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Yawn. That’s our initial response to the free music at the Taste of Chicago this year. We know not every concert should cater to us alone, but should we suffer because of the need to cater to the balding, khaki-wearer’s bland taste in music? Thanks, XRT, for taking this to a new level of disinterest. Who’s having the BBQ? That’s where we’ll be instead of Grant Park.
The Taste of Chicago has released the Fourth of July lineup with newly anointed god of guitar and man of extreme patience John Mayer getting the main headlining gig. Robert Randolph and Mexican acoustic wonder duo Rodrigo y Gabriela round out the bill. Other reasons to stop stuffing the face, to have a beer, and to relax include: Maze and Beverly (June 29), The Black Crowes (July 6), and Cheap Trick (July 7). Is it even possible to keep Cheap Trick away from Taste, or do they lurk in the bushes around the Petrillo Music Shell year round? Just askin’.
Kenny Rogers, Sara Evans and Craig Morgan (July 1) will get us a country fix. Our Broadway fix comes from the casts of Wicked and The Color Purple with a revue on July 2. Los Lonely Boys (July 8) give us some comfortable diversity to close the festivities.
It is free — we shouldn’t complain that much. There are other music festivals that we have to plunk our hard-earned dollars toward. Once again, the best reason to go down to Taste is to catch the fireworks on July 3.
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For a website called CHICAGOist, I would think there would be a little bit more love shown to the only CHICAGO band listed above: Umphrey's McGee.
They did happen to sell out 3 nights at the Aragon over new year's eve this past December. But much like all the other media in this city, you guys seem to want to ignore them, for shame.
XRT is slowly becoming one of the worst radio stations in Chicago. Wasn't Robert Randolph at their free show last year? I know it's "free" but they've done much better in the past.
So music that "cater(s) to the balding, khaki-wearer’s bland taste in music" is bad. Hipster, yuppie, chad trixie music is no good either. Just keeping thingds straight.
Seriously, sorry it's not emo enough for you, ya self-satisfying hispter. I hope you go to a BBQ instead too.
Umprhey's is pretty awful as well. I thought jam bands died after Phish broke up?
Turns out Umphrey's is from Indiana, but you were close.
Hey! I happen to like Cheap Trick!
Isn't Cheap Trick more or less a Chicago band? (not that I especially care for them...)
The Taste! Cool!
Where else can great Americans from places like Wheeling, Schaumburg, Hammond Indiana and Cicero, come out, listen to a little Cheap Trick, sample international haute cuisine like turkey legs and grilled corn, drink budlite, meet mate and keep the gene pool going strong! Support our Troops!
Yes, the lineup sucks, but so does your, uh, writing/thought process.
Did you write this with a straight face? "... balding, khaki-wearer’s bland taste in music?"
Are we judging people on appearances, still? I mean, is that really the best description you have? I know more than a few balding people, and more than a few who wear khakis, who have varied and interesting tastes in music. Not that I'm sensitive or balding--I just dislike lazy, crappy writing and cheap elitist attitudes when it comes to music. Sure, I guess you get points for getting those two "b" sounds in there, but so what?
Do you really think you are that cool? If so, don't worry--in about five years, I would guess, you will not be.
I guess XRT can't hit a HR every year...last year was awesome with MMJ and there's the legendary Wilco show. It just seems excessive that John Mayer is coming to Chicago twice this summer. isn't once enough? or too much even?
"I just dislike ...cheap elitist attitudes when it comes to music."
Pot calling kettle...
Rodrigo y Gabriela are awesome.
"Turns out Umphrey's is from Indiana, but you were close."
Well, you're sort of close too.
Originally they started in Indiana, while they were in college, but now they are out of Chicago. They all live here in Chicago, their management is out of Chicago, they've played every New Years since 2000 in Chicago, and members of the band and management grew up around Chicago.
I really love elitist posts like this.
Makes me just sit on the edge of my seat hitting refresh all day.
i really can't believe how judgemental this site gets. if it's not hipsters it's, god forbid, people who where khakis and have male pattern baldness. OH also let's not forget anyone who dances, anyone who is into fashion, clubbers, gays, urban mothers, and people who like sports. sports are soooo lame.
I'm kind of wondering who exactly are the people posting comments here? Do they defy any sort of labelization? Are they above convention? My guess is that they're the kind of people who sit in the back of shows and nod their head appreciatively to some indie band that they are a little to old to go and see then dismiss the people who are there as being to young and stupid to really "get" how smart this new band is. Then you go to goldstar or something and sit and read and think about how much everyone and everything sucks except for you. If only you weren't single!
sorry for the rant. but really, there's too many haters here. perhaps this is why chicago's scenes are so segregated.
And then you list Los Lonely Boys as an example of diversity. Musically speaking, they are as diverse as Hootie and the Blowfish. Nice try.....
everyone step back, take a deep breath and say, "it's only a blog. it's only a blog..."
Come on, get off your high horses or as Taste attendees like to say "yer high horses"!.
Every body and they Momma knows that the Taste attracks a "certain type".Yes "khaki" might have been a broad brush, I mean Forest Rangers some times were Khaki, which is why I in infinite wisdom added "great Americans from places like Wheeling, Schaumburg, Hammond Indiana, and Cicero"
that about covers it nicely.
Free bird!
Soul Asylum? Cracker?
What an insult. Two TERRIBLE bands, no, wait, two WASHED UP, POINTLESS, TERRIBLE BANDS and people are supposed to get excited about that?
