If such a day should ever occur that music ceases to elicit joy from listeners and musicians alike, I hereby nominate Shara Worden, of My Brightest Diamond, to be immediately dispatched onto the scene. She manages to pack more passion and stage presence, within her tiny frame, than droves of indie rock bands combined. Although, in defense to these particular indie rock bands she is also far more talented.
Continue reading "The Decemberists w/ My Brightest Diamond @ The Riviera 4/18/07" »
Remember when punk was about community, music, and beer - preferably a music community that drank a lot of beer? Chicago's newest wave of punk rock have taken that vision to heart. On May 6th Chicago's Das Kapital will return from tour to a loft show/party/BBQ featuring beer, hot dogs, and 6+ bands - all for $5.
The "1st Annual Sunday Afternoon Hot dog Feast and Punk Rock Matinee" will be held at 1278 N. Milwaukee, a short walk from the Division stop on the Blue Line. So far Das Kapital, Sass Dragons, Bread and Bottle, Tom Tom Petty, Vacation Bible School, and Danger Boy have been confirmed.
///The boys in the tailored suits, Interpol, are back with their third album on June 10th. Now if only they would release things like a title, track list, and cover art. It is assumed that they will entrust Matador to continue distributing and cashing in on their releases. [Thanks, Aversion]
///Thom Yorke has posted a typically cryptic message on his bands official Dead Air Space blog. He hints that Radiohead's follow-up album to 2003's Hail to the Thief is nearing completion. Due to the cryptic nature, at this juncture it is important to quote:
radiohead starts up again having finally caught up on some sleep next week
i have a cd of what we;'ve been up to...
and you haven't.
yet.
(sorry)
While it is possible that Yorke means something entirely different and much less exciting, nonetheless I'm near giddy. [Thanks, Pfork]
///Modest Mouse bassist Eric Judy told Billboard that he would like to finish the leftover songs from the bands most recent albums and release them as their own release. One of the songs left off the band's most recent release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, tells a survivor tale that many of the other songs on the album tie into. Read more at Billboard.
It's a rare occasion when you stumble upon a band with a multitude of talent and creativity that gets you excited about the music they are creating, such is the experience I had after listening to an advance copy of White Rabbits' forthcoming album Fort Nightly, which is set to be released May 22 on Say Hey Records. Fort Nightly is loaded with eleven charismatic tracks that traverse a grandiose landscape of musical genres and influences, you'll hear hearty doses of UK ska and blue-eyed soul on rich sonic layers of piano-infused indie rock. Bringing to mind the likes of The Specials, The Walkmen (early), Cold War Kids, some post-Libertines Doherty, and a touch of Man Man on some of the instrumentation and interludes. White Rabbits will be at Schubas tonight (4/24), where they are set to open up for Richard Swift, if you can't make it, you'll definitely want to check them out when they come back in June with Mystery Jets. Video and download after the jump!!
This past Friday saw the return of Japanese instrumental rock outfit Mono to the Empty Bottle, joined by fellow Japanese multi-instrumentalist Word’s End Girlfriend and San Fran jazz/dub/rock group The Drift . Overall, a loud night of wordless music played to a house that was 80% male.
Continue reading "Mono, World's End Girlfriend, The Drift @ Empty Bottle 4/20/2007" »
James Iha denies any involvement with Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins reunion, which leads us to the question....What does he do with his time?
Well, besides running his own record label, Iha has recently remixed one of his signees, Midnight Movies on their track "Patient Eye." Without Billy lurking over his shoulder trying to figure out how to re-record the parts himself, Iha was able to take his time and lay down some extra back beats and intricate slide guitar. While it definitely doesn't compare to that screeching guitar solo on "Zero," it compliments the song just fine for movie music (I imagine the Matrix with a bit more color). Midnight Movies' sophomore full-length, Yours to Keep, drops today courtesy of Iha's Scratchie Records.
If you are single and lonely this is the year for you. It is the year of the female singer/songwriter. Joanna Newsom, Neko Case, Amy Winehouse, The Last Town Chorus, Jolie Holland, and Feist are all lighting up your favorite blog and small to mid-sized venue. Some of these women even jumped the gun and made some of last years Best of the Year lists. If you like 'em, we got a couple of sure fire dates for you.
Amy Winehouse was going to play at the cramped, but classy, Schubas until her May 3rd show was moved to the The Vic. Tickets are $19, before surcharges.
Feist has also announced U.S. Tour dates with Grizzly Bear as an opener. Her sophomore solo album called The Reminder will drop on May 1st. You can see her at the Vic as well. She'll be dropping by on June 19th.
Well, Lollapalooza has added a few names to it's lineup list on their Myspace page. Kinky, I'm From Barcelona, John Paul White, Tom Schraeder, & The Postmarks have been slipped in there pass all but the scrutinizing eye. It seems they are continuing the trend of snatching up smaller bands that might have been more cozy on the Pitchfork or defunct Intonation bills, though I am not complaining. I'm glad to see they're bringing the Swedes who claim they're from Spain to Chicago.
