Words / Photo: Alex WoodPerhaps my expectations were too high, or perhaps seeing both Neil Youngs sparse acoustic set and The Nationals over-the-top performance at the Chicago Theatre in the past few weeks spoiled me, but Neko Case left me underwhelmed.The outstanding songwriting was there, and Cases voice sounded strong as ever, but the six-piece...

This installment of Notes From The Jazz Underground features the playlist based on the Februrary 14th show.The Valentine's Day show wasn't exactly about love, in fact it wasn't necessarily about anything.NFTJU host Paul Abella interviewed Shawn Maxwell about his new band -- a 10 piece band with two bassists, two french horns, two saxophones...

The unlikely pairing of Aimee Mann and Ted Leo -- now collectively known as The Both -- brought their tour to Chicago's Metro on Saturday night. The set included tunes from the duo's debut album, as well as a tender take on Mann's Academy Award nominated "Save Me".YouTuber Sojahsey1 was on hand to document...

Words: Alex WoodPhotos: Alex Wood & Tom HarmonEdward David Andersons album release show at Martyrs' was about more than his new full-length, Lies & Wishes. It felt like an odd family reunion, old friends gathering together joyously to see Anderson perform with a band after years of patiently waiting.Yet perhaps the most joyous member...

Words / Photos: Alex WoodWoods headlining show at the Subterranean was a sort of psychedelic extravaganza, a night full of flangers, phasers, reverb and guitar effects.Local opener Bike Cop sounded as many young psych bands do, using barre-chords to churn out simplistic garage-rock riffs, songs stretching out horizontally for minutes without changing.The four-piece played...

Words: Justin & Alex WoodPhotos: Justin WoodThough typically known for his affiliation with Stax Records and the M.G.s, Booker T Jones show at City Winery covered the artists entire career.Focusing as much on collaborations and influences as on original songs, the set was full of surprises.Backed by a three-piece band, Booker...

I'm pleased to have so many incredible photography contributors to the site, but I'm going to be frank for a second... With the majority of our coverage leaning towards frumpy, static jambands, geriatric classic rockers and shoe gazing, lo-fi indie bands, every now and then we could use some images to spice things up.Enter...

Byrds founder, and Chicago native, Roger McGuinn returned to the area last Saturday, performing a long set of solo and acoustic tunes at the Beverly Arts Center.The material leaned heavily on tracks recorded during his solo career, but not surprisingly featured a handful of Byrds tunes (as well as the Dylan and Pete Seeger...

Pioneering indie band Yo La Tengo took the stage as a part of CIMM (Chicago International Music and Movies) Fest on Thursday at Concord Music Hall. Billed with guest Phil Cohran, an original trumpeter of the Sun Ra Arkestra, the band played a few Ra covers.They also welcomed Chicago musician Mark Greenberg for a...

I'm trying something new that will hopefully allow me to defer some of the site's costs and maybe even expand a bit.I've created a few parody T-shirt designs and have a few more in the hopper. If you'd like to support the site, please consider making a purchase. Click any image to be taken...