Jeff Mangum returns
Jeff Mangum is surrounded by mystique. He’s one of those musicians who stop making music and giving interviews, causing people to wonder …
Ida at Saki
Four and a half years have passed since the last time indie folk-rock band Ida played in Chicago. And the group hasn’t …
Thee Silver Mt. Zion at Lincoln Hall
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra makes stirring, majestic rock music with a strong orchestral sound that rivals anything else today. Few …
Glen Campbell’s Goodbye Tour
Glen Campbell is running out of time. We’re all running out of time, but with Glen Campbell, you really know it. In …
Cheyenne Marie Mize at Schubas
The Louisville singer-songwriter Cheyenne Marie Mize has performed with Will Oldham, and now she’s establishing a solo career of her own. Her …
Plants and Animals at Schubas
The Montreal band Plants and Animals doesn’t easily fit into any of the typical rock genres. Their music has a bit of …
Secret Colours, Apteka and E+
The psychedelic Chicago band Secret Colours celebrated the release of its new EP with a show Jan. 7 at the Empty Bottle, …
The Flat Five at the Hideout
I’m catching up on some recent concert photos — or not so recent, as the case may be. Here are some pictures …
Best Albums of 2011
The album is still king for me. In an age of singles, these albums were my favorites of 2011. I heard plenty …
Favorite concert photos of 2011
These are my favorites out of the photos I took at concerts in 2011.
Best concerts of 2011
These are my favorite musical performances that I saw in 2011, with quotes from my original blog posts. 1. ALABAMA SHAKES (Dec. …
Alabama Shakes at the Hideout
The only music they’ve released so far is a four-song EP, but Alabama Shakes are already getting a lot of attention. They …
Woods at Subterranean
The New York band Woods was back in Chicago last week (Dec. 10) at Subterranean, with what seemed to be a temporary …
Wilco at the Riviera
Although I missed Wilco’s concert Monday at the Civic Opera House, the band’s website helpfully provides not just a set list, but …
Rocket From the Tombs at the Empty Bottle
This is one of the most unlikely reunions in the long history of rock ‘n’ roll reunions. Rocket From the Tombs was …
Karkwa at Schubas
The sparse attendance Tuesday night (Dec. 6) at Schubas confirmed my suspicion that few Americans know anything about the French-Canadian rock band …
M. Ward at Schubas
One of the first times I saw M. Ward perform in concert was at Schubas. It was Feb. 25, 2005, and the …
Mannequin Men and Vee Dee
The two Chicago bands playing at the Hideout Saturday night have been around for a few years, but they’ve both just released …
Thee Oh Sees at the Empty Bottle
California’s Thee Oh Sees are one of the best live rock bands at this moment. After delivering strong performances last year at …
Ray Davies at the Chicago Theatre
Belatedly catching up now on something I intended to blog about earlier… The legendary Kinks frontman and one of the all-time great …
Wooden Shjips at the Empty Bottle
Wooden Shjips headlined Saturday night (Nov. 5) at the Empty Bottle, and their set was all about getting into one mesmerizing groove …
Le Butcherettes at Subterranean
Le Butcherettes inspired some rave reviews from people who saw them play at SXSW and Lollapalooza this year, and it’s easy to …
Chicago Film Festival in Review
Reviews of films I saw at the recently finished 2011 Chicago International Film Festival. As always, some of these will be in …
Occupy Chicago, October 22, 2011
I observed the Occupy Chicago protest Saturday night, Oct. 22, at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway. Some scenes:
Dum Dum Girls + Crocodiles
It’s pretty obvious by now that Girl Groups are back — and I don’t just mean rock bands with female singers and …
Portishead at the Aragon
A long absence makes the legend grow. And when Portishead hibernated for a decade — releasing no records and doing no tours …
Chicago’s theater season off to a strong start
Chicago’s fall theater season opened over the past few weeks with a flurry of major opening nights that might make you feel …
Mekons do Pecha Kucha at SPACE
Leave it up to the Mekons to stretch the concept of a concert into strange realms yet again. Touring to promote their …
Tribute to Diane Izzo
Singer-songwriter Diane Izzo, a former Chicagoan, died of cancer in February at the age of 43. Many of her friends and musical …
Cultivate Festival
The Chipotle restaurant chain has its very own “music director”? Yes, it does. And he was DJing Saturday (Oct. 1) at the …
An Interview with Sally Timms
The Mekons have a strong new album, Ancient and Modern, and the band plays Tuesday (Oct. 4) at Evanston SPACE and Wednesday …
Oval at the MCA
The German electronic music artist Oval (aka Markus Popp) makes intricate, odd little shards of sound. On his 2010 album O the …
Hideout Block Party
The Hideout celebrated its 15th anniversary in true Hideout style, with a day full of top-notch music. Even the weather turned out …
Some Hideout prehistory
The Hideout celebrates its 15th anniversary with the annual outdoor show known as the Hideout Block Party this Saturday. And tonight, there’s …
The Raincoats at the Double Door
It’s hard to believe that the legendary punk (or post-punk?) band the Raincoats, which formed in the late ’70s, had never played …
The Necks at the Hungry Brain
Chicago’s Hungry Brain hosts improvisational music every Sunday — jazz and other hard-to-define sounds — with help from the Umbrella Music organization. …
Charles Bradley at Brilliant Corners
Another one of the year’s standout records is No Time for Dreaming by Charles Bradley, a terrific soul singer in the style …
Bill Callahan at Brilliant Corners
Cryptic singer-songwriter Bill Callahan’s record Apocalypse is one of the year’s best, and his new songs sounded brilliant Friday night (Sept. 16) …
Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements
A new festival made its debut in Chicago this past weekend: Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements, which combined rock and world music …
Richard Thompson at Evanston Space
For a long time now, Richard Thompson has been one of the best singer-songwriter-guitarists around, and if you’ve ever seen him live, …
Soul Train 40th anniversary concert
Given how popular the TV series Soul Train was for so many years, it was no surprise that a huge crowd turned …
NRBQ at FitzGerald’s
NRBQ played a stupendously fun gig Saturday night (Aug. 27) at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, but some folks are bound to wonder: Was …
The War On Drugs at Schubas
It’s been almost three years since the Philadelphia band called The War On Drugs released a great record called Wagonwheel Blues and …
Steve Reich concert in Millennium Park
Composer Steve Reich turns 75 on Oct. 3, and musical ensembles have been celebrating that landmark birthday this year by performing Reich’s …
High Places and Magic Key at Logan Square
The Empty Bottle sponsored another one of its free concerts at the Illinois Centennial Monument in Logan Square on Sunday, this time …
Finding music at Found Sound: Chicago
One of the summer’s most intriguing musical events in Chicago took place Saturday (Aug. 13). The venue? Various porches, backyards, storefronts and …
My Brightest Diamond at Millennium Park
My Brightest Diamond, aka Shara Worden, deftly bridges the realms of indie rock and classical music. She once aspired to be an …
Iceage, Metz and Anatomy of Habit
Thanks in part to a rave review on Pitchfork, the Danish band Iceage is getting some buzz. These very young noise-punk-rockers from …
The Last Straw returns
One of the bands that introduced me to alt-country — or whatever you want to call old-fashioned acoustic American string music — …
Cass McCombs and Lower Dens at the Hideout
During his July 25 concert at Millennium Park, Ted Leo gave the audience some good advice about what to do later that …