Like 'em or not, the Smashing Pumpkins are/were inextricably one of Chicago's greatest band success stories. After failing royally with the universally panned Zwan project and a universally ignored solo album, Billy Corgan is hoping to recapture the magic with the July 7th release of Zeitgeist, the first Pumpkins album since 2000. As you've probably heard (or had at least probably guessed), Jimmy Chamberlin is back in the fold but James Iha, D'arcy and/or Mellisa Auf de Maur are not. No music has been leaked yet, but on Friday we got the first official glimpse of Pumpkins v2.0 as Billboard.com reported the track listing for the new record:
Doomsday Clock
7 Shades of Black
Orchid
That's the Way
Tarantula
Starz
United States
Never Lost
Bring the Light
Come On (Let's Go)
For God and Country
Pomp and Circumstance
You can check out the band on a number of festival dates that all completely miss Chicago. Thanks.
The Black Godfather RETURNS! and RFC wants to get you on the list for Andre Williams' return appearance at the Beat Kitchen on May 4th, 2007. All you have to do is email your full name to RFCCONTESTS@GMAIL.COM with "The Black Godfather" in the subject line and a winner will be chosen at random to win a +1 guest list spot for the May 4th performance! All entries must be received by Noon on Monday, April 30th.
This is a prime opportunity to see the legendary performer with 50 years of music making under his belt. Andre was a staple of Chicago's Chess Records. Being dubbed "Mr. Rhythm", he recorded and produced at Motown, even co-wrote Stevie Wonder's first song. He made a resurgence in the 90's with Silky produced by Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs). Silky is considered one of the sleaziest records ever made with songs like "Pussy Stank", "Bonin' ", and "Let Me Put It In"; you can hear why (one of my personal favs). He followed that up with a country album Red Dirt backed by The Sadies and 2000 released The Black Godfather , which included collaborations with the likes of Jon Spencer, Steve Mckay, The Dirtbombs, & more.
So, where's he been the past four months? Find out after the jump.
Upstairs tonight at Schubas, members of Office and The 1900s will be dueling it out in a no-holds-barred battle royale on decks!
OK, OK... actually this is more of a friendly exhibition than an actual DJ skillz competition, so no wagering please. Also, while I'd like to believe that this event was inspired by my recent Newcity article, I believe the occasion has more to do with the fact that Office leader Scott Masson used to play in Freer, and that band is in town tonight to play an opening gig downstairs at Schubas. Either way, should be lots of local band love going on tonight upstairs at the house that Schlitz built.
Party starts at 11p...cover charge=FREE
Sorry prog rockers, we're not talking about that Aqualung, but rather the one-man UK pop sensation Matt Hales who adopted Aqualung as his performance moniker (good call, 'Matt Hales' just doesn't sound very exciting). He's playing the Park West this Saturday and the Aqualung swag patrol just dropped off a big prize pack at the RFC offices yesterday. Here's what we got:
-Aqualung hoodie
-Aqualung t-shirt
-A copy of his latest CD: Memory Man
-A hard-copy of Ragged
magazine featuring coverboy Aqualung
You wants to win? Drop a line to radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with 'Aqualung' in the subject line by the end of day on Monday (the 23rd). Don't worry, if you're embarrassed about liking sensitive Coldplay-esque piano rock, you're secret is safe with us. All entries are completely anonymous and all emails will be deleted after the winner is drawn. :)
Check out this story posted by Greg Kot on the Trib:
Apparently the show will be promoted by the Grant Park Music Festival and will also coincide with Metro's 25th anniversary celebration.
The Future Perfect Radio brain trust just got back from the National Association of Broadcasters (aka the NAB) conference in Las Vegas with an extensive update on the fight between Internet radio and the Recording Industry Association of America (aka the RIAA) over music royalty rates. Turns out the RIAA has slated May 15th as the day when ALL royalties from Jan. 1 2006 to Mar. 2 2007 must be paid up by Net broadcasters. Unless something changes, things are going to get real ugly and Internet Radio streams will start dropping like flies next month. For all the important details and info on how to help, go to SaveNetRadio.org.
Hey! All you Tim Buckley Fans, we're giving you a heads up! There will be a special one time screening of the TIM BUCKLEY Documentary, My Fleeting House featuring rare performance and interview footage spanning his entire career at:
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Ave - Chicago , 60625
Saturday, May 12th – 1:00 pm
FREE!
In celebration of this special screening, we will also be giving away an advance DVD copy of My Fleeting House, thanks to MVD Entertainment Group. To enter the contest, send an email to RFCCONTESTS@GMAIL.COM with "Tim Buckley" in the subject line, please include your full name by Noon on Thursday, May 10th, 2007. The winner will be notified via email.
More information about "My Fleeting House" after the jump!!
Continue reading "Free Screening of Tim Buckley Documentary" »
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