Radio Free Chicago

Free Show AND Booze Alert: Chicago MyOpenBar Launch Party

MyOpenBar, the masters of open bar and cheap drink notifications are throwing a launch party for their Chicago branch at Schuba's Friday night. In addition to no cover, there's also free Newcastle and Kronenburg ('make mine a Kronenburg, mate!')from 9-10p and free p.i.n.k. Vodka from 12a-1a. And yes, there's a full line-up of bands as well curated by the Chicago arm of OhMyRockness. Local acts Tight Phantomz, Mannequin Men and Reds & Blues will all be taking the stage, and the boys from Walter Meego will be spinning tunes in between sets. Ummm...did we mention there's no cover? Oh, and you also could win some swag from Paul Frank.

Them, Roaring Twenties @ Empty Bottle 1/25/2007

Filling in the middle spot of an interesting night of music at The Bottle last week was Them, Roaring Twenties. A fairly young band, not only in terms of shows played (I think I just started noticing their name around about 6 months ago or so) but also in age. Although, with this youthful vigor brings a new twist and creativity to an otherwise stale genre that is Chicago math rock .

Pitchfork (quietly) announces SXSW Party Lineup

Pitchfork Media has (quietly) announced their SXSW party lineup today, dubbing it as a "minature indoor version of the Pitchfork Music Festival", it will definitely lead to much speculation about which acts will be making an appearance in Chicago this summer. Expect some of that to be cleared up as the very first 2007 Pitchfork Festival lineup announcements are made "live" during the March 16th party at Emo's.
[source: Pitchfork Music Festival SXSW Party Revealed!]

So, who do you think and/or want to cross over to the 2007 PF Festival Lineup?

New Releases Tuesday - 1/30

This week, it's the battle of the viral Internet phenoms...with the UK's latest bratty teenage sensation Lily Allen facing off against the godfathers of Blogger buzz, Clay Your Hands Say Yeah. It seems like just yesterday we were introduced to the scrappy young DIY kids of CYHSY, but they're all growns up now and looking kick some ass with their sophomore self-released record titled Some Loud Thunder. Lily, of course, is still in her freshman year of Music Hype 101, and went in the completely opposite direction by signing a deal right away with the bigs at Capitol/EMI. Who will win out?? Place your wages after the jump.

Download: Lily Allen - "Alfie"

Download: CYHSY - "Love Song No. 7"

The Appleseed Cast w/ Asobi Seksu @ the Abbey Pub, 1/26/07

Asobi Seksu made things hard on my first time taking pictures in months as they played in almost total darkness, save for a few backlights and Christmas lights strung around the instruments. My only opportunities to grab photos came when they punctuated the music with a strobe light coming from the front of the stage, making for an interesting visual experience.

Return of the Retrospective

An old friend of Radio Free Chicago, Steve Damien, has resurrected his popular old radio show on WLUW from a few years back, "The Retrospective." Similar to those great rock docs that BBC Radio has been doing for ages, Steve would provide a complete oral history of a band insterspersed between interview segments with the artists and iconic songs representing different eras of the band. Now, instead of making an appointment to sit down in front of your radio at a particular time each week, Steve is posting one episode each month on MySpace (www.MySpace.com/retrospectiveChicago) where you can listen anytime via the magic of the Internets.

Spinning on The Retrospective right now is the full story of The Magnetic Fields. Then, on Thursday, you can tune into February's Retrospective feature, Leonard Cohen. As of right now, The Retrospective is about 95% recycled content, however, maybe if we flood Steve's InBox with a daily barrage of accolades, we can coerce him into producing some brand new episodes soon.

The Bitter Tears

One of the bands that I'm looking forward to the most at the next Bandwidth on February 22nd is Chicago's own The Bitter Tears. It's a pleasure not only to listen and watch them but also to talk to them, particularly lead singer Alan Scalpone who graciously answered the questions I asked to my heart's delight. Though, as I suggested to him, he also asked himself some of his own....

Friday 8-Track: Bizarre Instrumentals

Every so often, you'll catch an artist live or listen to an EP or Compilation and stumble across a weird instrumental track. Sometimes these tracks are riveting, other times they're not, but as an audible gawker you stop to listen and try to understand the "why?" This Friday 8-track is a small sampling of bizarre compositions that have caught our ears and keep coming to our forebrain each time is pops up in a shuffled playlist. There is no doubt these tracks are quite off the beaten path. Enjoy!

Jolie Holland w/ St. Vincent @ Schubas 01/23/07

There was someone I just had to see on Tuesday night, her name is Annie Clark, best known for her lead guitar work with Polyphonic Spree. Her new solo project St. Vincent had the pleasure of opening up for the wonderfully erratic, yet emotionally resonant Jolie Holland.

Ron Sexsmith with Kim Taylor @ Schubas 1/16/07

I adore Ron Sexsmith. His soft nature as he sings is nothing less than enchanting. Seeing him in the intimate venue of Schubas was a real treat not just because the sound there is always fantastic but also due to the fact that it felt almost like you were having a conversation with him and could really feel for the songs themselves.

Live Review: A few final TNK notes

I am well aware that the Tomorrow Never Knows Fest has been put behind us and we have moved on. Seeing as I am usually about 2 weeks late in everything I do, the timing seemed appropriate to chime in on a few more bands from the fest, namely Skybox, Dr. Dog and Mucca Pazza.

Free Show Alert: Redman 1/26

With Scion booking the likes of GZA, Ghostface and Raekwon recently for their monthly free shows, it was starting to look like they were, in fact, trying to book a member of the Wu-Tang Clan every month. Unfortunately, they've broke their Wu-streak for their January edition coming up this Friday, though maybe it was just because Method Man wasn't available. Instead, we get Meth's ol' blunt-lovin buddy Redman. It seems like we haven't heard a peep from Redman in years (remember that short-lived "Meth & Red" sitcom on Fox?...yeah, me neither), but I have to admit I did dig the occasional Red track back in the day (I blame my stoner roomate in college). His video for "I'll Bee Dat" still cracks me up, and then there was that appearance on MTV's Cribs...easily the best episode of that show ever.

(Full details on the event after the jump)

New Releases Tuesday - 1/23

If you feel like you've been in a musical rut since the holidays, head directly to your nearest record store as New Releases Tuesday finally returns in full form this week with a slew of great new tunes waiting on the shelves. And by January standards, this is a pretty impressive line-up. Besides the aforementioned new release from the Shins, we've also got new records out from Deerhoof, Ghost, Menomena, Of Montreal, plus the domestic release of Clinic's last album and the debut of Damon Albarn's The Good The Bad and the Queen project. Check out the full list after the jump.

Download: The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "Herculean"

Office @ Schubas 1/13/07

Chicago has a great local music scene and Office is one of the bands that makes the community a little brighter and richer. With their catchy form of melodramatic popular song, each note played makes you bob your head to the melodies created while you feel happy to belong to the city.

Shins Listening Party Tonight

The long awaited new album from the Shins finally hits store shelves tomorrow and Reckless is celebrating with a listening party at The Hideout tonight. Party starts at 9p and you can officially buy the new record at midnight. As an added bonus, Reckless is bringing out the ping pong table once again and handing out prizes throughout the night.

If you can't wait until tonight to hear the new Shins jams, you can also stream Wincing The Night Away in its entirety today on MySpace.

Download: The Shins -"Phantom Limb"