead once, so it’s probably useless to alert them of their suicide mission.
Two Dethklok/Mastodon reviews!
Mastodon/Dethklok/Converge/High On Fire Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul Friday, October 16, 2009 A curious bill of artists mixing an odd hodgepodge of metal styles, a fictional band brought to life, and a psychedelic astral journey set to prog-metal made for an astounding, exhausting night of music.
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