Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
Solo performers aren't anything new. But solo performers who can make you forget that they're performing, well, alone, is a whole 'nother thing. Matt Shaw, the fellow behind The Spend, is one such local musician, whose largely acoustic songs are somehow at once spare and lush, and just varied enough to keep things interesting. He's performing on Sunday, July 4 at the Empty Bottle (1035 North Western Avenue), with Tiny Vipers from Seattle. This show should be a nice, quiet alternative to the usual July 4th hullaballoo. It kicks off at 9:30 p.m. Tickets will run you $8. Buy yours online or at the door.
I am an very open about my dislike for showing up at shows on time. It is not only that I have a cool factor to maintain, but there is also the probable chance that the opening band will take up a large portion of my life that I will have to fight to get back. This was not the case last year when I misunderstood the start time of an Archer Prewitt by an hour and saw local band Big Science open. I was taken to a delightful as well as complex musical place. I was severely disappointed when the set ended and thought what a tragedy it would have been if I had been on my game that night and showed up when I had planned to. Doing that, I would have missed a band with such a multi-sound effect that gives a sober synesthesia allowing you to see their music. Maybe this is because they combine so many different vibes in to each song that the senses become overloaded and instead of shutting down, explode in all the right ways. In any regard, they need to be seen live to really understand this experience.
The band (made up of three Jasons and a Jeremy) just released their second effort last month entitled Skyscraper Sound and plays this Friday, July 2nd at the Double Door. I had the chance to ask Jason R. some questions their unusual sound, their super hip, geek-tastic name and good old fashioned band togetherness.
I have such high hopes for young up-and-comer Sahara Smith. She's clearly a talented singer, has a sweet stage presence, and a charming, love-sick alt-country songwriting sensibility that would do well in radio play. In the dim light of her show Saturday night, couples moved close to one another on the broad main floor of Lincoln Hall and swayed to and fro to the sound of her voice. The only flaw I found in her performance, in support of Mason Jennings on last weekend, was her stage confidence. She's young, yes (all of 21 years), but she's got a pretty sweet set of pipes, as evident on her songs from her upcoming album Myth of the Heart. Songs like "All I Need" drive home the young Austinite's lovesick dreaminess that I'm sure we'll hear on XRT soon enough. But she's still a little green on stage — her voice not quite reaching its obvious potential. I want to hear her open up, watch her stand confidently in the spotlight, and sing to that man she loves (and the ones that got away). I want to be rattled by how her voice fills the room the way it fills the speakers on the stereo. Maybe that's some of T. Bone Burnett's magic (who oversaw the album) in what you can hear in her songs that's not quite traveling with her over state lines with her yet. Or maybe she just needs a little push in the right direction — solo in the spotlight — just her and her guitar and the microphone. I want to see her again after she's had some highway under her wheels, and maybe even a little more love, and a little more heartbreak, in her soul.
The opposite of a young ingenue is the veteran of the tour bus, Mason Jennings. Hailing from up the road in Minneapolis, Jennings played two shows in Chicago last weekend, both at Lincoln Hall. His second night, Saturday, he came on stage to thunderous applause, and announced the show, while acoustic, would also be shaped by fans' requests from the previous night. Jennings, who mentioned he'd been performing for 18 years, has a Dylan-like lilt to his singing voice, and a mop of curly hair I couldn't help but compare to writer Dave Eggers. But even in his well-worn Earth shoes he's mesmerizing on stage. The range of his songbook spanned two centuries. He went through newer songs like "The Field" off of 2009's Blood of Man and simple, playful (yet-unrecorded) ditties like "So Many Ways to Die". He ran through "Your New Man", "I Love You And Buddha Too" and the beautiful "Fighter Girl" from 2008's In The Ever. There was also the sweet "Summer Dress" from 2002's Simple Life and "Butterfly" from his self-titled 1997 debut album. Jennings has almost a Steve Goodman-esque storytelling quality in his songs. As they follow, one after another they are whimsical and then serious, beautiful and then brooding. He has a way of capturing an audience's attention (as demonstrated by the superfans down front who swayed and sang along to every song) and surely has many years of guitar playing and songwriting left in him.
Taking Back Sunday's Adam Lazzara (photos by Katie Hovland)
From the second Taking Back Sunday took the stage in front of a sold out crowd at the Metro Sunday night, I felt like I was 15 again. And I'm sure a majority of the crowd felt the same. Taking Back Sunday is one of those nostalgic bands for me, so you'll understand if my misty eyed recollection of my youth is gag inducing at times. Growing up amongst a sea of cornfields in Indiana, driving around with my high school boyfriend, windows down and the album Tell All Your Friends almost blowing the speakers in his car is how I spent most of my teenage years. The album yearned for something more, loud and angry, and pretty much summed up the emotions of growing up frustrated and not feeling like you belong in the world you've been plunked down into. The crowd Sunday night easily could have been a high school reunion for the kids who spent their Saturday nights at shitty basement shows. So for a band that meant so much to so many, it was no surprise the crowd was ready to go from the second singer Adam Lazzara threw his mic in the air and spit out the first lines of "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team)." Circle mosh pits popped up across the floor, fist stayed high in the air, as every person in the room started to chant along.
Tonight at Enemy (1550 N. Milwaukee, 3rd Floor), the sonic fur will fly as the sturdy Wicker Park performance space welcomes two of the best new experimental groups on the east coast. Please note that this is an early show, and starts PROMPTLY at 8:30. No whining.
