Tag: featured
Feature: Circa Waves
“Keep calm and carry on” was a mass-produced British poster from 1939 intended to help rally spirits in the face of a looming WWII and its attendant Blitz-strafing air raids. But it’s since become a much larger metaphor for the traditionally stoic, unflappable English constitution, in general, the type of personality that remains virtually […]
Cover Story: Betty Who
As Australian-born pop composer Betty Who recalls it, the only things missing from her recent spine-tingling trip into the supernatural were Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and their trusty old VeeDubs Mystery Machine with which to beat a hasty retreat. Because Zoinks! The three specters she encountered were all too real and not engineered by some local huckster […]
Live Review: Remain In Light : Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew at The Vic Theatre • Chicago
The Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL Saturday, February 25, 2023 Review and photos by Jeff Elbel Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and the band’s veteran sideman Adrian Belew brought a tour celebrating their work on 1980’s influential Remain in Light album to Chicago’s Vic Theatre on Saturday. The pair were accompanied by seven-piece funk/jam/rock band Cool Cool Cool, […]
Photo Gallery: Viagra Boys at The Salt Shed • Chicago
Viagra Boys Salt Shed Chicago, IL February 24, 2023 Recap and photos by Curt Baran “He says he don’t believe in science/He thinks that all the news is fake/And late at night he sits at his computer/And writes about the things he hates.” If you need a sense as to where the left-leaning Viagra Boys […]
Stage Buzz Q&A: Tim Burgess of The Charlatans • Vic Theatre February 7 • Chicago
English band the Charlatans (aka The Charlatans U.K.) came of age with 1990’s Some Friendly. The album featured the organ-fueled alternative rock hit “The Only One I Know,” which nodded to classics by the Byrds and Deep Purple. The quintet’s sound was bundled into the era’s Madchester scene, with danceable house rhythms, R&B grooves, […]
Cover Story: The Church
Sometimes, great art can become something like a snowball as it tumbles downhill after its initial creation, colliding with — then absorbing — many other diverse mediums, expressions, and even creators themselves as it goes. Take, for example, Australian author Jane Harper’s riveting mystery novel from 2016, The Dry. It lures you in from the […]
Hello My Name is Sam from The Bobby Lees
Sam Quartin knows she might resemble a misanthrope. But the powerhouse Bobby Lees front-woman simply despises modern technology and all of its cold, clinical trappings. Don’t ask her about any currently popular memes, viral videos, or TikTok influencers — she’s never online to see them, she swears, and she’s proud to note that she has […]
Media: February 2023 • Waking Up with Q101’s Brian and Justin
Brian Haddad and Justin Nettlebeck have been doing mornings at Q-101 for the last four years, but there have been a few changes in the last few months. First, long-time co-host Ali Mattacola left the show in November. As of this writing, they are still looking for the right person to fill that slot. But […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Fall Out Boy at Metro’s 40th Anniversary Show • Chicago
Fall Out Boy Metro, Chicago Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 By Jaime de’Medici; Photos Elliot Ingham Before Fall Out Boy performed a sold-out show at the Metro Wednesday night, the band’s crew set up their stage, including a backdrop with a half-smiley, half-frown face resembling a yin and yang symbol. It’s a design that’s been heavily […]
Stage Buzz: Wynton Marsalis, Couch, Anthrax with Black Label Society
Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy continues his annual January residency with friends and peers at his club Buddy Guy’s Legends. Thursday (Jan. 26), he performs with special guest Mzz Reese; Friday (Jan. 27), you can see him with Sheryl Youngblood; and Saturday, he performs a sold-out show with Nublu Band featuring Carlise Guy. He’ll […]
Hello My Name is Ian Broudie of The Lightning Seeds
On the surface, it’s difficult to believe that 13 long years have crept by since brainy producer/multi-instrumentalist Ian Broudie released Four Winds, his last picture-perfect pop album as The Lightning Seeds, a dormant period the Brit is finally breaking with the shimmering new See You in the Stars, out last month. And when he […]
January 2023: Media • In Memoriam
As we enter a new year, we do so without a talented group of broadcasters we lost in 2022. I won’t be able to name all of them, but here are a few that passed away from the world of radio and television. It became clear that 2022 wasn’t going to be a great […]
Cover Story: Elle King
If you’re craving some homespun wisdom in these complicated, hi-tech times, you need look no further than old episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, a popular CBS TV series that ran from 1962 to 1971 (and 1993 film) and applied old-saw simplicity to complicated modern society. For any Gen X-, Y- or Z-er who might have […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Andrew Bird with My Brightest Diamond at Fourth Presbyterian Church • Chicago
Andrew Bird with special guest My Brightest Diamond Gezelligheid concert at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL Wednesday, December 14, 2022 Review and photos by Jeff Elbel Absent since 2019, Andrew Bird’s seasonal Gezelligheid concerts returned in grand style this year. The homecoming event sold out a series of seven nights at the stately setting of […]
Feature: From Bauhaus to Love And Rockets, and the new Night Crickets, David J always delivers
Man of many bands, David J, is no stranger to iconic songwriting and inventive bass parts, dating all the way back to post-punk/gothic architects Bauhaus, continuing with alternative rockers Love And Rockets and now starting an entirely new chapter fronting the Night Crickets, all while juggling a slew of solo and passion projects. Along with […]
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