Live punk music makes me happy. And I was grinning with pleasure all the way through The Wrecking Ball Punk Fest at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago. Digg Digg
Concert Review: The Sensual, Mystical & Tribal Live Show of Beats Antique
October 22, 2010 By 2 Comments
Concert Review: Good Times With Gayngs At Metro
October 18, 2010 By 3 Comments
To answer my own question and complete for you yet another curiosity-filled Live Fix Experiment, I will tell you that, yes, Gayngs was just as good live as they are on their debut album Relayted, one of my favorite albums of 2010. But read on, because there was more to this show that just Gayngs [...]
Concert Review: Saul Williams at Double Door in Chicago
October 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Afro-Punk tour arrived in Chicago with poet/actor/emcee Saul Williams leading the hip hop, punk and funk tribe to the Double Door. Openers American Fangs showed tons of passion and promise, but sadly the surly upstarts failed to strike any chords of freshness or uniqueness. But I feel for them, because having Saul Williams—-the personification [...]
Concert Review: Wilco at UIC Pavilion
October 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Touring is not a sprint. It’s a long, tiring and exhausting marathon. But if you end up at home the payoff is worth it. Don’t believe me? Just ask Wilco. Starting off this last show of their North American Wilco (The Album) tour, front man Jeff Tweedy spoke for the entire band and confessed unashamedly [...]
Concert Review: Bell X1 at Double Door in Chicago
September 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On a Friday night at the Double Door in Chicago, Bell X1was more than just an Irish rock trio. They were also musical cardiac surgeons performing sonic surgery on the hearts of the gathered. Lead singer/percussionist/guitarist Paul Noonan crooned softly as they began to slowly slice open the ballad “How Your Heart Is Wired”, a [...]
Concert Review: Miike Snow at Empty Bottle in Chicago
September 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
It was horrifying at first. Not the intro I expected at all. It was like a slasher film, or an early Halloween treat that was playing tricks on my expectations. Strobe lights flickered and camera flashes popped as all the members of Miike Snow came onstage wearing Michael Myers masks adding more terror and intensity [...]
Concert Review: Pitchfork Music Festival 2009
July 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
It might take heat for being hipster-centric, but four years running and the Pitchfork Music Festival remains one of the best when it comes to offering fans the right balance of music for the buck. On top of that, it’s a festival that continues to feed the mainstream music genre, specifically the 800 pound gorilla [...]
Concert Review: John Legend at Ravinia in Chicago
July 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
It doesn’t always happen this way. But it did this time. John Legend’s musical M.O. for romance and intimacy—by blending together soul, hip hop and reggae—mirrored the vibe at Ravinia, an equally intimate outdoor venue on Chicago’s North Shore. Walking toward my seat in the pavilion, I winded through the lawn area where fans faces [...]
Concert Review: Rothbury Music Festival 2009
July 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Each concert experience we have is measured against those that came before it. And it was nearly impossible not to compare Rothbury 2008 with this year’s festival, which almost didn’t even happen. Last October, questions of whether or not there would be a 2009 festival began began circulating when the owners of the site’s location [...]
Concert Review: Black Moth Super Rainbow
June 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On a warm Spring Chicago evening, Black Moth Super Rainbow and School of Seven Bells took the crowd at the Bottom Lounge for a psychedelic ride to a place where vocoders spoke of love and pain, and where ecstasy and horror evolved into joyful jubilation and perpetual elation. Cracking open the door to this mid-week [...]
Recalling A Grizzly Bear Show Is "Like A Slide Show"
June 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
After reading this New York Times live review about Grizzly Bear’s recent New York concert, I was reminded how much our brains make concerts wonderful and diverse experiments of experience. Music moves; it can’t do anything else. Grizzly Bear’s songs rev without going anywhere. With broad vocal harmonies and harmonic motion built from unusual guitar tunings, the [...]
Concert Review: M. Ward Lifts Chicago Off Its Feet
June 4, 2009 By 1 Comment
Back in April, I reviewed M. Ward’s show at the Vic Theatre. That night I also did a Live Fix experiment, which involved moving around the venue and tweeting what I felt, saw and heard. Experiencing Ward’s music in different locations, and being aware of what I was feeling as I moved around the venue, turned [...]
Why Music Fans Love The All Powerful Comment Box
Sometimes I find myself enjoying the fan comments more than the actual concert review itself. No offense to my fellow concert reviewers. But often, in just a few words, what a fan types into that little All Powerful Comment Box will express succinctly, honestly and with great zest how much the show meant to them, or how much they’re looking [...]