Just a few days ago, the lineup for Chicago's beloved Wicker Park Fest was announced, set to take place on July 28 and July 29. If you're unfamiliar with the event, Wicker Park Fest is set to gain 65,000 visitors over its two-day span, which is impressive in itself. Beyond its established attendance records, this street fest is located in one of Chicago's most treasured artsy neighborhoods, featuring distinctive restaurants, unique shops, and a diverse art and music scene.
Beyond the innovative and expansive art and performance aspects of the event, Wicker Park Fest always delivers by establishing a stellar music lineup, and this year is no different. The acts announced to play sets on July 28 begin with Cursive, indie rock band that just released their energetic album I Am Gemini on February 12. Next is Brooklyn-based band The Drums, who emit an upbeat, percussive, and perfect-for-summertime sound. Take a listen to their song "How It Ended" below:
If you haven't heard the music of Maps & Atlases before, the band is going to be a bit hard to describe without taking a listen. I say this because their music is unique, deliberate, and dynamic, so much so that I can't categorize them to fit an exact musical genre. Hailing from Chicago, their sound has developed immensely over time, and they are making a stop on their tour here this Friday.
Their first release, Tree, Swallows, Houses, arrived on the scene back in 2007 and gives a great snapshot of the heart of the band's sound. Eccentric and inviting, Maps & Atlases has a sound based in math rock at its core, combined with indie-folk-rock elements. Their music thrives on unconventional tempos and beats that immediately draw listeners in, and keep them listening.
The harmoniously wailings of Brooklyn trio Pearl and the Beard will once again be echoing throughout Chicago. This Saturday the band will jam out at Schubas, a venue known for its close quarters and intimate feel and the perfect place fans to experience the band's intense performance as well as their quirky sense of humor.
Although this band hasn't launched into indie fame along with the likes of other soulful vocally deep bands such as Mumford and Sons or Of Monsters and Men, they clearly have the raw talent to continue to draw crowds to their shows. This Saturday they will be joined by Chicagoan, Brendan Losch, who just released his new albumn "Low" in April. Expect a night full of full harmonies and fuller beards.
The show starts at 7:00 p.m. at Schubas. Tickets are $12 and can be bought on Schubs website.
Everybody likes a comeback, especially when it's better than the first go-round. That's the case with Lee Fields, blessed with a voice that could've shot him to stardom forty years ago and plagued by bouts with bad luck. But passion and persistence won out. His latest record, Faithful Man, picks up where 2009's My World left off -- gut-wrenching vocals over sublime southern soul and funk instrumentation. It's smooth, but with an edge that only a survivor could provide. Even if Fields had some rough patches, he's been performing more or less non-stop since his debut and it shows on stage. He's a bona fide performer basking in the glow of his renaissance.
Lee Fields & the Expressions headline Lincoln Hall on Wednesday, the 9th. The O'Mys open, along with Dave Mata from Soul Summit. The show's 21+, $15 and starts at 9pm. Lincoln Hall is at 2424 N Lincoln.
Motown soul meets retro funk flavor and epitomizes the problem with labels and genre, in a sound that can only be best described as Mayer Hawthorne. The singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist will be taking the stage at the Park West on May 17, sharing some of the revamped vintage goodness that his latest album, How Do You Do, is filled with.
Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, not far from the Motor City, it isn't hard to tell where a great deal of his influence stems from. Influence aside, there's no doubt he's been doing something fresh from the vine since his debut album, A Strange Arrangement, released back in 2009. There's an air of confidence in his latest tracks from How Do You Do, however, that sounds like the perfect balance between the music of the good ol' days and a sound, style, and presentation of something not yet explored.
Tickets are sold out, but a limited quantity can be found at Stubhub.com. The Park West is located at 322 W. Armitage Ave. Music begins at 7:30pm with The Stepkids. 18+.
Head over to Beat Kitchen - 2100 W. Belmont - this Saturday, May 5th for The Treasure Fleet's record release show for their debut album "Cocamotion" out on Recess Records.
Six studio albums, endless touring, and a dynamic onstage presence are just a few of the elements that contribute to folk/alt-country band My Morning Jacket's immense success. A fan for years, I waited at Lollapalooza last summer to gain a front row spot to their headlining show, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best performances I've ever seen. Their energy and ever-changing music style instantly captivated the audience and kept everyone begging for more. Enjoy highlights from the Lollapalooza show below, which showcases their vivacity and unique onstage performance style.
Elegance. It's the overwhelming quality that's present in the music of The Damn Choir. Take the band's lead single from their newest album, "Noah," for example. An electric guitar line dances between the simple strumming of an acoustic rhythm. Singer Gordan Robertson's brawny croon is softened by the haunting swells of co-vocalist Katy Myers. The sound of a snare drum rolls softly in the background and the steadfast strumming of a cello plays backbone to it all.
Hopefully this song is an indication of what the rest of The Damn Choir's sophomore release You're My Secret I Called Fire will bring. Any speculation will end this Friday, May 4 though when these Chicagoans play their record release show at The Hideout. Paper Thick Walls and Kingsley Flood kick off the night at 9pm. Tickets are $10.
[This piece comes to us from reader Rachel Angres.]
After Rabble Rabble played Psych Fest last year, it was months before anyone heard anything from them. Now, after a brief hibernation, the Chicago four-piece is returning to the stage with a free (with RSVP correction: straight up FREE) show at the Empty Bottle. Rabble Rabble is one of those bands with shameless stage theatrics, whose sound is a mix between The Kinks and Pavement in the '90s, with smoothed out sharp edges of skuzzy guitar riffs and messy yet hooking arrangements.Their live sets are exciting and at times borderline offensive ("Fuck you" is often an opening comment from the band when introducing a song). They have their shtick — performing with a tone that's abrasive and wildly unabashed. This is what they do best and they're sticking to it.
The band got their start three years ago, after they met at a DIY basement show and decided to collaborate. Tonight, Rabble Rabble will return to the live stage at the Empty Bottle, where they plan to play some new songs from their upcoming sophomore album.
Over the last decade, collaborative group Mice Parade have cultured a somewhat mysterious, textured sound that places the sum of the parts ahead of any single voice or instrument. Their last full-length album, 2010's What It Means To Be Left Handed (FatCat Records) blends beats from South America, Africa, and Europe with electronic touches reminiscent of '80s pop and synth. It goes along to show the group's ongoing challenge to parse musical influences wherever they might be found, and cook them together in a delicious auditory stew. Check out a track below:
Their upcoming album, Candela, will be released later this fall. In a twist, Mice Parade has embarked on a small U.S. tour as an acoustic trio in advance of this studio album, and while they might play new songs, there's no telling exactly what this paired down, acoustic show will become, based on the band's history as a large-scale electronica outfit. On the tour, group founder and multi-instrumentalist Adam Pierce will star on stage along with classical guitar virtuoso Dan Lippel and a special guest Icelandic female vocalist, to be announced at a later date (I've been told it's not Bjork, but honestly I never even suspected it would be). The threesome hits the Hideout tonight for an intimate show. Tickets are a mere $8. Chicago band Cloudbirds open at 9:30pm.
If you'd like a chance to enjoy this show for free, and hear some of the group's new licks, we have a couple of pairs of tickets to give away to some lucky readers. Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Squeak" and you and a friend will head to the show tonight, gratis.
You can't fight the times. Or technology. Most genres have come a long way since planting their musical roots. Many of them have even spurred new sub-genres as responses to social and technological changes over time.
That said, there is something refreshing about bands that favor antiquity when writing their music. That's exactly what Chicago act Akasha do with their reggae sounds. Their songs stick to the upbeat, chugging rhythms that first popped up in the '60s. It's traditional, but that doesn't mean it's a sound that's gone out of style.
Akasha play the Tonic Room (2447 N. Lincoln Ave.) on April 20. They'll be sharing the bill with Mos Scocious and Root Cause. The show starts at 8pm and it's $7.
The last time Transmission gushed over Disappears it was in praise of their New Year's Eve show featuring cover songs from clear influences. However, what made more of a lasting impression was the encore of new tunes (and a spectacular "Marigold") that were driving, heavy and more psychedelic than Disappears have sounded on their first two albums. Their third album Pre Language begins with a trio that hammers ears (like "Replicate" out of the gate) before easing up a little bit. The Kraut/garage rock elements that Lux introduced and Guider capitalized on are still prevalent, but it's clear (perhaps due to the formal addition of Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley on drums) that Disappears is branching out a little more. Some tracks are more instantly accessible while others like the sprawling "Joa" demand some attention and time to grow. But no matter how you hear Disappears on a record, their live show is pummelling, raucous and always tight.
Disappears headlines Lincoln Hall on Friday, the 13th, before heading out on tour. Deerhunter side project Lotus Plaza and local rockers Implodes open at 10PM. The show's 18+ and $14. Lincoln Hall's at 2424 N Lincoln.
A recent performance by the PHJB on The Late Show With David Letterman.
Legendary New Orleans jazz group the Preservation Hall Jazz Band continues its celebration of 50 years and running with two back-to-back performances tomorrow night at S.P.A.C.E. (1245 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.) Tickets run from $26-$46, shows are at 6:30 and 9:30. They probably won't be this far north again for a long time, so catch them while you can.
The Oxford-based Jonquil are currently on their first US tour that brings them to the Empty Bottle on Wednesday. On their latest record, Point of Go, the band delivers a sound that's somewhere between a lush Vampire Weekend and a more mainstream Miike Snow. It has a tropical/calypso-like sound molded with electropop vibes, all highlighted by Hugo Manuel's terrifically lilting vocals. The album doesn't spend a lot of time off course as it clocks in at 38 minutes, but it packs a lot in its 11 tracks that are catchy, breezy and full of subtle surprises for ears. Singer Hugo Manuel's side project Chad Valley played Schubas last year and one Transmission writer (okay, it was me) was straight-up blown away by how strong his vocals sounded live. I wouldn't expect any different on Wednesday.
Jonquil plays with Keep Shelly in Athens at the Empty Bottle on Wednesday, the 4th. Chicago's Speck Mountain opens. The show's $12, 21+ and starts at 9:30PM. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
The Treasure Fleet are a 60's influenced psych-rock band from Chicago featuring members of The Arrivals, The Smoking Popes, Sass Dragons and The Lawrence Arms. The band will be at Township this Friday for a special listening party of their new record titled Cocamotion due out in May on Recess Records. You can check out the bands first-ever interview on Jaded in Chicago.
Shy Mirrors of Stockhom, Sweden features Mike Downy of Chicago's New Constitution. This is their first US tour as a band.
Listening party for Cocomotion is this Friday, March 30th, goes from 5-8pm, is All Ages and is free. Be there for you chance to win tickets to the show!
Show is Wednesday, April 4th, starts at 9pm, is 21+ and is $8.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show here.
[This piece comes to us from reader Sarah Brooks.]
Chairlift, an electronic-pop duo combining Caroline Polachek's stunning vocals and musical effects from Patrick Wimberly, are set to play at the Empty Bottle on Friday, March 30. Their catchy, playful sound is inventive and enjoyable, and if you're new to their music, it's likely you're more familiar with them than you may think; Chairlift's first hit single "Bruises" was featured in an iPod commercial back in 2008 (you can refresh your memory below).
Since their breakthrough onto the music scene, Chairlift has released a plethora of their futuristic, innovative tunes. Their music, which utilizes a variety of instruments, synthesizer effects and vocal techniques to create a range of different listening experiences, has one thing in common: it makes you want to stop whatever you're doing in the moment to get up and dance. Their latest album, Something, was released in January, which produced more of their funky beats and infectious rhythms.
Check out the music video for "Amanaemonesia" featured below to gain a feel for their unique sound. The song is not only extremely catchy, but the eccentrically awesome video resembles a cross between a music video from the future and an '80s workout tape.
Chairlift plays The Empty Bottle on Friday, March 30, 2012. Tickets are $13 and the show is 21+. In addition to Chairlift, the show features bands Nite Jewel and Moon Furies and begins at 10pm. The Empty Bottle is located at 1035 N. Western Ave., (773) 276-3600. This show is sold out.
[This review comes to us from writer Rachel Angres.]
A Place To Bury Strangers released their latest album Onwards To The Wall on Dead Oceans in early February. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by the trio, which now after a six year swap includes front man Ollie Ackermann (guitar/vocals), Dion Lunadon (bass guitar) and Jay Space (drums).
Using the "wall of sound" technique and some DIY instrumentation, (they nerd out by building their own amps and various instruments to take on the road with them) APTBS has spent the last couple years preparing for what they love most — being on the road. The band brings a volatility that is more malleable when compared to the typical shoe-gazing method of compression, blending and reverberating slurred and sullen vocals.
[This preview comes to us from reader Rachel Angres.]
The harmonies in Bowerbirds' most recent release, The Clearing, on Dead Oceans Records, are magnificently subtle. Vocalist Phil Moore often leads his finely crafted falsetto into a harmony accompanied by his female counterpart, Beth Tacular. The polarity in their vocals is distinct and dichotomous. Little bits and pieces meticulously gather together and build a melodious abode, nuzzling in one's ears.
The Clearing is an album that can remedy even the coldest of hearts — it is a haven of warmth and symphonic solace. Lyrics swarm in as percussion builds on the hinges of a grand piano leading into an intense bellowing of seduction. Hailing from North Carolina, the duo's Southern charm enriches the lyrics, which are simply a series of sonnets to nature. It is an ode to the unknown.
The Clearing moves into the meadowlarks and valleys, as the sun slowly settles. The words reflect the triumphs of braving each season. The Clearing was recorded initially in Beth Tacular and Phil Moore's Wisconsin Cabin, with minimal recording equipment and the incredible outdoors that inspired their lyrics. Rare Book Room Recordings soon picked it up where it was mastered in NYC by Nicolas Vernhes.
Bowerbirds perform at Lincoln Hall on Thursday March, 29, 2012 at 9pm. Dry The River opens. Tickets are $14. 21+. Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. (773) 525-2501.
Sometimes it's a little surprising how little press electronic music gets in Chicago, given the city's long and rich history with the genre. That seems to have been changing as of late, and this weekend, you don't have to be in Ibiza to get satisfy that international superstar DJ jones you've been harboring, as The Mid hosts Paul Oakenfold.
Oakenfold has been DJing, remixing and producing since before electronic music was really a blip on the radar, throw in his stewardship of influential label Perfecto Records and you've got a more than convincing argument that he was central in fostering it into the mainstream. These days, the kids are going nuts for Skrillex, but for those of us old enough to remember the good-old days, but still young enough to stay up late listening to trance DJs, this weekend promises to be enjoyable.
[This preview comes to us from reader Sarah Brooks.]
Dastardly, Americana/folk/country hybrid band hailing from Chicago, has a sound that is bold and enjoyable. Described as "experimental enough to feel fresh but traditional enough to feel familiar even to first timers" and frequently appearing on lists of bands to watch in 2012, Dastardly is quickly permeating the music scene. They released their second album, Bury Me in the Country, on January 31, which showcases their eclectic country sound and was recorded in a studio with just a handle of whiskey to keep them company. With a combination of their unique sound and their candidly fun atmosphere, Dastardly shows are easily some of the most enjoyable around.
Dastardly shows are unpredictable, lively, and anything but boring. Back in October, Dastardly staged their first variety show at the Hideout, which included comedy sketches interspersed amongst their music set. Due to its success, they're doing it again folks, and you won't want to miss it this time around.
Below, enjoy the music video for "Fever," a song off of Bury Me in the Country, which showcases their unique sound and style.
Dastardly's "Megachurch" variety show is at the Hideout on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. In addition to Dastardly, the show features several Chicago comedians. Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door and the show is 21+. Doors open at 8:30pm and the music starts at 9pm. The Hideout is located at 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., (773) 227-4433.
Astronautalis is coming through town on tour, which is a solid show alone, since the Minneapolis based rapper doses out thoughtful lyrics over a blend of electronic infused hip hop beats. His delivery is smooth, and ladies, he's pretty easy on the eyes as well. But I'm more excited about the artist he picked to head out on the road with; Busdriver. If you catch the show Sunday night at Schubas, I implore you to get there early to catch his opening set.
Busdriver has been making music since an early age, releasing his first album when he was 13. His music has grown into a funky chopped up hybrid of everything from classical piano samples to thick and heavy wall shaking bass beats. And his lyrics flow from intellectual touchstones to pop culture shout outs to over-the-top sexualized wordplay. All of this is delivered with perfect (possibly over the top) pronunciation, while at breakneck speed. His latest album, Beaus$Eros, shows a more melodic side, but live you'll still get to witness the frenzied style of his work. Even in the underground and experimental world of hip hop, he still stands out as someone clearly focused on pushing his own work out of a comfort zone and manipulating what many perceive as hip hop.
Busdriver opens for Astronautalis, Sunday March 11th at Schubas. The show starts at 8:00pm, is 18+ and tickets are $14. You can purchase them here.
[This post comes to us from writer Brian Kutanovski.]
Although desert rock originates from the valleys of California, Truckfighters bring the desert all the way from Sweden on March 5th at Chicago's Ultra Lounge. Their sound can mirage an early '90s psychedelic-fueled grunge with fuzz driven guitar solo's akin to bands such as Kyuss and Fu Manchu. But the band itself goes through a sort of evolution. Starting in 2001, their early EP's/splits bear a more low-end punk-rockish quality, then in 2005 and 2007, they released two full length albums, Gravity X and Phi, which radiate a more polished fuzz, with grittier anthem like vocals, and straight forward driven snare beats, expanding to a stoner metal crowd. Their latest release in 2011 Mania resembles a more progressive, modern rock sound. Though one thing remains constant: fuzz. As far as hype goes, Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age describes them as "the best band that has ever existed" in the Fuzzomentary trailer (below). They've toured extensively throughout Europe, but this March they'll find themselves in Chicago.
"Beatles Shmeatles, Rolling Stones? Rolling Bones! Truckfighters are here."
Truckfighters headline Ultra Lounge on Monday, March 5th. Buffalo's The Midnight Ghost Train (replacing Karma to Burn) are finishing the tour with Truckfighters and Chicago's very own sludge band Hunters opens the show at 9pm. The show's 21 + and tickets are $10. Ultra Lounge is in Logan Square at 2169 N. Milwaukee Ave. (north of the Congress Theater).
The Queen City isn't exactly the first place you think of having a vibrant music scene, but the list of bands with roots in Cincinnati is pretty impressive. Despite being overshadowed by other projects that some of its members are associated with, the Greenhornes stand just fine on their own among the city's best. The band takes British Invasion influence, piles of garage rock and a little R&B. Craig Fox's gritty vocals shine and Patrick Keeler's raucous drumming highlights a rollicking sound. There's no good reason why they weren't a bigger part of the garage rock resurgence of 2001ish. (In fact, the first time I saw them they were opening for two bands who took full advantage of that era.) Their last album, ★★★★, followed a long hiatus, but had the band right back in their wheelhouse of tunes with a very Nuggets-like feel.
The Greenhornes headline the Empty Bottle on Saturday, March 3. Two Chicago bands, Royal Pines and Ornery Little Darlings, open. The show's 21+, $12 and starts at 10PM. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
Do you like that new stuff from Cam'ron? It's not too bad, right? Well, one guy behind the return is Providence's AraabMuzik, who's also produced for Lloyd Banks and Jim Jones, among others. On his debut album, Electronic Dream, he rolls through samples and shows off that he won't be pigeonholed into hip hop. Trance dominates, but the record glides through all sorts of electronic music and features out of left field timing, sharp cuts on samples and frequent reminders that "you are now listening to AraabMuzik," just in case you might forget 'cause it's all over the map. When AraabMuzik is on a stage, the biggest pull is his tremendous skill with an MPC sampler. The drag on that is it he can get so wrapped up in putting on a performance with his fingers that dancing (for the crowd) becomes a secondary issue, but everyone needs a breather sometimes.
AraabMuzik performs at the Congress on Friday, March 2. Zeds Dead headlines. Dillon Francis and Chicago's Midnight Conspiracy also play. The show's $20, 17+ and starts at 8pm. The Congress is at 2135 N Milwaukee.
If the number of sell out club dates on their current American tour is any indicator, North London's Bombay Bicycle Club are finding their legs on this side of the pond. Last year's release of their third album, A Different Kind of Fix, which benefited from the production touch of Ben H. Allen, who has recently worked with notables like Animal Collective and Washed Out, showed the band moving in a different direction from its previous, mostly acoustic release, Flaws. Bombay Bicycle Club's music isn't particularly groundbreaking, it certainly bears the hallmarks of a fairly standard strain of British guitar-based indie, but the new album successfully showcases the band's strengths in frontman Jack Steadman's appealing vocals, and well-crafted, catchy tunes.
Of equal interest is opening act The Darcys, a Toronto-based act on indie uber-label Arts & Crafts. Of recent note, the band had the audacity to cover, in its entirety, Steely Dan's 1977 masterwork Aja. Steely Dan, of course, is legendary for their studio neuroses, and fortunately, The Darcys did not attempt to slavishly recreate Aja's emotionally cool, measured perfection. Rather, the band deconstructed the album and built from the ground up, working with the fundamentals and ending up with a sort of contemporary yacht-rock (think fellow Canadians Destroyer) inspired take. Is it as good as the original? Nah, but the album manages more hits than misses, and certainly merits points for ambition.
