Stage Buzz
Polvo preview
Bottom Lounge, Chicago Saturday, September 5, 2009 You either knew Polvo or you didn’t. There were veteran indie-rock bands who mattered not to the mainstream press or major labels — even after Nirvana (gasp!) — yet floated around the Sub Pop/Merge/Touch And Go/Matador pool, won a few thousand fans, and disappeared when it came time […]
Ramona Falls preview
Chopin Theatre, Chicago Friday, September 11, 2009 It’d be interesting to watch the members of Menomena daily — making toast, turning a television on, walking. A self-designed computer program gave them their first album, which came with an 80-page flipbook (the vinyl cover folded like origami). The critically acclaimed follow-up, Friend And Foe, continued with […]
The Cult preview
House Of Blues, Chicago Wednesday, September 2, 2009 The Cult frontman Ian Astbury thinks the idea of making albums is passé. The reunited band won’t be making them anymore (yes to maybe the odd song), but this leaves them more time for ideas like Love Live, a reproduction of a classic album in concert.
Dar Williams preview
Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Sunday, August 23, 2009 Dar Williams is handy enough with a pen that the GLBT community praises her for her humanizing insight despite being straight. But, like many from the Lilith Fair era, her music occasionally helps sustain rumors that a Sarah McLachlan assembly line exists somewhere. A […]
Modest Mouse preview
Aragon, Chicago Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Modest Mouse releases have always come with some deviousness (or deviantness), but with success things can change. Isaac Brock’s songs are increasingly mature, and when a summer tour coincides with a throwaway EP the air has a whiff of things dubious.
The Duke & The King preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, August 14, 2009 Much of the talk of The Duke & The King centers on Simone Felice, whose weary, near-whisper was put to good use with his kin in The Felice Brothers. His story since proceeding with the D&K side-project is rife with tragedy and feels somewhat tailored to the debut’s cloudy […]
McFest preview
Metro, Chicago Sunday, August 16, 2009 Chicago-based music-marketing behemoth Jeff McClusky Associates returns with its third McFest, a local-music roundup that benefits Special Olympics.
Lollapalooza 2009 preview!
Kings Of Leon Without a list, Lollapalooza can be like going to a record store: You know there was something you wanted to see, but you end up going home with a Killers album. Here at IE, we want not only to help you choose what to see and avoid, but how to shape your […]
Polkaholics preview
Quenchers, Chicago Saturday, August 1, 2009 For the longest of times, we thought Chicago’s Polkaholics had done wrong by both polka and punk bands — or right. We forgot which. They’re certainly doing right by Walter “Li’l Wally” Jagiello, whom they brought back here from Florida and played with ’til his 2006 death.
The Warlocks preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Thursday, August 6, 2009 Far from the cold-eyed evildoer of their namesake movie, The Warlocks’ music is religion to them, a dirge-like moan that emanates like prayer from a Buddhist temple — contextualized by pop melodies and heavy drug use, of course.
As Tall As Lions preview
Bottom Lounge, Chicago Thursday, August 6, 2009 If they don’t kill each other, You Can’t Take It With You is a place where prog-rock, R&B, and Death Cab fans can harmonize.
Trainwreck Riders preview
Ronny’s, Chicago Sunday, July 26, 2009 Alt-country bands can come from anywhere, which is why there’s no need to raise a brow at Trainwreck Riders’ Frisco origins. In fact, it’s a boon for the band to have a little hometown weird on tap.
Foreign Born preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, July 23, 2009 If you’ve never been to Los Angeles, you no doubt still feel you know it. Movies and TV are clearly responsible, and we’ve been clubbed with the idea of an “L.A. band,” as if, post ’80s, the phrase still has meaning. It doesn’t define Foreign Born, anyway.
Grand Duchy preview
Subterranean, Chicago Friday, July 24, 2009 Black Francis must be in a good place right now. With the Pixies having exhausted their reunification options, he can put the band back to rest without having to hear that question for awhile. He has even stuck with his name, which he inverted when he went solo back […]
Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara preview
Millennium Park, Chicago Thursday, July 16, 2009 Robert Plant isn’t the only member of his band to have a feel for African and Middle Eastern sounds. Of course, you could credit guitarist Justin Adams for merely being sold on the idea of Juldeh Camara’s weapon of choice: the west African spike fiddle.
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