Queens, NY's Cowards are part of the Red Light District collective, in which a handful of ambitious musicians explore a wide swath of what is known as modern power electronics. Groups like Cathode Terror Secretion, Yellow Tears, Halflings, Diaphragm, Teeny Bopper, Migrations in Rust, Hands Rendered Useless, and many others have been holding a very enviable place in experimental music — well-known enough to get gigs and recordings, but free to explore their myriad styles with some degree of anonymity.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Perispirit have been making the scene with their entrancing synth/electronics/guitar combination. Luke Moldoff (guitar) was previously known for his two power electronic incarnations, the duo Craniopagus and the solo project Stillbirth. Here, he brings a spiky edge to a sound that also pulses and flowers with more serenity than you would imagine from a guy who named his record label Razors & Medicine. Their split LP with Boston drone wizard Brendan Murray has been drawing raves.
Also on hand: Deterge, Battleship, and Magia Nuda. $5 for the touring folks. The weekend doesn't have to be over just because The Man says it is.
As reported last week, saxophonist, bandleader, and owner/operator of the Velvet Lounge, Fred Anderson, passed away at the age of 81. Mr. Anderson's wake will be held at Leak and Sons Funeral Chapel, 7838 S. Cottage Grove, on Tuesday, June 29, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., followed by Mr. Anderson's Going Home service. There is expected to be a large turnout due to Mr. Anderson's revered standing in the jazz community.
campers take the stage at the Girls Rock! Chicago end of June camp extravaganza on Saturday, photo by J.H. Palmer
The Metro was a hive of activity on Saturday afternoon as Girls Rock! Chicago presented their end of session extravaganza. Due to increased demand, there will be two camp sessions this year: one that ended last week, and a second session that will take place in August. In all, 17 bands performed on Saturday afternoon to an audience of parents, grandparents, and siblings who mingled with GR!C counselors and Metro staff.
Downstairs in the green room, campers and counselors prepared for the show. I caught up with the members of Bling, comprised of: guitarist Ciara Butler, age 13; drummer MacKenna Butler, age 11; guitarist Jesse Osborne, age 13; and bassist Tafari (Taffy) Rhodes, age 11. This is the second year that Ciara and MacKenna have attended the music camp, the first for Jesse, and the fourth for Taffy.
"Girls Rock proves that just because we are girls doesn't mean we can't rock out," Taffy said when I asked what the camp meant to her, "it teaches us that just because we're girls doesn't mean we can't do things." She furthered her point by invoking the story of Amelia Earhart, "which proves a girl can do anything." "When it's all girls you can express yourself fully," Ciara added.
It seems that Chicago has finally decided to get that winter coat dry cleaned, busted out the shorts (for better or for worse), and realized we can actually leave the house with (GASP!) only one layer on. Yep. This week marked the official start to summer, with the weather keeping the days long and attention spans short. So for those of us more nocturnally-inclined, it means some of the best bookings of the year as clubs vie for attention from festivals, outdoor events and each other. Many regard Memorial day as the unofficial beginning of summer, and indeed many Chicago DJs and mainstays found themselves in Detroit at the Movement Electronic Music Festival for a long weekend of celebrating...well, anything (and then a longer week of recovery). I was recently asked when I knew summer had started, and immediately remembered a night a couple days prior to Memorial Day: the had-to-be-there kickoff show of the summer — LCD Soundsystem and Holy Ghost! at the Metro — and its afterparty downstairs at Smartbar, with Ellen Allien, Tyrel Williams, Blue J, and the easy-to-guess special guests. That night was my official start to what has already been an excellent summer with more to come.
When we're fighting the Triple H (no, not that Triple H, we're talking hazy, hot, and humid), we're inside, sitting in front of our computer, looking at things on the internet.
Chicago Public Schools teacher Joe Becker is also a rap artist. He uses his music to reach his students at Rachel Carson School on the South Side. (Unfortunately, his contract was not renewed this year.)
File under "Forgot to post earlier" but here's some video of the Dutchess & the Duke performing from the bar at the Empty Bottle earlier this month. (Actual singing starts around 1:30 in.)
Got plans for the Fourth? You can combine record shopping (i.e. stimulating the local economy) with feeling patriotic at Laurie's Planet of Sound. Edward Burch to play.
Chicagoans! We are being beaten by D.C. in the "Best Michael Jackson Shrine" competition! Get to it! (Also, London.) Gary, IN remembers MJ today. (Personally, I think today would be perfect timing for a Thriller zombie walk.)
It's like Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, but here's John Hodgman, Neil Gaiman and OK GO's Damien Kulash singing "So Happy Together" in St. Paul recently.
Gold star time. Name all the members of the muppets' band, which features Animal on drums (without using the Google!). Bonus for the full name of the band. Answers in the comments, please. Extra bonus stars for naming which instruments they each play.
Normally I wouldn't be caught dead at the Taste of Chicago. Something about heat and humidity and crowds of sweaty people combined with food grosses me out (I was scarred a few years back during my first visit by a large sweaty man in a sleeveless shirt, with a turkey leg). But this year, the musical aspect of the fest might have me making multiple visits to Grant Park.
Don't get me wrong, normally fests of this sort have past-their-prime musical acts that I could care less about seeing (with the exception of Stevie Wonder last year), but something is telling me that I should see Spinderella "cut it up one time" at least once in my life. See the rest of my picks after the jump.
Find the full lineup on the Taste of Chicago's website, or download their comprehensive app to have the schedule at your fingertips.
Transmission wishes to extend its sympathies and condolences to the family of Fred Anderson, who died today at age 81.
Anderson, a founding member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), owner and operator of the South-side Chicago jazz club the Velvet Lounge, and a thoroughly revered and respected tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Anderson, by all accounts, was the proverbial guy about whom no one had a bad word to say, a respected pillar of the Chicago free jazz scene who acted as a mentor for many people now considered legends in their own right, including Douglas Ewart, Hamid Drake, and George Lewis, all of whom came through his ensembles.