Crocodiles embody a sound that harks to shoegaze, 60s girl groups, southern California pop and noise. Their songs are built from solid melodies buried underneath a ton of fuzz. On both of the San Diego duo's albums, Summer of Hate and Sleep Forever, they wear their influences on their sleeves, but also pool those those influences effectively. The Jesus & Mary Chain never relied on keys this much and Echo & the Bunnymen never sounded so beautifully trashy. The band (accompanied by some extra members on the road) is seemingly always touring and it shows. (They were in Chicago twice last year, in April and October.) As performers, they pull off cool disinterest better than many, but play with a terrific fervor.
Crocodiles headline Schubas on Saturday, the 25th. Philadelphia's Bleeding Rainbow (formerly known as Reading Rainbow), who call Hozac Records home, opens at 10PM. The show's 21+ and $14. Schubas is at the corner of Southport & Belmont.
Bully in the Hallway has opened for bands such as The Smoking Popes and Titus Andronicus. The band features vocalist Matt Simon, bassist Aaron Levinsky, Drummer Matt Jannotta, singer/guitarist Matt Kennedy and guitarist Billy Kenefick.
Doors open at 9 pm, is 21+ and is $5 in advance / $7 day of show. You can buy tickets and get more info of this show on Ticket Web. Go to DO312 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the show!
To someone like me, whose taste in electronic music developed at a time when wafting ambient acts like The Orb drew a lot of water, and even the "heavy" dance stuff wasn't much more than speedy disco with more low-end bump, a fair share of the modern electronic music being produced sounds something like R2D2 being shoved down a metal staircase. I'm solidly on board, however, with the lineup at the Congress Theater this Friday, which brings together Lotus, Conspirator, and Emancipator, three acts which manage to carve their own space in the spectrum of electronic sounds, while keeping a firm grip on the fundamentals.
Lotus is a band with its feet firmly in two different worlds. On one hand, they are a traditional rock group, with traditional instrumentation, and have long been stalwarts of the jam band and festival scene, appealing to the patchouli-scented masses with comparatively long-form songs and an obvious virtuosity. At the same time, the band has from its late-90s inception been at the vanguard of incorporating available electronic gadgets and gizmos to shape their sound into something like a live techno production, there on the stage, sans-studio. While their latest album, self-titled Lotus, gives a good taste of what the band is all about, they truly shine in a live setting, where their improvisational genius can come through.
Chicago bluegrass outfit Sexfist are unlikely to be accused of taking themselves too seriously, but there are a couple of reasons that you should pay attention to them. First, the band itself is extremely serious about their music, and second, they are one of the more entertainingly self-promoting bands in the city. Fans can fill in their Sexfist Club Cards at shows (a clever nod to the Subway Club of yore) and posters featuring their distinctive homunculus logo are staples on Chicago's post boards. This spring, fans of their Facebook page can vie for a chance to win dinner with the band, VIP treatment, and a merch package for their St. Patrick's Day show at Rogers Park's Mayne Stage theater. Beginning today, fans can check in on Facebook and play the "Would you rather. . ." game to win deluxe treatment by answering questions between now and March 9.
So maybe it's not the most traditionally romantic Valentine's Day lineup at Schubas, but if you and your sweetie can agree on a Cate Le Bon show with support by Talkdemonic, then you probably have picked the right significant other in terms of musical leanings.
Le Bon first gained attention touring with fellow Welshman Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, and has since gone on to release a Welsh language EP and an intriguing debut album, Me Oh My that was influenced, in her words, by "early experiences with a string of pet deaths." Lyrically dark, the music has an edgy folk-rock feel, mixing light, drifting melodies and Le Bon's lilting voice with more aggressive passages.
Portland's Talkdemonic began as the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Kevin O'Connor, and has reached full flower with the addition of viola player Lisa Molinaro to the band's touring incarnation. The band's latest release, Ruins is on a label run by fellow Portlander Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse fame), and benefits from his work behind the boards, lending music that could lapse into the twee a welcome dose of angular heft. While the band is often lumped into the "post-rock" camp, elements of electronica and artsy hip-hop create a solid foundation that channels the work of Steve Reich as much as any particular rock influence.
Cate Le Bon, Talkdemonic and Bone and Bell play at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, this Tuesday, February 14 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $10, $12 at the door and are available at Schubas.com.
It's easy to see why you might doubt Down With Webster's formula. They're a mostly white Canadian rap collective. But sometimes breaking the mold is just what a band needs. Give these guys a shot and you'll come to find that their songs are catchy as funk!
Following suit with colleagues like Travie McCoy's (of "Billionaire" fame) Gym Class Heroes, DWW is only one part rap troupe. They're also a live band and--if we're being honest here--it's just more entertaining to watch a full band back an MC rather than one lone DJ and his tables.
It wouldn't be too much of an overstatement to say that British space-rock powerhouse Spiritualized owned the genre during it's heyday in the 1990s. 1992's Lazer Guided Melodies signaled that band leader Jason Pierce was going to continue to effectively mine the psychedelic vein of his former band, Spacemen 3. Spiritualized reached their critical peak with 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space, an album that dropped at a time when both Britpop and their particular brand of drone rock were big both here and abroad.
Spiritualized has made a few short touring forays over the last few years, but this outing has all the characteristics of a proper world tour. Chicago gets a not-to-be-missed club date at the Metro on May 3. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, February 4 at noon.
Say what you will about the Grateful Dead but few if any bands in the history of rock have engendered their level of fanatical devotion. Need proof? Look no further than the fact that Dead cover band extraordinaire Dark Star Orchestra has the truck to play two shows in Chicago in the next week, this despite the fact that kids born after legendary lead-man Jerry Garcia died are in high school and working on getting their driver's licenses.
Dark Star Orchestra, or simply DSO to those in the know, have made their bones by shadowing the fountainhead band through a slavish, completest knowledge of the original band's catalog, and shows which attempt to recreate particular historic shows song by song. Don't be fooled into thinking that they are strictly a nostalgia band, however. Any given DSO show looks remarkably similar to any late '80s or early '90s Dead show, with a mix of aging baby boomers and their teenage children who missed the circus the first time around. The band is comprised of virtuoso musicians who share with their fan base a wide-eyed love of the source material, and play to the level of that devotion.
It may be cold and dark and (occasionally) snowy, but there's nothing chilly about the warm sounds coming from Greensky Bluegrass. The band hits the stage at the Park West this Friday night, co-headlining with the ever-animated Chicago band Strange Arrangement. Greensky's latest album, Handguns, was released just this past fall (with an additional limited vinyl edition just made available recently). Check out five songs off Handguns below.
Last year's performances at Bonnaroo and Bumbershoot gained Greensky Bluegrass some more crunchy followers to their newgrass sound, and as a veteran of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, the band also brings in bluegrass devotees as well. Greensky's lineup includes guitar and banjo, but also dobro, mandolin, and upright bass (and occasional horns, even). The band is, at first glance, a quintet that could just as likely play a college quad as a mid-size major market venue like the Park West. A recent resurgence of olde timey music like that mastered by the Carolina Chocolate Drops or the Black Twig Pickers sets up newgrass pluckers like Greensky with a window of opportunity to get airplay somewhere other than college radio Sunday morning shifts. Even the multi-instrumentalist approach by bands like the Decemberists, Arcade Fire, or Fanfarlo speak to how Greensky's sound has room to stretch its legs these days, and gain audiences that can really fill a room. So if you're a fan of harmonies, exuberance, and sheer indie band touring fortitude, my best advice is to strap on your mittens and make your way to the Park West Friday night for what's sure to be a sweet warm-up.
Music starts Friday at 8pm. 18+ Tickets are $15 (plus fees) and are available online or at the door. Greensky Bluegrass will also be joined by Strange Arrangement and opener Chicago Farmer. The Park West is located at 322 W. Armitage Ave. (773) 929-1322.
Eastland Disaster is a new Chicago band that features singer/guitarist Dan Knapik, (Textbook, Venom Lords) singer/bassist Gina Knapik, (Venom Lords) and drummer James Farn, (Kamikaze Eyes, Duress). Last summer they recorded several songs with Matt Allison at Atlas Studios, some of which will appear later this year on a seven-inch for Underground Communiqué Records.
Show starts at 8:30pm, costs $10 and is 17+. You can get more info and tickets here.
Canon Blue's Daniel James hails from Nashville, but the music on his latest album Rumspringa is taken care of nicely by friends from Denmark and Iceland. From its onset, the orchestral arrangements are reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens' Illinois and some Owen Pallett. Backing James' lithe vocals are an array of instruments that each have their moments in the sun, whether it's the brass that kicks off the record, the strings on "Heavy Heart (Minneapolis A)", the hypnotic and frenetic percussion of "Fading Colors (Bloomington)" or the subtle woodwinds throughout. Even better, it sounds meticulously crafted with every moment carefully performed and produced by someone with a grand plan in their head. Unpredictable arrangements and warm production also contribute to Rumspringa as a catchy and delightful listen.
Canon Blue plays with Plants & Animals at Schubas on Thursday as part of Tomorrow Never Knows 2012. Herman Dune and Cloudbirds open. The show's $15, 18+ and starts at 8PM. Schubas is at the corner of Southport & Belmont.
Head over to Panchos - 2200 N. California Ave - this Friday December 23rd for LORD's record release show for their self-titled EP on Asian Man Records. The band features Rob Kellenberger (Slapstick, Smoking Popes) on drums, guitarists Josh Trevino and Shawn Bowers (Biscayne) and Aaron Roemig (Arbogast) on bass.
Ratasucia is also playing, singer/guitarist Dan Hanaway (The Honor System, The Broadways, Slapstick), bassist Chris Carr (The Honor System) and drummer Tim Scare. You can get their full-lengh album "White Noise Pollution" on Asian Man Record's website.
Come early to check out Invisible Solids which features Eli Caterer (Smoking Popes, Duvall, Falcon) and is their very first show.
Doors open at 9 pm, is 21+ and is $5 in advance / $7 day of show.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show on Ticket Web.
Eagle Rock's Milk Carton Kids are two gentleman who play 1950s models of Gibson and Martin guitars. On the surface, they make folk music. A little deeper than that is a lush tranquility highlighted by intricate guitaring and stories that lay hearts on the table. It sounds straight off porches from any Appalachian hollow, but perhaps with a little different enunciation. With such a natural and spotless sound, it may be surprising to learn that they haven't existed prior to 2011. But the year's been busy for them: recording 2 albums and touring non-stop since April; first with Joe Purdy, then on their own, and now with Over the Rhine. (They even squeezed in a Daytrotter session.)
Milk Carton Kids open for Over the Rhine at Old Town School of Folk Music on Saturday, the 10th. (I can't think of a more appropriate venue for them, especially because their desolate sound won't be drowned out by chatterboxes.) They play 2 shows at 7PM and 10PM. Tickets are $28, $26 for members, $24 for seniors and children. Old Town School of Folk Music is at 4544 N Lincoln.
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.
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.
Formed in North Carolina a scant six years ago, the now Baltimore-based Future Islands have become critical darlings on the strength of several solid releases on local label Thrill Jockey. On their latest LP, On the Water, the band continues the development of their signature "post-wave" sound, channeling bits and pieces of the best of '80s synthpop without succumbing to the overindulgence that plagued many of the genre's first-wave acts. Richly textured soundscapes develop slowly over loping Peter Hook-esque basslines, while frontman Samuel T. Herring's vocals swing from plaintive to almost menacingly growly. There are plenty of identifiable influences, but the songs are shimmering and immediate. Lyrically, On The Water deals with love and loss, somehow managing to sound deeply personal to Herring while remaining universal enough to be applicable to anyone's tale of heartache. Herring is a riveting stage presence, and their act keeps getting better, no doubt due to their tireless touring over the past few years.
Over the last year, numerous publications have reviewed Kvelertak's debut album. There's been a lot of praise, but not a lot of agreement on what to call it. Some metal sites love it and claim it for the genre. Others say, "This isn't really metal." The latter lump it in with hardcore punk, as if that's a bad thing at all. However it shakes out, the Norwegian band's self-titled record is a tour de force of devastating riffs, pummeling rhythms, a hell of a lot of melody (all things considered) and exuberant screaming. Did you ever listen to the Blood Brothers and think they should have been way heavier even at their most psychotic? Do you like Enslaved but wish half their songs were streamlined? Kvelertak is the band that answers those yearnings. Whether it's thrash or black metal or hardcore or garage rock you want, Kvelertak covers it without harping on any of it too much. For a preview of what you might hear, check out the video for "Mjød." (Note: Unless you work for a morgue, that video is probably NSFW.)
Kvelertak headlines the Empty Bottle on Wednesday, the 26th. Skeletonwitch and Zoroaster play, too. GAZA opens at 9:30pm. The show's 21+ and $12. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N. Western.
Amon Tobin has a great name for a noir detective. In some alternate reality he's a superstar gumshoe who finds lost kids and protects New Orleans' eccentric family secrets. In our reality he's a sleuth of sound. Since his premier under the name Cujo in 1995 he's been known for possessing an uncanny sense of finding the best parts of forgotten records. Amon Tobin has become a post-modernist sound hero. He reclaims discarded pieces of sonic art and revitalizes them. In the past Amon has relied on a traditional DJ approach to present his music. For the ISAM show tonight at the Congress Theater, an army of mixed media artists have been brought into the fold to create an interactive museum-grade installation on par with the bombast of Daft Punk's rave pyramid or Deadmau5's ecstasy Rubik's cube.
When it comes to bands who name themselves to be a Googling challenge, there are few who make better music under a blander name than the Sounds. The Swedish indie-pop band has built up their fanbase in the US through energetic live shows, famous fans and word-of-mouth. On their albums up through 2009's Crossing the Rubicon, they channeled a Metric-like sound with strong female vocals, earworming guitar hooks and blasting synths. However, on their latest album, Something To Die For, the band mix up their formula and dive headfirst into straight electronic and synthpop. It's a little jarring of a departure at first, but it's not entirely a surprise that a band who values a frenzied performance would graduate to a style that accommodates it more. As guitarist Félix Rodríguez (what, that doesn't sound like a Swedish name?) puts it, "Our shows are pure energy." With Something To Die For, the Sounds have created a record that packages the intensity of those shows.
The Sounds headline the Vic on Saturday, the 22nd. The Limousines and Natalia Kills open at 7PM. The show's all ages and $20. The Vic's at 3145 N Sheffield.
Wednesday's Boris show at the Metro isn't sold out yet and if you're still on the fence about buying tickets, you might want to consider the whole bill.
Boris--the Melvins-inspired trio hailing from the far off land of Japan--are bringing highly experimental rockers Tera Melos and bold and brash punk rockers Coliseum out with them for their current American tour, which hits the stage at the Metro on Oct. 19.
While I sung my praises for Tera Melos earlier this year when they played Subterranean, Coliseum is a more recent blip on my radar. The band is gearing up to release an eight-song EP titled Parasites on Nov. 15 and already have three full lengths under their belt. Older fans of Coliseum will have their first shot at hearing the band's new material on Wednesday and newcomers to the Louisville-based three-piece should get ready for an opening set with enough kick-to-the-rear energy to make it feel like a headlining slot.
It's all too easy to fall into the habit of comparing bands to other bands in order to describe their genre or sound. Even the most articulate critics usually reduce a new act to the sum of their influences or peers. Now entering their third decade as a band, Primus is one of the rare groups that defies a ready comparison with anyone, or for that matter, anything else.
A unique product of Bay Area synergy, it's clear that Primus was the product of a broad palette. Claypool's slappy, tappy bass style adds funk elements which weave with Larry LaLonde's technical guitar playing, which runs the gamut from jam-band noodling to heavy metal crunch, often within the same song. This tour features the return of early Primus drummer Jay Lane, who after a brief stint with the band in the late 1980s, enjoyed a diverse career beating the skins for bands such as Bob Wier's Rat Dog and an early incarnation of recent Grateful Dead alumni super-group Further. Primus continues to inhabit an interesting space as a band with a huge appeal across a broad spectrum.
Somebody described Colleen Green as Belinda Carlisle fronting the Ramones. Yes, one of her songs is called "I Wanna Be Degraded" and has a very familiar-sounding riff and chorus, but it's just one song. Admittedly, having heard that, Green's voice does remind me of the Go-Go's singer during her heyday. But add a drum machine, toss in fuzzy power-pop riffs and drag it through some sludge to get closer to accurate. Hints of Best Coast pop up, as well, on a few breezy lo-fi covers like the Descendents' "Good Good Things" and the Rentals' "Naive." The overt DIY approach to recording leaves a question as to whether the sound's solely a product of the environment, but Green seems content to stick with the status quo during her shows since it's just her. She's on the road in support of a new EP, Cujo, that was just released last week.
Colleen Green opens at the Empty Bottle on Friday, the 14th. It's a 10PM show. Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles are co-headlining. The show's 21+ and $14. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western. She'll also be playing a free in-store at Permanent at 6PM on Friday. Permanent Records is at 1914 W Chicago.
[This preview comes to us from writer Jason P. Olexa.]
Tomorrow night, Lincoln Hall will be filled to maximum volume by the haunting, swirling, operatic vocals of Zola Jesus in her first Chicago performance since Pitchfork Festival. On that sweltering day last summer Zola Jesus, a blonde former Wisconsin now Los Angeles resident born Nika Roza Danilova, emerged with her pixie frame encased in a metallic dress that visually provoked memories of elaborate French ballet costuming to H.R. Giger's Alien designs. Reflecting the sunlight cast around her Zola Jesus transformed from the musky suffocating rural gothic of her earlier performances and into a sharper synthesized emotional bombast of solid white emotional triumph.
Zola Jesus' latest album Conatus (released Sept. 26th on Sacred Bones) continues this cycle of solar rebirth. Nika's soaring vocals depart from the cold isolationist forest of her previous work and into urban environment. But, this is still Zola Jesus and the picture she paints of urban living is one of giant LEDs, underground dance music played by chamber musicians, and harsh utilitarian concrete monolith architecture with all corners bathed in artificial illumination. This city constructed of her mind has no place to hide and every emotion from the most embarrassing defeat to rocking triumph is exposed to the harsh light of Zola Jesus' judgment. The classical aria come ambient house thump of "In Your Nature" serves as a bed for Nika's influence of French naturalistic writer Emile Zola. References to Emile's scientific opposition of free will are brought into the airy chorus about learning to let go. Like Zola Jesus, Emile Zola was a conflicted human being. He was a cold scientist and an optimistic humanist at the same time. "Seekir" reflects this dogged optimism. Atop its agit pop beat is a brave young songwriter devoted to putting past transgressions behind her and liberating herself from herself. The continually evolving Zola Jesus pushes past the din of her past and into a bright new world of Conatus where she's no longer hiding.
Florida isn't exactly known for its output of rock music and it's conspicuously absent from a lot of rock'n'roll band itineraries. But that doesn't mean there aren't some bands making their mark in the scene. Miami's Jacuzzi Boys are one of those outliers with a lo-fi power-pop/garage sound that's reminiscent of Wavves, Smith Westerns and Woven Bones (the latter with whom they've split a 7"). Songs with silly lyrics about girls and drugs are highlighted by earworming hooks and melodic choruses. (Just try not having "Cause I found you and you're my crush, crush, crush" in your head for a day after hearing it.) Their latest album, Glazin', is a half-hour of fast-paced jangly riffs recalling high school rock'n'roll bands that were all over the Nuggets followups.
Jacuzzi Boys headline Ultra Lounge on Thursday, the 13th. Local garage rockers Mickey and Hollows, at least one of whom seem to be on every really good bill lately, also play. Thunders opens at 9PM. The show's 21+ and $10. Ultra Lounge is 2169 N Milwaukee.
Riot Fest returns for their seventh year in Chicago next week, bringing in a large number of big-name acts to five venues around the city. I've been covering Riot Fest for Transmission for the past couple years, and I've never been as fired up about a line-up as I am for what they have in store for us in 2011. What makes Riot Fest the highlight among the massive list of Chicago music festivals are its almost unheard of reunions of legendary punk acts, its secret shows in tiny venues, along with its exposure for local talent. Keep reading for a Riot Fest 2011 night-by-night run down.
For most of their career, St. Louis' Bottle Rockets have languished as something of an alt-country wallflower. While their formation in 1992 certainly qualifies them as one of the genre's seminal groups, their bio at times reads a little a hard-luck depression era novel, filled with near misses close calls. It's fortunate for us, then, that a band that has rightfully flirted with fame and just not quite gotten there to date is still around for us to enjoy.
Often criminally overshadowed by contemporaries Uncle Tupelo, the Bottle Rockets' earnest folk rock style remains an exemplar of the genre. More or less, they inhabit the live space like the Platonic Form of what a bar band should be. Recently, the band has rolled back the chicken wire cage and retreated a bit from its honky-tonk roots with an acoustic album Not So Loud - An Acoustic Evening with the Bottle Rockets on Chicago's Bloodshot label. The album showcases the group's tight songwriting, which draws comparisons to Woody Guthrie, and stands up to the work of any working folk songsters of the modern age.
The Bottle Rockets are opening the show at the Old Town School of Folk Music for singer, songwriter, DJ, and general musical yeoman Marshall Crenshaw. Crenshaw has penned songs for a bevy of other artists, and know inhabits an interesting space as a DJ for New York station WFUV, drawing from his personal record collection.
The Bottle Rockets and Marshall Crenshaw perform at the Old Town School of Folk Music tomorrow night, Friday, September 23rd at 7pm and 10pm. Tickets for the 10pm show are still available at Old Town School's site.
[The following preview comes to us from writer Davis Inman.]
Laura Marling, the young British singer-songwriter who came up alongside the London folk ranks with Mumford & Sons and Johnny Flynn, will play Lincoln Hall on Thursday.
