Where to start with the weekend's music? I could easily reel off a laundry list of highlights:The amazing "Scent" duel on Friday, with Fish contacting other worlds on the marimba lumina. The balls deep transition from "Theme" into "Weekapaug". A contained, but smoking "Piper". The fine improv in "Light" that threatened "Timber Ho" for...

Further, the band, and their equipment were much more exposed than they would have been in a permanent structure in these conditions. Where the show may have gone on in Sunday's storm at Alpine or Deer Creek, there was nothing else to do but stop the music and batten down the hatches for everybody's safety....

Words / Photos: Dave WecksteinOn the night before a three night Phish run at a brand new venue, the sweltering Chicago night was heavy with promise and anticipation. Fortunately, for those hearty souls willing to let loose early, Old Shoe, Robert's Plant, and Herbert Wiser Band provided a space for early revelry the Cubby Bear. Playing...

With only four acts, and one stage (in a soccer stadium), AmericanramA was a far cry from festivals, even the traveling ones, that have been insinuating themselves on the music industry these days. But with an indisputable legend on the top line and ample time allocated for the big name support, it seemed too good...

Words: @312MRGPhotos: Adam McCall PhotographyOne of the joys of getting to write about live music for this blog is the preparation. Getting myself acclimated to an artist that I only have topical knowledge and appreciation for, requires more than casual listening. While writing, I hope to project grounded and respectful confidence in the subject knowing...

When they do break through, audiences will find themselves with something amazing: an impeccable studio band that can back up the goods live. Even this show clocked in at about 80 minutes while only scratching the surface of their fine three album catalog. Where the gig I caught in April felt more like a showcase of...

I'm tempted to write about every anniversary of every amazing musical experience I've ever had. Most go unwritten, eliciting just a hint of pleasant nostalgia, some are acknowledged via tweet, but some just wrestle around in my brain until they receive the full treatment.Spring of 1998 was a pretty amazing time to find yourself neck...

The music of Led Zeppelin occupies a rarified air. With a songbook asbeloved as any seminal rock band, and an outsized mythology that seems to revereits members to the point of forgiving their generalaloofness, they find themselves in a comfortable zone -- able to maintain mystique and prestige aming their diehard fanslong after the initialdiscovery...

I've heard so much shit talking about The Rolling Stones lately. Sure, I get it. They're old (really old), worse for wear, nostalgia-driven, no longer "relevant". The tickets are priced astronomically. They play large, inpersonal mega-arenas. The jokes write themselves.Honestly, when the 50 and Counting tour was announced I had no intention of coming anywhere...

Contributed By Mike Guzaski @312mrgAfter a week of crazy news, torrential rainfall and accompanying flooding, on Saturday (4/20!) Chicagoans were ready to let loose and liberate their inner animals. Animal Liberation Orchestra blew (both) doors off the Double Door with a explosive celebration of sound that balanced classics and newer material. From the moment they took...