Today's Sun-Times has an obituary for Mr. Anderson, while the Sun-Times' Jazz critic Howard Reich posted an article earlier this week about the possible fate of the Velvet Lounge. One thing everyone agrees on is that the only way to save the Velvet Lounge is to keep patronizing the Velvet Lounge. Take a page from our early Chicago forebears: vote early and often.
Are you passionate about music? Love to write about it? Able to commit to regular posts for a blog you read all the time anyway? If you answered "Yes" to all three of these questions, we want to hear from you.
Gapers Block: Transmission is looking for a few new able-minded music writers to join our amazing staff. Send us three (3) writing samples (links to online pieces are fine) of your best music writing along with some information on your background and music interests. We're always interested in writers with eclectic tastes but we love our indie music fans as well.
Email submissions with the subject "Transmission Staff Submission" to transmission@gapersblock.com. Don't delay!
Please note: Gapers Block is a volunteer organization. More details about what being on staff entails on our Submissions page.
Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Psychedelic Rock band MGMT has been touring and making music since 2005. On Friday, June 18th they played at the Riviera Theater to a sold out, all-ages crowd of 2,500 people to support their newest album, Congratulations. They began their set with "Pieces of What", a track from their 2007 first major label studio release, Oracular Spectaular.
For Chicago native Jody Watley, there really is no place like home. With over 20 million solo records sold worldwide and Billboard chart-topping hits that include "Looking for a New Love," "Everything," and "Real Love," the Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter, performing in a special homecoming concert this week in Chicago, talks about returning to her Windy City roots, her record label and upcoming album, Chameleon, and why performing in Chicago will be extra special this time around.
Gapers Block: Transmission: Your godfather, the legendary Jackie Wilson introduced "Jody Watley" to the world — was that when the bug hit you?
Jody Watley: Well I think I always had the desire to be a performer from my love of Motown and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Jackie Wilson was very close with my mother and father. At one time, my father was a gospel radio personality on WVON before I was even born, and he always had a lot of friends that were in show business. That's how the relationship with Jackie Wilson came to be.
GB: Describe for us what that experience was like, being exposed to Jackie Wilson and his music at an early age.
JW: The first concert that I remember attending was Jackie Wilson at The Regal Theater, which of course is where the Harold Washington Cultural Center is now located. That was one of the reasons [I chose this venue for my show] is because when I did some research on it, I realized this was simply meant to be because I haven't been on that spot since I was a little kid. My first time on stage was with Jackie Wilson at his show and it definitely had a profound impact on me; the people — and the women — were going crazy! He was such a phenomenal performer and even at a young age, you know when something is really special. So that is a little known fact [about me]. Jackie Wilson was definitely very influential and whatever my desires were, experiencing that time with him probably sealed the deal in many ways.
Our friends at Do312 are the source for all things Lolla-aftershow, and their kickoff party is tonight at Debonair (1575 N Milwaukee). Dont forget to RSVP for your chance to win Lollapalooza tickets.
Tickets for all the aftershows go on sale this Friday at 10am. See the full list after the jump.
Looking to get out of that mid-week slump? Try a little marching band action! Our hometown 30 piece circus punk ensemble extravaganza Mucca Pazza plays Lincoln Hall tomorrow to give a little boost that will make you glad you went out on a school night and will help you reach your excitement quota until the weekend comes. The extremely visual band is known for being an outlandish spectacle that at times have turned shows into parades and the most introverted band geek into part of the scene.
Local indie rock faves Canasta open the night. The show is 18+ and the cost is $12. Music starts at 9. Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N Lincoln Ave. (773)525-2501
Sometimes planning your Lollapalooza after party schedule can be just as exciting as finding out the line-up of the festival itself. It's about that time of year for the after party announcements to start rolling in, and we've just received word of the first of the bunch. Lolla has teamed up with charity concert series Dare 2 Dream to bring psychedelic rock duo MGMT to the House of Blues Friday night of Lollapalooza weekend. The concert benefits The People's Music School in Uptown, a tuition-free community school that provides music education for hundreds of children per year. The band will also be playing Lollapalooza's Budweiser stage Sunday, August 8th at 6 pm.
UPDATE! Soon after this posting, the Lolla camp announced a slew of other official after parties, including The Black Keys, Devo, The New Pornographers, Cut Copy, and The National. See the full list here. Tickets for all after parties go on sale this Friday, June 25th, at 10 AM.
When we're not streaming Ren & Stimpy episodes on our laptops, we're thinking about the jingle for LOG (from Blammo), and other great music.
An interview with The Cool Kids by Time Out Chicago.
Win front-row seats to Pavement's Millennium Park show (9/13) if you donate $35 or more to CHIRP by 10am Saturday, 6/19. [Tickets for the show go on sale Saturday at 11am.]
Win tickets to see Wilco in South Bend, IN on July 30th, courtesy of Jam.
Columbia College of Chicago professor Jeff Schiff was on NPR's The Story this week talking about his Deadhead experiences.
Kot has his picks on what shows you simply can't miss this summer.
WBEZ's Steve Edwards had a video interview with word-lover Rhymefest. "We're the conscience of hip-hip....Chicago artists can't help but tell you about our pain."
Speaking of radio shows in video clips, catch Bloodshot artists the Deadstring Brothers on Live on KXEP.
Remember when those Lady Gaga performances at the Chicago Theater had to be moved because the stage was too small for her production? Well, Lolla won't be a problem for Gaga. (via)
In other summer festival tidbits, Threadless held a contest for a Lilith Fair t-shirt design. The winning shirt is, well, a little girly.
Missed Bonnaroo? Listen to concert recordings at NPR Music.
MTV's new "Twitter Jockey" will earn $100K/year. Jaw officially dropped.
When the news broke last fall that our hometown darlings The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir were in a major bus accident that injured all six members, some very seriously it was a shock to the music community. Many of us were trying to gather pieces of information, sending what we could to help and hoping for the best. There were numerous benefits for music equipment and medical bills, and many were wondered what would become of the beloved band.
