Radio Free Chicago

Cursive @ Belmont Arts and Music Festival 6/28/08

I’ve been a fan of Cursive for several years now and have seen them in various venues around the city in that time. Their lyrics are some of the most poetic and intense that the indie rock world has come by. Lead singer Tim Kasher brings the passion to match. Every note sounds like a harsh cry of love lost, pain and anguish. It’s the cry of someone from the darkness who can still see that sad and beautiful world illuminated around him. Amidst his shrieks and lost cries, it’s impossible to not become very quickly aware of one thing that remains after the songs are done and the audience is standing there in the aftermath of the maelstrom: He really means it.

News and Notes: Bottle, BAM!, Blondie

Now I know everyone is soooo excited about the start of the Taste of Chicago this weekend, but if eating meat on a stick with thousands of people in searing heat isn't your cup o' tea, fortunately there's still some other options:

///Empty Bottle Garage Sale - On Sunday the Empty Bottle employees & friends are selling their stuff: cds, records, tapes, décor, clothing, probably some instruments, accessories (pedals, stands, chords), Empty Bottle memorabilia and lots of other random crap from venue's lost and found archives. And yes, the bar will be open for your drinking pleasure.

///Belmont Arts & Music Festival - For years it seemed like the neighborhood street fests brought out nothing but crap when it came to booking bands, but things have picked up quite a bit lately. Headliners include Cursive, Redwalls, American Music Club and Smoking Popes.

///Blondie rocks the Zoo?! - Yes, it's another XRT "Jammin at the Zoo" with an old school band. While admission to the zoo is still free, unfortunately the show is not. Then again, perhaps you'd still be able to hear the faint sounds of "Rapture" while casually strolling through the monkey house?   

Sloan @ Double Door 6/23/08

Just about every couple of years, Canada’s Sloan puts out an album and does a North American tour.  They’ve amassed a following based on their consistency and going to a Sloan show, you see the same exact people you see at every Sloan show year after year…it’s almost like a family reunion except you aren’t related to the other audience members and you get to hear power pop instead of eating bad potato salad that has been sitting out in the sun for too long…

Ladytron @ The Vic 6/17/08

Ladytron descended upon the Vic Theatre just long enough last tuesday night to prove that even robots can feel.

Download: Ladytron - "Ghosts"

News and Notes: Franco-American Apparel, Return of The Verve, New Castanets Album

///In a perfect match of classic Gainsborg sleaze and modern exploitative marketing, French artist Sébastien Tellier will be exclusively hawking the domestic release of his new sex-charged opus, Sexuality, at everyone's favorite sex-charged sweatpant store, American Apparel. If anyone from either entity is reading this, RFC would be more than happy to help organize a local album release party.

Download: Sébastien Tellier - Sexy Sportswear (Donovan remix)

///The (reunited) Verve has posted their new single "Love Is Noise" on MySpace. If this single is any indication, I'm very much looking forward to the full-length comeback slated to drop on August 19.

///In other album release news, just popping up in the RFC newswire as I type this comes word of a new Castanets release titled City of Refuge, due out on October 7th on Asthmatic Kitty records.

MV & EE @ Empty Bottle 6/19/08

Psychedelic duo MV & EE or fully Matt Valentine and Erika Elder were the main feature at the Empty Bottle last Thursday. The Ecstatic Peace couple were not without the help of both a drummer/guitarist and bassist to complete their sound while Matt Valentine played both banjo and harmonica at different points in the set to create layers of structured psychedelic noise, guaranteed to make any fan of the genre a happy and satisfied listener.

12th Annual Hideout Block Party Initial Lineup Announcement

The 12th annual Hideout Block Party tickets have gone on-sale and along with that the initial lineup has been announced. Rumors of Neko Case and New Pornographers have been confirmed! There appears to be a nice variety of acts and styles, it should be interesting to watch how the rest of the lineup shapes up.  The Hideout Block Party will September 20th and 21st.
Tickets are onsale now on Ticketweb.com

Initial lineup after jump...

Get on the List: Shearwater 6/24 @ Mansion

Tuesday night, experimental Austin rockers Shearwater will be in town for an all ages show with Frog Eyes at new Logan Square music joint The Mansion. And yes, once again RFC wants to hook you up and put you on the list. Just drop us a email at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Shearwater +1" in the subject line by Tuesday at noon for your chance to win. Good luck!

Download: Shearwater - "Leviathan, Bound"

News and Notes: RIP George Carlin, Sigur Ros, The Shins, Eminem

///RIP George Carlin, the comedian died of heart failure after being admitted to the hospital for chest pains. He was 71. Listen to NPR's remembrance [Part 1 & Part 2].