Marling's new album A Creature I Don't Know puts her more firmly in the spotlight, having gained steam off last year's I Speak Because I Can, as well as a nice Jack White-helmed cover of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" for Third Man Record's blue series.
On Creature, the comparisons to Joni Mitchell's Laurel Canyon golden age are even harder to ignore. First single "Sophia" finds Marling rolling through the hills and hitting those high lonesome notes.
Opening for Marling will be Alessi's Ark, another young Brit, whose obscure and whimsical tunes are given a wider audience by the British indie label Bella Union (Midlake, Vetiver).
Laura Marling plays Lincoln Hall on September 22, 2011 at 9pm (18+). Alessi's Ark opens. The show is currently sold out. Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N. Lincoln Ave.
Since the advent of digital music files and sites like MySpace and bandcamp, it's become easier than ever to start a band. Ergo the extremely high turnover rate of popular musical acts and the fickleness that many music scenes have come to experience in recent years. With so much turbulence in the music industry today, a band's ten-year anniversary is not something to be taken lightly. This year, alt-indie rockers Minus the Bear are celebrating the big ten with a special anniversary tour that hits the Metro on October 11.
With a sound that's obscure enough to have steered MTB away from an abundance of radio success, this Seattle-based crew has spread their musical dabblings across the indie, alternative and experimental spectrum, gaining a highly dedicated fanbase along the way. Minus the Bear have continued to dominate the field of alternative rock with a constant array of velvety guitar lines interwoven with a driving rhythm section and soulful vocals.
As a special commemoration of the band's history, Minus the Bear will be playing its debut full length, 2002's Highly Refined Pirates, in its entirety at each stop of the tour.
Minus the Bear will take the stage at the Metro on October 11. The show is all ages and starts at 7:30pm. The Velvet Teen will be kicking the night off. Tickets are still available through the Metro's website. $23.50 in advance/$26 day of the show.
If you're feeling a little overwhelmed with your typical street festival, look no further for something truly original and enchanting. The Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements held in Chicago's Eckhart Park seems like it will provide just about everything to concert goers and thrill seekers alike. The weekend festival boasts a delightful and eclectic lineup musically as well as rides, games, circus acts, a farmer's market and the Renegade Craft Fair (which on its own typically draws a large amount of traffic). The Brilliant Corners website states, "Some might say that Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements hopes to reinvent the traditions of Vaudeville for a 21st century audience..." and considering what it's offering, this sounds quite accurate. Plus, if you're still on the fence, the festival has partnered with local non profits including Girls Rock Chicago to make this truly a feel good experience in all ways.
Head over to Panchos - 2200 n. California Ave - tonight for The Treasure Fleet (includes members of Smoking Popes, The Arrivals, Sass Dragons and The Lawrence Arms). The Treasure Fleet play with Canadian Rifle, Witches and Holopaw.
Doors open at 8 pm, is 18+ and is $8.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show here.
[This preview comes to us from writer Kyle Sparks.]
Hunx, aka Seth Bogart, is not afraid to let it all hang out. With his Punx by his side, the flamboyant frontman writes catchy, Ramones-esque melodies about cute parties and cuter boys, shouting all of his most intimate romantic yearnings for all to hear. But it's just as likely that most readers will recognize his face (or something else...) from his nude cameo in the "hardcore" version of Girls' "Lust For Life" video in 2009 (link NSFW, obviously).
Photo courtesy Hunx & His Punx
But it's important not to think of Hunx & His Punx as simply a gimmick of homoerotic fantasy housed in the musical talent of others. The group's first outing, last year's Gay Singles, is an eclectic collection of singles and EPs that introduced an ethos better fleshed out on this year's To Young To Be In Love. The contradiction is apparent, because nearly every song is about falling in love. But Bogart's point has more to do with the other half of it--the falling out. Because no matter how many boys woo him, he never comes away from a relationship without some nagging regret. Love is only exciting so long as it is regenerating.
Likewise, the boy-girl vocal interplay between Hunx & His Punx supplies their lively tunes with a dynamic backdrop. While they tear through the same styles of San Fran punk rock like Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx deliver four-chord pop songs like they owe it to themselves. They add elements of doo-wop and '50s candy shop pop. At their best, they sound like a great group of friends who can't get over how great life would be if it weren't for all these other people. Everyone can be reduced into two categories: fun and miserable. For the former, Wednesday's show at the Double Door will be a great time. Those of the latter need not apply.
Hunx & His Punx headline the Double Door this Wednesday, September 14. Natural Child opens. Doors open at 9pm, and the show is 21+. The cover is free with an RSVP. The Double Door is located at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago label Bloodshot Records is getting out and having themselves a bit of a party Friday night, and you're very much invited. Two years ago, they went all out for the 15 year mark with their own Hideout Block Party and earlier this year, they released a live CD from the day of rock called No One Got Hurt: Bloodshot's 15th Anniversary — a true enough title, for sure (currently on sale at the Bloodshot site).
This weekend is still a big party, even if they're not putting up a tent about it. With prime Bloodshot acts the Waco Brothers, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Danny Black and Nora O'Connor, and Deadstring Brothers (solo) on the bill, it'll be a night packed with super alt-country and rock favorites. Better yet, there's beer from Goose Island and food specials, including yum yums from Dangerously Delicious Pies. Tickets are $10 and music starts at 7pm. The Hideout is located at 1354 W. Wabansia. 773-227-4433.
We'll be at Union Park (1501 W. Randolph St.) all this coming Labor Day weekend for the second annual North Coast Music Festival, but before we slather on the suncreen and grab a corndog, here are some best bets for sets that can't be missed, and info on the prime Chicago talent on the bill as well. Single day tickets ($60) are still available (will call info.), so come on down and join us! (Download a PDF festival map.) We'll be reviewing the best and bounciest beats all weekend long, too.
I received a welcome surprise at the Paper Machete on Saturday when Chicago's own Briar Rabbit took the stage for the show's musical portion. I had heard of Briar Rabbit (also known by his given name Philip-Michael Scales) before but had never quite committed to seeing a show. Luckily fate stepped in and I finally had the chance to hear the singer-songwriter perform his sweetly sung stories of heartache, heartbreak and the never-ending search for true Indie love.
I've wracked my brain for two days now trying to find the appropriate comparison for Briar Rabbit but all I can come up with is a poor comparison to Jason Mraz with more head bobbing and a twinge more soul in the edge of his voice. As Paper Machete's host Christopher Piatt said "That is pretty music right there."
If you would like a chance to hear the pretty music along with a bunch of other Indie prettiness, check out Briar Rabbit along with Josh & The Empty Pockets , Band Called Catch and Snow 'n Charm at Lincoln Hall on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Show starts at 8pm and will only set you back 8 small ones. Briar Rabbit promises it will be a show filled with Indie goodness. When questions what Indie goodness is, B.R. shrugged and said "It's like gumbo; you're not sure what's in it but you know there will be rice." Sounds delicious.
Tomorrow night (8/26) Chicago's own An Aesthetic Anaesthetic celebrate the release of their first full-length album--Before the Machinery of Other Skeletons--at the Beat Kitchen.
It would be easy to compare the music of this four-piece instrumental act to the sludgy, heavily distorted churns of Chicago brethren Pelican or Russian Circles, but then you'd be ignoring the playful, mathy guitar lines that flow seamlessly in and out of BTMOOS, the types of fretboard-tapping breakdowns that call to mind yet another set of Chicago veterans, Maps and Atlases. Case in point: "Fortune Animal Cookie." And, if you focused too heavily on the influences these bands had on AAA's first full length, you might not be able to appreciate the seemingly effortless theatrical reveries that its songs possess--the types of sonic beauty that are most commonly traced back to genre standouts Explosions in the Sky.
[This preview comes to us from writer Lee Zickwolf.]
Victims have been going strong as D-beat punk legends for about 15 years now with a recipe of non-stop touring and recording. With substantial influences such as Discharge, Motörhead, Totalitär, and Skitsystem you already get the impression that once this band starts they don't let up until the lights come back on. The perfectly gritty amp sounds coupled with lead singer/bass player Johan's voice are not to be reckoned with. Many bands sound "angry" but it's usually sounds practiced and therefore forced. The way Johan sings gives you the feeling that he's 100% honestly pissed about the things he's singing about like how ridiculous the idea of borders are, human rights, and different government issues amongst other things.
With their fifth full-length release A Dissident comes a U.S. tour in August, with a stop in Chicago tonight at Panchos. This album has, dare I say, a more matured almost progressive feel compared to their other releases. It is the first time on an album that two songs have gone over the 3:30 mark. All the rage and bile is definitely still apparent with songs like "Victims in Blood part 6" and "Broken Bones." One song, "In Control" has a more rock feel that will have you banging your head instead of the usual thrashing. A band that thrashes this hard usually burns out or gets stale after about the third release, but Victims somehow add a little something different to each album but keep the ferocity they are known for. Usually a band has this "vision" of how they're going to change the world single-handedly but Victims know "No, we're not the future, but we'll keep fighting 'til the end."
Supporting Victims are Chicago's Eunuchs (members of Hewhocorrupts), Full On, and Tension Generation. If you are looking for a night of people belting out songs as if they were on fire, people jumping off things, and general discourse — this show is for you.
Music starts at 7pm tonight at Panchos (2200 N. California Ave) and it's all ages.
[About the author: Lee Zickwolf is a music nerd to the highest degree and newly transplanted from the east coast.]
Pearl and the Beard is all the good things you would expect from a hipstery indie folk band from Brooklyn. They have well-thought-out lyrics, woven harmonies, instrumental experimentation...all wrapped up in a lovely ugly handmade sweater. In addition to beautiful voices and exceptional glockenspiel-playing talent, they also seem to have a sense of humor and adventure with music. One of their most popular YouTube videos, a tribute to Will Smith, is a testament to this. In more traditional Brooklyn style, they also have a video at the 57th Street subway stop.
Hopefully, by now these videos have convinced you that you need to see Pearl and the Beard live. Well, luckily they will be at the Darkroom in Ukrainian Village on Thursday at 8pm along with Bob Dey's Tank Engine Man, The Great Crusades, and Andy Lund. Tickets are $8 and available at the door. Darkroom is located at 2210 W. Chicago Ave. (773) 276-1411
Chicago band All Eyes West play at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., with emo/post-hardcore band Braid this Saturday. AEW is vocalist/bassist Justin Miller, guitarist Jeff Dean (The Bomb, Noise By Numbers), and Rick Fast (Dialogue) on drums. Doors open at 8 pm, is 18+, and is $16. You can get tickets and more info about this show here.
All Eyes West is set to release their self-titled debut album on Jump Start Records tomorrow, Aug. 23, which was recorded by Jeff Dean at Million Yen Studios. You can stream the entire album here. If you can't make it to Metro this Saturday, catch them at Reggie's Rock Club, 2105 S. State St., on Sept. 10 with Samiam.
Head over to Double Door - 1572 N Milwaukee Ave - on Friday, September 9th for an acoustic set by Brendan Kelly (bassist/vocalist of The Lawrence Arms, former bands include Slapstick and The Broadways). Supporting him are Swayback from Denver, CO. and Ratasucia featuring Dan Hanaway and Chris Carr of The Honor System.
Doors open at 8:30 pm, is 21+ and is $8.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show here.
We get going with a set of posts this week to help you decide how to spend your three days at Lollapalooza this weekend, August 5-7, 2011 in Grant Park. Today's breakdown pits bands in clashing time slots on Friday, and helps you decide where to point your flip-flops. See the full 2011 schedule options.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5th
12 noon - 1pm TAB The Band vs. Wye Oak
You may want to ease into what will be an epic festival weekend in Chicago this weekend, but that doesn't mean you necessarily want to start out quietly. While grabbing some (yet untrampled) grass by the Sony stage and enjoying Lollapalooza opener Wye Oak would garner you some sweet songs by this dreamy duo, that may or may not be how you want to go. The Baltimore band (whose name, incidentally, comes from the official state tree of Maryland) has occasional fuzz and drums and powerful lyrics, but at the end of the day they are pretty (often very pretty) but not rock n' roll dirty. TAB The Band, on the other hand, might just be the drink of choice as you're psyching yourself up for what's a marathon, not a sprint. While their lead singer/bassist is a member of a royal rock family (Adrian Perry is Aerosmith Joe Perry's kid), he's also got a backup career option that has nothing to do with his ability to play bass &mdash he's an attorney. Adrian's brother, Tony Perry, is also in TAB The Band and the group's 2010 release, Zoo Noises, brings a kind of Southern Rock sensibility to the stage, with some loud harmonies and amplified jangly lyrics. It's likely to be the stage where you first feel the bass in your collarbones this weekend, and that goes a long way to making you wake up, now doesn't it? - Anne Holub
There aren't a whole lot of indie-rock superstars who have English degrees. But Ted Leo's one and he certainly uses it to his advantage. Across albums with Citizen's Arrest, Chisel and the Pharmacists, Leo's lyrics have always had the flavor of an academic and the catchiness of a pop-punk mastermind. And when he plays live, he's sure to let everyone in on his gift of gab. Whether it's answering every heckle or discussing New Jersey's finest local newspapers (Star-Ledger, baby!), he's constantly keeping a crowd entertained with anecdotes between songs that'd be fulfilling enough on their own.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists headline Pritzker Pavilion on Monday, the 25th. It's the last edition of New Music Monday in 2011. Rachel Ries opens at 6:30PM. The show's free!
I was excited to get an actual hard copy of Gillian Welch's latest album The Harrow & The Harvest in the mail to review a few weeks back. Even more intriguing was when I went to research the work on her website, I found not one but two videos available — not for the songs on the album, but for the actual creation of the beautiful letterpressed CD insert.
I can't say that this album is one to pep you up when times are tough, but, much like the tradition of Americana and folk from whence it came (not to mention the longstanding "times are tough" themes of the Blues) these are songs that let you revel in the pain of everyday life. Like playing a break-up song on repeat for days on end, I couldn't get enough of these songs, though they didn't necessarily make me feel all bright and shiny. On the contrary, they're dark, sticky and hard to wash off your hands.
But know that The Harrow & The Harvest is a pleasure to listen to, even though it's dark on the inside. In a way, there's hope in the wide-open reality of her songs. There's a lot of talk of resignation that times can be hard (like when a friend steals your man) and sometimes you're in control of it (like when you break up with your boyfriend) "That's the way the cornbread crumbles." In the end, you're still alive, you're still around making your life what you will, and that ends up being the important part of it all. Take a moment and dive in. The album's perfect for lazy, warm afternoons on the couch watching the dust motes sail around the sunbeams, and lord knows we're having a few of those lately.
Watch Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform on Conan back in June:
[Learn more after the jump including a lengthy video on the creative process behind the letterpressed CD cover.]
It's time: The US Air Guitar Championships National Finals arrive at the Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Saturday night. The finalists are chosen (except for one -- the "Dark Horse Invitational" at Parlour Thursday night will settle that), with an amazing three Chicagoans in the lineup. Past champion Romeo Dance Cheeta, who supplied the amazing intermission performance in the Chicago regionals, joins them in this video:
After a few summers of experimentation, The Hideout Block Party is returning to Wabansia Avenue this September with a nod back to Hideout favorites of years past and a lineup that works best for the popular event — they're keeping it varied, (for the most part) local, and totally awesome.
This year's Block Party leads off with headliners sure to bring in folks from near and far, including violin-strumming whistlesmith Andrew Bird, Mavis Staples who you might have been lately introduced to thanks to a recent collaboration with Jeff Tweedy on her Grammy-award winning album You Are Not Alone and years of work with Wilco's ANTI-Records label (Staples also famously recorded her first Grammy-award nominated album Live: Hope at the Hideout), New Orleans "Bounce Music Queen Diva" Big Freedia brings the bootylicious dance moves up from the Gulf Coast (check the booty below), and Booker T. Jones returns to town after a rousing performance at the Old Town School of Folk Music in June.
Béla Fleck (second from left) and the Flecktones (L to R) Victor Wooten, Howard Levy, and Roy "Future Man" Wooten (photo credit: Jeremy Cowart)
While rock music and the electric guitar certainly steal the limelight when it comes to discussions of American contributions to global culture, it pays to take a moment to consider the humble banjo. The banjo has a quintessentially American origin story, having been derived from an amalgam of several different African instruments, primarily with gourd or shell bodies, hide coverings and stick necks. These primitive stringed instruments gained western-style fret boards and increasingly sophisticated construction as they gained popularity, initially as a part of black minstrel shows of the 19th century. Gradually, the banjo found a home in white Southern traditional music and bluegrass, which formed the basis of what we now know as country music.
After seeing a long period where the banjo was somewhat relegated to the niche genres of bluegrass and country, which of course had its adherents but lacked significant mainstream exposure, the banjo as of late has seen something of a comeback. Throughout the '90s and early 2000s, acts such as Leftover Salmon and Yonder Mountain String Band used bluegrass, employing banjo as an integral instrument, as a launching point for projects that integrated elements of rock and improvisational music to appeal to a much wider fan base and steer many back towards the traditional music source material. In this day and age, it has become almost de rigueur for twee indy rock bands to trot out the banjo, and the humble instrument seems to have made something of a comeback.
There is a lush darkness simmering throughout Other Lives' latest album Tamer Animals. The Stillwater band lets its strengths in multi-instrumentation take the bulk of the focus with strings and brass finding their way into the mix. Opener "Dark Horse" comes out of the gate to establish a tone: the vocals are brooding; the keys are plodding; the guitars are methodical. Yet Other Lives rarely veer into some type of Black Heart Procession-like territory where death seems imminent. (And I say that with great respect for BHP's wrist-slitting style.) Gorgeous harmonies provide aural breaths of fresh air to devastating stories and enough glimmers of hope get through to make Tamer Animals a supremely engaging listen. With songs popping up on popular television programs, Other Lives seem well on their way to bigger things.
Other Lives headlines Schubas on Friday, the 22nd. Thomas Dybdahl opens. The show starts at 10PM. It's 21+ and $10. Schubas is at the corner of Belmont & Southport.
For years now, the Sword has thrived on a thrashy brand of metal with lyrics that wouldn't be out of place as soliloquies in Game of Thrones. (By the way, how boss was the first season of that show?) Gargantuan riffs and throttling rhythms are epitomized on their records and come through monstrous when they play live. Think of thrash-metal pioneers like Metallica and Slayer without heavy growling vocals. Then toss in some slick-but-not-too-slick production values that don't sacrifice aural carnage and you may have a pretty good idea of where the Sword falls on the metal chart.
On their third album, Warp Riders, singer and writer J.D. Cronise sets aside fantasy subject matter in favor of a science-fiction theme that is obvious from the cover art. Although the first song with lyrics references MacBeth, the concept album soon moves into territory that makes you wonder whether Cronise has been reading/watching a lot of Dune. (Perceptive listeners may catch a Warhammer 40k reference, too.) With lyrics like "immortality through artificial transformation to rule a world that soon will die" and "to cross a universe in hyper-spatial flight, we ride the warp of space into the womb of night", it's difficult to not be transported into a sci-fi mode when listening. But fear not, they're as heavy as ever on Warp Riders.
The Sword headlines Reggies Rock Club on Wednesday, the 20th. Columbus' Mount Carmel and Chicago's Killer Moon open. The show's 17+ and $15. Doors are at 8PM. Reggies is alocated at 2109 S State.
Introductory perceptions can stick around and then make you feel like a fool when they're later overturned. When I first heard Robert Ellis' music, I was completely convinced that he was an older singer who'd slipped under my radar and was hanging onto a crisp voice. Then to find out he's only 22... well, that was quite a wallop. Ellis' new album Photographs harks back to a time when LPs were split into themes among sides. The first half is concentrated around folk, country and bluegrassy tunes. His voice is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar for these. To some, they may come off sounding like Sufjan Stevens' Seven Swans or early Bon Iver. To others, they could be reminiscent of early country pioneers. The back half (beginning with "Comin' Home") is full of the rollicking rhythms and guitar licks that are most associated with the Bakersfield sound. A long-term residency in Houston showcased Ellis and his band constantly tinkering with styles and set lists that led to a band prepared for anything. In an interview last week, Ellis remarked that he hoped to find "patient" audiences on this tour. Based on what folks are saying in other cities, he's being seen by a lot of patient people.
Robert Ellis opens for the Old 97s at Lincoln Hall on Monday and Tuesday, the 18th and 19th. Tickets are $25. The shows are 21+ and start at 8PM. Lincoln Hall's at 2424 N Lincoln.
Ratasucia is the newest project from Dan Hanaway, (The Honor System/The Broadways/Slapstick) Chris Carr, (The Honor System) and Tim Scare. You can order their record "White Noise Pollution" on Asian Man Record's website.
Doors open at 7 pm, is 17+ and $15.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show on Ticket Web.
I have to admit that Times New Viking frustrated me for a long time. The Columbus trio's lo-(lo-)fi rock'n'roll came off as disjointed and abrasive to my ears far more than once. But when they finally clicked (at Metro when opening for Super Furry Animals in '08), they clicked in a big way. Gone were the unintelligible vocals, tinny guitar and muddy percussion. In were the otherwise buried harmonies and pummeling hooks. And the energy... oh, mercy; they had it in spades. 2008's Rip It Off is where all of the elements really fell into place, but it's 2011's Dancer Equired that sounds like a major turning point. Now, yes, it's a bit more streamlined and accessible than TNV's been in the past, but it's also the best documentation of their live strengths where what was lost behind the distortion is nowup front. And no matter what their records sound like, they always bring the goods live.
