Radio Free Chicago

RFC Staff Best Of's - 2007

You know the drill...we're die-hard music geeks, we have a blog and it's the end of the year, so therefore we must share our top 5 lists of best shows and albums for the past 12 months. Read at your leisure and have yourself a delightful new year...

FlosstraDance Party Tonight!

Holidangs got you down? Then, head out to the Abbey Pub tonight and get up with Flosstradamus and Pase Rock ! Cover is only $3, but if you sign up at CamelSmokes.com you can print up a FREE ticket. What better way to work out all that holiday stress, bust it out on the dance floor! It's 18 and over for most of the kiddies, and the turntables will be in the middle of floor, so don't bump the table!

Download: Flosstradamus-"Overnight Star"

Download: Flosstradamus - "Girlie Rock"

 

Cold War Kids w/ We Barbarians & A.A. Bondy @ Metro 12/07/07

Cold War Kids became one of the biggest buzzes of 2006 and have surprisingly kept their momentum up through 2007. With a few EPs, they translated their nuggets into last year's full-length debut, Robbers and Cowards. With performances at SXSW and Lollapalooza this year, the Kids have been ubiquitous spreading their SoCal gritty pop hits like "Hang Me Out to Dry" and "Hospital Beds."

Download - Cold War Kids - "Hang Me Out to Dry"

Metro Loaded with Holiday Cheer This Weekend

www.MetroChicago.com

News and Notes: Lou Reed, Robert Pollard, New Years Eve

//It's a bit of a trip from Chicago, but it looks like Lou Reed will be the keynote speaker at SXSW. His address kicks off the festival on March 13th and is followed by a screening of Julian Schnabel's film "Lou Reed's 'Berlin.'"

///Robert Pollard's collage work was recently hung in a NYC gallery and now can be found (and purchased) on the internet. [Thanks, Aversion]

///Pitchfork has been lame (but helpful) enough to keep track of all the New Years Eve celebrations. They have four listed for Chicago, but if you want to travel LA, San Fransisco, and NYC have a couple things happening as well.

The Sounds @ The Vic 12/18/07

The most daunting thing about walking into the Camel sponsored show at the Vic was to be greeted by glowing neon pink outlines of camels and free makeovers being given to the crowd's 22 year olds, both male and female. Sometimes corporate sponsorship can help a band but it also can hurt a band. After getting past the plastered faces, The Sounds took the stage and everything felt a little more normal. Somewhat.

Download: "Painted By Numbers" - The Sounds

News and Notes: Smashing Pumpkins, The Pogues, Cat Power, PC Users are Robbers, Free Music+Booze Tonite

///During residencies in Asheville and San Fransisco the Smashing Pumpkins have written a few songs that will appear on an acoustic EP available through iTunes on January 2nd.

///The Pogues are coming to the States in March, including 2 dates (the 5th and 6th) at Chicago's Riviera Theatre. [Thanks, Aversion]

///Cat Power and The Dirty Blues will be heading on the road in support of the newest album Jukebox. You can find them at The Vic on February 10th.

///Mac users steal/download for free less music than PC users. A cultural divide? A class divide? Either way the results are pretty (statistically) significant. [Thanks, Brooklyn Vegan]

///Free booze and music alert: MyOpenBar and UR Chicago are hosting a free "Party For No Reason" event tonight at SubT featuring music by Prairie Cartel, Tigercity and Via Audio and free booze courtesy of Bass Ale. RSVP here to get in on the free-ness.

RFC Interview: Mira Mira

Tonight at Martyr's and this weekend at The Empty Bottle (Sun, 23rd) Charlie Williams and Mira Mira will be taking the stage to infuse audiences with one last dose of avant-garde sun-drenched indie-pop before the end of the year. RFC recently caught up with Williams via email to discuss the band's growing roster and the prospects of a new Mira Mira release in early 2008.

Download: Mira Mira - "Try It Sunny"

News and Notes: The Pogues, Amy Winehouse, Rolling Stone Debacle, Casiotone

///There has been some concern over in the United Kingdom over the language used in The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York." The song has been played on various BBC stations over the years, but BBC 1 had made the decision to censor the song. After public outcry, they changed their mind. [Thanks, Stereogum]

///The continuing train wreck that is Amy Winehouse was arrested briefly yesterday. It seems as if she was being interviewed by the police in regards to the case Winehouse's husband is being held and charged for.

