Weekly
American band
As the election cycle amps up, we’re in line for some more hopelessly partisan bickering, a lot of which will shamelessly exploit the 9/11 anniversary. There are ways to get around the politics of it all — this weekend has Grand Funk Railroad at the Honor Flight fundraiser in Woodstock.
The little continent that could
With colorful exports such as Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, and Cut Copy, it’s easy to forget the gritty side of Australia. Paul Kelly arrives in town next week, as do non-compatriots John Hiatt, The Jim Jones Revue, Adam Levy, Painted Palms, and The Dirt Daubers.
Blondie live!
Unlike several veteran bands that cling to a repertoire of old hits, Blondie entertained a capacity crowd at House Of Blues Wednesday night with several tracks from its latest release, Panic Of Girls.
Pearl Jam 20 review!
As career choices go, rock ‘n’ roll isnât exactly the most reliable path. Failure is the rule not the exception. So any time a band reaches any sort of recognizable milestone, itâs usually cause for celebration. When that benchmark is two decades, well, a simple Hallmark card isnât going to do it.
Guster and Jack’s Mannequin live!
 Between the constant rain, empty spots in the pavilion and lawn, and complete mid-set power outage, Chicagolandâs famed outdoor venue Ravinia wasnât real kind to Guster and Jackâs Mannequin on Saturday night, as both bands played their debut show there. Fortunately, neither group let those challenges affect their sets.
Fruits of Labor
Labor Day traditionally represents the spiritual end of summer — oh yes, it has spirit, how ’bout you? — but don’t tell ANR, Fruit Bats, Male Bonding, Robert Earl Keen, or Motopony, all in town this week.
RIP Honeyboy Edwards
Bluesman David “Honeyboy” Edwards died last Monday aged 96, a dyed-in-the-wool Delta bluesman whose final decade would be his most prolific.
North By Northcoast
Electronic music doesn’t have to be scary. But if you continue to avoid it while it advances at its rapid pace, you’ll be terrified in no time. Here’s our rock-leaning preview of North Coast festival, as well as upcoming gigs by Jim Ward, Plain White T’s, Keegan DeWitt, and Heart-Set Self Destruct.
I Am . . . somebody
We just noticed that two of the biggest local-music showcases, Mobfest and I Am Fest, are acronyms (Music Over Business and Independent Arts & Music). That’s not the only weirdness you’ll find in our preview containing I Am, The War On Drugs, the long-awaited Braid reunion, and Blah Blah Blah’s release show.
Dumb, da-dumb-dumb dumb!
LMFAO are not the most terrible thing to happen to music, ever. Even if it seems that way. They’re in town this week, as are Canon Blue, Kyle Andrews, and Something Fierce.
For your benefit
Another block of weekend shows features two illness benefits, the rebirth of Q101, Shayna & The Catch, and Radiation City.
Lovett every minute of it
Leave it to Lyle Lovett to leave a tribute album to a fellow Texan sounding like an entirely different Texan — the Rick Perry effect? It’s all part of your unpredictable weekend including Tim Kasher, Nikka Costa, Elzhi, and Natalia Kills.
Taylor Swift pics online
Head to our photo site for a full gallery of Taylor Swift pics by Curt Baran at Allstate Arena last week!
Woodstock started today . . .
. . . and The Spirit Of Peace And Music Festival begins this weekend in Freeport, just west of Rockford. Also this week, donate some coin for the damaged Garfield Park Conservatory, see George Thorogood revisit Chess Records, and Incubus commit career suicide. The inaugural Spirit party launches Friday and lasts all weekend, during which […]
Steely Dan live!
The idea of centering a tour around a classic album is nothing new, but itâs a concept that always seems to attract both the radio browsers banking on the hits and more studied aficionados craving deep cuts. Few have perfected the formula better than Steely Dan, who first tested it out in 2009 during multiple […]
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