Times New Viking headlines the Empty Bottle on Wednesday, the 29th. Local garage rockers Tyler Jon Tyler and Dusty Bibles open at 9:30PM. The show's 21+ and $12. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
Graham Van Pelt, who's done time with Think About Life, heads up Montreal's Miracle Fortress. His first album under the name was 2007's guitar-driven pop surprise Five Roses that mixed 60s pop, lush soundscapes and psychedelic undertones. Those who've been waiting for the sophomore effort... well, they need to keep an open mind. Was I the Wave?, released in April, marks a style shift as Van Pelt pulls the synths from the background up front. Now, instead of sounding like Yo La Tengo, Miracle Fortress calls to mind the Radio Dept. or a more rock-based Lindstrøm. Even though there is a noticeable difference between Five Roses and Was I the Wave?, Van Pelt's innate pop sensibilities are on full display throughout both. A fan of the debut wouldn't have any trouble finding the same earworming hooks on the followup, especially once they get to the back half and get a hint of "Miscalculations."
Miracle Fortress opens for Junior Boys at Metro on Friday, the 24th. The show starts at 9PM. It's 18+ and $16. Metro's located at 3730 N Clark.
Up and coming Chicago pop-rock darlings Holdfast are playing the this Saturday, June 12 in continued support of their EP Like The Sun which dropped earlier this year.
The unmistakable screeching of an El train that Like The Sun opens with is about the only sound on this short, but oh-so-sweet disc that is Chicago-born. This EP plays more like something that would hail from the West Coast, a smooth-rocking surfer's nightcap. With twinkling guitar lines, warbling vocals and folky breakdowns, every song off Like The Sun could be the soundtrack to the picturesque scene that's splashed across the EP's cover.
For anyone who might be a fan of music that is vital, expressive, and unique in a world filled with indie copycats, Parenthetical Girls are the band for you! Lead singer Zac Pennington's strange and wondrous swooning voice occupies his records and stage presence in a way like none other. It's unforgettable and visceral and it makes you feel like you're dancing. It would be wrong and dismissive to label it only as experimental or as pop music but it contains the best qualities of both worlds. In a whole new way, it reinvents something particularly enchanting.
Don't miss Parenthetical Girls and if you're intrigued do have a listen. The band hasn't come to Chicago in five years now and this reviewer humbly recommends seeing them. This 17yrs and over show begins at Subterranean and starts at 8pm (doors at 7:30pm) with openers Jes Kramer and Advance Base Family Band (who is Owen Ashworth of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.)
Ratasucia is the newest project from Dan Hanaway, (The Honor System/The Broadways/Slapstick) Chris Carr, (The Honor System) and Tim Scare. You can order their record "White Noise Pollution" on Asian Man Record's website.
Doors open at 8 pm, is 18+ and is $6 in advance / $8 day of show.
You can buy tickets and get more info of this show on Ticket Web.
Crystal Stilts is back on tour following the release of their latest album, In Love With Oblivion. Oblivion is the ideal noise-pop album, weighing heavier on the pop than noise. The vocals are droning and nearly demonic — and yet, they complement the static dreamy guitar riffs floating between each word.
Oblivion contests the quintessential "Brooklyn psychedelic" sound that has much stigma attached to it — like the reverbing, echoing sounds of Animal Collective, or the lo-fi meanderings of Thee Oh Sees. This album is neither reverb-dense nor deliberately roughened to the point of discomfort and perspiration — it has funk, punk, pop and rock all rolled into one. The one element that has given Crystal Stilts their unique sound is the eerie descant vocals, which layer over lack-strung guitar, pop organs and a chipper tambourine to keep their cold baritones from droning in and out.
There is a hint of Jesus and Mary Chain in Oblivion, yet with crisp cohesion and whimsicality. Nevertheless there is a consistent theme in the album that intoxicates the listener with nostalgia — the rhythm. It's as if one were in a state of deep slumber, walking through their subconscious, fighting off the urge to wake up.
Eternal Summers, a Virginia two-piece band, opens with dreamy pop and swelling vocals sure to warm your heart. Their new Prisoners EP was released mid-April. The starry eyed lovers of Eternal Summers are a captivating scene to see live.
Crystal Stilts and the Eternal Summers will perform at Empty Bottle on Friday, May 20th at 10pm. Tickets are $12. The Empty Bottle is located at 1035 N. Western Ave. 773-276-3600.
In addition to their Empty Bottle show, the Crystal Stilts will also play an in-store performance at Permanent Records (1914 W. Chicago Ave.) on Saturday, May 21st at 1:30pm. (FREE, All-Ages, and BYO)
It's been a few years since David Vandervelde's been based out of the Chicago area, but he's never stayed away for very long. Once he was a sort-of protege of Jay Bennett; living, writing and recording with the ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist. Some of the results from that arrangement ended up on his fantastic ethereal glam-rock debut album, The Moonstation House Band. But it was soon clear that Vandervelde had no intention of recreating that. A June '07 show at Darkroom sounded like Moonstation's airiness had been injected with a solid dose of chunky southern rock. On the followup, Waiting for the Sunrise, he took a page out of 70s AM rock records. And last year's Summer Time Hits went for a walloping power-pop sound. (Try listening to "Checkin' Out My Baby" and not having it stick in your head all day.) Earlier this week, Vandervelde released a single "More Than You Can Feel" that's yet another example of him effortlessly toying with his influences.
Vandervelde headlines the late show at Schubas on Saturday, the 7th. Expect to hear some new songs from his forthcoming album on Secretly Canadian. Detroit's High Strung open at 10PM. The show's 21+ and $10. Schubas is at the corner of Belmont & Southport.
The term post-rock seems to get a lot of mileage these days, effectively becoming a catch all term for people with traditional rocker gear making actual music with a little texture, the kind of thing that would have been labeled prog, or avant jazz, or simply popular music, depending on how far back you want to go. Fans of quirky music that still sounds, well, musical, could do no better this weekend than to head to the Bottom Lounge this Friday for El Ten Eleven.
The L.A. based duo, consisting of bassist/guitarist/loop master Kristian Dunn and drummer Tom Fogarty manage with their two instruments and a suite of electronic toys to invite comparisons to Explosions in the Sky, only punchier, or Tortoise, only more organic and slightly more grounded. The recipe is fairly straightforward, Dunn energetically wields a double-necked bass/guitar combo, layering riff upon riff with various pedals and effects, creates a counterpoint to Fogarty's capable rhythms, supplied by both machine and the use of a real drum kit. Even with a somewhat limited palette, the band manages to overachieve, creating nuanced, yet insistent songs that clearly demonstrate the value of experimentation. The duo manages to dodge any of the obvious pitfalls of the genre, or the band's makeup, managing to pull off dynamic songs refreshingly free of pretense or pomp, and managing to make a duo sound surprisingly big, but not overwrought. The band's music, composed by Dunn, was chosen to score much of the 2007 font-fetish film Helvetica, boosting the band's exposure. As of the band's latest album, El Ten Eleven's early work was more atmospheric, but as of 2010's It's Still Like a Secret, their music has more of driving dance element. Though the band is still, to a certain extent, woodshedding in smaller venues across North America, and has yet to make the hop across the pond, reliable sources have told me that the band is in fine form. Their show at the Bottom Lounge will, if nothing else, be different from anything else you've seen this year in Chicago, and possibly better.
L to R: Whitney White, Aaron Holland, Jayson "JC" Brooks, Osiris Khepera, Sharriese Hamilton, and Stephen Perkins in the Bailiwick Chicago production of Passing Strange. Photo credit: Jay Kennedy.
If my life story ever gets made into a musical, I want it to be narrated by JC Brooks. Even if the lyrics are composed entirely of lines describing boring everyday things: brushing my teeth; clocking in at work; making dinner; JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound would transform it into a gorgeously memorable journey.
Bailiwick Chicago has taken on Passing Strange, a Tony-Award winning rock/soul musical that premiered in New York in 2008, and was filmed by Spike Lee in a 2009 documentary of the same name. The results are stunning.
Even after seeing the Spike Lee documentary (I watched it directly after seeing the Bailiwick production) I can't imagine anyone but JC Brooks narrating, nor can I imagine any actors cast other than those in the Chicago production. Stephen Perkins plays the role of "Youth", the young man whose journey is being narrated by JC Brooks (who is narrating his own story, he is the grownup version of the Youth), and his take on the character has the perfect balance of self-consciousness and soul-searching that defines the story. Brooks' presence is at once omniscient and so perfectly blended into the story that the one never upstages the other.
Anders Trentemøller is becoming a force to be reckoned with. It isn't just that he has nearly 30 releases under his belt and has done dozens of remixes from top-notch electronic artists. It isn't just that his live show has stunned audiences around the world. (He blew folks away at Ultra last month. Not a bad place to pique interests, you know?) It's that he doesn't leave anything behind when he puts tracks together. He's clearly comfortable all over the map from minimal ("Vamp") to bangin' ("Killer Kat"). He also doesn't perfectly fit into either category. Some electronic musicians may drop everything plus kitchen sinks into their jams; Trentemøller does the same, but streamlines it.
Anders Trentemøller headlines the Mid with a full band on Thursday, the 21st. Dorit Chrysler and Decimal also play. Doors open at 9PM. The show's 21+ and $15. The Mid's at 306 N Halsted.
Tobacco is a guy that keeps the personal details to the minimum. All the more reason for us to focus simply on the music. We do know that he is also the leader of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, and there are imprints of that ethereal psychedelia on his sophomore solo album, Maniac Meat. But don't be misled, manic better describes the material on this new album, sort of a music fountain suicide. Instead of a messy sludge though, we get a compelling mix of hip hop rhythms, electro fuzz and plenty of grit. Oh, and Beck. Beck guests on two of the more accessible tracks on Manic Meat, leaving his unmistakable stamp.
Familiar rolling synths appear throughout the album on tracks like "Six Royal Vipers," "Creepy Phone Calls" and "Lick the Witch," but feel much more 'sweaty basement club' than 'open air amphitheater.' With song names like "TV All Greasy," you get the idea.
Tobacco will be in town playing Lincoln Hall tomorrow night with special guest, Dutch punk band, Beans. Local band Shapers is also along for the tour and will play first. Tickets are $14. Show starts at 10pm. 18 & up. 2424 N. Lincoln Ave.
Ratasucia is the newest project from Dan Hanaway, (The Honor System/The Broadways/Slapstick/Whale|Horse) Chris Carr, (The Honor System/Whale|Horse) and Tim Scare (Prosperity Wallet). All three members are longtime friends and plan to release their debut record on Asian Man Records this summer.
Ratasucia will be performing some of their new songs from their not yet released full-length album, entitled White Noise Pollution at Pancho's, (2200 N. California Ave.) on April 30th. They are performing alongside Lenin/McCarthy, Vacation Bible School, The Anchor and Dirty Bird. The show is all-ages and doors are at 6:00 PM.
[Submitted by Rachel Angres -- a music enthusiast and creative writing teacher. She is also a three time thumb war champion.]
Cults, the boy-girl pop duo, recently announced the release of their highly anticipated self-titled album, which will be available in May 2011. The track titled "Go Outside" off the 7" Cults: Go Outside quickly became an anthem for the indie community. The style is campy, with delicate layering of woodblocks, glockenspiels, marimba and other bells and whistles that add to their distinctive style.
Hailing from Brooklyn, New York and signed to Family Forest Records, Cults have cultivated a similar following to Peter, Bjorn & John, with a frenzied single that hooked listeners immediately. This modish movement could be accredited to the catchy harmonies of lead vocalist, darling Madeline Follin, who sings triumphantly to the shock and awe of the audience. Many are beguiled and baffled that her fragile figure can resonate such a strong voice. She sings alongside Guitarist Brian Oblivion, whose vocals amalgamate with Follin precisely. The two are notorious for energetic, poetic and endearing live performances and the cadence alone will generate such immediate warmth to the audience.
Cults will be performing at the Empty Bottle with openers Magic Kids and Superhumanoids on Thursday, April 7th. Tickets are $12. Showtime is 9:30pm. The Empty Bottle is located at 1035 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL, 773-276-3600.
Sharon Van Etten at Pitchfork Music Festival, 2010 (Photo by George Aye)
Love and loss are popular lyrical themes. OK, that may be a complete understatement and possibly too broad. Rephrased: lost love is an extremely popular lyrical theme. Despite the overuse of the theme, very few female vocalists are able to authentically portray romantic melancholy like Sharon Van Etten portrays romantic melancholy — and certainly without her acute self-examination. She prettily sings of betrayal, obsession, egotism and all the other emotions people hate in themselves and see in others. Her songs are simply structured, letting the impact of the words fill the space.
Sharon Van Etten credits such singer-songwriters as PJ Harvey and '60s-'70s singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan and the British folk singer Anne Briggs as being influential in her sound. More modern reference points tend to be the aforementioned Harvey and Cat Power.
Van Etten will be singing at Lincoln Hall with openers Little Scream and In Tall Buildings on Saturday, April 9th. Tickets are $14. Showtime is 9pm. Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N. Lincoln Ave, 773-525-2501.
If the point of an album is to leave the listener with an image, then The Builders and the Butchers' 3rd album, Dead Reckoning, wants you to see this: mustachioed men grimacing over dirty, whiskey-filled cups while darkly clothed women carry dusty Bibles to frenetic Sunday services. The Builder's Gothic, backwoods folk/bluegrass sound lends itself perfectly to the period-crafted lyrics etched out by lead singer Ryan Solle. The songs are full of power struggles between God and the Devil above feverish devotes bordering on the occult. And Solle's twangy vocals evince Kentucky back porch revivals, especially during the chants of "There's a big white hand in the sky" over what sounds like a found-in-the garage-drum-set in "Blood for You."
Overall, The Builders And The Butchers sound a lot like The Decemberists. Which of course makes sense since not only are both bands from Portland, Oregon, but also because the band paired with The Decemberists' Chris Funk (for their 2nd album Salvation is a Deep Dark Well) and Adam Selzer (engineer for both The Builders' 2nd and 3rd albums). The Builders, however, manage to do their thing without ripping off The Decemberists. There's urgency in their tempos. They're raucous and passionate where The Decemberists often linger — they have a lot more rock. The Builders get there in part by splitting their drum set up between drummers Brandon Hafer and Ray Rude, with one on the kick drum and the other the snare. They also make it a point to impart on the audience the same sort of urgency.
While I work on my final wrap-up of all things SXSW and Austin, TX related (also catching up on sleep and returning to my normal job/life), I wanted to point out one of the bands we really enjoyed down in Texas will be at Lincoln Hall tomorrow night.
One of the high points of SXSW was the glittery disco dance party that was started during MillionYoung's set at the BirdDog party. Their blissed out dance music was upbeat yet chilled out, creating a sun soaked soundscape that made Austin feel even more like summer.
Like most SXSW bands, MillionYoung are now back out on the road post Austin, and they'll be opening up for Miami Horror tomorrow night at Lincoln Hall, alongside Brookyln electro-pop outfit Class Actress. If you are yearning for some warm weather dance music that is full of pop hooks, grab a ticket to tomorrow night's show. Tickets are $12, the show isn't sold out (yet), and for that price it's a steal for those three bands together. Then spend the night dancing away the Chicago winter blues. Remember, Pitchfork Festival is only four months away, so it can't keep snowing forever!
MillionYoung open up for Class Actress and Miami Horror tomorrow, March 25th, at Lincoln Hall. Tickets are $12, the show is 18+ and it starts at 10pm. You can purchase tickets online at Lincoln Hall.
Detroit's Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. were omnipresent at CMJ Music Marathon last fall, playing an inordinate number of shows to crowds of people whispering, "I'm here because I have to know what a band with that name sounds like." And let's just say a couple people were surprised. But the duo has more than just a memorable name. With electronic beats sampled underneath ethereal harmonies, calmly poppy guitars and other effects, their music is catchy without being overbearing. You might hear "Nothing But Our Love", think nothing of it and then find yourself humming it over and over and over for a week straight. (That's from a voice of experience.) At the moment, the band has a 4-song EP, Horse Power, teasing their sound. A full-length, It's a Corporate World, is on tap for June 17.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. headlines Schubas on Friday, the 25th. Athens, Georgia's Reptar and Chicago's Northpilot open at 10PM. The show's 21+ and $12. Schubas is at the corner of Belmont & Southport.
To say that Dex Romweber "still has it" would be a rather perfunctory way to sum up a 20-year career that's lit up so many stereos while still flying under the radar of others. Romweber's a powerhouse of rockabilly, honed in the garages of Athens, Georgia in the '80s with his former band, Flat Duo Jets. He's influenced the lo-fi sound of not only fellow-Athenians R.E.M., but also made a lifelong fan out of one Detroit-native, now Nashville resident, Jack White, who brought Romweber and his sister Sara on tour to keep them close. The Dex Romweber Duo is a family affair, but don't think that the drummer got her gig on anything other than sheer talent (she kicks some serious ass).
Dex's sound is a little surf, a little soul, a whole lot of the heart of rock's southern roots. The Duo's last album, Ruins of Berlin (Bloodshot, 2009), was full of moonshine-worthy voice and passion, and their forthcoming summer release Is That You In The Blue? (Bloodshot, 2011) was recently produced in North Carolina by Southern Culture on the Skids frontman Rick Miller. With fans stemming back to the cassette days (please don't ask what those are), there will sure be a throng of folks bellying up to the stage at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday night. Just don't mess with their hair, their shoes, or their rock n' roll. Dex is doing it right, and has been, for long enough to know how to deliver just the song and strut you need to make it through the night.
[mp3] Dex Romweber Duo "Lookout" from Ruins of Berlin
The Dex Romweber Duo opens for "Queen of Rockabilly" Wanda Jackson at Lincoln Hall on March 22, 2011. Jackson, who's been rocking for far longer than likely anyone in attendance, also caught the eager attention of Jack White, who produced her 2011 album The Party Ain't Over (Nonesuch). Tickets are $20 (adv), $25 (door). 18+. Lincoln Hall is located at 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-525-2501. Music starts at 8pm.
Over the past decade experimental rock has gradually taken the backseat to power pop and indie. It seems as though bands like At The Drive In are fewer and farther between than ever before. That's exactly why fans of current incarnations of the genre such as Circa Survive and Coheed and Cambria should take note of up and coming Chicagoans Goodbye Good Sense.
After two years of writing and just under a year of playing shows, Goodbye Good Sense are finally ready to record and release their brand of riff-heavy rock. The band has posted a free 3-song teaser EP for download to tide fans over until its first full-length is released this summer. If the songs on this EP are any indication of what's to come from these newcomers, expect some seriously technical musicianship and an inventive disregard for traditional 4/4-time rhythms.
The essential part of The Modern Lovers, Jonathan Richman's distinctive vocals and music have been haunting the wealth of bands that have popped up since the first self titled Modern Lovers release back in 1976. One can find a similar quirkiness at times in the lyrics and delivery of Stephen Malkmus. Furthermore, Jens Lekman's sincerity seems entirely reminiscent of Richman's own style.
If I were to say that there was a Parisian electronic group churning out a slew of bonkers remixes and carefully releasing their original music in the wake of those remixes, I wouldn't be surprised if you said, "Oh, you're talking about Justice circa 2006." While that would be accurate, today we're talking about Chateau Marmont. The foursome is responsible for remixes of Peter, Bjorn & John, Royksopp, La Roux, Midnight Juggernauts, Ladyhawke, etc. They also have a few EPs and a new mix called C-M-X. Devotion to synthesizers, electronic music pioneers, vocoders and clear adoration of a lot of thumping beats tie Chateau Marmont together.
Chateau Marmont's first US show is Wednesday, March 9th, at the Abbey. They open for Tahiti 80. Chicago locals Gemini Club and the Nurse Novels open at 8:30PM. The show's 21+ and $15. The Abbey's located at the corner of Elston & Grace.
Keithen Terrell performs outside the Chicago Cultural Center.
Chicago Street Musicians, an organization founded in 2009 that celebrates Chicago-area street and subway performers, is bringing a number of CSM musicians to House of Blues for a concert on Thursday.
CSM Founder and Director Gabriel Chapman, who is a musician himself, listened to street and subway musicians regularly on his commute on the Blue Line, and thought it would be great to get people to actually listen to them, rather than breeze right past them on their way to work or home.
"One of the things we realized early on as we started to work on the website and video was the misperceptions that people have about street musicians," Chapman says. "Changing those perceptions has become a goal of ours. So often I hear people remark that street musicians are homeless. It seems to me that that is the prevailing understanding -- even among my close friends -- which could not be farther from the truth. Thinking briefly about the musicians that I know -- and I may only know a half to two thirds of those who play in Chicago -- there are people who work full-time jobs outside of performing, people in grad school, people making a living as full-time musicians, people who have recorded multiple albums, people who have music books that you can buy on Amazon.com, etc."
When Nicole Atkins last played Chicago, her backing band was called the Sea. When she returns on Friday night, it will be with the Black Sea. (No, they're not from Yalta. They're actually a few Ambulance Ltd refugees.) With that in mind, it shouldn't be a surprise that she's had a couple rough years lowlighted by some personal and professional breakups. But if not for those, her new album Mondo Amore most likely wouldn't be terrifically devastating. The jibes begin right away in the first track called "Vultures" (sample lyric: 'take all they can get until you're dirt and bone') and barely let up through "The Tower" (not exactly about building one). Atkins' superb voice carries pain, regret and freedom through tunes that cover stomping blues, twangy rock'n'roll and pop ballads.
Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea headline Subterranean on Friday, March 4. Pepper Rabbit opens at 9:30pm. Cotton Jones also plays. The show's 17+ and $13 in advance, $15 at the door. Subterranean's located at 2011 W. North Ave.
Chicago's Tiger Bones have a new EP Go Over Here that was produced by the Ponys' Jered Gummere. Thirty seconds into the first track, that melodic Ponys-like guitar sound comes up. But Tiger Bones has darkness, too - pulling angular post-punk influences into surf-rock and tying it up with some reverb in a lo-fi aesthetic. Catchy? You bet! Something like if the Soft Pack were from northern England instead of southern California. "Kill Them" sets the mood as it builds into a frenzy and the EP continues in that vein. However, the most interesting tune might be the closer: a live amalgam of Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" and Joy Division's "Transmission." (As someone who thinks Harry Nilsson was a genius and Joy Division's greatest achievement was New Order, I hear a little too much "Transmission", but there is an admirable attempt to incorporate Nilsson's wailing. Still, I can't wait to hear this live.)
Go Over Here will be available on a 12" and digitally on March 8. The release show is Thursday, March 3, at the Whistler. Tiger Bones headlines. Village opens at 10PM. There's no cover, but it is 21+. The Whistler's at 2421 N Milwaukee. Tiger Bones is also playing the Hideout's SXSW Sendoff Party on March 12.
Paul Collins' latest album is one of the most accurately titled records ever - King of Power Pop. From the Nerves to the Breakaways to the Beat, he's made his mark on the genre like few people on any others. Every band he's been in has had a knack for a catchiness that always sounds similar, but never the same. From the rapid drumming to the tight hooks to the universal subjects, his bands have been planting earworms in brains for 30+ years. He and his band are on a quick Midwest tour at the moment, playing hits from across his career.
"I don't consider myself a singer, I consider myself a performer who sings." says Future Island's front man Sam Herring in an LA Times blog interview. Herring has been described as intense, captivating and one of the most interesting front men in indie music. Maybe that's because, as a performer, Herring is so able to recreate the energy, passion and pain that existed when his songs were first felt.
Future Islands' genre-defying sound is something like a conjugal combination of New-Wave and Post-Punk, it having the emotion and synth of the former and the power and drive of latter. They have self-described their sound as "post-wave". If anything, Future Islands' 2010 album In Evening Air (released on Chicago's Thrill Jockey label) is an autobiographical, yet universally applicable, chronicle. It's moody, jarring and distorted with layers of synth, pulsating drums and the occasional industrial electric guitar riff. Herring's voice quivers and growls with Waits-like roughness through each song's relatable struggle. It's perfectly raw.
Future Islands are at the Empty Bottle Saturday, February 19th, and promise to put on an intense live show. There are threats that this will be an Empty Bottle sell out so get tickets pre-show. The Show starts at 10:00 pm and tickets are $8. Empty Bottle is at 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60622, (773) 276-3600.
As a warm up, Check out Future Islands' live in-studio sets at KCRW or KEXP .
Bay-area rapper Lyrics Born (Tom Shimura) hits the stage at the Abbey Pub this weekend with no less than a full band and hopefully some fresh batteries in his microphone. The maestro has rocked stages at Lollapalooza, and almost all the venues in town — he tours so much he must have mastered the science of packing a suitcase. But this isn't just your ordinary "Hip-Hop Hooray" rap artist. Blessed with a gift for enunciating the most complicated of rhymes, and for the good sense to bring a solid live band into the studio, Lyrics Born is as entertaining to listen to as he is to shake your booty to.
His latest album, As U Were is no exception to a series of energetic solo releases which began back in the late-'90s with singles, and really took off with 2003's ...Later That Day and the widely successful remix album, 2005's Same !@#$ Different Day. He followed up with a live double album in 2006, another studio release in 2008 and this fall's latest album, As U Were. This one isn't just rap beats, but LB takes a lot more funk into the studio to create some pretty groovy songs like the more sung than rapped "Lies X 3" and the disco-influenced "Coulda Woulda Shoulda". Songs like "Oh! Baby" are classic Lyrics Born with machine gun-fast lyrics alongside piano and brass horns, oh, and some vocoder too.
[mp3] Lyrics Born - Lies X 3 (Keys N Krates remix)
Lyrics Born performs at the Abbey Pub along with Keys N Krates, The Opus, Abstract Giants, and Vapor Eyes on Saturday, January 29th. The doors open at 8pm, music starts at 8:30pm. Tickets are $18 (adv), $20 (door). 21+. The Abbey Pub is located at 3420 W. Grace St. 773-478-4408.
Ólafur Arnalds is a 24-year old multi-instrumentalist whose piano-based compositions weld electronic and classical music. The Icelandic performer had previously been in little-known hardcore bands, but it's his solo output that has garnered the most attention. His most recent album, ... and they have escaped the weight of darkness, adds strings and more influence from pop music than he's let in before, but where his music really excels is in its crescendos. Many songs begin with simple piano and slowly work in strings, percussion, guitars and effects/programming to the point where it's eventually a melodic cacophony.
2011 is shaping up to be a big year for Arnalds, most notably because of three film scores, including for the much-discussed Another Happy Day that premiered at Sundance this past Sunday. On this tour, Arnalds' performances will be assisted by a light and visual show as he grinds out music from all phases of his solo career. (Sorry to anyone expecting hardcore.)
Ólafur Arnalds has two shows in Chicago on Sunday. At 3pm, he'll play at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of their Sunday Salon series. Admission is free. At 7:30pm, he'll play at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Admission is $10 for students, $13 for members and $15 for everyone else. Chicagoan Paul Giallorenzo opens at the MCA. Both shows are open to all ages. The Chicago Cultural Center is at 78 E. Washington. The MCA is at 220 E. Chicago.
Starting this February 13th, hungry music lovers of all ages can head to Schubas' music room on Sundays at noon to gobble their fill of hearty fare and low-key country, blues, and folk at the weekly Acoustic Brunch Series. Local string-pluckers The Pickin' Bubs kick things off on the 13th with a mix of traditional ballads and original compositions for the mandolin, guitar, fiddle and banjo. The folky flavor of tunes like "Sweet Bird" and "Long Black Veil" go great with a two-egg country breakfast from the Harmony Grill's extensive brunch menu. Also on the schedule: Goldmine Duo, Birdy, the Kettle Moraine String Band, and Sleepy Lou.
Schubas is located at 3159 N. Southport Ave. (at Belmont). 773-525-2508.
Ever since her debut with the Fugees in 1993, there have been two distinct ways the public has viewed Lauryn Hill. For the first part of her career, she was seen as a driving force in the hip-hop community. With her intelligent rhymes, intense delivery and excellent singing voice, she represented something exciting and fresh. Ever since 2001, Hill has been portrayed as inconsistent performer, showing up to shows with incredible lateness and performing unrecognizable versions of her songs.
In 1996, Hill and The Fugees released The Score, featuring hit remakes of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" and Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song." In 1998 Hill released her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The hit single "Doo Wop (That Thing)" went to #1 on the pop charts and won a Grammy for album of the year.
2001 marked the release of her live MTV Unplugged album, which was full of erratic ramblings and unfinished songs. Since then, Hill has mostly been absent from the live scene except for a handful of shows with the Fugees and a few solo gigs.
R&B crooner Otis Clay is a native of Mississippi who moved to Chicago as a child. Clay joined the gospel group Blue Jay Quartet of Birmingham at the age of 15 and worked with a variety of gospel groups throughout the late '50s and early '60s. Clay was a very influential soul artist during the '60s and '70s and his hit "That's How It Is (When You're in Love)" is a classic in the soul and R&B world.
In 1971, Clay began recording for Hi Records, where he wrote the soul hit "Trying to Live my Life Without You" which was later covered by Bob Seger and made it to #5 on the pop charts.
Otis Clay takes the stage at SPACE in Evanston on Saturday, January 15 at 8 PM. The show's all ages and tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day-of and $25 for reserved table seating. SPACE is located at 1245 Chicago Ave.
Last year, Minneapolis' Jeremy Messersmith completed his third album, The Reluctant Graveyard, that followed up on two other albums of singer/songwriter tunes evoking power-pop ("Violet") and chamber-pop ("A Girl, A Boy, and A Graveyard") like if Liam Hayes and the gentler Brendan Benson collaborated. Folky elements dot his music and with those come sad moments, but listening to Messersmith is mostly an uplifting experience. He's clearly comfortable jumping genres and adept with an olio of instrumentation. Even when the subject matter is grim (as you might imagine it would be on an album titled like his most recent), the music is bouncy and his voice is warm so you could choose to listen to it simply as another instrument.
Jeremy Messersmith opens for Markéta Irglová at Schubas on Thursday, January 13. Sam Amidon and Bone & Bell also play. The show's 18+ and starts at 8PM. It's sold out, but someone will probably be trying to get rid of a ticket. Just be sure to get there early for Messersmith. (Personally, I'm interested to see how he fits a string ensemble on that little stage with him and his band.)
It's the first week of January and you're coming out of that post-listmaking funk when you've shelved Kanye West, Deerhunter and Autre Ne Veut for a little while. So why not kick off your year of showgoing (if you haven't already with Chuck Berry or Nobunny or Holdfast) with a couple Chicago bands? With numerous 2010 releases, Secret Colours and Apteka (not the Polish band) have anchored themselves as local names to keep an eye on. Secret Colours' debut album showcases them establishing psychedelic-like moods with cool detached vocals, reverbed guitars and a range of percussion. Apteka dial it up a notch with pummeling rhythms and guitars like jackhammers. Both have a keen understanding of their ideal atmosphere and keep listeners locked in.
Secret Colours headline the end of a short tour at Subterranean on Saturday, January 8. It's an early all ages show at 6PM. Admission's $10. Apteka and Indianapolis' We Are Hex open. Subterranean's located at 2011 North.
The Chicago Zine Fest is now fund-raising for its second year, and you can help them raise money by attending their benefit show this Saturday, December 18 at The Juicer (house show), 1238 N. Noble St. It is near the Division stop of the Blue Line and it will be from 7 to 10:30pm.
Listening to Northpilot's song "Naked Before My Captors," you can feel the onset of another Chicago winter. Snowflakes practically swirl from the track's twinkling pianos as lead singer Travis Shaver metaphorically exposes parts of himself to the listener. Perhaps it's Michigan's brutal winters or Detroit's economic woes that echo through the urban angst of Northpilot's work. It's the sort of decay and dystopia that underlies the movie 8 Mile and BBC's 2009 documentary about the city. Originally from Michigan, friends Shaver and Mark Colwell discussed the band's history and Chicago's scene over hot tea at Lakeview's LooseLeaf Lounge Wednesday night.
As the founding members of Northpilot, Shaver and Colwell migrated to Chicago in early 2003 after college. Since then, they quickly added others to their collective. The band is now comprised of other fellow Michigan transplants, including Matthew Cragnolin on bass, Dan Julian on drums, Danielle Schnurer on keyboards and Justin Vittori on guitars and whistling. Just as they added members to the band, Northpilot has also been adding fans.
The 1900s' second full-length is a bit of a departure from their debut. Whereas seemingly no one who wrote about it didn't mention a correlation to early Fleetwood Mac, the connection on Return of the Century is tenuous at best. Now they're more steeped in light, breezy and terribly hooky pop music. ("Zerkalo" sounds like it could be a Dear Catastrophe Waitress outtake.) But it's not like they've lost the ability to rock out. They can tear off at a good clip just as well as ever, as displayed with the rollicking rhythms on "Babies." Between the myriad of instruments, the great strides made with their male/female vocal dynamic and excellent use of space in sound, Return of the Century has a little something new to hear on each listen.
The 1900s headline the Empty Bottle on Friday, December 3. Tyler Jon Tyler, who also have a recent album out, and ex-Chicagoan/current Nashvillian Tristen, whose new album is slated for release in 2011, open at 10PM. The show's 21+ and $10. The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
Blitz & Glitz: that's one way to describe Diamond Rings live aesthetic, it also happens to be the name of one of the many M.A.C. makeup colors singer/songwriter John O' wears during a show. Diamond Rings is the solo pop-synth-based side project of John O', also singer to the Canadian indie rock band The D'Ubervilles. Solo John O' burst onto the Internet scene in the summer of 2009 with the DIY video for "All Yr Songs" to positive blog and Internet buzz. He followed the video up with a series of singles and videos featuring green screen camera trickery, over the top choreography, and daring androgynous outfits and makeup.
With his combination of Bowie like aesthetic and catchy electro-synth-pop songs, Diamond Rings promises to at least make your body move (especially if you grew up in the 80's) and hopefully get you to sing along too. But that description alone may sell Diamond Ring's music a little short. Despite his affinity for glammed-out makeup and flashy leggings, singer-songwriter John O' doesn't seem to be the next Gaga-like pop phase. His catchy songs are grounded by his iconic baritone voice (which has drawn comparisons to Ian Curtis of Joy Division and Magnetic Field's Stephin Merrit) and themes of pain, personal growth, evolution, finding oneself and love. There is substance underneath the glam.
Every now and then a city comes out of nowhere spewing a style of music with relatively so much ease that you can't help but think, "How did this happen? And why there of all places?" It's been New York, Seattle, Austin... even Omaha had a few good years. Now it's Atlanta with power-pop/punk. Black Lips and Gentleman Jesse & His Men have been churning out jams for a few years, but the Heart Attacks, Barreracudas and the Biters are on their heels. Two EPs and a lot of touring have certainly gotten Biters' name around in 2010. The quartet wears their influences on their sleeves, sounding reminiscent of Cheap Trick, the Humpers, the Exploding Hearts, etc. and looking the part. Gigantic hooks, fast and tight rhythms and whiny vocals combine for a power-pop time capsule.
The Biters open for Chicago's Downtown Struts, who remind me of, say, Rancid and Jason & the Scorchers, and the Non-Believers at Subterranean on Tuesday, November 23. Prim Roses open at 8PM. The show's 17+ and $10. Subterranean's at 2011 W North.
This Saturday marks the live debut of Chicago rockers The Shakes. However, the members of this four-piece are no strangers to the stage. Bassist Joe Lussa and singer Jimmy Lopez, spent time with Chicago-based rock outfits The Audition and The Highlife, respectively.
Lussa parted ways with The Audition in early 2009. After taking a break from music, he was asked to play several shows with Lopez's then-current band. The two began writing new music together and eventually added a guitarist and a drummer to their line-up.
The Shakes have since written eight songs and are ready to showcase them. The band members hope to prove that they aren't relying too heavily on their previous bands' sounds.
Danielle Anderson of Fort Collins, Colorado is a YouTube video star. She released a new record this past summer called Two Bedroom Apartment (Youngest Daughter Records), and if you liked Juno or Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, her music and album art appeal to youth sensitivities via acoustic pop aesthetics. Anyhow. She is cute and she has charm. I was watching this particular video of her performing "On the Planet Earth," and within four minutes, I was convinced that I could be cute with charm if only I had a ukulele like hers, which is how I bought one, and now I know how to play a sparse and flawed cover of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." But still, what I am trying to say is that Danielle who ate the sandwich possesses soft humor and small stories that can easily inspire anyone to feel warm, and since we can expect tomorrow to be partly cloudy and partly windy, it will be a good time to catch her all-ages show at Schubas, 3159 N Southport, for only $10. The show begins at 7pm.
DJ SHADOW is live in Chicago Friday! That exclamation should be all the instigation you need to pop open a new browser, type in www.parkwestchicago.com and purchase a concert ticket.
If, for some reason, you still need to be persuaded -- DJ Shadow is a legend. He's credited with creating experimental instrumental hip-hop style associated with the London-based Mo' Wax label. Maybe you remember his album Entroducing from 1996? It won a Guiness award for being the first full length album to be created entirely from samples. It has also made hundreds of "best album ever" type lists. And it's really, really awesome.
Freak folk outfit Ariel Pink have kept busy this past year, charming Pitchfork with their brand of sunny pop of a bygone era and touring with the likes of the Flaming Lips. The band (a brainchild of reclusive leader Ariel Pink) have won over critics with their lo-fi release Haunted Graffiti, a mix of hazy West Coast sound with a backbone of old style soul and pop. For a taste of their work, check out the video below for "Bright Lit Blue Skies."
The band have been traveling across Europe recently, documenting their life on the road online, and are now back stateside to co-headline a tour with Tropicalia legends Os Mutantes. If you want a perfect double bill of fuzzed out psychedelic rock, then you'll want to be at the Metro this Friday when the tour rolls into town. Haven't grabbed a ticket yet? You're in luck because we have a pair for one lucky reader! Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject "Pink!" and you and a friend might just be checking out the show. [Update! We have a winner! Congrats to Mike!]
Ariel Pink and Os Mutantes play the Metro this Friday, November 19th. The show is 18+ and doors open at 8pm with the show starting at 9pm. Tickets are $21.
A singer/songwriter plays guitar-based music but yearns for more accessibility. A producer remixes one of her songs. The singer contacts the producer to say she really enjoys the mix and to see what else can be done with her voice and his beats. A band is formed. Class Actress has its roots all over the country, but their base is now Brooklyn. Elizabeth Harper, Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthal turned a few heads earlier this year with their electro-poppiness and synthesized beats highlighted by Harper's seductive vocals. Think Figurine, Barcelona (the DC band), a brighter Ladytron, etc. Their Journal of Ardency EP is the precursor to a forthcoming album next year.
Class Actress plays with Jagjaguwar's Small Black at the Empty Bottle on Monday, November 15. Chicago's Shapers open at 9:30PM. The show's 21+ and $10. (Yeah, I know; I thought the Bottle was free on Mondays, too.) The Empty Bottle's at 1035 N Western.
Ann Arbor native Mayer Hawthorne draws his influences from soul heavyweights like Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield, as well as some of the less popular yet powerful voices of 60s soul like Eddie & Ernie and Arthur Conley. His debut album A Strange Arrangement is highlighted not just by sublime songwriting, but a solid grasp of the feeling of the era that this retro-soul harks back on. (It's been said that even Peanut Butter Wolf thought Hawthorne's tracks were covers on first listen.) While Mayer Hawthorne's voice may not evoke the depth of a contemporary like Sharon Jones, he's still a young man in the game, exemplified by an excellent falsetto that isn't overused. It was just a few years ago he was best known as a hip hop DJ, but he's made major strides since committing to performing. And as he continues on, his confidence grows, as evidenced last week in Boston when he announced, "This will not be a concert; this is a show." Now, that's someone you should trust to entertain. It might also be good to pack your dancing shoes.
Mayer Hawthorne & the County headline Subterranean on Wednesday. The show starts at 7:30PM. Tickets are $17 and it's open to all ages. Subterranean is at 2011 North Ave.
No two people will describe The Arrivals' sound the same way, though many have tried; "Naked Raygun trying to revisit The Kinks," from their bio, does well. Keith Harman from Exclaim! magazine accurately describes Volatile Molotov as "a Billy Bragg-meets-Futureheads new wave synthesis. These songs couple the former's penchant for storytelling, slightly off-tune vocal delivery and overtly socio-political slant with the latter's innate sense of dynamic, passionate, emotive choruses that even Robert Smith would have to admit are beyond his spectrum." Other reviews even mention Refused, all trying to put their finger on it. But The Arrivals are their own animal. Filled with classic rock and punk references, they have called Volatile Molotov their "love letter to their favorite music," and Todd Congelliere, of Recess Records, says it "listens like a classic novel."
Opening the show are The Intelligence (In The Red Records) who play reverb-drenched psychy-garage. Toys That Kill (ex. FYP) are San Pedro, CA legends with a signature punk/psych stomp, and The Gateway District (ex. Soviettes, Rivethead, Salteens), a female-fronted Minneapolis power house of great songs filled with punk passion, country heart, and everything in between.
Doors are at 9pm and the show starts at 9:30. Tickets are $10 and the show is 17+. In any case, it's not to be missed.
The early punk band DA! performed for the first time in over 20 years this past May at the Empty Bottle, and will be performing on Saturday at the Abbey Pub with Radar Eyes and the Green Lady Killers. The quartet formed in 1978, and broke up in 1982. The film You Weren't There, which focused on the late '70s/early '80s punk scene in Chicago, featured DA! I spoke to bassist and vocalist Lorna Donley, who, among other things, has been working as a librarian in the years since DA!
GB: I just watched the videos for the song "Next To Nothing", was that shot on the brown line?
DA!: Yes, that's the old Fullerton station. Dave shot that a long time ago, when he was in film school.
It's cool to see footage of the CTA from 1981.
As an archivist, it makes me cry to see the state that my stuff is in, hopefully there will be more ephemera to come -- I have a lot of fliers, I've found some lyric sheets written in my 17-year-old handwriting.
I can only explain Swedish experimental pop band Miike Snow's likability in so many terms: hooky, adventurous, playful - for starters. The band is a pleasure you don't have to feel guilty about, because underneath their sometimes-discotheque beats come a set of insightful lyrics that proves some real sensibility.
Their 2009 self-titled debut record takes pop-friendly songs and fractures them into shards of ambient and often-improvised mixing. After working with top-notch producers like Mark Ronson, the band has been expanding its repertoire by putting its own spin on tracks by Passion Pit, Peter Bjorn And John and Vampire Weekend.
Their live shows require an arsenal of digital equipment, which they use to elaborate on their already hard-wired songs. But the best part about Miike Snow is that their sound never feels calculated - some of the best tracks (i.e.: Animal, Sylvia) feel like they were discovered by accident, in the midst of a playful romp on the synth.
