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World Music Fest: Ragamala, Tanya Tagaq and Zedashe
World Music Fest Chicago, a festival of free concerts featuring musicians from around the world, finished up tonight. The five events I attended were outstanding, making me wish I’d had a chance to...
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Bluebird
The great, mysterious and powerful Canadian band Godspeed You! Black Emperor is not stopping in Chicago on its current tour. This is why I decided to make the trek on Monday night, Sept. 21, all the...
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Patrick Watson at Lincoln Hall
The Montreal musician Patrick Watson returned on Monday, Sept. 28, to Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, where I saw him perform in 2012. (I also saw him at Schubas back in 2009.) I’d overlooked his recent album...
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Salad Boys, Clearance and American Breakfast at the Owl
The New Zealand band Salad Boys made one of my favorite recent records, the deceptively titled debut album Metalmania — which doesn’t sound the least bit like heavy metal. It’s sunny, tuneful rock with...
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Algiers at the Empty Bottle
Algiers — a band of Atlanta natives based in London — released a powerful self-titled debut album this summer. The music has been described as “dystopian soul,” and I can see why. Vocalist Franklin...
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Nobunny, Pookie & Slushy at Bric-a-Brac
Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles, a shop in Avondale just north of Logan Square, is really getting to be the go-to spot for free garage and punk rock performances. On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 11,...
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The Ex at Lincoln Hall
The Ex, a Dutch art-punk band that’s been around since 1979, returned to Chicago for the first time in four years, playing on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Lincoln Hall. As a bonus, the band included one of...
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Drinks at the Empty Bottle
Welsh singer-songwriter-guitarist Cate Le Bon has moved way beyond her early acoustic songs. Her solo music got spikier and stranger — and then she turned up as an additional touring member of the...
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Joan Shelley and Doug Paisley at Szold Hall
The Louisville, Ky., singer-songwriter Joan Shelley has a strong contender for my album of the year: Over and Even, which came out in September on the No Quarter label. The beautiful folk songs from...
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White Hills at the Red Line Tap
After the Joan Shelley-Doug Paisley show last Thursday, Nov. 5, at Szold Hall, I headed up to the Red Line Tap to catch a concert by the Thrill Jockey band White Hills (which was featured performing on...
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Favorite albums of 2015
I could say this about almost any year: I heard a lot of great music in 2015 — and I surely missed even more. As I wrestled with the decision about what to include in this list, I kept thinking, Well,...
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Vulgar Boatmen at Schubas
Way back on April 21, 1990, I saw the Vulgar Boatmen perform a free in-store set at the old Reckless Records store on Broadway — playing songs from their 1989 debut album, You and Your Sister. It’s an...
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The Go! Team at Lincoln Hall
It was nearly a decade since the last time I saw the Go! Team — when the British group played at Lollapalooza in 2006 — and that’s just too long to go without the exuberance of this delightful band....
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Paul McCartney at Lollapalooza 2015
A flashback to last summer: Here are my photos of Paul McCartney performing July 31, 2015, at Lollapalooza, with a guest appearance by Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes on the song “Get Back.”
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Twin Peaks at Lollapalooza 2015
This was one of my favorite sets during last summer’s Lollapalooza — a fun and lively show by Chicago’s own Twin Peaks.
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Chicago Psych Fest
For the seventh year, the Hideout hosted Chicago Psych Fest last week, with three nights of music from the more experimental, trippy end of the rock spectrum. What does “psychedelic” mean these days,...
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Stomatopod, the Rutabega and Thoughts Detecting Machine at the Empty Bottle
On Sunday, Jan. 31, the Chicago trio Stomatapod headlined an early show at the Empty Bottle — yes, an actual early show at the Empty Bottle, believe it or not — and it turned out to be a strong lineup...
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Disappears, Negative Scanner and Hide at the Empty Bottle
The Chicago band Negative Scanner made one of my favorite records last year — just narrowly missing out on my top 10. Released by the top-notch local label Trouble in Mind, Negative Scanner’s...
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Royal Brat and Mr. Ma’am at Bric-a-Brac
On Saturday, Feb. 20, Bric-a-Brac Records hosted another one of its fun in-store punk/garage rock performances. Chicago’s Mr. Ma’am played the first set, followed by Royal Brat from Minneapolis. The...
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Bitchin Bajas at the Hideout
On Tuesdays in February, the Hideout hosted a residency of concerts featuring Chicago musician Rob Frye. I was there on Feb. 23, when he performed as part of Bitchin Bajas, an instrumental drone group...
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