Tag: featured
Live Review: Geddy Lee at Auditorium Theatre • Chicago
My Effin’ Life in Conversation Book Tour Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL Sunday, December 3, 2023 Review by Jeff Elbel. Rush frontman Geddy Lee has performed in Chicago concert halls, including the Auditorium Theatre, many times during the last five decades, but never like he did on Sunday when appearing on his speaking tour for […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Rick Holmstrom Band at SPACE • Evanston
The Rick Holmstrom Band Thursday, November 30, 2023 SPACE, Evanston, IL Review and photos by Jeff Elbel. For music fans with boundary-bypassing tastes running through jazz, blues, roots, soul, folk, swamp-rock, R&B and gospel, Evanston’s SPACE was the place to be on a drizzly Thursday evening. California guitarist Rick Holmstrom brought his expert rhythm section […]
Cover Story: Trans-Siberian Orchestra • A Quarter Century of Christmas
If you still haven’t experienced the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s annual winter holiday show, you should seriously consider adding it to your bucket list. The TSO traveling holiday rock opera is a multimillion-dollar act that has grown exponentially since the band’s inception, making it one of the biggest-grossing concert bands in the US. In true holiday-giving […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Tubes at Arcada Theatre • St. Charles
The Tubes Arcada Theatre St. Charles, IL November 29, 2023 Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Ed Spinelli. Veteran art rockers the Tubes made their third visit to the Arcada Theatre on Wednesday night, playing a set that touched on popular favorites and deep tracks alike. The show began with a run through […]
Hello My Name is… Geddy Lee of Rush – talks about his “Effin’ Life”
Rush bassist and frontman Geddy Lee makes it clear that the word “retirement” has no place in his vocabulary. Rush may be finished (or is it?), but Lee is a whirlwind of activity. His series for Paramount+, Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?, premieres on December 5 as an outgrowth of his best-selling […]
Stage Buzz: Beauty School Dropout, Jackyl, Off Broadway, Baroness, Orianthi
When Beauty School Dropout formed, they could’ve never imagined touring with one of their idols, Mark Hoppus of blink-182. Fast forward to 2022, and the band is traveling with the band and being mentored by Hoppus, who signed them to new record label Verswire. After spending the first half of the year opening […]
IE Record Store Day Black Friday Guide 2023
Record Store Black Friday is Fri., November 24. Our guide includes complete RSD listings, previews, album reviews, local RSD lists, and advertisements from your favorite local stores. READ IT HERE
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Marvelous 3 at House of Blues • Chicago
Marvelous 3 House of Blues Chicago, IL Friday, November 3, 2023 Review and photos by Jeff Elbel The energy, musicianship, and production of Friday’s concert at House of Blues by the Marvelous 3 did not seem like the work of a band playing a mere five gigs after 22 years apart (aside from a […]
Media: November 2023: The Loop Files: An Oral History
I’ve written a new book called The Loop Files: An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever. The book comes out officially at the end of this month, but this month’s media column is a free preview.  All the biggest stars who helped make the Loop (FM 98) so memorable tell the […]
Cover Story: The Hives – The Best Part of the Day
When a band makes a grand return after a decades-long absence, it’s a mix of emotions. There’s equal parts dread and excitement, happy to return to adoring fans, yet anxious to see if anyone still cares, especially in the short attention span of the streaming age. But those pesky thoughts never seemed to bother The […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: The Darkness at The Vic Theatre • Chicago
The Darkness The Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL Friday, October 13, 2023 Review and photos by Jeff Elbel Bone-crunching guitar riffs, pop hooks, soaring falsetto melodies, cheeky lyrics, and dazzling solos were in ample supply on Friday as the Darkness visited the Vic Theatre to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album Permission to Land. […]
Photo Gallery: Farm Aid 2023 • Ruoff Music Center • Noblesville, Indiana
Farm Aid Ruoff Music Center Noblesville, IN September 23, 2023 Photos by Edward Spinelli IE’s Ed Spinelli spent the day at Farm Aid 2023 perched in the photo pit on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Noblesville, Indiana. The sold-out crowd of more than 22,000 people showed great enthusiasm for the event; the all-star cast was […]
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Peter Gabriel at United Center • Chicago
Peter Gabriel United Center Chicago, IL Saturday, September 30, 2023 Review by Jeff Elbel. Photos by Curt Baran. Peter Gabriel has publicly described a new album called i/o since the days soon following the release of 2002’s Up. The British singer/songwriter and activist even teased individual songs from the long-gestating project on prior trips to Chicago in 2012 […]
Cover Story: Corrosion Of Conformity • Destination: Heavy Chicago
Chicago’s newest music venue, Avondale Music Hall, will be hosting its inaugural heavy metal festival Heavy Chicago over the course of two weekends. Headlining the festival on Saturday, October 28, is Chicago’s beloved doom pioneers Trouble, which will be extra special as this will be the band’s first hometown show in five years. “We are […]
Stage Buzz Q&A: The Darkness • Appearing at The Vic Theatre • Chicago
Stage Buzz: The Darkness Q&A with Frankie Poullain Written by Jeff Elbel British band The Darkness made an auspicious arrival in North America in 2003. The band’s bombastic lead single, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” was an explosive blast of hard rock replete with a soaring falsetto melody, rich harmonies, guitar heroics by […]
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