Review: Parquet Courts Made The Vic Wide Awake
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 […]
Review: Grossman Ensemble Presents an Evening of Premieres
An evening of premieres took place on Friday night at the Logan Center Performance Hall as the Grossman Ensemble offered its first ever public performance to a large audience in […]
Review: Stars Shone Wednesday Night at Metro
Wednesday night at Metro was filled with performance art. The Wrigleyville venue welcomed Stars, on tour in support of their latest single, “Are You With Me?,” released a few weeks […]
Review: House of Vans Transformed into a Multicolored Sea of Sound
[soliloquy id=”42940″] I’ve been to quite a few of the House of Vans shows and it’s safe to say that they are a special thing; especially in the colder […]
Bob Dylan: Electric at American Writers Museum Brings the ‘Judas’ Guitar to Chicago
At one point in I’m Not There, filmmaker Todd Haynes’ deeply personal, scattershot depiction of the “many lives” of Bob Dylan, the singer (played by an unrecognizable Cate Blanchett) climbs […]
Preview: Peter Bjorn And John Bring Darker Days to Lincoln Hall
I don’t know how Peter Bjorn And John do it, but their latest album Darker Days manages to sound like winter while allowing a few slivers of sunlight to break […]
Review: Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings is a 10-Piece Jazz Explosion at South Shore Cultural Center
Makaya McCraven, the 35-year-old Chicago jazz drummer, composer and producer, is making waves crossing free jazz with hip hop. Collaboration and spontaneity are pillars of his cause, as demonstrated on […]
Review: Days in White Satin with Anna Netrebko’s Lyric Opera Recital
Anna Netrebko offered a delightful matinee recital at Chicago’s Lyric Opera on December 2. The program was carefully curated to encompass the Day and Night title, as well as feature […]
Preview: Protomartyr Returns to Chicago
From playing a record release show on the notorious Michigan riverboat the Detroit Princess to working on their 2018 EP Consolation with The Breeders’ Kelley Deal, the Detroit-based post-punk band Protomartyr has […]
Review: With HEAVN HERE, Jamila Woods Heralds the New Black Renaissance
Sing to me of Bronzeville, the Black Metropolis. A Northern tree whose Southern roots, having suckled at the Mississippi, were weaned on Eerie waters. Whose branches bear ice and Christmas […]
Review: Khruangbin Doesn’t Need Words to Sell Out the Vic
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 […]
Review: Heart Bones Brought Dirty Dancing to Thalia Hall
There are just some artists that I will drop everything to see live. Sean Tillmann of Har Mar Superstar and Sabrina Ellis of Sweet Spirit and A Giant Dog are […]