Features Stories

To Terrapin | A Chat With Old Shoe's Matt Robinson

Planning a race on the eve of the final run of Grateful Dead shows goes a long way to draw in fans of the band -- but adding the right musical entertainment for the post show party, that's the secret sauce.The organizers of Terrapin 5K seemed to have lucked into finding Old Shoe, one...

Review / Video | Mike Gordon @ The Vic 6/13/15

On a stormy June night with the Blackhawks battling in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, a few hundred Phish fans decided to put it all aside and converge on The Vic Theatre in Lakeview spend a long evening with Mike Gordon. As I looked around the the assembled crowd on that Saturday night, I...

Weekend In Review | Greensky Bluegrass @ Bell's Beer Garden 2015

There was a time -- when I'd first started hearing about Greensky Bluegrass but before I'd actually heard their music -- that I just assumed they were from Colorado. The Rocky Mountain state is ground zero for a certain flavor of jam grass that leans heavily on toying with form and healthy improvisation that, on...

Review | The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir

The Bob Weir documentary debuted on Netflix in May.  In lieu of a full review, I did a review in five tweets from @thebarnpresents twitter account.  I am collecting them here for website readers, but be sure to give us a follow on social media so you don't miss anything! There is...

Review / Photos: Bonobo & Nightmares On Wax @ Concord 5/30/15

Words: Mitch Osborne | Photos: Rickie KostinerConcord Music Hall can be counted on for variety and quality. On Saturday night, a packed house came out to the venue ready to groove to smooth-rhythm DJ sets from of Nightmares on Wax and Bonobo. Since summer seems to be playing its hand in a rather maddening game of...

A Review: Summer Camp Sunday

In its 15thyear, Summer Camp Music Festival has become something of a rite of passage for midwestern music fans. Drawing probably 60 / 40 from jamband fans and EDM lovers -- there is some obvious crossover but certainly enough of each to keep staunch supporters (or deniers) of each camp pretty happy over the course of three days...

Review / Full Show Video | The Who @ Allstate Arena 5/13/15

By Matt FricksAnother one of musics iconic groups celebrated a fifty-year anniversary in the best way possible: a full tour honoring their decades of music. The Who and graced the Allstate Arena Wednesday night with a setlist jam-packed with hits, a stunning stage setup, and surprisingly elaborate performance.I was lucky to score some free...

Review / Video / Stream / Download | Joe Russo's Almost Dead @ Concord Music Hall 4/24/15

There are terms that youll often hear me use to describe my peak musical experiences:  lose yourself, surrender to the music, "let go". I suppose these terms mean different things to different people, but for me they are tied intimately with the ability to wrap my head around what is being performed, to make...

Review / Setlist / Video | Crosby Stills & Nash @ Chicago Theatre 5/5/15

By: Alex Wood | Videos:zoothorn99Though many bands from the 60s and 70s are still touring today, few have displayed the vitality and vigor of Crosby, Stills & Nash. For their first night at the Chicago Theatre, the trio played a massive set to an ecstatic audience, each song a reminder of what made the...

Album Reviews | April 2015 Releases

Umphreys McGee- The London Session [4/7]Recorded in a single day at the famed Abbey Road Studio 2, The London Session finds Umphreys in top form. Perhaps it was due to the historic space or the pressure of time constraints, but the songs on The London Session are Umphreys best studio tracks in years, the record combining...