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. ✶
You just can't beat tacos as art. Local mixmasters The Hood Internet created an amazing, larger-than-life version of their new album cover with over $450 worth of Taco Bell tacos.
Their new (and totally free) self-titled album of remixes and production work comes out on December 6th at mishkanyc.com. My mouth is already watering.
Budweiser's 22nd Birthday Bash is rolling through Chicago tomorrow night, so if you are 22 or turning 22, prepare for your biggest birthday party ever. The party will feature photobooths, games, prizes, free food and beer, but most importantly, dance punk duo Matt and Kim will perform. The catch is you have to be 22 years old, or turning 22, to RSVP. There's still hope for us old folks, though: RSVP'd guests may bring in friends of any age over 21. Register here and head on over to the Congress Theater tomorrow (Thursday, December 1st). Doors open at 9 pm.
Or don't -- they're probably a peaceful group. At least, it's hard to envision The War On Drugs as anything other than blissed-out dudes in Ray Bans as you listen to Slave Ambient, their latest eye-catching album. The former musical home of Kurt Vile, the band brings their country-stomp-meets-shoegaze guitar licks to Lincoln Hall next Wednesday, Dec. 7. Openers include Still Corners and Arc In Round.
Just some of the members of Tinariwen (photo by Marie Planeille)
Let's face it, you don't have a lot of bands like Tinariwen on your iPod. Hailing from Mali, where the group first got together in the early 1970s, the blues-influenced tribal music is like none other. They gained some attention in Chicago thanks to electric performances around town [Read previous Transmission coverage of Tinariwen.] , and their latest album Tassili offers up grooving, trance-like gems that are sure to gain them even more listeners. Joined on many tracks by guests like guitarist Nels Cline (of Wilco fame), members of TV On The Radio, and the horns of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, there's a lot to love about Tassili.
Songs range from sad tales of longing for home to girl trouble to just tunes about having the blues. You can check out lyrics (which have been kindly translated into English) and see just how much you have to relate to in Tinariwen's songbook.
The band is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears, donning their flowing robes while still emitting an approachable spirit to their shows, whether they take place in the desert or on stage in Wrigleyville. For two lucky readers, we're happy to have two pairs of tickets to give away, courtesy of the Metro. Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com by noon on Wednesday, Nov. 23 with the subject line "Tassili" and you and a friend will be all set to see the show for free. [Update! We have our winners. Congrats to Scott and James!]
Tinariwen plays the Metro on Friday, November 25, 2011. Sophie Hunger opens. Tickets are $26 (adv), $29 (day of show). 18+. Doors open at 8pm, music starts at 9pm. The Metro is located at 3730 N. Clark St. 773-549-4140
From Dec. 6 through Dec. 31, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago will exhibit Sonic Arboretum, a collaborative music installation by Andrew Bird and sculptor/luthier Ian Schneller. The physical aspect of the work is a "sound garden" of 72 of Schneller's audio horn speakers scattered around the MCA's second floor atrium. The horns, which are hand made from dryer lint, newsprint, and shellac, vary in size from three to over nine feet tall. Bird will record new site-specific compositions at the museum; musical information will be sent to different groups of horns, allowing visitors to hear varied soundscapes as they move through the installation.
The musical aspect comes fully into play on Dec. 21 and 22, when Bird will perform live, surrounded by the audience, all immersed in the installation. Sonic Arboretum debuted for a one-night only concert at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2010. According to the MCA press release, the Chicago presentation is much larger in scope and duration.
Tickets to the live performances are sold out, but you could get in line for the waitlist if you're particularly intrepid.
When does a trumpet not sound like a trumpet, but rather, like a...
Babbling brook
Hissing radiator
Miscalibrated servomotor
Self-built organic synthesizer
That creepy cybernetic mule video that was being passed around the internet
Plenty of non-idiomatic free improv trumpet players can make claims to a sonic palette that wide, but Kelley's is the only sonic toolbox I've heard that actually grows and matures every year. With little to no electronic processing, Kelley's horn can go from near imperceptible puffs of air to ferocious metallic alarms -- one of Kelley's best extended techniques is placing a thin sheet of metal gently against the bell of the horn, creating a chest-rattling industrial roar.
There is a certain perfect energy when you see a band on the steady rise in popularity. They attack each set with a fierce and primal sense of urgency and passion, as their life and success is finally being recognized on a larger scale. Couple in the fact that the band is known for conjuring up nostalgia with their sound, and you've got a dance floor full of adults that are probably dreaming of a not so far off youth. M83 dosed out their version of a perfect past Thursday night to two sold out audiences at Lincoln Hall.
