Stage Buzz
Asobi Seksu preview
Asobi Seksu Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, March 5, 2009 Where a host of bands smear gallons of washed-out guitars and challenge their ethereal vocals to fight through, Asobi Seksu brandish a love for Tin Pan pop and girl groups.
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead preview
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago Friday, March 6, 2009 When And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead released Source Tags & Codes, their 2002 major-label debut, it appeared the group would stand as one of the new millennium’s premiere art-rock darlings. Yet underwhelming […]
Those Darlins preview
Those Darlins Metro, Chicago Friday, March 6, 2009 Kelley, Jessi, and Nikki Darlin’s Pabst-swillin’, air rifle-shootin’, Daisy Duke-wearin’ rednecktastic image might be exaggerated to better suite Those Darlins’ old-time country music. They might not be, too. Both Nikki and Jessi allegedly spent portions of their childhoods in electricity-and-plumbing-less poverty – hardships few of us have […]
Ian McLagan & The Bump Band preview
Ian McLagan & The Bump Band FitzGerald’s, Berwyn Saturday, March 7, 2009 Life dealt Ian McLagan a pretty stout hand. As keyboardist for the Small Faces and Faces, he got to contribute some, imbibe a lot, and generally let Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, and Rod Stewart deal with the press. He even got to parlay […]
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.










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