Stage Buzz
The XX preview
Bottom Lounge, Chicago Tuesday, December 1, 2009 One of the most auspicious album-debuts for 2009 is such a shy record it’s a wonder anyone heard it at all.
Bebel Gilberto preview
Park West, Chicago Wednesday, December 2, 2009 It fits that Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country on a Spanish-inflected continent, because its music — even when written in protest — seems to dismiss traditional, Latin fire as a waste of energy.
Rob Zombie preview
Aragon, Chicago Sunday, November 22, 2009 What are you supposed to expect from Rob Zombie’s forthcoming Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls And The Systematic Dehumanization Of Cool (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud)? The whole world only has access to two of the 11 tracks, so you’ll just have to join him at the Aragon to […]
DJ Rupture + Matt Shadetek preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, November 20, 2009 Jace Clayton perhaps overshot when he took the name DJ Rupture. Far from some icy, glitch-happy beat assassin, he’s a synergist. “He’s worked with The Ex and Guy Picciotto,” you sneer, “formed a bond with Kid606.” True, and all he has done since is bring those things together.
Blind Pilot preview
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Wednesday, November 25, 2009 There is protocol for missing the boat on a band, not just among the music press but people in general. The first is to fake ignorance and act like you’ve been there from the beginning and using the flimsiest evidence — like a calendar listing — as proof.
Heavy Trash preview
Schubas, Chicago Sunday, November 15, 2009 It would be shocking if Heavy Trash’s Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray were up on daylight savings time. Neither of them seems to know what year it is.
Devendra Banhart preview
Vic, Chicago Monday, November 16, 2009 Regina Spektor proved that a proud anti-folk member could make it work for a major label, though her success didn’t exactly offer clues as to who would be next. After making a gentle leap to glamor-indie XL, hirsute cosmonaut Devendra Banhart is shilling for Reprise.
BK-One preview
Metro, Chicago Thursday, November 18, 2009 Brother Ali, who’s headlining this Metro gig, is a lot to handle. He’s bright white, self-righteous, on the big-boned side, and spits like a llama. You might not notice his DJ.
Lissie preview
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Thursday, November 12, 2009 For those of you hoofing it to the Ray Lamontagne show on Thursday, might we intrude a bit to introduce the opener before you doze off during the headliner’s set — and she’s from Rock Island, no less.
Monsters Of Folk preview
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Supergroups have less allure than they used to, because today everyone plays on everyone’s records. In the ’60s and ’70s, many Draconian industry contracts codified label monogamy (at least if you wanted credit); now, comparatively, indie rock and hip-hop are like Playboy-mansion orgies. So what if M. Ward, […]
Thao With The Get Down Stay Down preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, October 30, 2009 Thao Nguyen appears to love obstacles — especially the kind you can stack. Already challenged in the heart department, confronting her are the dreaded sophomore-album slump, having to refresh her melancholic-sunshine milieu, and making a concerted stab at being more mature. Good luck.
Simian Mobile Disco preview
Metro, Chicago Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Simian Mobile Disco were already dead once, so it’s probably useless to alert them of their suicide mission.
The 69 Eyes preview
Reggie’s, Chicago Saturday, October 24, 2009 Rock ‘n’ roll has come a long way since “The Monster Mash,” incorporating all manner of ghosts and ghouls — even spawning a genre called “heavy metal.” But attempts at ferocity grew proportionately with ridiculousness, which has opened the door for levity via Alice Cooper, Gwar, Rob Zombie, and […]
David Bazan preview
Lincoln Hall, Chicago Saturday, October 24, 2009 For years, David Bazan was the bane of Christian rock. Not because of pointed, Christopher Hitchens-styled atheistic attacks or a hyper-commercialized bastardization of their idiom. Bazan, as Pedro The Lion, was the rare God rocker with credibility outside the genre and, to outsiders, the only “good one.”
Chromeo contest!
Chromeo are in town on Friday, October 30th at Congress Theatre with Crystal Castles and Boys Noize, and we have a pair of tickets to give away. All you have to do is e-mail us at ed [at] illinoisentertainer.com and see be the first to correctly guess our favorite Chromeo song, and you’re in! Deadline […]
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