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. ✶
Andrew Bird has announced dates for his popular Gezelligheid concerts. This year's shows will be in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, with three shows here Dec. 9-11at the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Tift Merritt will open on Dec. 9 and 11 (it's possible she'll open on the 10th as well, but she's not currently listed.)
Pre-sale tickets will be available this Thursday, Oct. 3, and go on sale to the general public on Friday, Oct. 4.
UPDATE 10/21: If you missed out on tickets, you have one more chance. A fourth show has been added for Dec. 12, and tickets go on sale at 10am Friday, Oct. 25.
When it comes to smaller venues, people tend to trickle in at inconsistent rates. Opening bands end up playing for less than half empty rooms. More often than not, one ends up missing a gem of a band that can hold their own just as well as the headliner.
Such was the case at Schubas when last minute addition Alex Calder and his band began playing. Calder's sound, very much indebted to the '60s pop, truly deserved a bigger audience. The songs played a little quicker and a little heavier than I thought they would, almost as if taking a quick detour through '90s alternative to get to the show. A larger crowd would have definitely added to the energy as Calder's guitar work contained several moments of brilliance. Calder's set was short but incredibly good; the band was determined to set up a night of psychedelic sound. Thankfully, they succeeded.
The Riviera Theater saw a full house on Monday evening; edges of the venue were packed to the brim with attendees looking to catch a glimpse of Arctic Monkeys. The evening brought about two hours of unabashed, daring rock n' roll that surely kept everyone on their toes; literally, as everyone in the venue was up standing, swaying and dancing to the music.
Twin Peaks opened the show; though not necessarily my cup of tea, their fuzzy garage rock style kept everyone's attention. Lead singer Cadien commanded the stage with energy and unapologetic sass. They played material off of their first full-length album released this year, Sunken, and while keeping the energy high throughout the duration of the set, proved that they are going to be a force to watch in the next few years. Emphasizing their youth, they brought energy to the stage with their carefree, laidback dynamics throughout their set.
Travis bafflingly never reached the heights of contemporaries like Coldplay or even Keane, though their history is rich with solid songs and plenty of hits. Fran Healy's voice has been perfect for their sugary Britpop and they've consistently churned out earworming melodies. But alongside those sweet sounds have always been lyrics that can cut deep. On their latest album, Where You Stand, the Glaswegian band tackles subjects like their career trajectory, discovered affairs and how far you'll go to show loyalty. And it's all done with the aplomb of seasoned vets who're comfortable in their role. Travis may not be pushing musical boundaries, but they know their fan base, understand how to use their strengths and are excelling at it.
Travis headlines the Vic on Friday, the 27th. Luke Rathborne opens at 8PM. The show's 18+ and $41. The Vic's at 3145 N Sheffield.
Chicago's resident punk marching band is becoming more comfortable sitting its collective butt down, but keeping still is out of the question. Known for wildly energetic performances at clubs and in the most unlikely of public spaces, the eclectic troupe (typically two-dozen strong) wrote a new show plainly titled Mucca Pazza Presents: Sitting In Chairs, which debuted in February and held a residency at Revolution Brewing on Milwaukee Avenue throughout April of this year.
Despite the seats, which they wriggled out of on occasion, the show was 100-percent Mucca Pazza, and now the band strikes sits again, this time in Evanston. SPACE, the renowned venue of the not-quite-suburb, hosts Sitting In Chairs tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $27 at evanstonspace.com.
Read our interview with bandleader Mark Messing and review of the Revolution residency here.
"We're here in the name of hip-hop," host Poison Pen declared, as the diverse throng of people inside of the Metro cheered. Even on a Sunday night, a rowdy crowd was packed in from the front to back of the venue.
After a somewhat brief performance by Poison Pen, Hasan Salaam was the first rapper on the bill to hit the stage. He announced that 100 percent of the profits made by his most recent album, Music is my Weapon, go toward funding a school, well and clinic in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.