///The "indie" bands involved in the Camel/Rolling Stone debacle have filed a lawsuit against the magazine and R.J. Reynolds for "unauthorized use of artists' names; unauthorized use of artist names for commercial advantage (right of publicity); and unfair business practices." [Thanks, PFork]

///Casiotone for the Painfully Alone has posted tracks from two new singles on MySpace. There are also some NW tour dates available.

Allroh @ The Hideout 12/15/07

I didn’t know what to expect of Allroh, who flew into Chicago from Berlin just to play the afternoon Shellac show in a very rare North American performance on Saturday. She gleamed in white and carried a piercing look in her eyes as heavy as a suitcase. As she played those first chords on her electric guitar, I felt a chill in the air shimmy up my spine and it wasn’t from the temperature in the room or anything that remotely tangible. Allroh is a visionary, a fully realized woman who delivered one of the most awe inspiring performances I’ve seen all year.  Between the delicateness of a José González and the raw untamed passion of a younger Polly Jean Harvey (circa Rid of Me) exists a visionary known as Allroh and make no mistake about this…she is brilliant.

Balkan Beat Box @ Logan Square Auditorium 12/7/07

I don’t want to get too personal here but the whole tone of the evening leading up to seeing Balkan Beat Box was replete with the bittersweet. After losing one friend to Seattle, I had to say goodbye to another good friend of mine who is heading west. The way I was feeling, I didn’t even want to take pictures when I entered the large Auditorium. If I hadn’t been with him, I was in the sort of mood to be by myself all alone drinking tea and sulking to Belle and Sebastian. It’s fairly crucial that I mention all of this because it shouldn’t be understated how dramatically Balkan Beat Box lifted my mood that night. I went from despondent to dancing in the geography of about an hour.

Video Free Chicago: Holiday Fun with QOTSA and Anthony Bourdain

News and Notes: Worst Band Names, The Hold Steady, Christmas in Darfur, RIP Dan Fogelberg

///Tonight Chicagoans Jim Milak and Jason Moica (both of The Fighters) spent some time at the beginning of the year traveling the world and making a film about the aide workers to the genocide in Darfur. It's called Christmas in Darfur. Tonight the film will be screened at The Hideout at 8pm for $5.

///The AV Club has their annual worst band names list posted. With names that poke fun at, reference, or desecrate almost anything its a great way to kill time at work. I found a few Chicago bands: Bi-Furious, Slut Barf, and The House that Gloria Vanderbilt. Anybody have any favorites?

///It looks like The Hold Steady will be heading back into the studio with John Agnello after the start of the new year. That sounds like a good way to avoid the winter weather. [Thanks, Aversion]

///Peoria, IL's answer to Jackson Brown, Dan Fogelberg, passed away yesterday at the age of 56. Check out this sweet totally-80s video to his hit "Language of Love."

Shellac @ The Hideout 12/15/07 (noon show)

Yes, despite what we all might think, bands are able to get up and be at a venue before the noon. Also, it might be enlightening for people who attend shows in Chicago to know that bars do have windows which allow light to get in. Most of these things one usually assumes are not true due to the nature of rock shows, especially one of this caliber. Extra bonus, there were free donuts before the show!

RFC Interview: Vincent Gallo (RRIICCEE)

Vincent Gallo will probably always be best known for his film work (Buffalo '66, Brown Bunny), but he's actually had a rather interesting music career as well. In 2001, Warp Records released his non-soundtrack solo debut When, a critically acclaimed effort that is one of the most avant/indie albums you’ll ever hear from anyone who has crossed the music and film divide. Now Gallo has returned with a new project called RRIICCEE, a 4-piece touring band (Gallo, Rebecca Casabian, Nikolas Haas and Eric Erlandson, formerly of from Hole?!) that will be, as Gallo likes to put it, "spontaneously creating" new music for each performance. RFC caught up with Gallo via phone two weeks ago just as the band was hitting the road for the first gig on their inaugural tour that brings them into Chicago Saturday night for a late show at Schubas.