Tag: featured
IE Rewind: New Order comes to Riot Fest
When New Order keyboardist Gillian Gilbert stopped touring with the band in 1998, then quit altogether during the recording of its 2001 album Get Ready, she did it graciously, almost secretly, without any official departure announcement in the press. āAnd I wanted it that way,ā she admits of her decision to stay home and take […]
Stage Buzz: Riot Fest 2017 Undercard Preview
Riot Fest returns to Douglas Park for its 13th year this September. Based on that number, palmāreaders may think itāll be an unlucky year for the festival. But this yearās lineup is arguably the best ever put together by the organizers. With so many great bands and artists performing you might feel overwhelmed. Thatās where […]
Updated: Live Review/Stage Buzz – Mastodon at Metro
Live Review Mastodon Metro, Chicago Sept. 9, 2017 Mastodon rarely plays an encore. Instead, the band merely thanks the crowd and walks offstage. Saturday night at Metro, though, the bandās parting words carried more weight as they played an intimate benefit concert for Hope For The Day, a Chicago-based mental health education and suicide prevention […]
Recap/Photo Gallery: Depeche Mode at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Depeche Mode challenged their audience Wednesday at HCA in Tinley Park. Whether it was reminding the crowd to change our shaky government (“Where’s the Revolution,” and a surprise cover of the Beatles’ “Revolution”) and a set heavy on songs from their new album Spirit, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher made it known this […]
Cover Story: Scorpions
They say you should always err on the side of caution. And Scorpions bandleader Klaus Meine wholeheartedly agrees. So he isnāt taking anything for granted as his band celebrates its 50th anniversary with its umpteenth world juggernaut, backing its recent Return to Forever album, a compendium of mostly unearthed, unfinished demos from the Blackout and […]
Live Review and Gallery: Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at Allstate Arena
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Allstate Arena, Rosemont Thursday, August 31, 2017 For the first time in exactly ten years, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are back on tour together, but within moments of stepping onstage at the Allstate Arena on opening night of a double-decker engagement that returns tonight (Friday, September 1), their musical […]
Recap/Photo Gallery – Green Day at Wrigley Field
Green Day, Wrigley Field and fall-like weather in the summer proved to be an unbeatable recipe Thursday. The Berkley, CA trio tore through a laundry list of Alt-rock radio hits during a marathon show that featured pyro, Close Encounter-worthy lights, audience members who briefly joined the band, fireworks and a drunken bunny. Curt Baran dropped […]
Recap/Gallery: Beck at Riverside Theater
Beck 8/16/2017 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI The last time Beck played in Milwaukee Bill Clinton was in the White House and the Teletubbies had just made their television debut. The reason for this drought is anybody’s guess, but all was forgiven the moment Beck hit the stage. Mr. Hansen cruised through a near-perfect set, while […]
[Updated] Stage Buzz/Recap/Photo Gallery: Kiss at RiverEdge Park
Kiss brought all their pageantry and glory to RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Sunday. Despite the threat of thunderstorms hovering overhead, Kiss took the stage on time and ended just minutes before buckets of rain hit the western suburbs. Three generations of fans were treated to a classic catalog and all the pyro Kiss fans […]
Photo Gallery: Rancid/Dropkick Murphys/Bouncing Souls at HBP at Northerly Island
The From Boston to Berkeley Tour descended on Chicago’s lakefront and brought with it no shortage of ripped denim vests and heavily inked skin. West coast punk rock vets Rancid have teamed up with Boston rowdies Dropkick Murphys for a summer tour that recently found its way to Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island. Mosh […]
Live Review and Gallery: Arcade Fire at Metro
Arcade Fire Metro, Chicago Saturday, August 5th, 2017 It was minutes into Arcade Fireās Saturday night at Metro before the group launched into the title track from their new album, Everything Now. Though it was only the start of the groupās sold out set, one of a few high profile after-shows this past weekend at […]
Cover Story: Depeche Mode
At 56, Depeche Mode bandleader Martin Gore no longer feels the need to pull any lyrical punches. So he gets right to the prickly, political point on the bandās latest Spirit set, starting with its clickety-clacking rhetorical question of a lead single āWhereās the Revolution,ā with a grim societal accusation intoned in unusually ominous fashion […]
Review and Gallery: Paul McCartney at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Paul McCartney Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, Tinley Park, IL Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Reviewed by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Curt Baran. Former Beatle Paul McCartney knows what people want. “We can tell what songs you like,” he said midway through a nearly three-hour show. “If it’s an old Beatles song, your phones light up. It’s like […]
Review and Gallery: The Who at Van Andel Arena
The Who Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Who needs Desert Trip when The Who, Paul McCartney and Roger Waters all made the Midwest rounds a mere of couple hours apart from one another within a 48-hour period? While Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and their immaculate backing castās appearance at a […]










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