He asked the audience, "If America was a woman would you date her?" A large handful of people in the crowd yelled back, "F*** no!" Then Hasan played "Miss America," a song about the hypocrisy of American democracy.
If you have been listening to Iron & Wine's earliest discography produced more than a decade ago, you've likely followed their sound as it has grown over the years. From lo-fi Southern folk music that was both haunting and introspective on The Creek Drank The Cradle, to the sweet ballads on Our Endless Numbered Days, to adding backing vocals and layered effects on The Shepherd's Dog, to pop flavors reminiscent of the 60s on Kiss Each Other Clean, and finally, to playing with and juxtaposing many different styles on Iron and Wine's most recent release, Ghost on Ghost. Iron & Wine's sound has never once remained stagnant or grown stale; it has constantly grown and matured, becoming more innovative as the days have passed, but never losing the signature sound that allowed listeners to fall in love with the music back in 2002.
Singer Sam Beam is the man behind the group's name, which was originally derived from a supplement called Beef, Iron and Wine that he saw in a gas station while shooting a film project in Georgia. The mercurial aspect of the name seeps into his sound; the heavy material illuminating iron, balanced and contrasted by the sweetness of the wine. Beam has had an extremely full life - one that almost rivals the fullness of his classic beard that he dons. Raised in the country, Beam has lived all over the South, currently residing in Texas after living in South Carolina, Florida and Virginia. Enthralled by the cinema, before his musical career began, Beam taught cinematography prior to releasing The Creek Drank The Cradle, produced solely in a home studio. Writing lyrics that can enrapture and enchant us while transporting us to a memory instantly is an effortless quality that Beam has perfected in his songs. From haunting ballads that can literally chill you to the bone, to sweet songs that make you instantly crack a smile, Beam is wise beyond his years, and easily imparts this wisdom to his plethora of loyal followers.
I got the chance to chat with Beam over the phone, whose soothing voice and gentle demeanor immediately put me at ease, just as is standard with his music, before Iron & Wine makes a tour stop at The Chicago Theatre this Friday evening. He discussed his new album, the growth of his sound, and where he sees Iron & Wine moving to in the future.
Coming off a tour opening for Dawes, Shovels & Rope are no strangers to the road. Founded in 2010, they were previously tapped by Jack White to open some of his first Blunderbuss tour dates, and have been on a roll ever since. Hailing from Charleston, SC, the duo blow into Chicago to headline a Metro show on 9/26.
The band's 2012 album O' Be Joyful has racked up the acclaim for wife and husband singer/songwriters Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent. Their music has been praised for raising a "ruckus" at the Newport Jazz Fest, and there's nothing but high expectations as they head west and cross our city limits. This won't be your classic Folk Americana music set. Tunes by Shovels & Rope are at once dark and sinister, like a shot of whiskey that makes you smile after the burn.
The duo have a musical vibe reminiscent of great pairings like Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. Cary Ann and Michael's world is filled with love and not-so-thinly veiled threats of murder — like all great marriages. Their southern twang and delicious charm leaps off the album's grooves, leaving you with the feeling that this is a truly great working relationship. Songs like "Birmingham" and "Lay Low" bring feelings like this to light with a burst of raw emotion and passion (to the death). Or you can put on your boots and stomp and dance through title track "O' Be Joyful," relationship or no. Learn a little bit about it yourself, and see them grace the Metro's stage on Thursday.
Shovels & Rope perform at the Metro (3730 N. Clark St.) on Thursday, September 26. Shakey Graves opens. Music starts at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 and the show is all ages.
Derek Becker is behind some of Chicago's best and most unique bands. He's not a musician, nor a producer, nor some wealthy benefactor of local music. He's an agent, and through the Strange Victory Touring Company, the agency he cofounded in 2011, Becker is responsible for getting great and strange music to the populace: Crime and the City Solution, Daniel Knox, Silver Jews, M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, Mucca Pazza, and dozens more artists from around the world.