Dan Polak has been a fixture of the Chicago punk scene for years. You can count on seeing him at every show smiling and singing along. He's known on the other side of the performance divide for his work in hardcore bands Left Hand Path and Like Rats/Undo Tomorrow. Over the years the Chicago hardcore scene has rallied around Dan as a pillar of positivity. Unfortunately Dan's been having a really bad 2011.
On Saturday at 8 p.m., Lampo's second (of three) concerts in its Fall series. This time, the nonprofit arts group, in association with the Graham Foundation's Madlener House (4 W. Burton Place, Chicago), present aural and textual disorientation from a genuine member of the (invented) aristocracy, one Leif Elggren, king of Elgaland-Vargaland.
Elggren, 61, is Swedish by descent, but it's not his only home. With Carl Michael von Hausswolff, he founded Elgaland-Vargaland, a country consisting of all the areas on the map (geographic, aquatic, digital, mental, and theoretical) not belonging to any other country. From no man's land areas to waterways not patrolled by neighboring countries, Elgaland-Vargaland is peopled by artists and thinkers the world over, each with their own royal title (December's Lampo performer, trumpet improvisor Greg Kelley, is Elgaland-Vargaland's "Minister of Fanfares," for example), and each with their own duty and municipality. Elggren's mind thinks this way -- areas left unclaimed by others, be they piles of dirt on the ground or unclaimed territories in the mind -- will be swept up and repurposed into exquisite aural/visual cartography, alternate histories and untested paradigms.
Elggren's last Lampo performance was in 2007 with Kevin Drumm, a piece entitled "If Other People Exist Then They Are Totally Sealed Secrets (The Voice as an Irregular Sound Generator)," a work for spoken word, electronics, motors and vibrating tin can crowns. This Saturday's performance is simply noted to be "for voice and live electronics." Fans of "lecture"-era Hafler Trio, or people who do chores while listening to Cage's Diary: How To Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) in the background, take note. And call me; we clearly need to hang out.
Tickets for this event are free but sold out, but the Eventbrite page for this event will let you put your name on the wishlist.
Neon bright Chicago MC Kid Sister just dropped her video for the remix of Gucci Rag Top featuring fellow Fools Gold MC Danny Brown. The remix Xzibit Pimps the original track into a Missy Elliot sampling Rick Rubin-esque 808s and gated guitar party shaker as Kid Sister and Danny Brown engage in a battle of who's sexual libido is best represented by their choice of vehicular transportation.
Chicago band B1G T1ME might be passed off as a "cover band," but that sells them a might short. This group is truly Chicago's Tom Waits outlet — providing a near-perfect rendering in style, performance, and delivery. As a Waits tour is a rarity lately, B1G T1ME is the closest (literally) many of us can get to the hot asphalt throated singer. They're playing just three more shows in the city in 2011, then they're taking a year off "to catch up on physical fitness and billiards." If you're a Waits fan, and just can't wait for Tom to decide if he's touring off his new album, Bad As Me (see our previous post on his new song, "Chicago"), then you'll want to get out and see B1G T1ME for your dose of growl, smoke, and bang.
Here are the remaining 2011 show dates for B1G T1ME before their year-long break:
Thursday, Nov. 17 at Morseland, 1218 W. Morse Ave., Chicago. Show starts at 9:30pm, two sets, no cover.
Merrill Garbus of Tune-yards (photos by Steve Stearns)
Make no mistake about it: Merrill Garbus a force to be reckoned with.
At the Tune-yards concert on Wednesday, Nov. 9, (the first of two sold-out shows at Lincoln Hall), the audience fairly vibrated while waiting for the band to appear. Snippets of conversation could be heard from all direction, fans describing to friends Garbus' mad-scientist methodology. In the restroom, two girls applied colorful face paint to each other's cheeks in emulation of the Tune-yards founder and front woman.
Chicago has been all a-swoon over the band ever since Tune-yard's raucous performance at this year's Pitchfork Music Festival. Appearances on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and other shows have only boosted their visibility. Not bad for a gal whose first album, Bird-Brains, was self-taped with only a handheld voice recorder.
The Old Town School of Folk Music is releasing Live from the Old Town School, a four-volume, 127-track digital box set of live performances spanning the music school and performance space's 50-plus-year history. The set will be available Dec. 13 in its entirety on Amazon, CD Baby and iTunes, but the first three volumes are already available on Amazon at $0.99 a pop or $17.98 an album, including several songs by Andrew Bird, Robbie Fulks, Jon Langford, Mahalia Jackson and Pete Seeger.
Chicago wizards and warlocks are your demon claws ready for a southern metal Sunday slaughter? Fresh from their appearance on a patricide rich episode of CBS' premier snuff detective program Criminal Minds high level black magic users Black Tusk and swamp druids Thou are playing at the Ultra Lounge in Wicker Park on Sunday night. Locals The Swan King and Monstroso open. If you're worried about your muggle boss finding out about your late night magical metal adventures Thou is playing a matinee show on Chicago's metal lay line intersection, The Albion House. Dope smoking goat worshippers Bongripper and razor taunt d-beat barbarians Hate open.
