Words / Photos: Alex Wood (see Alex's thoughts on the Thursday show here)Despite Neutral Milk Hotel playing the same songs as Thursdays show, their second Riviera date was equally stunning.Though the songs were the same, the set list was not.Jeff Mangum approached the microphone alone for opener King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1. After...

Words / Photos: Alex Wood (see Alex's Friday night review here)Before Neutral Milk Hotels Jeff Mangum appeared on the stage at the Riviera, it was clear that the show was to be one of a kind.Three hand saws of various lengths lay propped against Julian Kosters amplifier at the front of the stage, arranged...

Update [3/19] Phase Two is announced. See how I did on speculation and read some healthy skepticism HERE.Update [6/9] Phase Three is announced. More Info about the final headliner and the mysterious Lunar Landing Conspiracy.Here's something I never would have thought last summer the Midwest is getting another jamband camping megafest. While Summer Camp owns...

Cold enough for you?Yes, it's been a particularly brutal winter, but festival season is a mere three months away. Wait three months?How about a sniff early? Old Shoe, festival mainstays and hosts of the fabulous Shoe Fest, bring the second edition of their winter event "Snow Shoe" north to Chicago.February 15th at...

Greensky Bluegrass just wrapped the first leg of their 2014 tour. There have been many miles put on the van since they played the second gig of the tour in Chicago as a part of the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival, but this recording has surfaced just in time to keep us warm until the next...

Last summer, Paul Abella reached out to me about writing up some notes for his band's upcoming release A Change In Plans. As it turned out, the band decided to go in another direction, holding off my liner notes debut indefinitely, but only after I had written up my summary. Since Paul had been an...

The legendary Steve Earle will play run of acoustic shows at City Winery later this month. To preview those shows, we take a deeper look at a show from Old Town School a decade ago for our Retro Jamming series.In 2003, Steve Earle was between two socially conscious albums, Jerusalem and The Revolution Starts Now,...

Ween's Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween) has made Chicago a regular stopping place these days. First, he dropped in unexpectedly with The Pod, our local Ween tribute band in September. Then, he found himself at Cubby Bear with his Moistboyz project in December.On February 4th, The Pod was billed with a VERY SPECIAL GUEST...

This installment of Notes From The Jazz Underground features the playlist based on the January 3rd show.The prior two weeks celebrated Frank Zappa and John Scofield. This week: wall to wall John McLaughlin in celebration of his 72nd birthday. Seven decades leads to a ton of variety and many collaborations, so dig in to...

The Barns love for Todd Snider runs deep. A classic American troubadour, he has travelled the country countless times over, building his legacy as an epic stoner storyteller. He is a Swiss Army knife of a musician, as comfortable playing by himself in an acoustic setting as he is fronting the plugged-in Great American Taxi....