Miike Snow will perform at The Riviera Theatre, 4746 N Racine Ave. The show begins at 8pm and tickets are $24
English ex-pat Jamie Lidell began his musical career with some undeveloped ideas before catching on with Christian Vogel as part of the electronic duo Super Collider. However, in 2005, Lidell released an ode to funk and soul, Multiply, that saw his popularity swell. Its combination of funk, soul and electronic music drew raves as Lidell stood up from behind the laptop to showcase his impressive vocals and prove that "revivalist" isn't synonymous with "copycat" by integrating digital techniques that weren't available to his funk and soul inspirations. On the proper followup, Jim, the styles meshed smoother to sound not far from Jamiroquai or southern soul.
Compass picks up in 2010 where Jim left off. Now, without reading anything about the album beforehand, its sound (especially the effects on Lidell's vocals) instantly reminded me of Odelay. (So it was no surprise a couple read interviews later to learn that Beck was one of many guests that also include Nikka Costa, Feist, James Gadson, Grizzly Bear, etc.) That whole kitchen sink approach to songwriting is on display throughout Compass. It's a little messier (in a good way) and downtempo than its predecessors, but still a sonic whirlwind. However, as good as Lidell's albums are, they pale in comparison to his energetic live show. Even as he becomes a bit more eccentric (um, did you see what he was wearing at Lollapalooza?), he's at heart an entertainer; bounding about the stage, putting his electronic roots on display, wowing with his full voice and seemingly having a blast every second.
Jamie Lidell headlines the Bottom Lounge on Saturday, October 9. Zeus, formerly the backing band of Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett and contributors to Compass, open at 9PM. Tickets are $20 and the show's 17+. The Bottom Lounge is at 1375 W. Lake.
Not too long ago, Atmosphere announced plans for a fast North American tour with their Rhymesayers label-mates Blueprint, Grieves & Budo, and DJ Rare Groove--and tomorrow night--they are bringing their unpredictable live energy to us with songs from their new double EP, To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy. Their final show of the tour.
Ever since the Minneapolis group formed in 1995, Sean Daley aka Slug and producer Ant have independently sold thousands of records. Quite popular, they seem. As they have been likened to the "hip-hop equivalent of the 1992 Olympic men's basketball squad," there is no doubt tomorrow night's show will gather fans like a game with everyone clapping for the same party.
Atmosphere and friends will perform at the Congress Theatre, 2135 N Milwaukee Ave. The show begins at 7:30pm and tickets are $23.
We have no shortage of music festivals here in Chicago, but Riot Fest stands out from the rest by bringing in punk acts spanning generations, reuniting legendary bands, and supplying a plethora of "secret" shows around the city. I had a blast at last year's festival, and this year they've really outdone themselves with an over-the-top line-up.
One of the most unstable bands in terms of members as well as sound Swans takes the place as being the most uncategorizable bands still making music today. Michael Gira the band's founder and only continuous member has a cult like following of fans who thrive in the band's course and abrasive sound as well as dark themed songs that takes you beyond the edge of comfort.
Gira has written some of the scariest lyrics that when combined with a blunt force of the extreme sound has the potential to leave you happily blacked out in a puddle of your own drool. The band was thought to have dissolved in to obscurity but according to their Myspace page "Swans Are Not Dead" and My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky, the band's twelfth album was just released September 27th.
You can see this legendary band when Swans plays at Bottom Lounge October 5th. The adorably unique harpist and singer Baby Dee opens for a night of conflicting sounds that will be the end of the world if it is missed. Tickets are $25 and the music starts at 8. Bottom Lounge is located at 1375 W. Lake St (312) 666-6775.
There was a time in 2007, just after Field Music's second proper album Tones of Town was released, that there was uncertainty about the rock band's future. It seemed that Field Music as a band didn't interest its sibling creators as much as Field Music as a brand. In the hiatus, David and Peter Brewis went off on their own roads with Field Music-sponsored side projects School of Language and the Week that Was. The results were in the same neighborhood as when an established band member makes a solo record. It's clear where they're rooted; it's just a little different, like someone's enjoying the freedom to do what someone else in the band must loathe.
But as with all artists looking for a change of scenery, eventually the Brewis brothers returned to Field Music as a band. That return led to their second self-titled album, nicknamed Measure. It picks up where they left off, but shows progress in tighter arrangements and richer harmonies. Where Tones of Town was practically twee, Measure has edge to its pop. It's still easy to hear XTC in their music, especially in the superb "Effortlessly", but now it's a later era (think Oranges & Lemons) that comes to mind most. Although, it's easy to hear a lot of influences across the 70-minute 20-song album that never wanes in quality or amusement.
Field Music headlines the Beat Kitchen this Sunday, October 3. It's the last show of their US tour. Local bands Death Ships and Canasta open at 8PM. Admission's $12 and the show's 17+. The Beat Kitchen is at the corner of Belmont & Hoyne.
The Acorn began as a one-man project, but soon its sound expanded to a point beyond where just one man could contain it. Their first album was inspired by bandleader Rolf Klausener's mother - a Honduran immigrant to Quebec. It has a breezy indie-folk sound. Its followup is the rockier No Ghost for which Klausener drops Yo La Tengo, Talk Talk and Crazy Horse as influences. Judging from that progress and the excellent execution, it appears that the Acorn are well on their way up the ladder.
The Acorn headline Schubas on September 30 with Toronto's folk autoharpist Basia Bulat, whose music you might know from a Subaru commercial. Thursday's show starts at 9PM, is 21+ and $12. Schubas is at the corner of Belmont & Southport.
Brisk air, light jacket season, a time to grow a full beard if I could: it seems like Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and the Cairo Gang are coming to town just in time with their slow reflection songs--very American, very sad sometimes--to suit the drop in temperature. The songs can also be called poems, or stories, or vignettes, or I don't know. Sometimes I think of John Steinbeck while I'm listening to this music.
With all the albums and singles and collaborations and monikers in which Will Oldham has been involved, it might be too much for someone new to decide how to approach him, but there are repeating pastoral images running in his music and lyrics, like themes, as if you might be able to enter this narrative in progress at any time because it's not quite linear. If that makes sense. I think it does.
Like tomorrow night would be a good time to check out Bonnie 'Prince' Billy who will perform with the Cairo Gang from their collaborative album, The Wonder Show of the World. If it sounds like a carnival, it isn't, but still, I wonder what Will Oldham and Emmett Kelly have planned. They will play at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. An early show begins at 7pm and a later one at 10pm. Tickets are $20.
Portland Oregon band Tu Fawning was once an interesting small project consisting of Joe Haege of 31Knots and vocalist/musician Corrina Repp. With bigger ideas in mind, the group doubled in size to pursue a more complex sound. The comparisons range from Portishead and Tom Waits to Liars and Cab Calloway it is hard to imagine what they might have been thinking with their first full length release, Hearts On Hold due out October 5th on Polyvinyl Records, but they made a record with beautiful dark elements that grabs on and strives you to keep listening. The eerie, creep filled exploration is lyrically poetic, rhythmically driving and will send shivers down your spine when they play live.
All members of Tu Fawning are skilled in many of the same musical mediums, so there might be some Menomena-esque instrument swapping when the band opens for them at the Metro Saturday night. Suckers also plays for an unbelievable night of great music.
The Metro is located at 3750 N. Clark St. Tickets are $16 and the music starts at 9pm. (773) 549-4140.
Go to Ronny's - 2101 N. California Ave - this Saturday, September 25th for a very special record release show for The Brokedowns new record Species Bender and Bust! new 10" Suck Kuts.
The Brokedowns are Johnny, Kris, Moose, and Grozzy from Elgin who have been playing and touring together since 1998. They recently signed with Red Scare (Sundowner, The Menzingers, and The Falcon) and put out their fourth full length last week. You can stream Species Bender free here on Punknews.org.
The general description of Shonen Knife ( 少年ナイフ) is that they are an all-girl Japanese rock band that formed in the early 80s and were influenced by 60s girl groups and punk bands like the Ramones. The attention they had received led to a double-album tribute featuring bands like Sonic Youth, L7, Babes in Toyland, which led them to receive more attention. I haven't been around to keep up with their long music career, but they seem to have made a lot of impressions and once toured with Nirvana. Apparently there is only one original member of the band left, but the music is still the familiar high energy almost garage pop rock that fans like.
Among their most popular songs are titles like, "Top of the World," "Twist Barbie," "Bear Up Bison," "Flying Jelly Attack," "Riding on the Rocket." I hope they play all of these on Tuesday, Sept. 21, when they return to Chicago to promote their new album, Free Time (P-Vine) at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, at 9pm. It is the kind of show that promises to feed you positive energy so that you are refreshed with bright, child-like visions of the world, a little bit more fun and naive, and you might go back home as a better, more endearing person. Tickets are $14. 21+.
Seattle's Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is made up of four members who made their debut last year with a self-titled release (Dead Oceans). This year, they have followed it up with Where the Messengers Meet: twelve songs layered with assertive guitars and enthusiastic percussion that build up and up but shifts directions often enough to create a zig-zag narrative of anthems for the winter.
This sophomore album moves us song by song without falling into an exhausting repetition of rock out rock songs. While there is still repetition, which leads into a predictability at the rise of each song, the songs are still engaging because the lyrics tightly correspond to the music, like the hook of A fire only burns in your eyes at night in the opening track, "At Night," which hammers us into listening further or something.
Sometimes Benjamin Verdoes (guitar, vocals) harmonizes with a choir while his wife, Traci Eggleston-Verdoes, plays multiple instruments, and everyone likes to note that their adopted brother, Marshall Verdoes, is quite young, like fifteen, and owns the drums. Jared Price, a friend, plays bass. The snatches of images in the songs they write stir up a night time meditation that is reminiscent, to me, of qualities in a band like Land of Talk with a hint of similarity to groups that hide in the forest, like Fleet Foxes.
The live energy of MSHVB sounds promising. Tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 16, the band will perform at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., at 9:30pm. Tickets are only $5. 21+
So it would appear as if Laura Granlund (guitar, vocals, keys) and Curt Swank (drums, nice name) of Chicago's Chew Heart have been in hiding for more than six years while they recorded music together, a collaboration which started after Swank had given Granlund a 4-track recorder for her birthday and they discovered their mutual appreciation for 60's pop, 80's new wave, 90's indie rock.
Their debut album, Messy Snarls (Loose Tooth Records), introduces us to their "treetop pop" in six songs, asking us to give them just 15 minutes of fame. With the help of Brian Zieske at the Gallery of Carpet, Messy Snarls was recorded live to analog tape with minimal overdubs and zero computer manipulation, which is supposed to sound nostalgic, according to reviews elsewhere.
The latest in the long line of bands with geographic names that aren't from anywhere near that location is Miami Horror. The Melbourne-based quartet rides an electropop sound not unlike fellow Melburnians Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts. Frontman Benjamin Plant made a name for himself as a DJ and producer before putting together Miami Horror's debut EP Bravado in 2008. The new full-length Illumination branches out to some creepy and psychedelic electronic music, but mostly takes its inspiration from synthpop. Currently, the band's on their first tour of the US and initial reports from the west coast last weekend sound pretty promising with members apart from Plant coming to the forefront to showcase their talents.
Miami Horror headlines Double Door on Thursday. Chicago's Kid Color and Midnight Conspiracy open with DJ sets. Codebreaker opens with a live set. The show starts at 8:30, admission's $10 and it's for a 21+ crowd. Double Door's located at 1572 N Milwaukee.
The last day of a festival is always a little bittersweet. You're tired, possibly sunburned and/or dehydrated, and part of you wants it to be over. But at the same time you don't want it to end. The hours spent basking in the sun with good music as your soundtrack, nodding to the fellow festival goers you keep running into, consuming the same outdoor festival nosh from the day before. And since North Coast is the last big destination style festival of the summer season, it means we're coming to a close on the last few weeks of summer. So enjoy your last day in Union Park, and check out some of our favorite picks of the day.
Before we dive in for a closer look at the schedule for North Coast Festival on Saturday, we've got some important information about will call if you're heading out to the festival this weekend.
Will call will be located at Bottom Lounge at 1375 W. Lake St. You'll need to go to will call if you are one of the following:
All 3-day ticket holders
Single-day ticket buyers NOT received in the mail
Groupon ticket buyers
Contest winners and complimentary ticket holders
Purchasing a ticket day of the festival
Will call opened Wednesday, and will be open the rest of the weekend at the times below:
Thursday, from 5pm-10pm
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11am-9pm
Go early, maybe stop by and grab a beer and some dinner Thursday, to beat the rush. And if you pick up your ticket before heading into the festival, no need to walk over to the Ashland entrance, because North Coast has opened a second entrance to the festival grounds on Ogden just south of Lake St and closer to the will call.
Now on with our breakdown of the acts to check out Saturday at North Coast!
The summer festival season is drawing to an end here in Chicago. We sweated it out through Pitchfork and Lolla, spending a lot of our weekend hours in a field with a few thousand of our closest friends. Have forked over our $5 suggested donation to the plethora of neighborhood festivals, got a few nasty tan lines, and drank a lot of mediocre beer. But this year we'll get a few more weekends to laze in the sun and soak up great music, with the addition of two new festivals in September, Sonar and North Coast Festival.
North Coast Festival is the brainchild of a group of independent promoters in Chicago, who decided to collaborate and produce a festival "to celebrate the merging of all music and walks of life that enjoy it as much as we do." Those walks of life mainly being the jam band and electronic scene, with a good dose of hip-hop and local exposure thrown in. Over the news few days I'll be breaking down the festival by each day, so you're ready for the weekend. Haven't grabbed a ticket yet and now wishing you could spend one more festival weekend in the sun? You're in luck! The lovely folks at North Coast have given Gapers Blocks five pairs of weekend passes to the festival, which means 5 lucky readers will win a weekend pass for them and a guest! Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject "North Coast" and you might be spending your weekend in Union Park, enjoying good music as summer starts to come to a close. [Update: We've selected our winners and they have all been notified. Thanks to everyone who entered!] Now, on to the meat and potatoes of the festival.
The days are getting cooler, the cicadas are dying off, and it's totally time to party! Start off your Labor Day weekend right with your friends at Gapers Block and CHIRP radio at the Metro as we celebrate the end of summer with some of our favorite Chicago bands! And best of all, it's FREE with a flyer in your hand.
Headlining is The Hudson Branch, bringing their rich tones and soothing heartache to the stage, and the evening will include the deliciously dark rock of Camera, the up-and-coming talent and blissful harmonies of psych-poppers Reds and Blue, and the rollicking dance pop of My My My.
Tickets are $6 adv/ $9 day of show (or FREE with this special flyer [designed by GB staffer Antonio Garcia] before 9pm, $6 if you bring the flyer after 9pm) 18 +. Doors open at 8pm with My My My starting the night off at 9pm. The Metro is located at 3730 N. Clark St. 773-549-4140. RSVP on Facebook if you like!
Metal was once a very isolating category musically. The brand, filled with a gorgeous weighty sound is not everyone's cup of tea and metal was given a bad rap as well as stood alone for a long time unable to make friends with the mainstream. Coliseum is a band that was able to look outside of the genre, but still holds on to the integrity and pride of the metal identity.
Their newest release House With A Curse incorporates classic face melting sound with edgy harmony. It is vastly different than past Coliseum efforts, the change being more than just sound. The band has changed labels, producers and has collaborated with musicians far outside the metal scope. Will Oldham and J. Robbins from Jawbox are two of the many friends the band worked with on this album.
While the this new one is a must listen, not much can beat seeing them play some of this new sound live. Coliseum plays at Reggie's tomorrow. Sweet Cobra, Burning Love and Fight Amp open for a night of music that fills up every free spot in your brain. The show is $10. The Music starts at 7. All ages. Reggie's is located at 2109 S. State St. (312) 949-0121
Remember that special person in your life who helped guide and shape the person you are today? We all think about the people who took time out of their lives to mentor and teach us during challenging times in our youth. When we look back, our lives are richer because of them and our place in the world, a bit more clear.
The Tutor/Mentor Connection knows how important this relationship is and is throwing The Tutor/Mentor Jam happening this Sunday, August 29th at Darkroom. It is a back to school benefit for the non-profit that helps provides an organized framework to empower and encourages adult volunteers to contribute their time, effort, ideas and advocacy toward creating life-changing solutions for children in educationally and economically disadvantaged areas.
The event includes bands, entertainers, and local businesses as a communal music filled experience to draw public attention and foster support toward volunteer-based, non-school tutor/mentor programs in high-poverty/high-crime neighborhoods throughout the Chicago region. The line up includes a variety of local sounds featuring The Usual Suspects,The Black Temple 21, Alexander Webb and Trakan. Carnivore collective Man B Que will be providing complimentary food to those hungry to participate.
This unique and worthy cause is worth checking out, hearing some awesome music and finding out your role in helping change an at risk child's future.
Darkroom is located at 2210 W. Chicago Ave. The benefit is $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Doors and food at 5. Music starts at 6. For more information call (312)492-9614.
Diesel is teaming up with Mad Decent to throw a pre-party tonight at their downtown store, which will include free drinks, Diesel dollars to buy merchandise at the festival, and tunes provided by Willy Joy. The pre-party is also free, with no RSVP required, tonight at 923 Rush Street from 4-8 pm.
The Mad Decent Block Party starts tomorrow at 1 pm (with gates open at noon) and runs until 8 pm. The Hideout is located at 1354 W Wabansia. The festival is all ages.
In a time when there are more rock bands than ever, it's become common to see bands do whatever they can to stay in the minds of their fans. There's always a new release (even if it's a re-release) or a tour (even if it's just a long weekend) to keep people from wondering, "Did they break up?" Yet somehow a few bands skirt the issue. Autolux is one of those.
The Los Angeles trio began in 2000 after two members met while scoring a play. They quickly caught the attention of the well-traveled T-Bone Burnett, but it wasn't until 2004 that their debut Future Perfect was released. The album's experimental rock/shoegaze sound drew favorable comparisons to titans like Sonic Youth and Lush. They blew up, toured with Nine Inch Nails and the White Stripes, then retreated. A demo would pop up every now and then, but just as a tease to the frustrated fans who pined for more. And now after some heavy rumblings, they're back with another record. Transit Transit is a little more toned down than the debut, but it holds a similar sound and showcases the band's methodical technique, especially in drummer Carla Azar's time-keeping that pops at the listener. It's a good time to see Autolux because who knows what the future has in store for them now. Let's just hope it's not another six years before they return.
Autolux play Bottom Lounge on Friday. Chicago Latin indie rockers Allá open at 9PM. This Will Destroy You also play. The show's 17+ and $15. Bottom Lounge is at 1375 W. Lake.
Hey look: it's a new video by Screaming Females called "I Don't Mind It," which premiered a couple days ago.
If you haven't heard them before--like me, until recently--Screaming Females is a do-it-yourself trio led by Marissa Paternoster's cool, aggressive vocals and "guitar heroics" with Jarrett Dougherty on drums and King Mike on bass. They started out in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 2005, creating their own basement shows, sleeping on floors, and self-releasing their first two albums. Power Move, their third album, was released by Don Giovanni Records and received critical acclaim, landing them spots to open for Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, and Jay Reatard.
Screaming Females is good music for troublemakers, as if the distortions, noise, anthem voices, rolling guitar solos, and punk aesthetics invite a temptation within us toward guerilla behavior like all of a sudden I want to spray paint Jenny Holzer truisms on billboards while wearing a clown mask then dash away, laughing, screaming. Or is that just me. Anyhow--the band's forthcoming Castle Talk (Don Giovanni Records) will be out next month and in the meantime, they are returning to Chicago this weekend for an all-ages show at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, on Aug. 21 at 9pm. Tickets are $8. Excellence.
The past decade has been filled with a sweeping progressive change in Chicago music. The drone filled textured sound has now become synonymous with our city has gained popularity and escaped purely experimental status. Pelican can be credited to a large part of the post-rock instrumental metal movement giving not only a name, but also a place to the epic, awe inspired music they make.
The band announced that they will be playing a very special show on October 23rd at Bottom Lounge to celebrate their 10 year anniversary and also are releasing a wooden box set which incorporates the quartet's four full-length releases and three EPs. It has a limited run of 500 copies and will be released by Germany's Viva Hate Records (Yes, the same guys who did the gorgeous Agalloch set) on October 19th . For more information keep checking the band's website
Three Floyds Brewery has joined in on the love fest by announcing a yet to be named Pelican-inspired Beer. The Doppelbock, which like their music is strong and dark will be available in local bars and specialty spirit shops for a limited time.
The Bottom Lounge show opens with A The Life and Times and Swan King. The show is $14. Bottom Lounge is located at 1375 W. Lake st. (312) 666-6775
Be sure to head over to Ronny's - 2101 N. California Ave - this Thursday for a night of some of the best punk rock that Chicago has to offer. Long-running Chicago band, The Arrivals, headline and feature guitarists/vocalists Lil Dave Merriman, (Textbook Committee) and Isaac Thotz, (Treasure Fleet) as well as Paddy Costello, (Dillinger Four) on bass and Ronnie Dicola on drums.
The Arrivals are on the verge of putting out a new record, their fourth full-length overall, entitled Volatile Molotov early this October on Recess Records that they recently recorded at Atlas Studios with recording engineer Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio/Less Than Jake/Smoking Popes). You can listen to a track off The Arrival's new record called "Frontline" here.
