Weekly
The Legacy Of 1959
Dave Brubeck Quartet | Miles Davis | Charles Mingus Time Out | Sketches Of Spain | Mingus Ah Um (Columbia/Legacy) For its 2009 thesis, the Legacy reissue arm of Sony Music contends 1959 was jazz’s greatest year. While Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue would establish that for any jazz novice, the label tosses three other […]
Gogol Bordello live!
Congress Theater, Chicago Sunday, May 31, 2009 Spectacle comes second nature to the New York-by-way-of-Eastern-Europe collective known as Gogol Bordello. Whether it’s mustachioed, red-wine-swigging frontman Eugene Hutz dizzily stalking the stage like a deranged Lord Of The Dance (donning a sequined sombrero no less), violinist Sergey Ryabtsev making a case for landing a part […]
Koko Taylor, 80
Queen Of The Blues dies in Chicago The Chicago Tribune is reporting that blues dynamo Koko Taylor has died at Northwestern Memorial while recovering from surgery on a gastrointestinal bleed after what was believed to be a successful procedure. She was one of the few women in the male-dominated Chicago blues world of the ’60s […]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs live
Aragon, Chicago Tuesday, May 26, 2009 A common concern with success is whether someone gets too big too quickly. In Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ case, they went from a venue the size of the Riviera (where this show was originally booked) to the Aragon in a matter of weeks. No wonder frontwoman Karen O. didn’t know […]
Testament live
House Of Blues, Chicago Friday, May 15, 2009 Contrary to what you’ve heard, a classic, Bay-Area thrash-metal band released one of the finest albums of its career in 2008, marked by a return to form, crisp production, and an ability to capture what made the band great in the first place.
Fall Out Boy do ‘Soundstage’
Soundstage, Chicago Tuesday, May 12, 2009 When Death Cab For Cutie hit PBS’ “Soundstage” program last month, it proved a sensible pairing. Coming out of their time as acclaimed indie darlings, the group has grown into a band that seems practically designed for a sensible setting like “Soundstage,” all traces of college rock replaced by […]
St. Vincent preview
Metro, Chicago Sunday, June 7, 2009 The first time IE came across St. Vincent (Annie Clark), she was by herself opening for John Vanderslice. Armed with a guitar and laptop, she came across as if she could have been the twee-est possible member of the old Grand Royal Records, Luscious Jackson’s introverted-bordering-on-autistic stepsister.
Apostle Of Hustle preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Sunday, June 7, 2009 Broken Social Scene’s Andrew Whiteman’s surname creates no expectations and thereby gives him total freedom to work in ethnic textures. Despite the damage he could do, however, the Whiteman wisely sticks to what he knows on the new Eats Darkness (Arts & Crafts). Though highly skilled, his tastes […]
Dexateens reviewed
Singlewide (Skybucket) Southern music frequently treats poverty with a kind of patriotism, framing hardship as a speedbump on the way to better things or a loving sacrifice for children, etc. When it’s not, it’s a stock reason for getting drunk. Spurred on by their fans in Drive-By Truckers, Dexateens mix in some Stonesy rock to […]
Scott Herren’s springtime avalanche
Savath Y Savalas | Diamond Watch Wrists La Llama | Ice Capped At Both Ends (Stones Throw | Warp) Guillermo Scott Herren (not the activist poet Gil Scott-Heron) has never been shy to record as much as he wants, using as many aliases as he needs. But 2009 has been unprecedented. On April 14th, he […]
The Dead live!
Allstate Arena, Rosemont Monday, May 4th, 2009 By the time the latest version of the Grateful Dead took the stage at 7:45 Monday night, the circus surrounding this event was already many-hours old.
Leonard Cohen live!
Chicago Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, May 5, 2009 With 15 years since he last performed on American soil, it’s no wonder why Leonard Cohen’s pair of Chicago Theatre shows are amongst the most anticipated of the year thus far. Though fans were given a sneak peak of the set list via the CD/DVD collections Live In […]
Flight Of The Conchords live!
Arie Crown, Chicago Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Reality and television converged at the first of a two-night, sold-out stand that brought HBO darlings Flight Of The Conchords to the Arie Crown Theater. Flanked by two screens better suited for the lawn at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement deadpanned their way […]
The Greencards preview
Abbey Pub, Chicago Thursday, May 7, 2009 The Greencards is a gender-mixed multinational acoustic power trio consisting of singer/bassist Carol Young, violinist/violist Eamon McLoughlin, and multi-instrumentalist Kym Warner. It has taken a shared obsession with bluegrass and American roots music, wrapped it up in a core of fiddle, cello, mandolin, bouzouki, and bass, and created […]
Manchester Orchestra preview
Subterranean, Chicago Friday, May 8, 2009 Just babies when their first album arrived, Manchester Orchestra’s Mean Everything To Nothing presents the band a chance to show us just exactly who they are.
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