Apr 25, 2014
This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of Stop Making Sense, easily one of the greatest concert films in history. To celebrate, Chicago Talking Heads Tribute band This Must Be The Band are recreating the film as a live stage act at the Pageant in St. Louis tonight. As a bit of warm-up, and a treat...
Apr 15, 2014
Lotus kicked off a short Spring tour in Chicago with a two-night run at the Riviera Theater. Playing two full sets each night, their sound and their production has truly grown into these mid-size theaters, stretching there jams and inspiring the packed house until 2 a.m.Rickie Kostiner was on hand for the second of...
Apr 14, 2014
Words / Photos: Alex WoodThe garage and punk rock genres have seen a massive influx of talent in recent years, and The Mens show at The Empty Bottle felt like a celebration of the music scenes embrace.Both openers were local and put on tremendous shows, full of energy and attitude, as though they represented the...
Apr 9, 2014
One of our contributors, photographer Rickie Kostiner, had a busy night on Saturday, April 5th. After catching KarlD and the Tiny Universe, she popped over to Concord Music Hall for some late night fun with Papadosio.Papadosio has been steadily building an audience over the last few years, the packed room certainly spoke volumes about...
Apr 7, 2014
Karl Denson and the Tiny Universe mixed up material from their latest release, New Ammo, with a handful of classics at Park West on Saturday night.Our photographer, Rickie Kostiner, caught this set as a part of a big night (look for more from her to come). Check out her handiwork and the complete setlist...
Apr 4, 2014
Words / Photos: Alex WoodWith the excellent 2013 release White Lighter, Typhoon perfected their indie sound with well-written tracks and clean production. However, listeners of the studio album wouldnt guess it was an eleven-piece band making the music.For their performance at The Metro, there was no doubt.Two drummers and a percussionist played atop one another...
Apr 1, 2014
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound may be the most versatile band on the Chicago scene. Judging from list of stages they've graced over the last few months -- from Montrose Room to the Metro and from North Coast to Taste Of Randolph -- their appeal extends far and wide, and they are leaving a...
Mar 21, 2014
Photos: Rickie KostinerEast met West, when two rising progressive bluegrass stars brought their tour through Chicago on Wednesday night. The Infamous Stringdusters hail from Charlottesville, Virginia and Fruition has been tearing up the West Coast from their Oregon home base. But there's nothing middle-of-the-road about their music, which features fierce picking, smooth vocals and a...
Mar 11, 2014
Not even fatherhood can keep a good man down.While Jeff Austin sat out a recent Yonder Mountain String Band run to stay home with his newborn daughter, he couldn't resist just a small run of shows with The Here & Now at the beginning of March, marking some of the last scheduled appearances for...
Mar 11, 2014
I think I might have discovered the most fun job in the music business: the guy who makes up the names for the FiyaWerx productions super jams.In concert with Chicago's SilverWrapper, the team that conceived of FiyaFest, FiyaWater, FiyaAid, and WildFiya brought Bone Boys Living Funk Addiction -- a mashup of players and styles...