Weekly
Grand Archives & The Acorn preview
Grand Archives, The Acorn Schubas, Chicago Saturday, March 8, 2008 Band Of Horses may have had an uncanny sonic resemblance to My Morning Jacket, but they actually were writing their own tunes. They’ll have to continue without co-founder/songwriter Mat Brooke, however, who took his single “t” and founded Grand Archives.
Sam Barsh preview
Sam Barsh Green Mill, Chicago Saturday, March 8, 2008 Sam Barsh seems like a fun guy. C’mon, there he is on the front cover of I Forgot What You Taught Me (Razdaz) jumping in the air with one hand clinched in a fist and the other holding a small keyboard with his name painted on […]
Rakim reviewed
Rakim The Archive: Live, Lost & Found (Koch) I could kick Koch Records in the balls for this CD. Four unreleased tracks, 18 live cuts, and no production notes.
Dolly Parton reviewed
Dolly Parton Backwoods Barbie (Dolly) Dolly Parton brims with so much vitality she resented being bounced from country radio and resorting to albums that earned critical acclaim. Radio and TV are where she wants to shine and if the major labels won’t help — well, you saw what she did to Dabney Coleman.
Winds Of Plague reviewed
Winds Of Plague Decimate The Weak (Century Media) “What the fuck is up motherfuckers? This is Winds Of Plague on that 2008 shit.” That is Winds Of Plague frontman Johnny Plague’s intro to “Reloaded.” Still want to hear the rest of the album?
Bon Jovi live
Bon Jovi United Center, Chicago Saturday, February 23, 2008 The boys in Bon Jovi never fail to capitalize on the periphery fluff that made them household names. Sure, now-classic songs “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” from 1986’s chart topping Slippery When Wet fanned the flame of their popularity, but […]
James Blunt live
James Blunt Riviera Theatre, Chicago Friday, February 22, 2008 James Blunt needs to watch a tape of himself performing so he can work on eliminating the wacky faces his mug contorts into mid-song. They’re a cross between disconcerting and just plain weird. Click here for a full photo set from Friday’s show.
Shannon Wright live
Shannon Wright Schubas, Chicago Friday, February 22, 2008 Shannon Wright’s fifth album, Let In The Light (Quarterstick), dropped the guitars from 2005’s Over The Sun like a three-headed kitten. But such a feline has more than the customary nine lives and Wright cashed one in Friday at Schubas.
Ludo preview
Ludo Metro, Chicago Thursday, February 28, 2008 Unlike the band’s namesake, Ludo bears no resemblance to the gigantic, dumpy creature with a heart of gold in Jim Henson’s 1986 cult film, Labyrinth. Actually, take that back, the St. Louis-based quintet does embody a sound as enormous as Henson’s creation and flirts with darkly comedic subject […]
Tim Mahoney preview
Tim Mahoney Duffy’s, Chicago Monday, March 4, 2008 The name on the album cover says Tim Mahoney, but you might as well call him Frank, Joe, or Larry – even Moe or Curly for that matter. You aren’t going to remember his name after hearing Stay/Leave anyway.
Night Schools Of Rock
Free Musicians Panels Who says nothing’s free? A pair of music discussions dot the next couple of weeks with the hopes of gripping you by your green ears and teaching you what’s what in the industry.
Stax Vs. Motown & The Beatles
Various Artists Soulsville Sings Hitsville/Stax Does The Beatles (Stax) Stax always seemed an underdog American soul label despite its size and pivotal existence, and its modern-day revival under Concord Music Group’s tutelage is well deserved. But that doesn’t mean it recorded more gold than it knew what to do with.
Graveyard reviewed
Graveyard Graveyard (Tee Pee) One day Tee Pee and Kemado Records should merge. If they do, their stoner bands will comprise one hell of a compilation.
A.A. Bondy live!
A.A. Bondy Beat Kitchen, Chicago Thursday, February 14, 2008 In his previous life, A.A. Bondy was Scott Bondy, frontman for Verbena, dirty sexy Southern grunge darlings from Birmingham, Alabama who burned hot fast then fizzled before they had a chance to warm up to more than a small but staunchly devoted following. The band’s implosion […]
Nicole Atkins & The Sea preview
Nicole Atkins & The Sea Subterranean, Chicago Thursday, February 21, 2008 Accolades for Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black were well-earned, though the album’s old-R&B/hip-hop marriage was clearly contrived and felt occasionally forced. Nicole Atkins can’t touch Winehouse for personality or moxy, but her Neptune City (Red Ink/Columbia) is decidedly less self-conscious about its chosen idiom.
Recent Comments