Microsoft is celebrating the release of the Windows 7.5 phones this weekend in Chicago by loading our city with free food, free booze, and free rock 'n 'roll. This Friday and Saturday night, Windows is taking over a "secret location" to showcase the Samsung Focus S, Samsung Focus Flash, HTC Titan and HTC Radar phones. As the effects of S.A.D. start to seep in, the summertime sounds of indie pop band The Drums might do our poor souls some good in this miserable weather. The band will be performing at the parties, which will also feature life-sized X-Box games. Did I mention the free booze?
Lucky you (and your friend) we've got two pairs of VIP tickets to these events to give away (one for Friday and one for Saturday night). VIPs get guaranteed free entry, access to a special VIP area, as well as free food and drinks. To win them you must A) be 21+, and B) email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject: DRUMS! and you must indicate which night you prefer (can be either) in your email. We'll select two winners at random at noon on Friday, 11/11. [Update: We have our winners! Congrats to Wes and Joey!]
Tickets can be reserved through Microsoft's Facebook page, but you'll have to hurry as tickets are limited. The parties go on from 7pm to 9pm Friday and Saturday night at a location you'll learn about in the RSVP. Note: your RSVP does not guarantee entry, so get there early!
You may be familiar with CeaseFire Chicago (we've written about itpreviously) but Brad Cole, who lost a brother to gun violence, is hoping to raise awareness about the organization's efforts with a new song and music video. He teamed up with hip-hop artist Staff Johnson, and brothers Baron and Jason Harper (members of the local band Scattered Trees) who also lost family members to gun violence in the last year. They created "Killin' Your Brother," and we're happy to premiere the video here on Gapers Block today.
Empty bars lit by hanging bulbs, the beer you drink alone, and the absolute stillness of night are the visuals of A.A. Bondy's languid folk music. Each song unfolds at an unconcerned pace as Auguste Arthur Bondy's sparse voice fills the valleys between the notes. He builds dreamlike worlds where everything halts into a still frame of reflection. Tonight A.A. Bondy and his backing band of Ben Taylor and Macey Taylor will transform Lincoln Hall into a lodge deep in the Appalachians with a night of slow whiskey drenched rambling man folk.
Merrill Garbus is a force to reckon with. Her band, Tune-yards, stole the show at at this year's Pitchfork Festival with her fierce, innovative performance. Since then, she's been a roll, appearing on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and WBEZ's Sound Opinions.
This week she brings the Tune-yards mad-scientist magic to Lincoln Hall (2424 North Lincoln Ave) for two sold-out shows on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 10 at 9 p.m. Pat Jordache opens both shows. Yeah, they're sold out, but I'd imagine the resourceful may still be able to find a ticket.
The Food Republic blog spent the week interviewing over a dozen DJs about their tastes in food and music. See what Chicago (and nearby) spinners Flosstradamus, The Hood Internet, Michigan's Mayer Hawthorne and Carl Craig, and others from around the country had to say about what they eat before a show, during a show, and after. And sometimes even what their official tour riders supply them with the second they hit a venue. Bonus: there are food-oriented playlists to enjoy at the end of each piece. They'll leave you craving some horsey sauce.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the duo of Stars of the Lid member Adam Wiltze and minimal composer Dustin O'Halloran. If O'Halloran's name seems familiar he wrote and performed the score to Sofia Coppala's film Marie Antoinette. A Winged Victory for the Sullen's self-titled debut unfolds with the delicacy of a Chopan piece performed on Vicodin. AWVFTS create music that lies in between the worlds of chamber pop, melancholy minimalist piano, and droning post rock. On paper the idea of the two working together could be dismissed as the audio equivalent of nice pastel wallpaper but the duo finds a unique space too hefty to be ambient yet impressionistic enough to glide around the edges of your mind. The songs float by as glaciers at noon across the ocean. The otherworldly compositions on AWVFTS' debut album released by Chicago's Kranky Records unfold at a pace that guides the listener into a state where moments freeze in time.
Here in Chicago we've just hit the month of November or the moon cycle after Samhaim as the pagans know it and that's prime time for metal to take over the turntable in my house. Riding in on winters heels Surachai has just released To No Avail, a blast of stark, cold, desolate, black metal. To No Avail is a record you listen to backwards in the desperate search of finding a doorway out of the nightmare filled darkness it brings.