Photographer Katie Hovland spent one amazing long weekend photographing the sights and sounds at Riot Fest in Chicago. Here are all of her wonderful shots:
On Saturday night, Rocket From the Crypt returned to Chicago after a 10-year break. (Their "last" show was in 2005, but they hadn't toured for a couple years prior to that.) The San Diego rock'n'roll band had its highs in the mid-90s with the much-heralded Scream, Dracula, Scream and the equally heralded (yet harder-to-find until a re-release many years later) Hot Charity, but never really had any low points through their career. And I've never heard of anyone who saw them that had anything less than great to say about their performance. So could they continue to impress after a long hiatus?
From the start, it was clear that John Reis (a.k.a. Speedo) didn't miss a beat as the jovial frontman whose over-the-top stage banter always carried a wink and a smile. When they launched into "Dollar", it also became clear that the band's musicianship hadn't deteriorated. Now, it wasn't perfect, but it's also rock'n'roll and has some license to be a little raw. They tore through all eras of their discography, from 1992's "Don't Darlene" to 2002's "I'm Not Invisible" and hits like "On a Rope" to the lesser-known "Jumper K Balls."
As Reis pointed out late in the show, though, it's not just about what's happening on stage. Yes, he's the star of the show with tall tales of awe in seeing an elevated train for the first time, coming from a fishing village to impress Chicagoans, guitarist ND having cancer of the foot because he was in a walking boot from twisting an ankle, etc. But the joy and enthusiasm of the crowd added immensely with the entire front half of Double Door singing along, dancing, hanging on every word from Reis and rocking out through each song. RFTC's performances tend to bring out the best in crowds. And when any band feels the love that was exuded on Saturday, it's hard for them to not be at the top of their game. After an hour and a half and nearing 2:30 a.m., the show came to a close on a rousing "Come See, Come Saw" that left no doubt that RFTC's not lost any ground in the rock'n'roll hierarchy.
Back in 2009, I worked at a small public relations outfit owned and run by the sister of Chicago's own Ike Reilly (of The Ike Reilly Assassination). My employer invited me to go see her brother play one cold December night, and never one to say no to live music (and not wanting to stay at the office to work late), I agreed. Despite the fact that my former employer was always late, we arrived in enough time to see the opener, U.S. Royalty.
To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I was floored — who was this band and where did they come from?! They not only commanded the attention of the audience right off the bat, they rocked the house as if that night was their last on stage. U.S. Royalty left nothing to be desired.
Their first full-length album, Mirrors, is a great balance of music that you want to rock out to and songs that you put on your road trip list. Of the album, singer John Thornley says, "Because we traveled for about a year and a half before we recorded the album, there is definitely a travel vibe to the record."
U.S. Royalty produces a sound that has been likened to The Strokes, The Killers and Fleet Foxes. The band of four is composed of brothers John and Paul Thornley on vocals/piano and guitar, Jacob Michael on bass, and Luke Adams on percussion.
The Weekend (not The Weeknd, the R&B singer of the somewhat same name) are disciples of bands such as Joy Division, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. They make aggressively loud experimental post-punk, and they do it rather well. Their latest album Jinx is a cathartic love letter full of atmospheric sonic brutalism and manic paranoia to the bands they clearly admire.
Listen to their blistering single "Mirror" below.
We're giving you the chance to check them out for free. Email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "The Weekend" and we'll pick a winner by 5pm today to go to the show with a friend. [Update: We have a winner! Congrats to John!]
The Weekend play at the Empty Bottle this Friday, September 20th, opening for local noise rockers, Disappears, as they celebrate the release of their new album Era (a show we just previewed). Outside World kicks the night off. Tickets are $12 adv/$14 door. You must be 21+ to attend.
Disappears need little introduction for anyone with at least half a lobe tuned to Chicago's music scene of the past few years (to speak nothing of Sonic Youth-drummer fanboys), and on Friday night the band celebrates the release of its excellent, post-punk caterwaul of a fourth LP, Era, at the Empty Bottle. The record was released on August 26th via Kranky, so by now you should have had plenty of time to practice your sneers to match that of unimpeachable frontman Brian Case.
