By: Heidi Peters PhotographyMountain Goats. What is it? A band? A person? Possiblya small cult?In any case, it was clear from the get-go that the fans are "all in", knowing words and subtleties acrossa vast catalog of songs.Prolific songwriter John Darnielle assembled crew of crack musicians for this run, with drummer Jon Wurster,...

By: Philamonjaro StudioRouge Electro Swing Chicago, Calliope Presents and Calliope Festivalteamed up to create aneo-vintage circussideshow, combining music and spectacle on stage at Reggie's. The joint was hopping until close to a full house of steampunk and retro vaudeville clad dancers and revelers, egging on the side show antics by Philadelphia's Squidling Brothers Sideshow,...

By: Philamonjaro StudioHLOS, the UK trio comprised of Lotti Benardout, Arthur Delaney and Dom Goldsmith played their first Chicago show supporting their debut recording on Matador Records. Full Circle was released last month and on the heels of showcasing at SXSW, they drew a sizablecrowd of both eager fans in-the-making and educated fans-in-the-know.The band's...

Photos: Mandy Pichler PhotographyI first became aware of Steve Kimock as he was touring with the West Coast collective Zero in the early 90s. I became further intrigued throughout a series of collaborations with members of the Grateful Dead in the late 90s. But I truly went "all-in" on Kimock via his instrumental, four-piece SKBs...

Photos: Kristine Condon PhotographyRemember the Quentin Tarantino films Kill Bill Vols 1 & 2?A slice of shocking, pulpy, ultraviolent art, the moviesfeatured an incredible instrumental cut on the soundtrack entitled"Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" by a little known band called Tomoyasu Hotei.It is an epic, sweeping instrumental with a hard edge and a bit...

By: Heidi Peters PhotographyTwo complementary singer-songwriters -- with slightly different styles, but both grounded in a bluesy countrified folk -- joined forces as a co-billed event at Chicago's City Winery for two nights this week.It's clear that both Langhorne Slim and Joe Pug have drunk from the Bob Dylan well, bringing a literate approach...

By: Mandy Pichler PhotographyDavid Grisman will spend 2016 touring in a variety of configurations, but it was the Sextet that recorded his first album of originals in over a decade, and who he played a pair of shows at City Winery with. A packed house delighted in the bluegrass / jazz hybrid known as Dawg music,...

By: Philamonjaro StudioMagic!Attending the first of two Mavis Staples concerts at Thalia Hall seemed to have that special something -- the sold-outroom was electric. These werefirst Chicago performances since the release ofthe HBO documentary Mavis! and new album Livin' On A High Note, and like most, theyfelt like a homecoming and a triumphantreturn.How...

A funny thing happened on the way to this post. I almost didn't publishit.Frequent contributor, photographer Howard Greenblatt, offered photos of Toronzo Cannon's CD Release Party at Fitzgerald's in Berwyn.Now I rarely turn down fine photos, but I just wasn't familiar with Cannon's work, and Howard had already published them on his Facebook...

By: Philamonjaro StudioAs the Whos musical entourage assembled in Chicago for their March 10th United Center concert, hardcore fans came out for an intimate evening with Simon Townshend.In a very different role as second guitarist with The Who, this night Simon performed his own music. A front-and-center set of solo acoustic arrangements peppered with...