Even more fun than tearing down a sophomore slump album is praising the followup that slays a debut. It's exhilarating to hear a band with promise graduate from raw and disjointed to refined and orderly.
From the beginning of the Mercury Prize-nominated Two Dancers, Wild Beasts exhibit coming into their own. Where the debut Limbo, Panto often sounded like a lesser Elbow (not that a hundred bands wouldn't love to achieve that), Two Dancers finds singer Hayden Thorpe confident in how best to use his distinctive falsetto while the group hones in on a pop-oriented theatrical theme. Lust dominates the album's subject matter, getting progressively darker with seemingly amusing lyrics like "Any rival who goes for our girls will be left thumbsucking in terror and bereft of all coffin bearers" to the more serious "I'm left here, and I'm here on my own." It's a mighty effort and the band should be drawing heavy from it as they roar through Chicago for three shows.
Wild Beasts play with the Boxer Rebellion at the Apple Store (679 N. Michigan) at 6PM on Thursday afternoon. Friday night they'll headline the Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western) with the Kissaway Trail and Lone Wolf at 10PM. Tickets are $15 and it's 21+. They'll wrap up the weekend with a set at Lollapalooza on Saturday before heading off to complete a short tour on this side of the pond.
There's a lot of animal-themed bands out there. If this year's Pitchfork Music Festival was any indication, you can build a whole afternoon of sets based around some sort of crazy zoological diagram. With Lone Wolf, an artist out of England making his American-tour debut, incorporates elements of much that's in vogue these days: sentimental lyrics, facial hair, and a bit with the guitar. Come out when doors open Friday night and hear his earnest singer-songwriter tunes reverberate around the warm walls of the Empty Bottle — get in close and smell the heartache.
Lone Wolf takes the stage first Friday at Empty Bottle right before tour-mates and Lolla performers The Kissaway Trail bring their pleasant pop to the hot lights. They'll both precede another great set of Lolla artists, Wild Beasts, who'll put the grrr into the line-up before last call. The show starts at 10pm, and tickets are $15. (21+). The Empty Bottle is located at 1035 N. Western Ave.
Check out The Kissaway Trail's lovely Danish popitude:
So, we have a pair of tickets to give away to the show on Friday night. Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Lone Wolf!" and you and a friend just might get to check them out for free. The lucky winner will also receive Lone Wolf's debut album on vinyl (with a bonus CD version as well), The Devil & I. [Update! We have a winner! Congrats to Tim!]
With the Pitchfork Music Festival so recently behind us and Lollapalooza only a week away, it's difficult for most concert goers to even think of planning their September festival agendas. Electronic and experimental music lovers, however, are already booking days off work for the upcoming inaugural Sónar Chicago, slated for September 9-11. Already in its seventeenth year in its native Barcelona, this legendary celebration of synthetic sounds hopes to establish an annual autumn home in our fair city.
Veterans of avant-garde audio in Chicago no doubt associate September with the annual Adventures in Modern Music festival co-presented by the Empty Bottle and UK music magazine The Wire. This year will see this tradition continue, but now it's occurring as part of Sónar Chicago. Fear not, however, for although these two events are coinciding, Adventures in Modern Music won't lose its identity. You'll still get the full amazing line-up of experimental acts that you've come to expect from the combined efforts of The Wire and the Empty Bottle, you'll just happen to have a world-renowned electronic music festival on your doorstep as well - for free.
So, you already know all the music there is to know. There's nothing new under the sun. Right, sure, but answer just one question: How much Argentinean "cumbia digital" music have you checked out recently? Are you intrigued by its looping of indigenous rhythms and instruments and its frequent use of computerized beats and effects? Who's your favorite artist in the genre? Yeah, we thought so.
Fear not though. ZZK Records, a label directly connected to the Zizek Urban Beats Club in Buenos Aires, is bringing a quartet of South American acts through Chicago as part of a larger North American tour. The show is meant to generate awareness of a music scene few people here in the states even have an inkling of, and it includes artists such as Chancha Via Circuito and Tremor. The tunes vacillate between something you'd hear at a beachside tiki bar and the sort of intense percussion you imagine would play just before a virgin is sacrificed to a volcano, so the show might be worth checking out with some sort of small-umbrella-bedecked drink in hand. Music starts tonight at 10pm and costs $5 at the door.
If you need a good dose of bluegrass soaked rock 'n' roll with some of the smoothest vocals around, then head over to Lincoln Hall tonight and start your weekend off right with Ha Ha Tonka. Ever since I heard their Bloodshot Records release, Buckle in the Bible Belt, I've been in love with their style of storytelling and dreamy four part harmony. It doesn't hurt that they are easy on the eyes and sweet as pie to boot. If you appreciate good American roots music, and love a live cover of Ram Jam's "Black Betty" then you know the place to be this evening.
Ha Ha Tonka play Lincoln Hall tonight, Friday July 23rd, with Young Man and Langhorne Slim. The show starts at 10pm, is 21+ and Ha Ha Tonka is the second band to play. Tickets are just $14 and you can purchase them here.
Brought to prominence by word-of-mouth in the blogosphere back in the mid-2000s, Tapes 'n Tapes plays an off-kilter brand of indie-rock where lush melodies are forgotten in favor of a little reverb and some lo-fi vocals, where the concept of rhythm is occasionally flouted by the staccato squeal of guitar distortion or a sudden slam!-bang!-slam!-slam! drum attack, tossed off like a splotch of paint across the canvas. Comparisons to Pavement and Pixies have been made, but the claim seems a bit of a stretch. Tapes 'n Tapes tends to have a more sinister air (at least on 2005's The Loon), as if singer and guitarist Josh Grier is delivering bad news and maybe enjoying it a little.
The Minnesota-born band hasn't released an album since the somewhat lighter sophomore LP, Walk it Off, in the first half of 2008. And a trip to the group's MySpace page shows no new songs in the works (but a "new record coming soon!!!"). Is it too much to hope the show Thursday night might showcase some upcoming material? Maybe even just a few songs off an EP? Looks like the only way to find out is to show up. The concert is 21+, and tickets are $15. Music gets underway at 9pm on July 22 at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln Ave.
Hey! We're excited to have a pair of tickets to pass along to one lucky reader, thanks to the kind folks at Lincoln Hall. Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Cassettes!" and you just might be a winner! (21+) [Update! We have a winner! Congrats to Katie!]
Our staff is pretty excited about the upcoming Pitchfork Music Festival. We'll will be in the mix, with an ear on the stages, along with a table at the CHIRP Record Fair tent. (We fall under "other delights." Come on over and say Hi, buy a GB t-shirt or one of our fabulous anniversary party posters.) Remember to check out all the other non-performance activities this weekend including Flatstock, the Rock for Kids' auction booth, the Coterie craft fair, and more. Transmission writer Lisa White be bringing you daily coverage, as well as a festival wrap-up after the weekend's over from Michelle Meywes (all paired with photos by George Aye), but for now, here's our thoughts on what you can hear in Union Park on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Having grown up in Spain, toured the U.S. as a guitarist with Calexico and traveled throughout Mexico, Jairo Zavala's solo project, DePedro, is a bluesy, boozy patchwork connecting the Spanish old country to the American West to everything south of the border. Elements of Madrid, Texas and Tijuana can be heard throughout, and Zavala's voice has the sweet, sad lament of a Mariachi three drinks in and reduced to singing alone.
The Spaniard and his backing band will take the stage Tuesday night at Schubas as part of a larger tour in support of the band's self-titled first album, which you can hear portions of on the DePedro MySpace page. Standout tracks include the accordion-heavy "Te Sigo Soñando" and the eerily, dreamily pedal-steeled goodness of "Two Parts in One." The show is 21+, and tickets are $12. Music starts at 8pm on June 13 at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.
Our friends at Schubas gave us two pairs of tickets to give away to two lucky readers for Tuesday's show. Just be one of the first two to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "DePedro!" and you and a friend can have fun for free tomorrow night. [Update: We have our winners! Congrats to Bryan and Kevin!]
As the city gears up for another solar pummeling this weekend — with forecasts predicting hazy sun and humid, mid- to upper-80s weather — Millennium Park is set to host its latest bash of the outdoor festival season. The Great Performers of Illinois 2010 show runs Friday through Sunday, bringing together everything from classical acts for your inner-aristocrat to sun-drenched, California-inspired pop that's sure to fit your wardrobe.
Friday kicks off with an old-fashioned square dance and a Xian Zhang-conducted rendition of Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 (a sweeping dose of Finnish nationalism from the early 1900s — you can catch a snippet of it here if you're not familiar). Saturday and Sunday feature more modern fare, including performances by local acts such as Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra, Canasta, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Pretty Good Dance Moves, rock /classical violin virtuoso Rachel Barton Pine and Chicago native Greta Morgan, returning from the West Coast to play with her new band, Gold Motel. The entire event is free, and other activities, including wine tastings and chainsaw carving, will also be on hand. So if you're already braving the heat, here's a good reason to head downtown.
Dex Romweber is a force of nature. A legend in his own right, Dex's sound lies somewhere between rockabilly, surf guitar, and pure rock — a testament to his earlier years with psycho-surf guitar-punk band Flat Duo Jets. You might have seen them perform in the '80s and '90s or alongside R.E.M. and other Georgians in the indie film Athens, GA Inside Out in the mid-'80s. Joined on stage by his sister, Sara Romweber, beating the hell out on drums, these two make a super duo emitting sparks of rock from their fingertips.
The Duo's recent albums sum up their sound so well, the first, 2009's Ruins of Berlin has a polished though still rough sound, something like a well-made cocktail that burns so good on the way down. The second, 2010's limited edition vinyl Live at Third Man was recorded in February at none other than Jack White's Third Man Studios in Nashville for a extremely lucky crowd of a couple hundred. This one is raucous, fast, and sweaty. It hits you like a slug of whiskey straight out of the bottle, and leaves you begging for more.
[mp3] Dex Romweber "Picture of You" from Ruins of Berlin
Super contest time! Bloodshot Records has graciously provided us with a pair of tickets to the show and a signed copy of Ruins of Berlin on CD. Be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject "Dex!" and you and a friend will be in attendance for zero dollars (and you'll get something fun in the mail, too). Must be 21+ to attend. [Update: We have a winner! Congrats to Holly!]
the ChristMisfits in full regalia at their Songs of the Season show last December at Lilly's, photo by Marie Kelly.
Misfits tribute bands are a longstanding tradition that includes bands like Crimson Ghosts, The Nutley Brass, and The Misfats, who bill themselves as "the fattest Misfits tribute band ever." In recent months the list has grown by at least one: The ChristMisfits, a Chicago-based tribute band who made their debut over the holidays at Lilly's dressed in Santa hats that fell over their faces in a metaphorical devil-lock hairdo. They came armed not only with instruments and vocals, but with songbooks printed on faux parchment paper so that fans could follow along to altered Misfits songs with titles like: Gratitude; Where Reindeer Dare; and I Turned Into a Snowman.
The band returns to Lilly's this Saturday for ChrisMisfits in July, and have added six never-before-heard songs to their repertoire. The ChristMisfits are comprised of Bret Tanzig on "vocals & gifts", Jonny Only on "bass & scream", Jeff Wolfgang Von Frankenstein on "guitar & tights", and Lizzie "Robo" Cook on "drums & tinsel". I spoke to them by phone and email to get some perspective on their upcoming show.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!]
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").
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
DFA records' Juan MacLean's recent contribution to !K7 DJ Kicks series definitely shows he has a bit of a love affair with classic house. While that might seem surprising given DFA's reputation - which leans more toward indie dance, nu-disco fare - the man knows his roots. The DJ Kicks mix is peppered with older tracks, such as Armando's "Don't Take It" and Rick Wilhite's "Get On Up," but keeps it current with contemporary house/techno producers from all over the world and just a touch of DFA with labelmates Shit Robot and Still Going.
While it's worth a listen sooner rather than later, you can check out Juan MacLean's impeccable selections and more on June 4th, when his DJ Kicks tour hits Chicago at Green Dolphin Street. What better place for a man who hopes to pay homage to the classic house sound then to play at a venue that hosts the longest running house residency in town? The night promises some great energy, as the DJ Kicks mix was intended for a crowded dancefloor.
His Chicago date features more than just some stellar support from a long list of talented locals from Smartbar mainstays Justin Long and Michael Serafini to the infectious disco and house of the Chicago Workgroup and Yazi. Apparently, there's free entry to a pre-party BBQ that starts at 6pm and the whole crazy business goes until 4am, with a GlitterGuts photbooth and three rooms of DJs.
[mp3] The Juan MacLean "Feels So Good" from DJ-Kicks
Green Dolphin Street is located at 2200 N. Ashland and is 21+. Special limited pre-sale tickets for the June 4th show are available here and go for $5, though the price jumps to $15 when they're gone. 773-598-0852
In addition to being the subject of the 2008 film Cadillac Records, the Chess Records Studio, located at 2120 S. Michigan Avenue, is the historic site where luminaries such as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Watters recorded tracks. Chicago Public Radio Presents a rare tour of the studio, which includes a blues harmonica workshop taught by musicians Doktu Rhute Muuzic and Fernando Jones (harmonicas included in the ticket price). Ticket holders will also have the chance to meet Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, hosts of WBEZ's Sound Opinions, who will share their thoughts on the Chess Records legacy.
The building was bought by Marie Dixon, Willie Dixon's widow, in 1993 and donated to the Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation, and is ordinarily open to the public by appointment only. This event is sold out, but for more information visit Chicago Public Radio.
If you follow the hollowed advice of Ted Nugent like I do, then you're a true weekend warrior. And what does every warrior need? An epic theme song to headbang your way into the weekend of course.
Thankfully the perfect band for that soundtrack is rolling into town Friday night to provide you with ample amounts of over-the-top glam metal action. Coheed and Cambria bring their massive sound (and hair) to the Congress to promote their fifth studio album, Year of the Black Rainbow. The album follows the running Sci-fi story theme of all Coheed and Cambria albums, but this time Year of the Black Rainbow is a prequel to events from their debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade. The whole theme borrows from a story written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez, and a deluxe edition of the new album actually comes with a 352 page novel co-authored by Sanchez. That's a lot of concept album for one band, and an impressive dedication to an ongoing theme.
Add together the somewhat nerdy storyline, a blistering howl of vocals, and a high count of behind the neck guitar solos and you've got Coheed and Cambria in a nutshell. It's loud, it's flourished, and it's fun. It's not stand against the wall music. It's epic anthem of metal and rock glory. And If you head out to the show, be prepared to pump your fist in the air and get a bit sweaty. Moshing is acceptable. So is a decent air guitar solo. And make sure to wear your hair down. You'll want it headbang ready.
Coheed and Cambria play the Congress Theater with Circa Survive, Friday May 14th. Doors open at 6pm, and tickets are $29. To get a taste of them live, check out their bombastic closer from their Coachella set of "Welcome Home" with the USC marching band backing them below.
We're so excited once again to be dusting off our fancy dancing shoes for our Gapers Block 7th Anniversary Party and bringing together a slew of great Chicago talent for your listening pleasure. The Metro is our gracious host on Friday, May 21st as we invite the soulful R&B stylings of JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, the British pop-influenced rock of Blah Blah Blah (celebrating their record release at this show!), beautiful harmonies dripping with '60s pop by Hollows, and the rollicking punk guitars of Lasers + Fast + Shit to make you shake it till it falls off.
Check out JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound's cover of Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart":
Our awesome poster for this year's party (pictured above) was handsomely created by Chicago artists Mig Reyes and JoeVW. Posters will be $10 and available for purchase at the show in Metro's store.
To reward you for planning ahead the Metro is offereing a pre-sale special 2-for-1 deal will get you admission for two people for just $7 total (single tickets will be $10 at the door). Order advanced tickets here [Note: if you choose will call you must have your ticket buddy with you at the door]. The show is 18+ and doors open at 8pm with music starting at 9pm. The Metro is located at 3730 N. Clark St., 773-549-0203. RSVP via Facebook if you like. We can't wait to see you there!
[Update!] If you're a ticket holder to the Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings show at The Vic Friday night, you can get in to our party for free! Just bring your ticket stub from the show, or your Vic wristband and head on up Clark. It's double-down soul night!
When something is right you just know it. They guys in The SDS Trio know this all too well. They were serendipitously brought together by another project. The band met while scoring the independent film American Legacy, realized they had amazing chemistry and decided to stay together and take over the world with a comforting blend of classic jazz and bass heavy post rock sounds. When starting to collaborate they only had about four songs that they played over and over again. With further commitment the end result was more music and the band put out their debut release, This Is The SDS Trio this year.
In true jazz tradition, the band composed a lot on the fly and the album includes "Red Line", a studio improvisation and ode to the frequently traveled "L" line. The album also includes a charming Radiohead cover of "Everything In Its Right Place".
You can get to know this band as well as the film that sparked their creation this Saturday when they play a two set show at The Edgewater Beach Cafe. The price of admission gets you a copy of their CD, a copy of American Legacy and a free drink. The event is $30. ($40 for couples) The Edgewater Beach Cafe is located at 5545 N. Sheridan Rd. Doors open at 7pm, the show starts at 8pm. 773-275-4141
This Friday marks the Chicago debut of Japanese sound poetry and electronic music composer Tomomi Adachi. Adachi will present a work in three parts at Columbia College (916 S. Wabash Avenue, Room 214). Tickets are $10 ($5 for students), and the performance begins at 8 p.m. The event is sponsored by Lampo.
Adachi (b. 1972) works on a 3-dimensional chessboard of avant-garde influences, at once hyperactive, hysterical, and frequently hilarious, but also reverent to the roots of his art, pushing both technique and technology in engaging directions. Starting the night with a program of his own text-sound poetry and seldom-heard pieces by Japanese text-sound poetry performers from 1924 through the late '70s, Adachi will then create a second set with his home-built electronic devices, included equipment built into tupperware. For the third act, Adachi will perform his most beguiling musical device, an infrared sensor-adorned shirt that interacts with attachments on Adachi's hands, creating a network of filters and gates through which his vocal ululations will be stretched and drizzled like hot sideways caramel. Take a look at his videos for the double truth, ruth. This is some serious insanity. As usual, the Lampo web site and Adachi's own artist page can provide more information if you weren't already sold by the infrared shirt.
San Francisco trio Mi Ami has always been a band that skims along genre walls. Their sounds can range from punk to dub to hardcore to reggae all creating some awesome noise. While we don't always know which way their music is going to shift, the band was given a sudden surprise the last time they played in Chicago when hearing that Touch and Go Records with whom they were currently signed was going under. The sad news may have given motion for transition. Since it is impossible to break a heart that was meant for breaking boundaries, the band relocated to Thrill Jockey Records where their last effort Steal Your Face was recently released. Below is a little taste of their latest.
Mi Ami plays the Hideout Friday. Also playing is local band Running and DJ Forest Juziuk. Tickets are $8. The Hideout is located at 1354 W. Wabansia. (773) 227-4433. The music starts at 10.
If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing Dark Dark Dark yet, you're in luck: They're streaming their impressive EP, Bright Bright Bright, in full here. Between the haunting piano and the stark vocals of Nona Marie Invie (who could be thought of as an even quirkier, darker Regina Spektor) they've created a folk-inspired chamber pop sound that I haven't been able to stop listening to for the past few weeks. The aptly-named band explore themes of despair and loneliness, and I can just picture sitting in the corner of a dark bar cradling a whiskey and seeing them play.
If you're already a fan (or really even just intrigued) by Pittsburgh-based Black Moth Super Rainbow, you'd best get your tickets and your dancing shoes ready for this weekend's Tobacco show at the Empty Bottle. Tobacco (a DJ pseudonym so tightly guarded one wonders if he puts it down on his taxes) made a fine name for himself with BMSR — but this DJ likes his air of mystery and that's best a one-man show. With less than a handful of dates left on his tour, Tobacco's latest album Maniac Meat (due out 5/25, Anticon) and his past work with BMRC gained the attention of perennial music mixer Beck who guests on the track "Fresh Hex". Replete with a "swampy analog aesthetic", Maniac Meat is truly dark and nasty when it comes right down to it. Gritty, glitchy, screaming with cymbal rings and squeedly synth guitar, Tobacco's songs would make a great soundtrack to your favorite kick boxing movie or maybe some sort of ridiculous parkour video. (Which isn't really so surprising given T's adolescent interest in freestyle BMX.) This is a mixer who loves his vocoder, a scratcher who likes to sniff (at least when it comes to album art). In the intimate, setting of the Empty Bottle, I couldn't imagine a stage more set for auditory magic.
There will of course be a troop of Hood Internet fans at the Bottle who had no idea who this Tobacco fella is, but just keep in mind that the duo have been sharing van space with big T since SXSW and a little might have rubbed off either way. Nearing the end of their tour together, and standing firmly on the Hood's home turf, the evening will either be the sonic equivalent cat fights and hair pulling or inside jokes and flour bombs. Just you wait.
It is hard to place music that is heard of, yet not heard. The Appleseed Cast is one of those bands people raise eyebrows to, but can't place. They seemed to slip in and out of rock consciousness, only to appear on mix tapes and have people who know the name, but don't know their music. The reason that they are heard of so much is that there are fans that have been there all along. While the band is not the most prolific, they are strong enough to stand the test of time and genre. Coming from a punk/emo background, the band progressed to a more post rock/showgaze-y sound since their first release, The End Of Ring Wars back in 1998 and has made music that said goodbye to angst and hello to beauty. Last year's Sagarmatha kept their amazing transition alive.