Less than a year later SYGC shows us the true spirit of perseverance and recovery and that we can get through life's most difficult times if we have the drive and passion to keep going and do what keeps us alive. In this band's case it is to fill rooms with distinct quirky songs that make you laugh, cry and dance at the same time. Tomorrow at the Subterranean there will be joy in the air when the band plays a long awaited comeback show. Their third album ...And The Horse You Rode In On was released last year on Bloodshot Records and now can finally be celebrated!
The show starts at 9:30, doors at 9. Very Truly Yours and Wells-Next-The-Sea open. Subterranean is located at 2011 W. North Ave. $10. (773) 278-6600
When a community is brought together on stage it becomes a sight to be heard. Lost In The Trees is folk music brought to a whole new level in ways that differ from other with larger member acts. With soft driven songs that slowly melt and blend a lush string based cacophony of sounds, their music is complex, but still comes from a simple place at heart. The North Carolina band releases All Alone In An Empty House on August 10th on Anti Records, their new home as of March. This is a a follow up to last year's EP Time Taunts Me.
If you don't get a chance to see them Saturday at Schubas you will be missing a very intimate musical experience with a band that has been making waves that will no doubt get bigger in the not too distant future.
Here's the band performing with the North Carolina School of Science and Math orchestra on January 15, 2010 in Durham, NC:
Thanks to the generous folks at Schubas, we have two pairs of tickets to give the first two people who emails us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "I'm Found!". [Update: We have our winners! Congrats to Jacob and Jeremiah!]
Local bands The Thin Man and Zephuros start the night at 10pm and $10 gets you in.
So, lucky you -- you're going to see Eyehategod (and "friends") at the Empty Bottle TWO nights in a row. Two nights! But, the part of you that always wants more, more, more is a little sad that there's 24 hours in between these shows. What will you do with all your vitriol, hate and rage in that figety 18 hours between departure and re-arrival? What, you gonna hit a passerby or something? Scream in the library? Kick a dog? Not anymore....
Prior to Sunday night's Eyehategod/Nachtmystium concert at the Empty Bottle, Reckless Records (1532 N. Milwaukee) will be hosting an in-store performance by Ten Suicides, an ad-hoc experimental unit featuring members of Eyehategod, Outlaw Order, The Guilt of..., Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit, and The Fortieth Day. The project will perform a long-form noise/electronic piece based on the Bloodyminded song "Ten Suicides," an ode to friends and loved ones who have left earth too soon, and by their own hand. Vocals will be by Eyehategod's Mike Williams (aka Mike IX), and if you haven't heard the original, "Ten Suicides" is a showstopper, a piece often performed a capella at the end of shows. The performance at 2009's Matchitehew Assembly was not so far off from a Cassavetes movie in terms of its raw emotion and painful catharsis. The show is free (unless you choose to stay and buy records, of course; then it's gonna cost you) at starts promptly at 3:00 p.m.
Rumors had abounded on whether or not Sónar was establishing a stateside version of their festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art at all, let alone which US city would play host to the now 16-year-old institution. An annual electronic music festival set in Barcelona, Sónar is well known for bringing together some incredible international talent as well as featuring Spanish artists and musicians for three days of exhibits, conferences, fairs and music, called Sonar By Day. Sonar By Night is a showcase of DJs and electronic music in a location outside of Barcelona and many of the sets are recorded and available online.
Well, it seems Sónar chose Chicago as its American home, and work is underway with the the city's own Department of Cultural Affairs to get the stage set for the weekend of September 9 through the 11th. No venues or acts are confirmed yet, and details are a little far off. What is sure is that it seems Sónar might make a permanent home here and with that, be able to share the spotlight with our little enclave of electronic music history.
Chicago-based Americana band Dastardly have released a live performance video for their song, "Villain." The video can be viewed below. Dastardly play Lincoln Hall (2424 N Lincoln) this Saturday, June 19 with Aktar Aktar and Automata. The show is at 10pm, $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
With their soul and psychedelic rock influences, The Phenomenal Handclap Band were clearly born in the wrong decade. This eight-piece group even looks like a roving band of hippies. Hailing from Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, the band operates on the same wavelength as MGMT or the sorely-missed Apes & Androids, employing a hodgepodge of nostalgic '60s and '70s sounds. With their wide array of classic influences, it is no surprise that this band started out after two DJs (Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand) started writing music together. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a large collective of musicians performing on stage at once, especially when they wear matching outfits. Their clever band name certainly doesn't hurt, either.
Check out The Phenomenal Handclap Band's new Dario Argento-inspired video "Baby":
Hey, why buy when you can win! We have a pair of tickets to Friday's show just for you (if you happen to be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Claps!"). You must be 21 and over, please! [Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Melissa!]
[This story was submitted by freelance journalist Evan Minsker.]
Chicago is the home of jazz and the blues. That's no secret. Going back to Jelly Roll Morton and eventually giving the world Chess Records and the Bo Diddley beat, the foundation of Chicago's music history is built almost entirely by the "blues people" who came up from the South.
But Chicago has a less-advertised but storied history with an unlikely genre — bluegrass. Yes, the mandolin and banjo-laden music often associated with backwoods Kentucky and the Tennessee hills had some roots right here.
In 1924, around the time when Louis Armstrong was making waves on the South Side, the WLS National Barn Dance started up in the Sherman Hotel in downtown Chicago. The show is often cited as "second only to the Grand Ole Opry" in its time and was an outlet for Southerners who had recently migrated north. In 1929, Bill Monroe moved to East Chicago, IN, to join his two brothers, Birch and Charlie, who were working at an oil refinery. That year, The Monroe Brothers became members of National Barn Dance. Monroe later became "The Father of Bluegrass," and the rest, of course, is history.