On the quartet's newest, the band further explores its tendencies toward dub, minimalism and motorik repetition, each track imbued with an unmistakeable early-Rough Trade gloom and doom. Where previously the band traded in a sound reminiscent of a more jagged Spacemen 3, we're picking up more of Liars and even Swans this time around. Early press releases for the record declare Era as "the sound of the void looking back," and who are we to disagree with that? (Though their recent dead-on cover of U2's "New Year's Day" for A.V. Club, embedded below, is admittedly another matter altogether...)
Disappears appear at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, on Friday, September 20 at 9:30pm, 21+. Weekend and local janglers Outside World open. Tickets are $12 in advance.
Despite the cold soggy weather and fields of mud, Riot Fest rounded out the weekend and ended on a high note with some of the most anticipated sets of the weekend from The Replacements and Pixies. A little mud or rain only dampened mohawks but not spirits of the considerably older and friendlier crowd that huddled to keep warm in Humboldt Park. -Lisa White
This Saturday, The Hideout will host Scout Niblett — an eccentric musical pleasure of the highest order. The British singer songwriter offers an interesting blend of painfully beautiful vocals and sparse instrumentation that occasionally transitions to pulse pounding chords. The moments of silence between the notes are as powerful as the crushing arrangements themselves. Niblett has a way of linking these moments together wonderfully, as is evident on her last two albums The Calcination of Scout Niblett and It's Up To Emma. Her fascination with astrology and alchemy lends itself to her rocking guitar work and continually finds its way into her lyrics, evoking otherworldly sensations that deliver on all the right spots.
Logistically, things are starting to crumble at Riot Fest as the second day was marred with more sound issues, security issues, transit problems and injuries as a considerably much larger crowd trudged along in Humboldt Park. And the city woke Sunday morning to a chilly constant drizzle of rain, so one can only hope that the weekend can pull it off and end on a high note with the odds stacked against them. -Lisa White
It was the perfect black hoodie and leather studded jacket weather Friday in Humboldt Park, as a noticeably much larger than last year crowd descended on the park for this year's Riot Fest. With one of the most impressive lineups of this years festival season, the growth in attendance is no surprise. And although it made for some major logistical hiccups (long will call lines, confusion with park layout and lack of schedule posting, troubles with transit to and from the festival) the crowd didn't seem to mind once the music started. -Lisa White
Doing my homework before seeing opening band Pure X, a group from Austin, TX., would have clued me into what I was about to experience. For one thing, I would have found their Tumblr, Mellow Thrasher. I'm still debating whether or not that fully encompasses their "vibe." To start, not once did any of the four band members make eye contact with the audience, nor acknowledge that we were there. For an hour, we listened to the lead singer whine about something. (I'm not sure what, the filter on his mic was so thick I couldn't understand the words coming out of his mouth.) On top of that, his face was so constricted, the look of udder pain on my face undoubtedly rivaled his. The music was a bad marriage between the worst kind of emo and the most awkward kind of adult contemporary. Of their 2012 appearance at SXSW, Pitchfork tactfully wrote that Pure X was "adept at conjuring six-string clouds of lazy-day nothingness."
I was still traumatized when Youth Lagoon came on stage to save the day. But thankfully, Trevor Powers immediately connected with the audience and even called out some "bro" who urged him to chug his drink, getting a rise out of the crowd in solidarity against bro-dom. United we progressed, with Powers as our leader guiding us back to music sanity.
The vibe of the show was very much in line with the inspiration behind Youth Lagoon's sophomore album, Wondrous Bughouse. Powers refers to the music as an exploration of "the human psyche and where spiritual meets the physical world." The set was pretty awesome — a backdrop of multicolored waves and lighting that created a band of silhouetted shadows, setting the stage for a mysteriously seductive ambience. The change in energy was palpable and the audience grooved with the Youth Lagoon in a much more united front. The separation of band and audience was no longer, it was one group navigating various expressions of electronic pop music.
