Weekly
Ray Davies live!
Ray Davies Chicago Theatre, Chicago Tuesday, April 1, 2008 No one can ever credit Ray Davies as being a prolific solo songwriter: at age 63, he just turned in his second proper full-length offering, Working Man’s Café (New West). But for fans of his time in The Kinks, a fairly thin individual catalog meant spending […]
Kathleen Edwards preview
Kathleen Edwards Metro, Chicago Saturday, April 5, 2008 “But you have to see them live” should be a given. We hear it all the time, especially from publicists who can’t get anyone to see their bands based on the albums they’ve released. But with Kathleen Edwards it’s pure fact. In order to see how good […]
Ben Jelen preview
Ben Jelen Martyrs, Chicago Sunday, April 6, 2008 Scottish-born singer-songwriter Ben Jelen can’t decide whether he wants to be a musician or save the world. He’s determined to try his hand at both, but listening to his sophomore effort, Ex-Sensitive (Custard), one wonders if he’s stretching himself too thin.
Cherryholmes preview
Cherryholmes Raue Center, Crystal Lake Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Next time you go to a concert and complain about the opening acts, spend too much on drinks, drink too much, and forget most the evening’s highlights by the time the headache wears off the next morning, think of the Cherryholmes family. They went to a […]
Dreams Destroyed
Fire burns music venue/eatery in Lockport hotel Dreams Sports Bar & Eatery, which was located in the same building as the historic Towpath Inn (935 S. State, Lockport), burnt to the ground in a fire early Tuesday, April 1st. A man, believed to be a resident of the hotel, died in the blaze.
Dismember reviewed
Dismember untitled (Regain) They don’t get as much credit as Entombed — rightfully so — for shaping Swedish death metal, and in turn “death ‘n’ roll,” but Dismember were side-by-side in the trenches during the early days. It’s only fitting the band make a full return to the early days on their new album.
Outlaws Rise Again?
Various Artists Outlaw Country (Legacy) Amazingly, “outlaw country” has failed to be legitimately co-opted. Rap has proven you can buy your way in and out of being gangsta, but country fans have always separated white-trash chic from legit white trash. Crossing the fence can rack you: No one considers Hank Williams Jr. to be anymore […]
Avantasia reviewed
Avantasia The Scarecrow (Nuclear Blast) Give it to Tobias Sammet – Edguy frontman and Avantasia mastermind – for being ballsy: On a record of mostly four-to-six minute songs, he puts the only epic, the 11-minute title track, second in the sequence.
Be Your Own Pet reviewed
Be Your Own Pet Get Awkward (Ecstatic Peace/Universal) How do you defend against a band who pop off “I don’t wanna grow up” in their second album’s second verse — especially when they aren’t Toys R Us kids? Appearing: Thursday, June 12th at House Of Blues in Chicago.
Louis XIV, What Made Milwaukee Famous live
Louis XIV, What Made Milwaukee Famous Metro, Chicago Saturday, March 22, 2008 When Louis XIV picked up steam in 2004, it was on the road alongside The Killers and Von Bondies, and quickly led to a deal with Atlantic Records. Even though the industry was riding the resurrected garage and dance rock crazes to excessive […]
Stephen Malkmus live
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Vic Theatre, Chicago Friday, March 21, 2008 The patchwork wall between indie rock and jam bands came crashing down Friday night, as a plodding Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks burned holes through the Vic stage with their eyes.
Justice live!
Justice Riviera, Chicago Thursday, March 20, 2008 Somewhere in the midst of Justice’s whirlwind set last Thursday at the Riviera, it became difficult to distinguish exactly what song the electro duo were performing off their 2007 breakthrough album †. Good thing that was hardly the point.
The Raveonettes live!
The Raveonettes Double Door, Chicago Tuesday, March 18, 2008 At this point in The Raveonettes’ career, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have inarguably established themselves and their sound — specifically, feedback-drenched fuzz pop with a healthy mix of ’50s love songs and The Jesus And Mary Chain as their primary influences.
Gary Louris, Vetiver preview
Gary Louris, Vetiver Metro, Chicago Friday, March 28, 2008 Jayhawks founder and Golden Smog co-conspirator Gary Louris is always surrounded by so much talent you can never be sure where his begins or ends. It’s also the case on his first(!) solo album, Vagabonds (Rykodisc). Maybe, finally, the tour in its support will set the […]
Doro preview
Doro Pearl Room, Mokena Saturday, March 29, 2008 Occasionally, when writing about a heavy metal band I’ll pull out The Book Of Metal, written by Metal Hammer editor Chris Ingham and billed as “the most comprehensive encyclopedia of metal music ever created,” as a reference. Most comprehensive ever, yet no damn Doro?
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