Today, blues bars are spread out all over the city, but there isn't a single "bluegrass bar" in the strictest sense of the term. And while Bloodshot Records mixes roots music with punk sensibilities, there isn't a bluegrass label here in town, either. But there's certainly a "scene." It's not easily defined by a single location, considering the city's bluegrass bands play all over the place. And it's not an easily defined genre, considering bluegrass is split up by subgenres and factions. But there's a number of musicians in town — young and old, suburban and inner-city — playing bluegrass to an enthusiastic audience. Here's a look at three of Chicago's major players in the bluegrass scene and a guide for seeing the music around town.
Hey Champ released their latest music video yesterday for the song "Neverest," the lead single off their impending debut album, Star. While the video is technically safe for work, I still wouldn't watch it at the office. Lead singer Saam Hagshenas even looks a little freaked out in it himself. See for yourself below.
The guys have been traveling quite a bit lately, but you can see them live and in person when they play After Dark at the Art Institute on June 25, or at Wicker Park Fest on July 31 at. Star is due out July 13.
Though Phyllis' Musical Inn is the oldest music venue in Wicker Park dating back to its incarnation as Phyllis Jaskot's polka venue in 1950s, the quality of music varies wildly from night to night. However, due to proprietor Clem Jaskot's hands-off supportiveness of local music, it's a place where some more established acts return time and again, precisely for the low-key vibe that appeals to do-it-yourselfers seeking their very first gig.
For the last few years, Phyllis' has been the venue of choice for Chris Darby's bimonthly songwriter showcase, which began in his Logan Square apartment in 2004. Over the years the quality of these showcases has steadily improved, and the June 9th bill looked particularly promising — featuring four Chicagoans who recently made appearances at Schubas, alongside two veteran troubadours from out of state. It so happened that June 9th was also the most exciting night in Chicago ice hockey in nearly 50 years. Jaskot, smiling broadly, yelled, "Hey look up in the sky!" before disappearing through an unknown exit in the patio, just as fireworks shot up into the sky from all directions.
Inside, while Blackhawks revelers continued celebrating over a few more drinks, Patrick McGuan warmed up the songwriter night on banjo. Banjo turned out to be a particularly good choice for the moment; the instrument's natural volume and timbre once made it the instrument of choice in rowdy bars in the days before electricity boosted the guitar's prominence. As McGuan cranked through a series of old time standards better known in the years following the Hawks' previous championship in 1961 ("Colorado Girl," "Ballad of Hollis Brown," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor"), a growing group of folk music supporters constructed a human wall between the straggling Hawks revelers and the stage. McGuan, whose music recalled a bygone era, attributed the death of his computer to an increasing affinity for the simplicity of times past ("When you don't have internet, the whole world opens up to you").
The Stereogum website recently pre-released a track from Wheaton based psych/metal unit Nachmystium's fifth album, Addicts: Black Meddle Part II. Titled "Every Last Drop," it was released in anticipation of the album's June 8th release date, and bookends another album track (the catchy, synth-driven "No Funeral"), standing in stark contrast. While "No Funeral," which sounds like one of the new-wave/black metal hybrids you'd expect partway a mid-period Sigh record (though it should be noted that Sigh would have upped the ante by chopping the catchy hook up with smoked-out reggae riddims, film soundtrack ambiance, and boot-on-the-throat metal rasping just to keep you unsettled and/or doubled over with laughter), "Every Last Drop," while hardly orthodox black metal, at least has some precedent within the genre.
There is a fine line in children's music between the monotonously boring and the oh my goodness get me out of here. Laura Doherty however never comes close to this place. She nurtures adults with inner children present, as well as children themselves. With a full understanding of the demand that comes with being a children's performer as well as an adult at a kids show she has the ability to appease all ages. Laura also has a has a massive a quirk factor. She can be seen wearing a hot dog hat explaining the toppings of a Chicago style hot dog for one of her songs and refers to "Wheels On The Bus" as the "Freebird" of kid music which is completely correct. Getting the kids groove on in full swing is a task she easily masters and seeing her play is a great way to chill and get silly with fun music.
The former director of the Wiggleworms program at The Old Town School Of Folk Music took a daring leap and decided to go full time at the kids music gig showing an intense passion for bringing joy in the world via sweet folk inspired kids songs. Her latest release Kids In The City has a beautiful cover of the Bachrach classic "Raindrops Keep falling On My Head" which allows everyone to sing along with a smile.
Laura and her band are throwing a Pajama Party this Tuesday in Welles Park to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Wiggleworms! Bring the kids to this one of a kind event where everyone is invited to come in appropriate attire.
The event is all ages and starts at 6:30. Welles Park is located at 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave. For more information call 773-728-6000
Trace, The Pop Tots, Six In The Mix, Fatal Attraction, Red Hard Stones/Dangerous Rock Stars, Five Star Kids, Soul Children, The Scorps, The Davis Square Park Community Band, Rockin' Wit Swag, The Jammin 4...You might not know these band names quite yet, but in ten years or so, you just might.
Intonation Music Workshop is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing music instruction and performance opportunities to kids age 6-17 in Chicago's underserved communities, and tomorrow at their "Stars of Tomorrow Rock and Soul Music Fest" you can see performances from all of these young bands, and more. They've teamed up with the Chicago Park District and MusicianCorps Chicago to present this festival by kids and for kids. In addition to live music, there will be an instrument petting zoo (don't ask me what that is, but it's definitely something I want to see) and a decorate-your-own album cover art activity. Best of all, the whole day-long event is free.
So pack up your kids (or your sister's kids, or your friend's kids) and head down to Fosco Park (1312 S. Racine). The fest runs from Noon to 4:30pm.
When we're not fainting during hockey games, we're reading things online:
Getting excited for the World Cup? (Check out our Tailgate section for previews of the matchups.) One local band, Manwomanchild, has released a single in honor of the soccer action in South Africa. They're rooting for the Chilean team with "Chile La Roja."
