Radio Free Chicago

Gems from the Pitch Pile-- Restavrant

What's one thing more awesome than hillbilly wailin' and the kind of beats you can only get hammering license plates with Vic Firth drumsticks? Answer: the electronica hillbilly wailin' you get through Texas duo Restavrant's particular brand of country. (And nothing is better than replacing drum equipment with license plates. That was a trick question.)

"Country" as a genre name rakes nails down the spines of a certain music listener. It's seenas a herald of the good ol' days, of pickadillies and whistlin' Dixie, of indiscriminately dropping the "g" off the end of "-ing" (because nobody associated with the North would dare cut a perfectly legitimate consonant). Even those who are fans embrace its history and deep-dug roots in Americana as part of its appeal-- as part of what it is. Its an American pass time, dammit. Screw baseball, country (and bluegrass, and rock, and soul, and R&B, and...) has glass milk jugs.

Twee Dance Party Tonight!

A brilliant time or most pretentious dance party ever? Discuss...

Get on the List: Sebastien Grainger & the Mountains @ SubT 4/14

Sebastien Grainger, your favorite one-man Cananda band and self-styled inventor of "fuck-rock", is coming to Subterranean next Tuesday (4/14) and we have a pair o' freebies for whoever wants to grab them. He plays with the Mountains, Tiger Spirit, and Geronimo!, and is sure to drum the socks off you (along with other articles of clothing less appropriate for the kids). Doors at 8:00, show at 8:30, 17+.

As always (say it with me) to try your luck for free tickets, drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Grainger Tix" in the subject line. Winners will be drawn in 2-3 days, we'll shoot you a congrats with more info, etc, etc. If you're lucky with cards but unlucky in ticket giveaways, you can still get in with $8 at the door. Cheers!

The Presets @ Metro, 4/8/09

When talking about The Presets, I only have three words for you: SEE THEM LIVE. There’s simply no substitute for seeing these two awesome Aussies cranking out a sound that is far more powerful than words can describe. Wednesday’s show at Metro further reinforced this, as Kim and Julian tore the place apart yet again with tracks from both 2008’s Apocalpyso and their 2005 debut, Beams. Judging from the crowd reaction, my sentiments were shared by most people there, as we jumped about almost from the opening notes of “Talk Like That” through to the encore of “I Go Hard, I Go Home.”

Gems from the Pitch Pile -- "The Cartride Family"

Most of what makes or breaks a Pitch Pile offering is whether it sticks to my forehead and I carry it around all day without knowing-- if I lip sync to it on an El platform, or do the classic side-to-side head-bop in the middle of an elevator jammed to capacity with Economics majors. A line is crossed when your roommate recognizes a song you haven't actually ever played them just because you tend to belt it while scraping coffee grinds and popcorn kernels out of the drain and if a song's good enough to be belted when you're doing something as miserable as dishes-sans-garbage-disposal, you know you're on a roll here.

Now imagine not one song, but two.  Not two, but eleven.

Get on the List: Branded 2009

It's that time again! (What time is it?!) Time for me to give you free things if you ask nicely.

This Saturday brings with it the first installment of the "Branded" events series. Branded was created to lock down and tie up in a bow a mash-up of both new and established punk/rock acts in a four-part celebration of the evolution o' the raver. First night features Deadmau5, Crookers, Late of the Pier, The Whip, Zebo, Willy Joy, Brad Owen, Loyal Divide, and Noise/Floor Crew. It all goes down this Saturday at the Congress from 7:00 pm to the wee small hours in the morning. (17+ /21+ to drink)

For this baby, we've got three pairs of tickets to give away. As always, to enter shoot us an e-mail at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Branded Tix" in the subject line. Allow 2-3 days for tension-building drumrolls, and then look for a response with further information from your lovely resident intern (namely, me). Otherwise, tickets are $21.00 and frankly since you're getting like 10 bands, it's pretty well worth it.

Glasvegas @ Bottom Lounge - 4/06/09

Not to diminish the potential of a great band in the making, but... Imagine, if you will, a young Scottish band full of promise. They've got everything working in their favor—a solid debut album, a major label willing to invest time and money touting them as 'the next big thing,' a dark and stylish vibe with a brooding singer who happens to be easy on the eyes. Amid all the propaganda and excitement, the band lands a prime US tour of major cities, with most of those dates selling out in minutes.

So what happens when the band seems to crack just a little under all that pressure? Well, it seems like that's exactly what happened at Bottom Lounge. Glasvegas has the potential to be amazing. Their sound is so perfectly crafted—wall of sound feedback, 50s style vocals and angst so deep that you actually feel singer James Allan's heart breaking over and over again. I felt disappointed in their live performance, and yet I realized I was being unfair to a band who has seen a meteoric rise in the last year or so, being honored with an NME Award before they even had an album out. They still need time to hone their live performance and capture the brilliance found on record.

Ladytron and The Faint @ Metro, 4/4/09

Earlier in the year, Ladytron swung through town promoting their latest album, Velocifero, and really let me down with their live show. While I love the band on record, they just bring nothing to the table live. It’s an unfortunate combination of lack of stage presence and an overall attitude of boredom that is the nail in the coffin. So when The Faint announced their co-headlining tour with Ladytron, I immediately decided I should give them another chance. The Faint’s live show is scorching in intensity, so maybe this  combination would jolt some much-needed life into Ladytron’s performance.

The Ladybug Transistor w/Canasta @ Schubas 3/29/09

It goes without saying that The Ladybug Transistor will have a happy indie pop sound given its band name and the fact that the band is a part of the Elephant Six Collective, which is home to such music groups as The Apples in Stereo and Dressy Bessy. The band was all smiles on Sunday night at Schubas. The six piece has a long history in the genre with six album releases and over ten years of music. The band seemed youthful and energetic on Sunday, though, as if they were in the first stages of when you meet someone and you just can't get enough.

Check out this track from this show (it was the third song played but I don't know the name. Do you?)

Ladybug_Live

Get on the List: Rosebuds @ Beat Kitchen 4/4

When I said "Giveaway Season," it really wasn't just a bad metaphor (only mostly one).

Next up: The Rosebuds, yet another duo of rocker-folkies from the great state of North Carolina. These guys have been around in some form or another since 2001, and their mark on the scene shows. They're scheduled to breeze through the Windy City (ah ha ha, it's a pun) this Saturday at the Beat Kitchen and we've got a pair of tickets ripe for the plucking. By now, you should know the drill: drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Rosebuds Tix" in the subject line. We'll pick a winner at random Friday morning. Good luck! 

Gems from the Pitch Pile-- The Mary Onettes

Anybody who keeps up with this column semi-regularly should've gathered by now my girlish attraction to jangly guitars, the seed of which was planted by one too many 5-hour road trips down I-90 listening to my mother play Eponymous on loop. Anybody who keeps up with this column should also know that I hover towards driving drum patterns, and intelligent lyrics, and elaborate metaphors involving colors, sex or hunting.(ok...I've only really done the hunting thing once.)

So, when you listen to today's download-- titular track from Mary Onettes' latest EP, Dare-- you shouldn't be that surprised. The Mary Onettes play like the National's illegitimate twin brother, smuggled away in the dead of night to Sweden, raised on bubblegum pop singles, ZooBooks, and Planet Earth DVDs. They're a serious bunch, but if the soaring melodies and train-travel riffs of their singles are any indication the EP (a-comin' to the USA April 29th, courtesy of Labrador Records) is worth a definite eye. They are indie-- oh, how they are indie-- but in the best possible way. There's nothing a descending violin line can't rock.

As usual-->  iTunes and Amazon.

The Mary Onette's - "Dare"