Rock styles certainly seem to have a certain cyclical wax and wane, and it seems that psychedelia is currently on something of an upswing. While there are some great acts feeding the current tide of freak-out rockers, few seem to have gained as much traction, both popular and critical, as Bay Area quartet Wooden Shjips. Fine purveyors of droney space rock since their formation in 2006, the group has reached a new level of exposure with the release of their third album West released on Chicago's own Thrill Jockey label. With mastering by Sonic Boom of Spaceman 3, stand outs in the droney psychedelic rock of the late '80s and '90s, the album is a fuzzy, but focused sonic excursion. The album features a few more straight ahead rockers, which makes it more accessible than some of the bands earlier work, but doesn't muster enough sheen to disappoint garage rock fans who've followed the band to this point.
Chrissy Murderbot is a dance shaman of the 21st century mixing folk cures for club foot, rickets, shyness and other dance impairments. Chrissy Murderbot makes the type of high-energy dance music you get in trouble listening to. Siren noises and explosive bass drops paint an auditory backdrop as your mom would opened the door and asked you to turn it down with her serious mom face on. Chrissy is coming off a heroic year in the exploration of retro-future booty swagging dance music. In May, UK tastemaker label Planet ยต released his "future booty gonzo sex bass"* album Women's Studies. In July Murderbot played a set with MC Zulu at Pitchfork fest (See Transmission's coverage and interview with Chrissy and MC Zulu from Pitchfork.). Chrissy just released a hyperactive gluteus maximus themed dance pop EP I'm a Asshole on his own label Loose Squares. The grammatically incorrect title and musical content will send grade school teachers into fits of rage. Before you click on the link below to stream the EP be warned that the lyrics are NSFW in most workplaces, except for Lawrence's Fisheries where you can hear explicit booty music while eating fried fish anytime of the day.
England, Austria, Mexico, Bolivia—this month's music comes from faraway places. Whether composed by the Viennese demigods of Beethoven and Brahms, or cultivated among indigenous populations of South America, each piece is rooted in its own time but alive and vibrant among contemporary audiences. Old favorites and rare offerings from touring and local artists promise to make for memorable concerts. Go check them out for something different to discuss over turkey and stuffing.
Hear a great concert recently? Have a tip on an upcoming show? Talk about it in the comments.
It was a blustery night starting out a long Halloween weekend, but there was no pretending for neo-soul outfit JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound as they celebrated their newest album release for Want More (Bloodshot). The band started with playing hits off the album to a nearly sold-out crowd at the Double Door Friday night and rocked the socks off of all of those present. Occasionally adding on a pair of energetic, tambourine tapping sirens in the form of two backup singers, Brooks commanded the stage with a striking white jacket and red scarf, replete with gold chain. With a mohawked 'do and a smile that can only be eclipsed by his happy smile up on stage, Brooks and the band seemed to be having just a little bit of a party in front of a few hundred friends and well-wishers.
Musikanto is fronted by Mike Musikanto, who made his mark on Chicago's folk/roots/Americana scene with Sleeper Car. The band's music shows a lot in common with past SXSW act Joe Pug, but with more of a full-bodied sound. Musikanto's lightly rough tenor rises above the lilting folk orchestration on Sky of Dresses, the band's second album.
Another act, Mahogany, is listed as being from Chicago, but they're actually from Philadelphia and New York. Their geographic misplacement appears to be the result of an upcoming 12-inch they're putting out on BLVD Records.
As always, we'll be bringing you coverage of Chicagoland acts at the SXSW Music Festival as it happens. Stay tuned.
Waters had recently mentioned to Rolling Stone magazine that he was working on an outdoor version of The Wall to tour in 2012 and had even conducted several light tests in ballparks around the country, including Wrigley Field.
Tickets will eventually be available online. Prices for tickets at similar venues on this tour range from $55-$200 plus fees.
If lineups were made on performance alone, Gauntlet Hair would have headlined the show at the Empty Bottle Thursday night. The Denver-via-Chicago quartet play projectile jams of billowing reverb somehow wrangled into neat, tight hooks.
Their 7" on Forest Family records last year, I Was Thinking..., is as good of an explosive pop jam as you're likely to hear, though they came to the Bottle in support of their recently released self-titled debut LP. The record illustrates the difficulty of pulling off this massive sound—for every dynamite hook there's another seemingly lifeless moment that gets tripped up by its own gratuitous reverb. At some points, they may as well be playing chillwave.
But what gets lost on record gets found on the stage, and their show finds the lively presence in each song by turning the whole thing up very, very loud. Each of their selections benefitted greatly from expanded volume, and really it was only set closer "I Was Thinking..." that seemed to drag underneath a weak guitar mix.
While the most identifiable parts of Gauntlet Hair's sound are the glistening guitars and yodeling vocals, the most important part might be the drums. The bedrock rhythms help ground the spacious treble, and do a better job of it the louder they are. That's the story with everything in Gauntlet Hair's set—proficiency through volume—and to nobody's surprise, it yielded more than a couple broken guitar strings.
The first round of artists performing at the 