A review of Breathe Owl Breathe at Oh My Rockness. (They play Schubas 6/15.)
More great Chicago psychedelic rock? Yes, says Deli Chicago, from Secret Colours.
This past week Chicago Public Radio also interviewed the fine folks at Rock for Kids who are bringing music education to Chicago's at-risk youth.
Help the Nashville flood relief efforts while also supporting Chicago indie mag Venus. Get yourself a poster of their Summer 2010 cover featuring Jack White and part of your purchase price goes to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
More from the Nels Cline Singers with "Floored" as the "Song of the Day" on NPR's Music site this week.
Isn't this interesting: the same PR consultant who worked for the RIAA all those years is now working for BP. Maybe the Gulf will soon be plastered with tiny black advisory stickers.
[This article was submitted by freelance writer Emi Peters.]
With the 27th annual Chicago Blues Festival kicking off Friday, and Eric Clapton's sold-out Crossroads Guitar Festival right around the corner, it's important to take a look at how much one of Chicago's top tourist attractions has changed since the musical genre's heyday in the 1950s and '60s. The Chicago blues sound is equal parts electric and soulful. It has inspired countless numbers of musicians and gave birth to rock 'n' roll. The blues is one of the purest forms of American music, and Chicago became the place to turn it on its head and make the blues its own.
Some 60 odd years ago, it was pretty customary to be able to drive through Chicago's South and West sides and see an immense number of blues clubs and juke joints, such as the Flamingo Lounge, Gatewood's Tavern and The Flame Club. Inside, one could find patrons dancing and singing along to some of the rawest, grittiest and sweatiest music the city has ever known. Smoke-filled, dimly lit rooms overcome with loud electric guitar and soulful crooning could carry on until the wee hours of the morning. Chicago blues wasn't just another sub-genre of music, though -- it was also very much a release for African Americans looking to escape the hardships and discrimination encountered in daily life.
Today, the number of blues clubs in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods of the South and West Sides has dwindled significantly. Many of the establishments that once played host to iconic blues men and women such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Junior Wells and Koko Taylor now cease to exist, as well as the aforementioned legends that frequented them.
Junior Wells c. mid-1960s (photo by Raeburn Flerlage courtesy Delmark Records)
Straight off their performance in the wilds of Tennessee at Bonnaroo, Atlanta's own The Constellations hit the Empty Bottle on Sunday night for some funky, soulful, psychedelic southern rocking. But this isn't mullet-tastic southern rock — I doubt you'll even hear a drawl between the keyboards, tambourines, and bass taps. The Constellations tag themselves "southern gothic" (in fact, it's the title of their new album due out June 22) but I think that gothiness just speaks to the smooth, dark, velvety sounds coming out of their amps like thick red drapes. Led by Elijah Jones on vocals (who sounds a bit like a fallen preacher you're bound to enjoy sitting next to at the corner bar) and serenaded by the likes of backing songstresses Alaina Terry and Shab Bashiri, tunes like "Step Right Up" sound like if disco invaded your Sunday morning choir loft. Nine members strong, they'll surely fill the intimate stage at the Empty Bottle Sunday night. More than just funky beats, their lyrics are often dark and dripping with venomous narratives out of some pulpy paperback you'd find on the back shelves at Shake, Rattle, & Read. Or maybe they're the funky new house band at the vampire bar in True Blood. Check out the slightly NSFW (copious amounts of skin here) tattooed pin-up photo shoot video for their song "Felicia" and you be the judge. Better yet, come out on Sunday and check them live and in person.
If you'd like to head down Western for free, well, we can help you out with that. Just be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Starry" and you and a friend will get to hit up the show gratis. [Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Ellen!]
[Oh and if you miss them this time around, they are playing Lollapalooza as well. This will be your last chance to see them in town before they hit the big stages in Grant Park in August.]
Midway through forthcoming The Five Ghosts at a sold out Lincoln Hall on Wednesday, Stars singer Torq Campbell acknowledged how awkward it is to play an entire album that a majority of the audience isn't yet familiar with and does not lend itself to the mania that often accompanies the introduction of anything recognizable. (The album's out June 22.) So it was appreciated that Torq had the sense, which he's probably developed over the course of this preview tour, to essentially say, "We know this is weird for you. It's a little weird for us, too. Hang on."
The Five Ghosts does not initially sound like a Stars album. It's more synth-heavy than anything they've done before. It's as if "The Ghost of Genova Heights" was used as a launchpad, as well as perhaps a little Saint Etienne influence. It clearly took time to sink in for some people in the crowd. But Stars is a professional rock band and they've been honing these tunes live. "Wasted Daylight", which Amy Millan seems to think should be a summer jam, was tight and especially vibrant on choruses. The dancey "We Don't Want Your Body", which begins by sounding like something from DFA, was a highlight. When Amy Millan takes over its vocals, it reaches its pinnacle. In fact, nearly every time Millan sang on her own the room was enraptured. However, it's when Torq and Amy sing off each other that Stars really hits their strides. Whether it's in a standard call and response or just switching vocal duties, the two of them have an impeccable sense of the other and how to match up with their intensity. "How Much More", an upbeat surprise on the back-end of The Five Ghosts, was where they shined most together during the first set.