Rarely was there much, if any, pause between songs, with the band flowing from one crowd-pleaser to another, slightly favoring songs from their 2010 debut album The Year of Hibernation, with songs such as "17" and "Cannons," but the audience responded well to newcomers "Mute" and "Dropla."
Overall, Youth Lagoon put on a great show that showcased the bands balance of experimental electronic and pop sound. But I will never see Pure X again. Like, ever.
Today marks the release of the debut album by Whirlpool, the new collaborative effort by local jazz mainstays Caroline Davis, Charles Rumback and Jeff Swanson. The record is entitled This World and One More and is being put out by upstart jazz label Eyes and Ears Records today. The group will be celebrating the release tonight at multi-purpose art venue Elastic, 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave, where they will be performing music the from the record as part of the venue's Improvised Music Series. Following this evening's performance, the group will be setting out on a small Midwestern tour.
Given some of the other projects that these artists are involved with, not to mention that Whirlpool is uniquely composed of drums, alto saxophone and guitar (Rumback, Davis and Swanson, respectively), it's safe to assume that the trio will offer a refreshing take on what a jazz trio can accomplish via the group's unique collision of backgrounds, timbres and melodies. At the very least, we expect a night of dynamic, boundary-pushing genre expectation from some of the finer up-and-coming improvisational jazz musicians in Chicago today.
Whirlpool performs tonight at Elastic at 10pm. Tickets are $8.
Given our snapshot review of this year's Hideout Block Party and A.V. Fest, there are a lot of reasons why this festival is so wonderful and unique. No other large-scale festival places such an emphasis on local talent, frequently bringing artists that were once in a fledgling state, playing late night sets at the Hideout to get their start, as headlining acts that garner a massive crowd to match their amassed following. We look into the themes of each evening's performances, as the festival truly shows us a conscious reasoning behind the choices for headlining acts, and the message they wanted these choices to send.
"The World's Best Dancer" at Guitarkestra (photo by Joshua Mellin)
DAY 1 Friday: A Night of Lady Power and Wisdom
Friday night brought us a stellar back-to-back lineup of two veteran singers who have traveled amazing journeys throughout their lives, who both have a strong connection to the city of Chicago. In concert with one another, they played off of the vibes that each put out into the audience. Such immense musical talent truly brought about a special energy in the air, as two female powerhouses were paired together not only to showcase their incredible skill at their craft, but also to impart their own pieces of wisdom to the crowd, too. If Friday night were to have a theme, soul-seeking wisdom would be it.
Like a sudden meteor shower in a starless quiet sky, CHVRCHES seemed to emerge out of nowhere. The Scottish electro-pop three piece is almost relentlessly fun and catchy but there are plenty of bands out there boasting such a quality that aren't selling out much smaller venues. Their sudden popularity and ability to sell out The Metro on a Wednesday night after only a couple of EPs to their name (their first full length entitled The Bones of What You Believe will be released later this month) piqued this reviewer's/photographer's interest.
I'm one of those music nerds who goes through the calendars of every Chicago music venue each month to check out the various bands that are coming to town to ensure that I don't miss a good show. I ran across a listing for The Wood Brothers, listened to their music and instantly knew I was hooked when I caught myself desk-dancing at work (something that I'm sure to my co-workers looks like a stress-induced muscle spasm more than anything else).
It seems like destiny that the Wood brothers, Chris (upright bass) and Oliver (guitar), would eventually become songwriters and produce music together. They grew up with a father who performed classic songs at campfires and family gatherings, and a mother who was a poet with a passion for storytelling. Leaving their parents in Colorado, Oliver moved to Atlanta and formed King Johnson, a blues rock band, and Chris studied jazz bass at the New England Conservatory of Music and later formed Medeski, Martin & Wood, a contemporary jazz outfit in New York City.
