Radio Free Chicago

RFC TV: Black Heart Procession - "Witching Stone"

Check out Black Heart Procession live at Bottom Lounge on 11/7.

Get on the List: Islands 10/15 @ SubT

Hey, is it just me or is October the best month of the year for live shows? The free ticket madness continues today with another great show giveaway. Up for grabs now is admission for two to see Islands headline an all ages show Thursday night at Subterranean. Just drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Islands Tix" in the subject line for your chance to get on the list with a +1. Good luck!

Get on the List: Suckers @ SubT This Wednesday

Today's concert freebie is for admission for two to see Suckers headline a 17+ show Wednesday night at  Subterranean. Just drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Free Suckers" in the subject line for your chance to get on the list with a +1. Good luck!

Flashback Friday: Early Verve - A Bittersweet Epiphany

Long before the shoegaze sensation The Verve hit the air waves with the 1997's anthemic Nike commercial featuring "Bittersweet Symphony," the band had a sound all their own. The psychedelic alternative quartet from the greater Manchester, UK area was a polished reverb product back when they formed in 1989. The kind of band that screamed strobe lights and heavy eyelids from magical thinking. The early Verve heard on their self-titled debut EP was genius, filled with over thirty minutes of surreal sonic boom that was ear candy for stoners limp at the knees and begging for more. It was perfect music when the "drugs did work" and creativity was full of life and luster. The E.P. featured the atmospheric jam, heavy with climbing riffs on "She's A Superstar; the trippy Doors-like, "A Man Called Sun" and the dreamy classic, "Gravity Grave."

-Ron Saemann

She's A Superstar (Edit)

A Man Called Sun

Gravity Grave (Edit)

Get on the List: School of Seven Bells @ Empty Bottle 10/14

Today we've got your hook-up for free admission to see School of Seven Bells headline a 21+ show next Wednesday The Bottle. Just drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "SVIIBtix" in the subject line for your chance to get on the list with a +1. Good luck!

SVIIB - Half Asleep (Alternate Version)

(New "deluxe" edition of Alpinisms hits digital store shelves next week!)

RFC TV: Cursive's "Let Me Up"

The third video off Cursive's latest, spring's Mama I'm Swollen, is the most cinematic 5 minutes the band has released thus far. The film noir feel makes it a perfect companion to "Let Me Up"'s dark lyrics and is certainly worth a glance.

Monotonix @ Logan Square Auditorium 10/3/09

During these years of show going, choosing concerts has been predominately based on an emotional attachment due to the music striking some interior, unseen chord. Seeing Tel Aviv's Monotonix falls into altogether different category; due to the sheer visual and auditory experience overpowering the discography. With the latter basis, the Monotonix achieved being the most memorable concert of the year without even completing a single song.

Cocoon @ The Empty Bottle 9/28/09

This spring I had the opportunity to attend intimate, small venue shows of well-known artists across the arrondissements of Paris, basking in the fact that such an event is rare and prized in Chicagoland for the likes of Ben Lee or Alkaline Trio. Reverse nationalities and nations and you can anticipate how excited many were to see Cocoon, a heralded French folk-duo from Clermont-Ferrand, play our Empty Bottle lat Monday night. Cocoon conquered television and radio stations in France, earning gold-certification for their debut album and a nomination for the country's Mercury Prize-equivalent the Prix Constantin before playing their first dates on American soil.

Flashback Friday: Made to Love Magic

Somber singer/songwriter, Nick Drake seemed to capture the essence of autumn with some sweeping breeze of poetic prose, a haunting acoustic guitar and some Baroque orchestral arrangements. In his short lifetime, Drake only managed to release three albums, including Five Leaves Left, Bryter Later and Pink Moon; none of the albums sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release. Often compared as a melancholy Donovan or a more folky Van Morrison, Drake failed to garner praise from fans and critics alike in his time. Troubled by depression and an unwillingness to play live, Drake truly embodied the spirit of the romantic poets like Blake and Yeats, which he studied briefly at the University of Cambridge. Drake was definitely an artists' artist, an old wise soul that left us way too early, at the tender age of 26. In 2000, an ever so popular Volkswagen commercial featuring, a sweet strumming of a reflective light in "Pink Moon," brought the legend to the masses. Other seductive songs like "Northern Sky" and "One of These Things First" were featured in films like Serependity and Garden State showcasing the man's power to transcend time with grace; these songs somehow sounded more fresh and livelier than ever, as if they were written only a few months before. Fall is upon us my friends and I feel Drake's voice still echoing in the leaves.  

Pink Moon

Northern Sky

One of These Things First

Hazey Jane II

RFC Interview: Sea Wolf

October's shaping up to be quite the exciting month so far as concerts are concerned, with many of this summer's Lollapalooza acts returning as well as an onslaught of bands making their way to the Midwest in support of their new fall releases. One of these artists is Sea Wolf, who, along with Port O'Brien and Sara Lov, will be helping welcome autumn to Chicago tonight at Schubas.

California's Port O'Brien (who have received quite a bit of buzz after M. Ward heralded them as one of his favorite bands) will be kicking off the evening in support of the October 6th release of their sophomore album, Threadbare, before making way for Sara Lov, who not only has an interesting back story, but also has an interesting stage set up, using a vintage record player as her backing band. Lov's been making waves with her lovely, deceptively simple debut, Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming, which features a duet with none other than Sea Wolf's Alex Brown Church himself on the song "Animals." The combination of these two interesting acts along with Sea Wolf (who Radio Free Chicago is no stranger to) make for not only a solid bill but one of the concerts I've been most looking forward to all year.

I got to chat up Alex in anticipation of his show at Schubas about his just released second disc, White Water, White Bloom.

Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom

Sara Lov featuring Alex Brown Church - Animals

Tomorrow's Concert Lowdown

It's no secret that October's the month for concerts, starting with Sea Wolf's October 1st show at Schuba's and going non-stop until the Cobra Skulls hit Reggie's on Halloween with pit stops in between for acts such as Dead Man's Bones, the Get Up Kids and Monsters of Folk (to name but a few). With so many gigs booked during the month, it's no secret that music fans are going to have some tough decisions to make and some of those decisions are going to be have to be made October 3rd when not one, not two, but three acts his Chicago on the same night.

Philadelphia's Drink Up Buttercup will be bringing their edgy pop sound to Ronny's Bar in Logan Square before meandering to Iowa for a date on Daytrotter's second Barnstormer tour and eventually ending up in New York to perform at an onslaught of CMJ parties. That coupled with the band's recent move to Yep Roc means that odds are buzz is going to increase around Drink Up Buttercup by the time November rolls around.

Another band that'll be catering to the Logan Square crowd is Tel Aviv's controversial Monotonix, who will be at the Logan Square Auditorium with Turbo Fruits and Ga'an as support, making for an altogether loud and raucous night. Monotonix was banned from most Tel Aviv venues and if you've got $15 to spare, you can see what the fuss is about for yourself at 9 p.m.

If heart-on-your-sleeve emotion and neat-yet-noisy melodies are more your thing, Manchester Orchestra and Brand New will be hitting up the legendary Aragon Ballroom. Both fresh off the release of new albums, Georgia's Manchester Orchestra and the east coast's Brand New are touring together again, this time behind the releases of Mean Everything To Nothing and Daisy, respectively. The show isn't sold out yet and if you missed Manchester's stellar set on the first day of Lollapalooza, now's a great time to play catch up.

Decisions, decisions. I know I'll be seeing Manchester Orchestra and Brand New although I must say, each show is equally appealing and if I didn't already have tickets with my name on it, Drink Up Buttercup would be looking quite appealing. Where will you be, Chicago?