///Sigur Ros has announced dates for their upcoming tour. Along with a good chunk of Europe and Australia they will be heading to the US and will stop by the Chicago Theater. [Thanks, Spacelab]

///The Shins will likely be releasing their fourth album on James Mercer's Aural Apothecary label rather than Sup Pop. [Thanks, Billboard]

///And the news everyone has been waiting for... Eminem is in fact working on a fifth album. [Thanks, Consequence of Sound]

Allá @ Schubas 6/13/08

If you haven't heard the story of local Spanish trio Allá consisting of brothers Jorge and Angel Ledezma and lead singer Lupe Martinez, then you need to. It took them over seven years to record and release the debut record, Es Tiempo. Jorge Ledezma sunk $40,000 of his own money into the record while living with his parents and working a day job at Whole Foods. Their music is quite indescribable encompassing Tropicalia, psyche, Kraut-rock and shoegazey Stereolab tendencies. Luckily, Allá's hard work has paid off as they perform an emotional sold out show and not in Pilsen as Ledezma mentions. 

Download: Alla - "Es Tiempo"

Jaymay with Fink @ Schubas 6/16/08

Though Fink was the headliner of this bill, it seemed there were even more Jaymay fans in the audience.  The singer songwriter has apparently gotten some buzz around her and there were men and women alike that were lip singing the words when she was on stage.

Liam Hayes @ Schubas 6/13/08

It was a big night at Schubas with the premiere of local band Allá’s Es Tiempo now seven years in the making. Brothers Jorge and Angel Ledezma brought a large ensemble with a psychedelic backdrop to visually enhance the exact presentation of their music. I’ll let Garin discuss this more in depth later, however, and will cover opener Liam Hayes in all his folk glory.

News and Notes: Boston Spaceships, Guns N' Roses, Tom Waits vs. Tom Waits, Girl Talk

///Robert Pollard has a new band called Boston Spaceships, which includes Guided by Voices' bassist Chris Slusarenko. Look for the debut release, Brown Submarines, on September 9th via Guided by Voices Records. [Thanks, Aversion]

///If you are a fan of leaked tracks, then keep your eyes open for leaked tracks by Guns N' Roses from their 15-years-in-the-making epic release Chinese Democracy. [Thanks, Billboard]

///For some great reading, check out the The Independent's interview with Tom Waits as interviewed by himself.

///Girl Talk is the latest artist to jump on the "pay what you want" bandwagon. Go to http://illegalart.net to download his latest album Feed The Animals; a traditional release on CD and vinyl will follow on September 23.

"Hood Internet vs. Chicago" Release Party Thurs @ Sonothque

Thursday night at Sonotheque, local mash-up masters The Hood Internet, aka DJ STV SLV (Steve Reidel) and ABX (Aaron Brink) will be celebrating the release of their new "Hood Internet vs. Chicago" mixtape. While the concept walks the fine line between sincere tribute and genius local marketing gimmick, the Hood boys walk it deftly thanks to a perfect ratio of big name draws (Kanye, Twista, Common, Wilco, Pumpkins) blended with nods to the local underground scene (Diverse, Juice, Cool Kids, Tortoise, Office, The Changes, etc.).

At least that's my initial impression after the first listen or two...was a bit weary at first, but after it got rolling the mix did win me over. Check out the full track listing after the jump, and if you're looking to go out and shake your ass Thursday night, definitely pencil in Sonotheque to your calendar. A couple of my favorite tracks so far from the mix follow below...   

Download: Superbowl Jesus - Kanye West vs. 1985 Bears vs. Wilco
Download: Simple X-plosion - Diverse vs. Andrew Bird
Download: Your Love Iz What It Iz - Cool Kids vs. Frankie Knuckles   

News and Notes: Alkaline Trio, Heavy Metal Screening, Lollapalooza, Mucca Pazza

/// Ex-Chicagoans, The Alkaline Trio, will officially have their own Nike shoe. Maybe you'll be able to pick that up on Michigan Ave, or a hip boutique in Wicker Park, either way, does this make them sell outs? [Thanks, Aversion]

///Speaking of Wicker Park, if you're strolling down Milwaukee Ave tomorrow night, you can check out a free sreening of the acclaimed documentary film "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" at the Stop Smiling HQ. Showtime is 7pm. 

/// Lollapalooza has announced their line-up and official aftershows. So if you are going make your schedule for the fest, don't forget to check out this aftershow list as well. The aftershows give me a little hope that Lollapalooza at least half heartedly cares about the local music community.

/// The big Mucca Pazza release show is going down tomorrow night at 8pm. It's all ages and at Stan Mansion (2408 N Kedzie).