I’ve been a Dashboard Confessional fan since I was 12, listening to their albums in my room as a moody teenager, door shut, scribbling their sad girl lyrics onto notebooks […]

The Mass in b-minor is often described as Johann Sebastian Bach’s valedictory masterpiece. It certainly received a masterly treatment by the Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra, whose season-opening […]

If he didn’t have family back east, Joe Pug would live with us in the Windy City. “They’re fucking up shit in the rest of the country. Chicago’s still got […]

These days, psychedelia has crept back into music like it never left the ‘60s and ‘70s. We have Tame Impala playing arenas. We have Drugdealer sounding best on vinyl. We […]

My second day at Riot Fest was another one of firsts—first time that I used the port-o-potty at the festival, first time I rode a divvy bike into oncoming traffic, […]

I’ll get this out of the way up front. I’m a Riot Fest virgin. In fact I have only been to one festival in my life, when I covered Pitchfork […]

I admit I always flinch a little when I read articles describing Riot Fest as a punk and metal festival. Sure, the booking ethos behind the band choices is driven […]

Giuda is based in Rome, Italy, so it’s not often our citizens get a chance to see them come through town. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them a […]

There was some life in this death. BASE Hologram and director Stephen Wadsworth resurrected soprano Maria Callas 42 years after her death on September 7 at the Lyric Opera. The […]

Extra Arms is led by Ryan Allen and traffics in the ultimate blend of the sounds he crafted in previous bands, including Thunderbirds Are Now! and Friendly Foes. Allen has […]

I keep ending up at Thalia Hall. It’s my siren. Calling and cooing me in yet again. On the heels of my review of The Hold Steady I find myself […]

  Step stage left, Tupac. OG Maria Callas is taking center stage now. Over 42 years after her death, the definitive La Divina diva is performing at the Lyric Opera on […]