Fifteen years later, they found their way back to each other and released their first album "Ways Not To Lose" in 2006. More recently, they joined forces with percussionist Jano Rix to produce a sound that was more dynamic than ever. The Wood Brothers are everything that is amazing about Americana music — an impeccable balance of blues funk attitude and folk roots reflection.
Find The Wood Brothers this Sunday, September 15, headlining Park West (322 W. Armitage Ave.) to celebrate the release of their fifth studio album The Muse with special guests Piers Faccini and Dom Le Nena. Tickets are $20 (plus fees/taxes). The show is 18+ and starts at 7:30pm.
The feather in the cap of festival season, also known as Riot Fest around these parts, is this weekend in Humboldt Park. Riot Fest transitioned their event into a full three day large scale festival last year, and it was one of the more enjoyable festivals we attended last year. The location was a great fit, the sound bleed wasn't too awful, and booking it in September made for a milder weather experience in the mosh pit. We're back covering the festival all weekend, so we thought we'd share 10 tips on how to maximize your Riot Fest weekend.
2. Plan your transportation in advance. The second most annoying tweets that Riot Fest has responded to the last few months is a plethora of people that are utterly confused by transit. Let me break it down for you in the most simple way possible: Take the blue line to either Division or California. Take the California bus south or the Division bus west. Division bus drops you off right across the street from the festival, California bus drops you off at Division and you walk a few blocks. That's my best advice, Riot fest has other options as well. There is ample bike parking onsite as well, so that is another great way to get there. Even if you don't want to deal with the hassle of the bus on the way to the festival, a cab ride from either blue line stop will run you around $10 or less with tip. And last year I was able to immediately catch one of the Division buses lined up ready to go at the end of the night, so thanks to Riot Fest for wonderful planning, getting home was quick and easy. Like anything in life, just plan ahead. - Lisa White
Bradford Cox might present as a reinvented post-modern Joey Ramone but Deerhunter's songs are far spookier than anything The Ramones dreamed up in their darkest nightmares. Swirling reverb and bass so heavy it made the floors and walls shake tended to mark the show as the songs swayed between dissolving lucid noise to a complete transcendental experience.
In its 17th year, the Hideout Block Party & A.V. Fest continued to bring local music to our city for one glorious weekend. If you were there, you probably know that each day was filled with unprecedented musical surprises, ranging from comedic onstage banter or performances that shook your soul to its core. We've lined up this year's most memorable moments of the Block Party for you, as we sit back and reminisce on another wonderful year.
1. Mavis Staples Taking Us to Church
As 93XRT's Terri Hemmert addressed the crowd to further announce Mavis Staples's appearance, she mentioned, "there will be no twerking tonight," as chuckles rang out from the audience. However, I noticed that there was a bit of movement occurring within the crowd during the set. Maybe not twerking, thank goodness, but if you looked around, you couldn't help seeing every member of the crowd smiling, swaying, dancing and head-bobbing to the music. Mavis Staples is truly a living legend and a polished master at her craft of spiritual soul music. She brought us all to her church of music as she sang her own ballads interspersed with powerful covers. Ending with a jam session to "I'll Take You There," Mavis had all of us submitting to her religion of soul as we listened to her preach. -Sarah Brooks
2. Neko Case's A Cappella Singalong and Banter with Kelly Hogan
I could write a paragraph about how much adoration I feel for Neko Case, but I will spare you all. If polling the crowd, individuals would jump at the chance to speak about her music. Simply put, she is a songstress that Chicago absolutely adores, as I watched the crowd amass more and more festival attendees until the boundary walls faded away. From overhearing excited comments from the folks around me, I could glean that most of these people, like me, have been listening to Neko Case for a long, long time. After all, she did get her start right in this city, which made this appearance even more meaningful. When she played her set, it was truly something special. From the comedic stage banter with Kelly Hogan peppered between songs that gave the crowd many strong belly laughs, to playing a set full of crowd-pleasing favorites, Neko Case brought it home, literally. The moment of her set in which I'm pretty sure there was magic in the air was when she and Kelly decided to experiment and sing a cappella ballad "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu." Shivers creeped up my spine, as I could hear nothing but their voices ringing out into the night, while the crowd watched in a hushed reverence of true talent. -Sarah Brooks
If you're like me, you could hear a month's worth of music during the nine-day Beethoven Festival and still want more. Fortunately, you can. It's gonna be a great month.
