The Marías invited us to join their cult last Friday at Thalia Hall. To give you a glimpse: During the encore, drummer Josh Conway lured the entire audience to get low to the ground by reciting parts of the “Cha…
A drunk man close to me leaned his body over the Subterranean’s upper balcony to shout “LET’S FUCKING ROCK AND ROLL!” to the Boston trio Vundabar. He did yell incomprehensibly, which led to frontman Brandon Hagen asking for him to repeat…
When OHMME’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart joined V.V. Lightbody on stage at Schubas last week, 2019 officially started. The Friday night was atypically mild and warm for a Chicago winter, and with a stacked local bill that also included…
In what many publications are calling one of the year’s best records, Parquet Courts channeled angst into optimism on their fifth full-length album, Wide Awake. Their recent record almost reads like a manifesto for collective, social action — equivocating that…
Khruangbin isn’t a band that puts out singles. They don’t have a singer. Most of their songs can’t be distinguished from each other. They are hardly any words to sing along to across their two full-length albums. And yet, a…
Sam Evian’s mantra is “this is you, forever.” He chants this on the title track of his last album, You, Forever, which indie label Saddle Creek released this summer. The record features sweeping George Harrison guitar licks over ‘70s-inspired grooves,…
Long before the podcast, there was Third Coast International Audio Festival. Since 2000, Third Coast has been a leader in audio storytelling, paving the way for this craft back when our ears relied on iPods. This year’s festival, called The Fest, features…
It’s not a true Pitchfork Festival unless it rains (or gets hot and humid). But the festival didn’t ever get rained out, and the acts didn’t disappoint. (There was a “weather” delay that left gates closed past their scheduled noon…
After a slightly rainy Friday made use of all the Lyft ponchos that were being handed out at one corner of Pitchfork Music Festival, Saturday felt a lot nicer. The sun was out (sometimes), the grounds were dry (relatively) and…
If you live in Chicago long enough the annual Pitchfork Music Festival feels like one big backyard barbecue. Fortunately, unlike my last one, we didn’t see much rain and the only thunder we heard was from Courtney Barnett’s rhythm section.…
It’s finally here! Pitchfork Music Festival is this weekend and they’ve curated quite the show. There has always been an emphasis on music that just this side of mainstream, acting as an alternative to the more obvious selections from Lollapalooza.…
The Empty Bottle saw a lot of bottles emptied last Friday. The night wasn’t just a concert; it was a celebration. Local DIY band staple Deeper played their debut album release show. With well over a third of the audience…
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