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 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 […]

On a night highlighted by Lomelda and Hovvdy, there’s a third act to set to open the night, fresh off of dropping their new record Ghost Orchard. Sam hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan and […]

“It’s like Rocketman up here tonight!” A glowing Alex Lahey proclaimed to the bustling Lincoln Hall crowd Tuesday night, “Well, maybe less queer… but only by a little.” All things […]

It’s Labor Day weekend! While the season has a couple more weeks to go, it’s looking pretty clear that summer is on its way out. The kids are back in […]

House of Vans, we meet again for one last summer show. This venue exists as a fascinating place that’s a weird mixture of commerce and art. It goes without saying […]

I wanted to begin with my history with The Hold Steady as a jump off point referencing high school girlfriends, the record store I worked at in college, and driving […]

I’m a big fan of fast, hardcore music, but sometimes you need to slow it down, and sludge metal and noise rock really are the pinnacle. Distorted guitars, nihilistic vocals, […]

The Grant Park Orchestra does not often play back-up to a jazz combo. On the other hand, the Mambo Kings, veteran performers of Afro-Cuban jazz, have been teaming up with […]