Where their intensity was used most efficiently on Wednesday, though, was in the fan-selected second set. Offsetting the first set of unrecognized new songs were a slew of Stars' best. No longer were songs received with simple polite applause. Now people were raucous, beginning with the first bars of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead." Memories were jogged. Songs about reintroductions to one night stands, falling into old (bad) habits with exes and hanging on for dear life resonated with the crowd. They screamed lyrics they've sung to themselves a hundred times. They became giddy upon hearing that one song they went to Lincoln Hall to hear. (For a lot of people, that seemed to be "Take Me to the Riot.") And that energy flowed onto the stage, back to the band as they rolled out a set heavy on Set Yourself on Fire. "Elevator Love Letter" had a couple extra licks thrown in for good measure and "Ageless Beauty" took on some elements from The Five Ghosts. But overall it was pretty much what people wanted to hear and it's difficult to imagine that anyone who likes Stars would have been disappointed with this best-of. When they return in August for Lollapalooza, they should really be firing on all cylinders.
It's been five years since the Like's debut, Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?, turned a few heads with a sound that was awfully difficult to not compare to the Sundays or Throwing Muses. Despite being a pretty good album and the members having a striking musical pedigree, it failed to generate much attention. Now in 2010, the Los Angeles foursome have rebranded themselves by traveling further back in girl group pop music history with a record, Release Me, that takes influence from a swinging 60s scene without being entirely entrenched in it. Producer Mark Ronson and some Dap-Kings will get a lot of press for their contributions to Release Me, but a key new component is clearly Annie Monroe on organ filling spaces with licks that are appropriate but not overwhelming. (Just listen for it in the bubblegum single "He's Not a Boy.")
And right now Transmission's giving away a pair of tickets to see the Like on Saturday, June 12, at Lincoln Hall. Be the first to email "RELEASE ME" to contests@gapersblock.com and you'll be all set! [Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Holly!]
The Like play with the Futureheads. The Static Jacks open at 10PM. (Also of note, it's the last show of their tour.) Admission's $15 and the show's for those 21 & over. Lincoln Hall's at 2424 N Lincoln.
Lollapalooza's full schedule was announced this morning, so now comes the time when you are forced to decide which of your favorite bands you will see as they play at opposite ends of the park--or whether you'll be running wind sprints back and forth for three days straight. Single-day passes are also on sale today, if you choose to go that route instead.
We've got your headlining match-ups below, but you can find the entire schedule on Lollapalooza's website (where, as always, you can create your own customized schedule).
The eccentric soul songstress walked on stage, poised and ethereal, to grace an adoring audience during Wednesday night's performance at The Chicago Theatre. Dressed in a black trench coat, sunglasses and donning a thick mane of blond hair that cascaded down her back, Badu settled in between a laptop and an electronic drum kit, immediately getting into the first song of the evening, "20 Feet Tall," followed by almost two hours of non-stop entertainment.
While almost half of the songs performed were from her latest album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), Miss Badu offered a 20+ song set for the packed house, pulling a selection of hits from every record in her six-album discography and showcasing a career that goes back 13 years, beginning with the acclaimed 1997 debut Baduizm, which won two out of its four Grammy Award nominations and earned the singer the deserved title of "high priestess of neo soul."
However, Wednesday night's performance proved Badu is much more than any title suggests. Her sheer physical presence commanded attention, despite her sartorially bland choice in clothing (underneath the trench coat, Badu wore a shabby t-shirt and rolled up sweat pants). She quite simply had a bewitching quality, and transfixed the audience, whose raised hands and occasional shouts of praise and joy reminded one of a Southern Baptist church service.
Jessica Hopper at The Reader talks to Rhymefest about all things Chicago including what qualifies as the "East Side" (reprazent).
In case you missed Kanye West's new leaked single "Power," Fake Shore Drive also has the really cool album art.
Interesting afternoon activity once the weather starts to really warm up, check out the "Blues With a Feeling" photo exhibit.
I've been neglecting Big Rock Candy Mountain in my weekly web perusals. (Shame on me.) There's some good stuff from Ten Foot Polecats on there now.
CYSTSFTS has the line on some sweet honkytonk from Arliss Nancy, including a link to download the EP for free.
In his new Vocalo blog, Jim DeRogatis weighs in on the merits of Sleigh Bells and the moral highground concerning Tipper and Al Gore's pending divorce.
This seems like a great summertime show: The handsome fellas of Thievery Corporation will be performing Friday, June 25, at the Congress Theater. The DJ/producer duo hail from Washington, DC, though you wouldn't know it from listening to their music. Rather, their laid-back dance tracks reflect the world at large, borrowing heavily from South American, Jamaican, African, and Indian beats. Put the glow sticks away, folks, it's not that kind of chest-thumping, basstastic party (though I suppose you could hula hoop to it). Warming up the audience is Telepath, an up-tempo breakbeat crew from Philly.
Want to hit up the show for free? We've got two pairs of tickets to give away! Just be the first two people to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Beats!" and you and a friend will get to dance dance dance all night for $0. [Update! We have our winners! Congrats to Christopher and Ross!]
Thievery Corporation plays the Congress Theater on June 25th. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and yes, Virginia, it's an all-ages event. Tickets run $35 ($45 special 2-for-1 online special) to $100 for VIP. The Congress is located at 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-227-7595.
Caribou is coming all the way from Dundas, Ontario. A tiny-fraction-of-the-way-road-trip from Chicago will complete the circle. (And while in town, might I suggest sampling the deliciously delicious Great River Brewery, Far Out Espresso Stout?)
Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Rock Island brewing Company is located at 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island, IL. 309-793-1999.
Chicago has no shortage of summer music festivals, but that doesn't make the inaugural North Coast Music Festival any less welcome. With a lineup including The Chemical Brothers, Moby, Disco Biscuits, Cold War Kids and Flying Lotus, the festival offers an alternative for those in the Perry's Stage crowd at Lolla who don't want to pay high ticket prices to be tucked in a corner all weekend, and they're bringing along a few indie rock kids and jam band friends for the ride. At a very reasonable $35 per day ticket price, it'd be hard to find a better way to round out the summer. The festival takes place September 3rd - 5th at Union Park, and if you hurry, you'll be able to snag some discount 3-day $65 passes, available until June 13th.
