Stage Buzz
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 […]
Lambchop preview
Lambchop Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago Saturday, January 24, 2009 It’s in keeping with Lambchop’s hard-to-define style that the band is both a perfect and poor fit for the Old Town School. Kurt Wagner’s whimsical lyrical prose belongs in a storyteller atmosphere, but the score behind it on the band’s latest album, OH […]
Satyricon preview
Satyricon House Of Blues, Chicago Sunday, January 25, 2009 For a black metal band, sparking controversy in the scene by “selling out” or not being “kvult enough” is like starting a fire by throwing a lit match on a bale of hay: It ain’t hard to do. Norway’s Satyricon has taken its share of criticism […]
Tomorrow Never Knows preview
Tomorrow Never Knows Festival Schubas, Chicago January 14 – 18, 2009 I miss my friend Josh. Not so much his company, but his friends. Greeting each new year — following all the holiday parties — with a “January Sucks” party, they’d rent a bar, arrange one of those all-you-can-drink wristbands, and get everyone knackered. Schubas’ […]
Franz Nicolay preview
Franz Nicolay Empty Bottle, Chicago Saturday, January 17, 2009 The House Cafe, DeKalb Sunday, January 18, 2009 Craig Finn may be The Hold Steady’s undisputed attention-grabber thanks to his ability to transform everyday, mundane events into bar-rockin’ anthems and a unique, free-form spoken-word delivery, but HS keyboardist Franz Nicolay’s solo record makes a solid case […]
Hot Heels Records preview
Hot Heels Records Goose Island, Chicago Saturday, January 17, 2009 Our advice to Hot Heels Records? Lose the name; keep the music. You’re confusing people, guys. Illinois Entertainer editor Steve Forstneger is a – generally – sharp guy, but even he thought your new album, Bullet Rain, was actually a compilation CD of bands on […]
Lil Wayne preview
Lil Wayne United Center, Chicago Saturday, December 27, 2008 Lil Wayne does a lot of impish cackling on Tha Carter III (Cash Money), and with good reason: His album was the biggest of ’08, an improbable feat.
Scott Weiland preview
Scott Weiland House Of Blues, Chicago Thursday, December 18, 2008 There’s a scene during the fifth season of HBO’s “Entourage,” when the series’ Hollywood heartthrob worriedly asks his agent, “Do you think I’m a good actor?” The rep, played by Jeremy Piven, hesitates. “I think you’re a movie star.”
Kuma’s Doomfest preview
Kuma’s Doomfest Double Door, Chicago December 20-21, 2008 Kuma’s Corner (great burgers, great beer, great heavy metal) is finally throwing the two-day metal extravaganza we’ve been promised for so many months. It definitely appears worth the wait.
Nocturnal Fear
Nocturnal Fear Metal Shaker, Chicago Saturday, December 20, 2008 On the back of the promotional copy of Nocturnal Fear’s Code Of Violence, Moribund Records describes the Detroit band as “the ultimate in modern U.S. thrash metal.” Ironic, given most the album is throwback German thrash metal.
Yourself And The Air preview
Yourself And The Air Bottom Lounge, Chicago Sunday, December 21, 2008 Forgive this Chicago band their name: Yourself And The Air clearly spent more time writing and arranging their stormy, agit-indie than worrying about what to call it.
Mercury Rev preview
Mercury Rev Martyrs’, Chicago Thursday, December 11, 2008 Jonathan Donahue and Dave Fridmann’s ties to The Flaming Lips have always influenced the way people perceive Mercury Rev more than is fair. Indifferent to the desire to be pop stars (though they were, briefly and unexpectedly, in the U.K.), the band’s albums were widescreen before the […]
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