The band plays a much anticipated and unusual show Friday at the Bottom Lounge playing their 2001 releases Low Level Owl Vol. 1 and 2 back to back in their entirety. The albums are considered a classic and The Appleseed Cast's masterpiece works.
The epic night starts with local experimental band Dreamend which features Black Moth Super Rainbow member and Graveface Records owner, Ryan Graveface. The Appleseed Cast just signed to this label. The show is expected to sell out and melt minds.
The Bottom Lounge is located at 1375 W. Lake St. The music starts at 8 and the show is $15. Tickets can be found here.
If we were going to play word association and you said Califone, my first response would be to say "Red Red Meat". I know this response is a bit dated since Califone has proven again and again that the idea of the band as a side project failed and that they are a real deal very much separated from where they begun from. They are actually ages away from those days.
After supporting Wilco last month they are home playing two shows tomorrow and Wednesday night at Lincoln Hall. Tomorrow night they will play live along with the film that shares the name of their last release, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers. The film has been accepted in to Noise Pop, SXSW and Sundance Film Festivals. Frontman Tim Rutili wrote and directed the film. Wednesday the band plays a traditional rock show. The album is gorgeous, creepy and worth getting lost in.
Here is the trailer for the film All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
About two years ago, when Chicago resident Patrick Ehlers was watching Trekkies, a 1997 documentary about die-hard Star Trek fans, he learned about Star Trek-themed novelty bands such as The No Kill I and Warp 11. At the time, Ehlers was getting into the show Lost, and he was soon inspired to form his own Lost-themed band.
Born in March 2008, Sonic Weapon Fence is the only Lost-themed band that Ehlers and his bandmates know of in the Chicago area, joining other Lost-inspired bands such as the New-York-based Previously on Lost and LA-based The Oceanic 6. Sonic Weapon Fence was recently profiled in the Sun-Times, and referenced in The Guardian and The A.V. Club. With the final season of Lost on air, the band is currently promoting its debut self-titled album, which was released in November and is available on iTunes.
I love head music, the kind that goes on seemingly for days and leaves you soothed yet unsure of what just happened when the song ended. I also love indie rock with a progressive edge. They meet from time to time and local band Hail The Black Dragons creates a great sound using both these elements.
The band should get the Blue Ribbon at the Indie Rock State Fair for their brave, awesome name. For newcomers calling themselves Hail the Black Dragons, one better have a sound that matches in epic quality and in my opinion, they do.
While more rock than anything else, some songs give a trance like mood, while others go more punk dance party. HTBD mixes progressive rock, punk and a bit of space rock with a feel that lets you have all the numbness of cerebral centered music, but with a groove factor, loud vocals and infectious songs that had me singing along. I'm excited to see what they are like live when they play tonight at Reggie's. I'm expecting an Iggy Pop/J. Spaceman hybrid sound that will be talked about for awhile.
Their upcoming January 20 stop in Chicago comes hard-won for the members of Goatwhore. Among them, the road traveled from New Orleans has been paved with everything from black ice and flood waters to drug addiction and death. But moving relentlessly through several serious van accidents and one Katrina-interrupted album, they keep coming back.
In 2009, Goatwhore released their fourth studio album, Carving Out the Eyes of God. It's their first release not accompanied by a major disaster since 2000. And it's a punishing display of what can be accomplished with a little determination. Carving Out the Eyes of God finds the band progressively focused on the roots of black metal. It's a prodigious fusion of black metal and rock, or black n' roll as it's been described.
Goatwhore returns to the House of Blues this Wednesday, as part of the Bound by the Road tour with DevilDriver, Suffocation and Thy Will Be Done. Doors open at 5pm. The show starts at 5:30pm and is all ages. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.
I'll be there interviewing the band and photographing the show. Stay tuned for apost-show report.
The man who might very well be the Latino reincarnation of Elvis (Robert Lopez, better known as El Vez) will once again grace Chicago with his presence on Friday night at the Double Door. He's bringing the very special, the very rock and roll, the very fabulous El Vez "Viva Christmas!" Show to town, and he's got some new friends in tow this year. Backing band (and stars in their own right) Nashville's very own, Los Straightjackets, will be on stage along with the L.A. performer (and the fabulous El Vettes) who's bound to bring it harder than The King himself to the intimate setting on Milwaukee Avenue. But that's not all. El Vez, who's been known to throw costume changes, giant inflatables, and dance routines rivaling Ike and Tina, is also a witty lyricist, rewriting Elvis classics with Spanish lyrics (like "Suspicious Minds" re-visioned as "Immigration Time" or "In the Ghetto" as "En El Barrio"). Not just an Elvis aficionado, he's also a serious political performer, working to aid the struggle for Latino rights as well as other organizations. Friday's show will likely have a very Santa, a very Latino, and a very fabulous vibe. It's Viva Christmas! after all, and it's definitely time to party. It's all about bringing people together. As Lopez says, "When you come to an El Vez show, you walk away proud to be a Mexican," he says. "Even when you're not."
Tickets for the show are $15 and doors open at 8pm (showtime 9pm). Knuckle Dragger opens with surf/metal stylings. 21+ The Double Door is located at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-489-3160
Will Hoge, a Tennessee native, is no stranger to hard work behind the guitar and a demanding tour schedule. But it seems that he's really been tested over the past few years. On the mend, even now, months after a serious traffic accident in Nashville left him broken and nearly blinded, he rolls back into Chicago for a Friday night show at the Double Door this week, and we couldn't be luckier. Bearing his still hot new album, The Wreckage, Hoge also serves up his enticing heartland rock-infused Americana to the stage. With a backing band that includes harmonica, pedal steel and mandolin, this will be no whispered folk show, but instead a loud, throw up your hand and testify roots rock show. Songs on the album like "Long Gone" and "Where Do We Go From Down" are soulful testaments to hard roads of recovery (you can stream the whole album at the band's My Space page). While "Hard to Love" and "Highway Wings" smack of an almost Springsteen-esque vein-straining urgency and desperation. These are songs to drink longneck bottles of beer to. Lucky for you Double Door has those, too.
Nestled within the crowded heart of Brooklyn lives a delicate soul. Not unlike the gems of Sibylle Baier, Sharon Van Etten's songs are filled with both solitude and longing. Van Etten has played Chicago twice before, both at The Empty Bottle, most recently as part of the Wire UK festival. Her stage presence may seem subtle at first with usually just her singing with an acoustic guitar. Yet, the more you listen, the more disarming it becomes. It isn't just indie folk, it's genuine and makes you want to devote your attention to it. Even those who are not fans of lo-fi may find her stripped down style appealing because she's such a talented singer and songwriter. In a sense, the songs succeed in wrapping around you where you hurt and providing you with a warmth and reassurance that it's not just you who feels that way.
Some may also be pleased to know that Sharon Van Etten is part of a bill that also includes Rain Machine, which is the side project of TV on the Radio's guitarist Kyp Malone. Some may feel that Rain Machine shows off an interesting creative diversion from the TV on the Radio tracks and allows more of Malone's songwriting to develop. It's quite possible that TV on the Radio are much too famous to play a venue this small so fans of the band should see it as a rare treat.
Doubledoor lineup also features local band Reds and Blue with doors at 8pm and show starting at 9pm.
In Chicago's contemporary club culture, it is easy to forget that house and industrial could once be heard at the same club on the same night. Bands such as Nitzer Ebb and Front 242 took as much of their influence from punk and new wave as they did from
Chicago house. One year ago, promoters Mr. Automatic and Adam Black decided to create Front 312, a night dedicated to this time in Chicago's club history.
For its one year anniversary on October 9th, 2009 , Front 312 will take a turn toward techno and house, with DJ Gant Man headlining. KHA and Mikul Wing of Members Only AV will be play separate solo sets as well, throwing down anything from classic italo tracks to extended versions of 80's new wave dance classics.
From releasing his earliest 12″s on Dance Mania, to rocking clubs and raves worldwide alongside legends such as Paul Johnson, Gant has been pushing his signature Chicago sound for almost two decades. Mixing up rapid-fire juke beats while referencing all the house and disco classics that first paved the way. His recent work includes a remix for Fool's Gold of Kid Sister's "Damn Girl", production on "Switchboard", and his new solo single debut on Fool's Gold, "Juke Dat Girl." For Front 312, however, he will be bringing out the classics.
KHA and Mikul Wing have made a name for themselves as Members Only AV over the last year, playing with anyone from Le Castle Vania to The Rapture. For Front 312, however, they will be playing two rare solo sets of all new wave and italo disco.
Mr. Automatic will be playing classic Razormaid tracks, 80's new wave, classic industrial, acid house, and new electro tracks prior to the headliners. Expect anything from Meat Beat Manifesto to The Presets and Frankie Knuckles. DJ Adam Black will open the night with punk rock, new wave, and alternative rock.
Doors open at 9pm. Admission is Free before 11pm with RSVP to Front312@gmail.com and $5 without RSVP or after 11.
Drink specials include $2 PBR, $3 Goose Island IPA and $4 well drinks, and plenty of other reasonably priced options are available at the bar.
Liars Club is located at 1665 W. Fullerton in Chicago. at the intersection of Fullerton and Ashland.
Grab your Chuck Taylors and safety pins, kids -- Riot Fest 2009 is coming to Chicago October 7th. The festival that brought us reunions by the Blue Meanies and Naked Raygun, among many, many others, is back at it again with more reunited punk heroes and local talent. Besides the five days of punk music spanning generations going down at venues around the city, they've also got a bowling tournament and film screenings planned for the week. This year marks Riot Fest's fifth year in Chicago, and each year they've only been expanding and bringing in more and more exceptional acts.
Just a reminder that tomorrow night Moby will be coming into town with a full band (a somewhat rare treat) to play at The Vic. Ever since his rise to popularity with the release of his album Play, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide, Moby has been a key figure in helping to bring dance and electronic music into the mainstream.
With his latest album, Wait For Me, we see one of the most personal pieces of work he's released to date. And he recorded the entire thing in his own apartment by himself in New York, giving a new meaning to having music feel like home. The video for the first single, "Shot in the Back of the Head" was done by director David Lynch, and you can take a peek at it over on Moby's website.
Moby plays The Vic tomorrow night, Wednesday September 30th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $34 and can be purchased online.
Growing up very much a part of the metal and hardcore scene, New Orleans, LA has served as one of the most integral and inspiring sources of music for me. Bands like Down, Acid Bath, Soilent Green and Eyehategod — to name only a few — were and are oceans beyond most other bands in this genre. I have a hard time even pairing them together in any way that makes sense. They created their own genre and community. Where one band ends several hybrids have already begun; each adding their own unique piece to the instantly-identifiable whole. While this is representative of artists in New Orleans in general, it's all too apparent in the musical community. They play the music of New Orleans and its inhabitants. They tell the story, good and bad. The beauty that emanates from the city also moves through the music. The devastation, anger and horrible truths that Katrina brought with it will forever be heard in the songs. So will the will to overcome it all. If there is a band that embodies NOLA and this sentiment more than any other, it is Down.
Extra Golden rolls into Chicago this weekend on the tails of the Chicago World Music Festival and boy are we in for a treat. They're playing not one but two shows at the Hideout so you get a doubleshot of one of the most entertaining half Kenyan/half American rock bands out there (well, to be honest, it's likely one of the few Kenya/U.S. musical matchups you're likely to hear at the Hideout, but it's a real good time, nonetheless). A member of the Thrill Jockey label, Extra Golden brings a booty-shaking, finger snapping, hand clapping beat straight from the streets of Nairobi to your eardrums (via D.C.). Currently promoting their latest album Thank You Very Quickly, you might remember Extra Golden from their jubilant song release last fall when Obama clinched the Presidency. Beautiful harmonies, happy guitars, and a truly rump-shaking rhythms are a staple of their new release and a real motivation to see this band live. Their latest effort once again features East African guitars, polyrhythmic drums and songs sung both in English and Luo, but also has a special vibe and more of a polished tone than previous albums. A believer that "tight quarters = tight grooves", the album was recorded mostly in the third floor hallway/laundry room of guitarist Ian Eagleson's parents' house. Given that success, I don't see how a show at the intimate space at the Hideout could be anything but a prime locale for this band.
And hey if you want to follow Alex Minoff (the "second best guitarist in Extra Golden") or Thrill Jockey on Twitter. You can do that, too.
Extra Golden plays this weekend, September 26th and 27th at 9pm at the Hideout located at 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago. (773) 227-4433. Tickets are $12. Endless Boogie opens.
Act now and go for $0! We have two pairs of tickets (one for each night) to give away courtesy of the Hideout! Just be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.comwith the subject line "Extra Extra!" and you and a friend can get your dance on for free! First who emails gets to pick their night! Update! We have our winners! Congrats to Eric and Chris!
[MP3]: Extra Golden - Anyango from Thank You Very Quickly
I first saw Scout Niblett perform on June 22, 2008. Whatever else I did that day is long gone, but the performance I saw that night will always stick with me. It was a Sunday night and the show was at Schubas. I was there mostly to see Dax Riggs, but Niblett was opening. She began with "Hot to Death" from her album Kidnapped by Neptune, and she got my attention fast. Intense is not a strong enough word for what happened in that room, on that night. I was only slightly familiar with her before she started that first song. By the end of it I was enamored. I knew I was in for a binge. I bought (yes, bought) all her albums that night.
For those unfamiliar with Niblett, allow me a moment to proselytize: She is from Staffordshire, England, but currently lives in Portland, OR. Her music is very minimal, and consists primarily of vocals accompanied by guitar, drums and the occasional piano. Often, only one of these instruments can be heard at a time. She plays them all.
Niblett's singing is unconventional but fervent. She's cited grunge music and astrology as being major influences. She's worked with Chicago's own Steve Albini on multiple albums; her most recent, This Fool Can Die Now, features a hefty four duets with Bonnie "Prince" Billy. On April 14, 2009 she released the 7" single, It's Time My Beloved through Chicago-based indie label, Drag City. Her current tour comes to a close this Friday, Sep 25 at Subterranean: 2011 W North Ave. 9:30pm. 17 & over. Tickets are $12.
But why pay when you could go for free? That would be ridiculous, not to mention wasteful. We're giving away a pair of tickets. Be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with your full name and "Niblett" in the subject line, and they're all yours. UPDATE We have a winner! Congrats to Dan B.
One of my favorite films growing up was Little Shop of Horrors, although, looking back on it now, maybe it wasn't the most appropriate movie for a kid to love. Nevertheless, there was singing and dancing and I thought Audrey was so pretty (the girl, not the plant) that I wanted to be just like her (again, not the best role model for a kid).
A week before Halloween, popular Chicago venue The Hideout plans to bring the musical to life. The cast and crew will be made up of Hideout employees, musicians, friends and regulars. As Hideout owner Tim Tuten says: "This is true 'Community Theater.'" Come and see if Hideout employee Tyler Myers lives up to the legend of Steve Martin as "The Dentist" (no pressure, Tyler) or if musician and regular Marvin Tate makes a believable man eating plant. No matter what, a fun time is sure to be had by all, and it's the perfect way to get geared up for playing dress-up yourself a week later.
Showtimes are: Thursday, October 22 and Friday October 23 at 8pm, Saturday October 24 at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday October 25 at 3pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $15.
Slightly accented singer/songwriter Regina Spektor, one of the quirkiest artists in the indie scene come to the Chicago Theatre Saturday. Spektor released her fifth album Far in June which has four tracks produced by Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and The Traveling Wilberries fame.
Spektor uses her voice as an instrument (along with the piano) to add coughs, squeaks and hiccups to her already unusual sound. One element of her music that is admirable as well as confusing to her fans and critics is her ability to be a storyteller outside of her vision and experiences. It is rare in a world of autobiographical songwriting and the excessive need to purge and confess through songs that someone like her can stand alone and share small pieces of songwriting fiction with such confidence and conviction.
Regina Spektor will be at The Chicago Theatre tomorrow night. The show starts at 8:00 and tickets are still available through The Chicago Theater's Website. 175 N. State St. (312)462-6300.
Luca Mortellaro -- "Lucy" -- of Palermo Italy released his first EP, "Open House" on Qoki Records which immediately drew the attention of renowned artist James Holden who introduced Lucy's work to Raphael Ripperton, founder of Perspectiv Records, who immediately decided to release a second maxi "Glass Computer" on his label. "Glass Computer" is the result of collaboration with Rone (a creative partnership that also led to "Continuity Theory (for Adri)" on Curle). Lucy has recently been warmly welcomed aboard the label Meerestief, a relationship that has allowed him to continue to pursue his musical interests, and build on his commercial success with several releases currently in the pipeline. Constantly searching for innovative sounds, Lucy's DJ sets and live acts combine techno, minimal, neo-trance and electro, to create a vibe that is simultaneously energetic and gliding.
The Ettes add a sexy '60s swagger to punk rock that sounds like they could soundtrack a Tarantino B-film all on their own. Think of them as a modern version of Nancy Sinatra--with fuzz pedals. The trio started off as an all girl group, but Jem joined the ladies before they put out their first album, Shake the Dust, in 2006. They have a new album coming out next month, but you can see them live here in Chicago on Friday night at Subterranean.
What's that you say? You want to go for free? Well, you're in luck because we're giving away a pair of tickets to Friday's show. Just be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.comwith the subject line "Ettes!" and you'll be going with a friend for $0. [Update!] We have a winner! Congrats to Emily!
After the hullaballoo that was last week's Lollapalooza, be thankful that this week's hullaballoo is as fun and crazy, but less wiltingly warm. Mucca Pazza, Chicago's own premiere 30-odd-piece marching band, is playing tonight at the Jackhammer (6406 N. Clark St.), the gay bar that knows no musical boundaries. Mucca Pazza have made a name for themselves for their frenetic shows -- think the best marching band music with a punk energy and cute, smartypants cheerleaders -- and its led them to appearances across these United States of America, on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and hell, on Chic-A-Go-Go. Local rock heroes Detholz! opens the show, and they're fantastically fun as well.
What I'm saying is: It's going to be bananas and you should go. It kicks off tonight at 9 p.m., tickets at the door will set you back $10. For more, and for other shows hosted by The Flesh Hungry Dog Show, check here.
The Breeders are a nostalgic treat for anyone who grew up in the '90s. Anytime I hear the opening riff to "Cannonball" I'm brought back to my high school days watching videos on MTV's "120 Minutes". But they certainly haven't been the easiest band to keep tabs on in recent years. Between the sometimes long gaps in albums, the drugs and the record label issues it is hard to know when the next time we will get to see them will be.
Thankfully, the alternative superstars just kicked off a summer tour, leaving 4AD and self-releasing their newest album Fate to Fatal. This follows last year's Mountain Battles. The twins rockThe Metro this Thursday for the post Lollapalooza show week with with indie soul band Whispertown 2000 opening. Doors open at 8. Show starts at 9.
Lucky for you, we have a couple of pairs of tickets to give away, courtesy of the Metro. Be the first two to email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Cannonball" and you and a friend will be headed to the show on Thursday night. [Update: We have our winners! Congrats to Oscar and Sarah!]
Ding Ding! Imagine this: It's Sunday night at Lollapalooza. You're tired and sweaty and dirty and yet totally charged up and ready to rock. Our team of writers has the picks of which what stages will be bliss and which stages are best to miss. Read on for more.
The Arctic Monkeys have come a long way from their humble days of Myspace darlings back in 2005. With the rise of their brash and infectious hit "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," the band found themselves touring around the world, including a plethora of festival dates. The band should feel right at home this weekend when they head into town to play Lollapalooza.
They're also one of the many acts this weekend playing small intimate shows while in town. The band is headlining a show Friday night at the Metro before heading to Grant Park Saturday. Obviously the show is sold out, but Gapers Block has a pair for one lucky winner. Just be the first to email us at contests@gapersblock.comwith the subject line "Monkeys!" and you'll be on your way to the show Friday night at the Metro. Update! We have a winner! Congrats to Gordon!
The band is getting ready to release their third album, Humbug, and have been listening to a lot of '60s psychedelic rock and working with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and these factors show in their new dark and lush sound. Check out the first single "Crying Lighting" below.
Day three in our previews of what to hit and what to quit at Lollapalooza this weekend. The forecast is looking hot and steamy, and so are some of these bands! Keep reading for more on our favorite upcoming stage clashes on Saturday night.
Here we go with the second installment of our set-to-set matchup of Lollapalooza's bands. Today's battles rage on as Friday and Saturday's music starts to heat up. Keep reading for our picks on what to hear when.
I've often said that music festivals are a marathon, not a sprint, and should be eased into with much pre-festival calf stretching. That being said, we're going to give you a full week of Lollapalooza performer previews, each geared to help you choose which stage to spend your time during which set. We're not going strictly chronological here, but we're kind of teasing it out each day this week so check back often.
OK, here we go: It's Lollapalooza 2009: Band vs. Band!
A raucous band of cellos. A tuba concerto. A double bass concerto. May is Low Register Month (you didn't know?), and the deep-voiced instruments are full of surprises and rare appearances. Plus, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra kicks off its Keys to the City piano festival. If you survive NATO and Mother's Day Brunch, come back for June.
Over the last year, numerous publications have reviewed 
When it comes to bands who name themselves to be a Googling challenge, there are few who make better music under a blander name than 
Somebody described 
There aren't a whole lot of indie-rock superstars who have English degrees. But 
Our staff is pretty excited about the upcoming 
![JODYWATLEY_OFFICIAL[1].JPG](http://gapersblock.com/transmission/JODYWATLEY_OFFICIAL%5B1%5D.JPG)