Chicago's ever-entertaining experimental band Tortoise plays a special benefit show tomorrow night at Lincoln Hall. Benefiting The Drummond Montessori School, the show will be a sweet break from the post-holiday work-a-day grind. If you're not familiar with the band, Tortoise is an ensemble of sorts, bringing 20+ years of harmonious improvisation to their lives shows as well as recorded material. Tortoise released Beacons of Ancestorship in 2009 along with a remix album the same year (you can take a listen to the albums at the Thrill Jockey website). Their songs can be ethereal and shrouded in fog, or blissfully upbeat in a rolling-down-a-hill-of-freshly-cut-grass kind of way. I find their music a mood-lifter, even with their quieter, mellower sets. Tortoise is a bit of a sticky wicket to categorize. They're synthy, funky, jazzy. Their music has a way of making me think of college dorms and black lights, while also coming off as adult, polished, professional, and insanely smart. Any way you like to think about them, make tracks to come out to Lincoln Hall and take in the show Thursday. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing your money is going to a worthwhile cause, and the smugness of knowing you're spending your Thursday night right where you should.
[The following review was submitted to Transmission by former staff member Dan Snedigar.]
Future Islands (Photo by Abram Sanders)
At first blush, the path chosen by electronic trio Future Islands seems fraught with potential pitfalls. Their self-applied "post-wave" descriptor and improbable line up of bass, synth and vocals could potentially be a set up for failure, potentially inviting the worst excesses of both the genres and tools of the trade. On their excellent sophomore long player In Evening Air, however, the band delivers a work of weighty intricacy, a record that transcends its obvious influences and renders something entirely new and interesting.
Formed in 2006 in North Carolina, the band has found legs since moving to Baltimore to become part of the burgeoning rock scene that includes such notables as Dan Deacon and Thrill Jockey label mates Double Dagger. Propelled to local notoriety on the strength of their frenetic live shows and the promising but uneven Wave Like Home LP, Future Islands landed on Chicago's Thrill Jockey label, releasing In Evening Air amidst a flurry of activity that includes the EP In The Fall and the excellent remix EP Post Office Wave Chapel.
Enemy continues its ongoing quest to suck the life out of otherwise fun situations with programs and performances that, while not for everybody, are singularly unique experiences. When Enemy co-conspirator Jason Soliday told me that he was planning on making a plaque to hang over the front door that said, "no money, no ego, no prestige....just noise," it was a no-shit-sherlock moment. Of course. When Cock E.S.P. debuted their soul-draining aktionist-noise-theatrical confrontation early last month, the disgust in the room was palpable. You could reach out and grasp it out of the air. And then, fellow touring-mate Crank Sturgeon created his typically uplifting contact mic-driven hootenanny and it was like we were all back with our favorite grade school teacher, the one who made everything fun, only now he was wearing a fish costume and playing a contact mic'd bucket of water with his foot. Folks, that's entertainment. As the world trundles thoughtlessly toward its inevitable (and messy) demise, demand spectacle of the highest order! Anything less is a waste of precious moments.
Oh, and speaking of, there's another to-do at Enemy (1550 N. Milwaukee, 3rd Floor) this Friday, and it's a corker. Boasting six acts and a $5 donation for the touring acts, it's hard to imagine a conflicting event so compelling, a nap on the couch after work so compelling, that you wouldn't end up making it.
According to our sources, GWAR entered the country last week "via [their] bat-shaped helicopter and are now at an undisclosed slave pit preparing for tour" after a four-month break. Gapers Block gave a call to Oderus Urungus of GWAR to catch up with the lead singer of the one of the most disgusting and politically inappropriate bands the world has ever known in anticipation of their performance tomorrow at Durty Nellie's in Palatine.
Gapers Block: GWAR started in 1984 — that's more than two and a half decades. How has humanity managed to survive this long?
Oderus Urungus: I don't know, and I'm not very happy about it. I blame a lot of this on other people, particularly the human race. As long as they keep having sex, there will be more of them than are dying. But I'm pro-sex, as long as I get to watch.
GB: Is this tour still in support of your latest album Lust In Space?
OU: Yes! It is a continuation of the beating given at the end of last year. We're heading to all the places we didn't hit on the first half of the tour because frankly, we're very bad at Google and directions. We're pretty sure we have the right coordinates this time.
GB: When was the last time you were in Chicago?
OU: Chicago... I don't measure time in the same way as you do. We have a longstanding necro-bestial love affair with the people of Chicago. We've all had sex so many times, there are so many Oderous babies wandering the streets. It's kind of disgusting. And the baseball teams confuse me. There should be only one team in one sport. That sport should be Afghan Goat Rugby. (long, unsuitable-for-print description of the "rising sport" ensues).
GB: Do you find booking a venue again difficult after you've performed your particular live act?
OU: Durty Nellie's — we have been there before. They're usually very good about it: We'll say "Are you cool with alien barbarian monster marauder m@#$%&*fers violent thrusting about their crude parts while knee-deep in gore?" and they'll say "Yes, of course, we'll give you 10 million dollars."
GB: I see you also played the Gathering of the Juggalos in 2009. Was that a good experience?
OU: It was done for money, plain and simple. But also to experience the cultural phenomenon that is the Gathering. I mean, it was the most bizarre thing I did last year. More power to the juggalos and juggalettes. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. They manage to get every single penny from their fans.
GB: Anything the crowd should expect from you this Wednesday?
OU: The smells of fecal matter. Some of the fans didn't enjoy the fecal matter — we were surprised. If they don't want fecal matter on them, it only goes about 30 feet or so. So now we're letting people know that. Fecal Matters Matters — that's our new non-profit.
GWAR plays at Durty Nellie's on Wednesday, June 2nd. Tickets are $22, doors open at 7pm (21+).
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