Eliot Sumner in Chicago: A musician species
With a beer in hand, an honest smile and a light soul, Eliot Sumner welcomed the audience to her Information set Thursday night at Schubas Tavern. I only discovered the […]
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Gets Festive
Headed by the power musical couple of pianist Wu Han and cellist David Finckel (who started performing full-time with his wife after a 34-year tenure with the Emerson String […]
When There’s A Will, There’s A Wussy
It’s 2 p.m. on a chilly Friday afternoon in Chicago. The sky is gray and in the middle of making a crucial weather decision for its fussy weekenders. There’s a […]
Ty Segall and the Muggers Got Really Weird with Thalia Hall
At some point on Monday, between my morning coffee and heading off to run errands, Ty Segall and the Muggers descended on WGN Morning News. The loud screeches of a […]
Molehill: Camaraderie fills Martyrs’
A determined man with voluminous, curly hair made his way through the crowd Saturday night in the middle of a Molehill performance at Martyrs’. Even in darkness, it only took […]
Levitation Chicago Takes Over Thalia Hall
This week Empty Bottle Presents & The Reverberation Appreciation Society are putting on the second annual Levitation Chicago musical festival from March 10-12 at the beautiful Thalia Hall, 1807 S […]
Waco Brothers album release: Moving forward with the help of history
The rebellious words, “You can’t kill us/we’re already dead,” welcome you to the newest Waco Brothers album and journey, “Going Down in History.” Before listening to it, I anticipated a […]
Blacklisted!: An Afternoon of Songs “Joe McCarthy Didn’t Want You to Hear”
Making your living as an artist has never been an easy path, but it was particularly difficult in America from the late 1940s to the early 1960s during the Second […]
From Dawn to Dusk: Music of the Baroque Offers Lively Interpretations of the Day
In an imaginative whim of programming, Jane Glover and the Music of the Baroque orchestra mined Haydn’s very early career and Mozart’s maturing phase to cobble together “From Dawn to […]
PLAY it Forward at The Elbo Room
The Elbo Room has one last chance at helping boost your confidence. With low attendance at its live shows and insufficient funds, The Elbo Room asks that you donate a […]
After the Show is the After Party…My Evening at Soho House Chicago
Tucked away in the seemingly top secret, instrument adorned “music room” of Soho House Chicago, Eryn Allen Kane hosted an after show following her first ever solo and, might I […]
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials Made Me Forget About The Bleakness Of Reality
The blues are an inherently paradoxical art form when they make a public appearance—misery with the travails of life transmuted into joyful music. Last night at Rosa’s Lounge, Lil’ Ed […]