The folks behind Lollapalooza officially unveiled the lineup for this year’s fest (that’s right - no more letter guessing) Tuesday morning. And it looks like someone’s been reading Pitchfork. The lineup is jam packed with indie bands. Many of those acts have received the greatest praise Pitchfork has to offer, the oft-coveted “Best New Music” chalice/crown/shiny thing. … [Read more…]
The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s reputation precedes the band. The mathcore quintet is (in)famous for their chaotic live sets, which are known for hosting waves of crowd-surfing and leaving members of the crowd and/or band with a broken bone or two. Such a legendary live performance might explain why the crowd Friday at Reggie’s Rock Club … [Read more…]
Friday night I stood for two-plus hours in awe as I watched The Appleseed Cast perform their entire 2001 double album Low Level Owl. The Lawrence, Kansas emo band played to a packed crowd at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge, and gracefully played the criminally overlooked double album, with a brief intermission breaking up the two volumes and … [Read more…]
I recently wrote a piece on all-ages shows and DIY venues in Chicago for Medill. The article went online Tuesday, and comes with a (brief) sister piece about the history of all-ages and DIY shows in America, a video and slideshow of a couple of venues and a handful of graphs and photos of these shows. … [Read more…]
Plagiarism. It’s the scarlet letter in the world of journalism. As a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, it’s an atrocity you’re warned never to commit, both in school and in the “real world.” So, considering the dire consequences of plagiarism, it’s bemusing to see a fellow graduate student get ripped-off by a … [Read more…]
View Davey von Bohlen’s Chicago shows in a larger map Milwaukee musician Davey von Bohlen has led the kind of musical career that must leave other artists teeming with jealousy. Since the early ’90s, Davey has performed in a variety of bands: Ten Boy Summer, Cap’n Jazz, The Promise Ring, Vermont and Maritime. Nearly all … [Read more…]
Tonight, Chicago’s Music Box Theatre will be present a special screening of “The Room,” with director/actor/screenwriter/producer Tommy Wiseau in attendance. It’s known as one of the worst movies of all time thanks to its inept direction, terrible acting and near-alien understanding of how people act and interact with each other. The oddball movie has become … [Read more…]
Crisis of Conformity reunited on “SNL” this weekend. Don’t remember Crisis of Conformity? Perhaps the video of the reunion will jump your memory [via Unlikely Words and The Daily Swarm]: [huluvid id=”YVEFp4lescx3IOWrHFyHJw”] Ok, there was no band by that name. But, kudos to “SNL” for a well-played satire of all-walks-of-life bands reuniting, especially when the … [Read more…]
When Philadelphia’s Algernon Cadwallader played Strangelight – a new Chicago DIY venue – on Friday, Feb. 5, singer/bassist Peter Helmis took some time to discuss the process of creating and selling merchandise.
Location, location, location. That’s often what can affect the outcome of a show. If a venue has terrible sound, can’t handle the crowd and exudes a bad atmosphere, the show may just as well be over before it starts.