Weekly
Flosstradamus live!
At this point in the game, predicting the continual advent of the next generation of Chicago hip-hop talent is hardly a new or groundbreaking call. Nearly every music magazine in the country has written about at least some, if not the majority of the talent that has emerged the last few years. In fact, many […]
Atmosphere live!
Atmosphere Metro, Chicago Wednesday, April 23, 2008 It doesn’t seem much of a stretch to see life imitating art in the case of Minneapolis hip-hop outfit Atmosphere. After all, the group’s just-released record is titled When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, which might explain the impressive level of output released by […]
Earth live!
Earth The Note, Chicago Friday, April 25, 2008 “Dude, I’m bored,” announced a friend of a friend in a Venom-themed Boris T-shirt. “Are you guys going to leave soon?” It was a damned good question. After six songs of blandly introverted, lightly amplified twang, many at the quaint Wicker Park bar were starting to come […]
International Pop Overthrow Wrap-Up
International Pop Overthrow Various clubs, Chicago April 15th – 27th, 2008 Back in 1998, when David Bash organized the first International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles, he probably couldn’t have imagined how much his low-budget, annual celebration of power pop would flourish. By 2001, International Pop Overthrow, named after a Material Issue song and album […]
Neva Dinova preview
Neva Dinova Schubas, Chicago Thursday, May 1, 2008 Saddle Creek Records has always seemed a youthful label, largely because of Conor Oberst but also from recent signings like Tokyo Police Club. Neva Dinova, new to the imprint as well, have been around the block often enough to sketch its topography from memory.
The Myriad preview
The Myriad Park West, Chicago Friday, May 2, 2008 Despite the band’s name, The Myriad fail to encapsulate a wide variety of styles and influences on With Arrows, With Poise (Koch). The Seattle-based quartet must have latched on to English atmospheric rockers Muse a few years ago and just never let go, which isn’t altogether […]
Tokyo Police Club preview
Tokyo Police Club Metro, Chicago Monday, May 5, 2008 We music critics aren’t so good at math. If we were, we wouldn’t be music critics; we’d be providing some sort of real service to the world. Probably making real money too. But even us right brainers know 28 minutes divided by 11 songs equals not […]
Cedarwell preview
Cedarwell Subterranean, Chicago Wednesday, May 7, 2008 If you believe everything Wikipedia says (and we do), NCAA basketball coach Rick Majerus, comedian Jackie Mason, and death metal band Morbid Angel are all from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. And those are the highlights! Sheboygan native Erik G. Neave should be optimistic his name might someday be included on […]
Mariah Carey reviewed
Mariah Carey E=MC2 (Island) Before Amy Winehouse was arrested, Britney Spears shaved, and Ashlee Simpson taped “SNL,” Mariah Carey fell apart on MTV and began one of the most spectacular celebrity flameouts the world had seen.
Century reviewed
Century Black Ocean (Prosthetic) Carson Slovak’s tightly wound Century manage to create space for themselves on their third album, though, in accordance with some prevailing scientific theories, that space is finite.
Jason Miles & DJ Logic reviewed
Jason Miles & DJ Logic Global Noize (Shanachie) Fusion/bop veteran Jason Miles and the man largely credited with funneling jazz into early hip-hop, DJ Logic, are joined by Meshell Ndegeocello, John Popper, Vernon Reid, Bernie Worrell, and more in a largely frustrating, bland world blend.
Iron And Wine live!
Iron And Wine Vic Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Just as bookends maintain a shelf’s order and organization, the breathtaking opening and closing numbers of Iron And Wine’s tour-closing show on Tuesday – the second of a two-night stand in Chicago’s Vic Theatre – kept the rest of the set list from going off […]
Constantines preview
Constantines Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, April 24, 2008 After releasing their second album in 2005, Ontario’s Constantines cranked out an album of Neil Young covers under their frequent alias, Horsey Craze. The band, who have always marked a sort of midpoint between classic rock and Fugazi, pendulum back on this spring’s Kensington Heights (Arts & […]
Antenna Shoes preview
Antenna Shoes Hideout, Chicago Thursday, April 24, 2008 Antenna Shoes, the solo project of Memphis man-about-town Tim Regan, crackles with a dark pop sensibility, which can be slightly hard to swallow (“M.I.A.”) or can go down as easy as Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar (“T New”). That Regan delves into a murky, not-suitable-for-primetime corner of […]
Jake Shimabukuro preview
Jake Shimabukuro Old Town School Of Folk, Chicago Saturday, April 26, 2008 The thing about the ukulele is, its range spans a whopping four strings and two octaves. Even if you are the “Eddie Van Halen of the ukulele,” there’s only so much you can do with it.
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