Stage Buzz
M83 preview
M83 Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, May 29, 2008 Was there a creepier moment on record in 2005 than the waking nightmare of “Car Chase Terror!”, off M83’s previous effort, Before The Dawn Heals Us (Mute)? Probably not. The song, as voiced by one adolescent girl playing herself and her mother, tells the tale of the […]
Mudhoney preview
Mudhoney Reggie’s, Chicago Friday, May 30, 2008 Revisionism can be a beautiful thing: After Metallica and Megadeth blew their wads in the ’90s, rock critics swore they always loved Slayer. Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley are long dead, Chris Cornell is a laughing stock, and Pearl Jam have joined the David Bowie-curated “best album since […]
Adele preview
Adele Martyrs’, Chicago Saturday, May 31, 2008 It’s a bit jarring when a pasty British teenager opens her mouth and out comes the whopping voice of an old-time soul diva.
Hoots & Hellmouth preview
Hoots & Hellmouth Schubas, Chicago Saturday, May 31, 2008 It should be a rule that if your last name is Hoots and you have a band, you must play down-home, folksy, rootsy, backporch music. Though IE currently sit on the Rules & Regulations committee of our condo association, our power to issue such a decree […]
Everest preview
Everest Abbey Pub, Chicago Monday, June 2, 2008 Count Neil Young as a fan. The legendary Canuck signed Everest, an L.A.-based conglomerate of disparate indie collectives, to his Vapor Records label earlier this year. The quintet sports an impressive résumé with members citing stints in Sebadoh, Earlimart, Folk Implosion, John Vanderslice, and the Watson Twins. […]
The Submarines preview
The Submarines Schubas, Chicago Thursday, May 22, 2008 Put down that dating manual. Erase the phrase “he’s just not that into you” from your vocabulary. Bruised hearts, shattered egos, and cynical left-brainers only need an introduction to husband-and-wife team Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti (aka The Submarines) to throw down the shackles of unrequited love.
The War On Drugs preview
The War On Drugs Empty Bottle, Chicago Friday, May 23, 2008 If The War On Drugs recall Arcade Fire, it’s a symptom of what happens when Bruce Springsteen and Sonic Youth are your biggest influences. It might explain why Arcade Fire also have a song in their repertoire that skirts Eddie & The Cruisers’ “On […]
Candlemass preview
Candlemass, Daylight Dies Pearl Room, Mokena Thursday, May 22, 2008 Candlemass haven’t toured the United States in nearly two decades? Really? It hardly seems possible one of the best doom metal bands ever haven’t stepped foot on an American stage in that long.
Langhorne Slim preview
Langhorne Slim Schubas, Chicago Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Allmusic.com describes Langhorne Slim as “something of a one-man mixture of the Cramps, Beck’s early indie records (circa One Foot In The Grave), and the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou. Really? Because we don’t really hear it on Langhorne & The War Eagles’ newest album.
The Helio Sequence preview
The Helio Sequence Empty Bottle, Chicago Thursday, May 15, 2008 Losing your voice as a singer is akin to a surgeon losing hand mobility – both seemingly spell the end of a career and bitterly so.
Arch Enemy preview
Arch Enemy House Of Blues, Chicago Monday, May 19, 2008 Though giving an interview subject one of your demos during your talk may be shaky ground when it comes to journalistic integrity, rock critics around the world should applaud Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow for proving we aren’t just a bunch of musical flunkies who […]
The Old Haunts preview
The Old Haunts Empty Bottle, Chicago Wednesday, May 21, 2008 The Old Haunts frontman Craig Extine couldn’t sound any more like Jack White. And we mean that in kinda sorta the best way possible.
Basia Bulat preview
Basia Bulat Vic Theatre, Chicago Friday, May 9, 2008 The first strums of Basia Bulat’s autoharp on “In The Night,” the first single from the Canadian songstress’ Rough Trade debut, immediately conjure Catherine O’Hara’s free-spirited folkie Mickey Crabbe in 2003’s A Mighty Wind. Fortunately, the rambunctious “In The Night” is light years away from the […]
Was (Not Was) preview
Was (Not Was) Abbey Pub, Chicago Saturday, May 10, 2008 Why can’t more records kick off with a song about skinhead psychos, dismembered mothers, patriotic threesomes, and Scientology jokes?
El Perro Del Mar, Lykke Li preview
El Perro Del Mar, Lykke Li Schubas, Chicago Monday, May 12, 2008 Sarah Assbring, who is El Perro Del Mar, must record while lying on her back and gazing opaquely into the night sky. The hint is the crickets.
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