You might know Alex White as the talented ginger half of the amazing band White Mystery. Now, after singer, guitarist and rock star, she can add "high fashion model" to her resume. Alex recently modeled some fancy fashions for local online shop, E Drop-Off's The Closet blog.
Two years ago I caught Bare Mutants on a free Monday at the Empty Bottle. It was one of their first shows and I knew nothing of them ahead of time, but I recognized their solid pedigree immediately with people from the Ponys, Mannequin Men, 1900s, etc. in their ranks. Thirty seconds into their first song, I thought, "This is like a fuzzier Velvet Underground." The songs were laid-back and melodic, but definitely had bite within the reverb. Let's just say there was a lot of toe-tapping. Later during the band I actually went to see, I had those Bare Mutants riffs in my head. The next morning at work, I was still humming those songs non-stop. And that's become about the usual whenever I see them. On their debut album, The Affliction, the band captures that hazy earworming garage-rock sound perfectly.
Bare Mutants headline the Empty Bottle on Friday, the 13th, to celebrate The Affliction's release. Verma and VLLLAGE open. The show's $10 in advance, $12 at the door, 21+ and starts at 9:30 PM. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
Following a handful of years of Record Store Day success, stores around the country are working to bring some notoriety to the humble cassette tape, with the first annual Cassette Store Day, tomorrow. Chicago's only participant, Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles (3156 W. Diversey Ave.), is hosting a full day's worth of events, including some in-store performances, merch sales, and of course, cassette tape love with special releases. According to Nick Mayor, the store's manager, they'll feature "vendors including Decibel Audio (for cassette equipment), Mac Blackout (custom painted boomboxes), Plus Tapes, Maximum Pelt, Already Dead Tapes, Notes and Bolts, Teen River, Nihilist Records, Manic Static, Eye Vybe Records, and Tripp Tapes." In-store performances from Todays Hits, Ant'lrd, the Sueves, Party Bat, Massive Ego, the Funs, and Cairo Gang start around noon.
Photographer Steve Stearns took a lot of photos in a lot of different types of weather over last weekend, while he braved the crowds at the North Coast Music Festival. Check out photos from each day, starting with Friday:
Sunday was the final day of this year's North Coast festival and certainly one of the most anticipated. Crowds at the fronts gates swelled into the hundreds as people waited to get inside Union Park for a last day of music and dancing. Helping to bring this anticipation to it's crescendo were the headliners of the entire festival, the iconic Wu-Tang Clan. A palpable energy filled the air as questions were asked; are they actually going to show up? If so, how many of them? What are they going to do about ODB's verses since, you know, he died a few years ago? Will the rumored hologram ODB make an appearance?! (They are seriously trying to get an ODB hologram to "perform" at the Rock the Bells festival next month.) But these questions would have to wait a few hours as myself and the crowd walked into the gates one last time. - Justin Freeman
Since the music was cut short on Friday, the second day of North Coast Music Festival came with fairly high expectations. Everyone was praying for blue skies and smooth sailing to make up for the torrential storm that momentarily shut down the party the night before. - Brianna Kelly
Andrew Bird has announced dates for his popular Gezelligheid concerts. This year's shows will be in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, with three shows here Dec. 9-11at the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Tift Merritt will open on Dec. 9 and 11 (it's possible she'll open on the 10th as well, but she's not currently listed.)
The feather in the cap of festival season, also known as 
Following a handful of years of 
