Stage Buzz
Appleseed Cast preview
The Appleseed Cast Bottom Lounge, Chicago Friday, February 27, 2009 Back in college, The Appleseed Cast and me were best buds. We were into the jagged side of Sunny Day Real Estate, a land where bands like Mineral and Joan Of Arc made welts on their arms by tying guitar strings around them. That poppy […]
Burn Halo preview
Burn Halo Allstate Arena, Rosemont Friday, February 27, 2009 I swear (by the moon and the stars and the sky), swear, swear, swear, that when I was plotting the angle of this “Stage Buzz” while listening to Burn Halo’s self-titled debut, I had no idea the group was opening for Avenged Sevenfold.
These Arms Are Snakes, All The Saints preview
These Arms Are Snakes, All The Saints Subterranean, Chicago Saturday, February 28, 2009 Predictability’s not the first thing you look for in post hardcore bands, and it seems to have hit home with Seattle’s typically flailing These Arms Are Snakes.
Wolfy preview
Wolfy Elbo Room, Chicago Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Wolfy’s members aren’t French. Far from it, actually. They’re from Indianapolis. But neirth their home city nor country seems to have had the biggest influence on the band: It’s France.
Anni Rossi preview
Anni Rossi Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, February 20, 2009 You have to wonder if her label, the venerable 4AD, knew Anni Rossi would be buried under Joanna Newsom comparisons. It’s hard to ignore the familiarities, despite some rather fundamental dissimilarities.
David Vandervelde preview
David Vandervelde Schubas, Chicago Saturday, February 21, 2009 In a storybook world, David Vandervelde’s Chicago-to-Brooklyn-to-Nashville wanderlust would make him the ideal Dylanite troubadour. Sprung from the clutches of Holland, Michigan, he would crush our feeble intellects with a slapdash, rustic urbanity and cut a straight path through the hyper-media mire, grooming himself for a biopic […]
D. Rider preview
D. Rider Hideout, Chicago Friday, February 13, 2009 D. Rider isn’t M. Yellow, but former U.S. Maple backbone Todd Rittmann has toned down the approach for his solo album, Mother Of Curses, which releases this coming Tuesday on Tizona Records.
In This Moment preview
In This Moment Pearl Room, Mokena Sunday, February 15, 2009 If it weren’t for Maria Brink, In This Moment’s 2007 album, Beautiful Tragedy, would have been totally ignorable. Brink’s performance (she’s one of the few females in heavy music able to convincingly pull off “extreme” vocal techniques) single-handedly made an otherwise bland mall-metal record worth […]
The Bakerton Group preview
The Bakerton Group Double Door, Chicago Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Haven’t heard of The Bakerton Group? Perhaps you’re familiar with Clutch? If so, you also know Bakerton, because it is, literally, Clutch with a different name and an additional member.
Twilight Revival preview
Twilight Revival FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Saturday, February 7, 2009 The fact the Chicago music scene should deliver yet another Wilco-influenced act is hardly surprising. The fact it’s as good as Twilight Revival is.
Mi Ami preview
Mi Ami Hideout, Chicago Saturday, February 7, 2009 Cover your ears – the Black Eyes have reformed! Well, this time the noisy Dischord alums have added a drummer to keep the songs somewhat in line.
Funeral For A Friend preview
Funeral For A Friend Metro, Chicago Friday, January 30, 2009 Welsh screamo act Funeral For A Friend never broke through in the States the way they have in the U.K. Which is a shame, as the group craft smarter, catchier, and overall better songs than most their harder metalcore peers on this side of the […]
Mumiy Troll preview
Mumiy Troll Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, January 30, 2009 At first glance, “Mumiy Troll” looks like a trainwreck of an attempt by a foreign band to craft an intimidating English name. But a) the name is actual Russian and b) beginning from behind the Iron Curtain, it’s possible the group never harbored hopes of reaching […]
Yo Majesty preview
Yo Majesty Empty Bottle, Chicago Sunday, February 1, 2009 Yo Majesty’s backstory is so intriguing in itself it hardly seems necessary to even listen to Futuristically Speaking . . . Never Be Afraid. Though, if you don’t, you’re missing out on music as intriguing as the musicians behind it.
Combichrist preview
Combichrist House Of Blues, Chicago Wednesday, February 4, 2009 I could easily break off a bunch Wikipedia knowledge or poach the last-updated-in-Spring-’07 biography on the band’s official Web site and make it sound like I have some sort of working knowledge of Combichrist. Truth is, though, I’d never heard of them before Today We Are […]
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