Who honestly listens to crap like that?
Woot! Soul Asylum and Cracker!
Now I'll be humming Euro Trash Girl all day long.
XRT SUCKS...BAD! I remember a guy named Johnny Marr and he shaped the my musical tastes. They fired him and now he rents apartments while working for LOYOLA's radio station a couple hours a week. PA-FUCKING-THETIC. Xrt has been going down the tubes ever since Q101 became the alternative, about 15 years ago. I say that not in any kind of endorsement for Q101, because I don't listen to that either. But at that time, XRT decided they should try and be like a cross between the Loop and Q101. The results have been disasterous.
The only two people they had with any notion of progressive music were Ken Sumka (usually on at 2:30 AM on a Wednesday) and Richard Milne. Aside from that, every one of the djs on that station sucks big moldy malted milk balls. They haven't evolved with the music and audience and its showing. It's nice that they threw that annoying dork Skafish off the boat, but they still got a lot of fat to trim if they want to move into the future. I support term limits on DJs!
Dead horse floggin' time. But seriously, we're talking about a free concert designed to appeal to a wide variety of people. They've got three acts who are all great musicians, even if they aren't pitchfork enough for you.
And I really don't understand the Los Lonely Boys comment at the end. They are in the same vein as Robert Randolph and John Mayer, except one is black and one is white. They all play blues-based rock.
It's unfortunate that bald men in khaki shorts may get enjoyment out of this, but let's do our best to coexist with such repulsive life forms.
yeah, you shouldn't complain AT ALL. did i just dial up SELFISHTRANSPLANTist on accident? come on chicagoist. act like you've been to The Taste before. act like you're representing the whole city. this CHICAGO web site, of all web sites, should be the LAST place where one egotistical person's taste in music serves as a judgment for the largest outdoor food festival in the entire world.
I always associated "Taste of Chicago" with "Food", not "Music".
Even then, it's been slipping the last couple of years from small neighborhood places (I'm assuming the city is making the booths pricier and pricier for the little guys) into the "Gino's East"/"Carson's Ribs" strata of culinary delights, but even then, I do love me some rib tips.
Anyway, it should have something for everyone down there. Me? I'm a fatass, and I'll be the one blowing money on food tickets, not Los Lonely Boys t-shirts.
I want to go in an "i ate the whole thing" tee shirt.
I gotta admit, the Cheap Trick / Soul Asylum / Cracker bill almost makes me want to brave the crowds. All three are solid live acts. As is Black Crowes, though I'm going to have to count U.G. opening for them as a minus.
As for the July 4 bill proper? That is truly an abomination. To the people that don't understand why folks no longer like 'XRT, I invite you to consider that a few years ago The Replacements broke up during a Chicago July 4 show. And after that they used to book interesting (at the time) bands like Matthew Sweet and They Might Be Giants.
John Mayer was funny on the Chappelle show, but there's nothing fun or funny about him headlining the Taste.
@Tankboy:
That better not be a swipe at TMBG. As a nerd, they're like my Beatles.
Double-Yawn. I'll take the BBQ, I think it's been that way since the Replacements took the stage. I did see Cheap Trick on the old Navy Pier in the late 70's for Chicagofest. I think that was the same year they had Alice Cooper. Thanks Mom for holding our seats while we checked everything out!
Hey Chicagoist- have you actualy seen Cheap Trick live? Being in the lawn at Ravania doesn't count. Do your homework, be happy they are still going strong . They put on one helluva live show.
The power and detail of your point awes me, Mr. Smith, as it usually does.
Hell, you can't even come up with a creative insult. What kind of writer are you?
Oh wah!!!
Such delicate sensitivities on display she made a light hearted JOKE that everyone here knows is true....wah!!
You better report for some extreme sensitivity training before your next entry Julene.
you'd figure navin, the hawk who called out yoko ono jokes for being too generalized and predictable, would be the last to leap to the defense of a joke that is generalized and, sigh, predictable. i suppose a joke is "light hearted" only if it isn't being lobbed in your face. like a 'greetings from the ghetto', threadless t-shirt. ;-)
I am very much looking forward to Taste and some of the musical acts. And I don't wear khaki.
Folks, this is Taste of Chicago, the most mass-appeal and mainstream of all Chicago summer festivals so of course the bookings are going to reflect that. They have no intention or desire to be adventurous. With that said, if you've never seen Robert Randolph and the Family Band, I strongly suggest you check out their performance (feel free to leave before John Mayer if you need to). They are easily one of the top 10 best live acts out there today. You will be blown away.
If a hipster dressed in a polo shirt and khaki pants, wouldn't that be uber-ironic?
Me: Balding? Yes. Khaki-wearing? Occasionally. John-Mayer-listening? Not a chance in hell. Same with Umphrey's - but that's just my taste. You'll have to excuse me if I bristle at the implication that old(er) implies a certain taste in music - that's really not the case - I'll be at Pitchfork.
At the same time, I think there are plenty of informed people that would call the Pitchfork lineup bland as well. It takes all types to make a world.
Tankboy
A Few years ago? The Replacements broke up on stage at Taste, try 1991 that is 16 years ago. And if you ever left Wicker Park(which lost it's hipness factor around 1994 ) and headed to Buddy Guy's Legends you might of seen John Mayer pick up a guitar and actually play a tune. It's funny how you constantly make judgements and statements like the above Replacements break up comment without actually being there or ever seeing an act.
You always seem to be the first to judge, without looking in the mirror first. I've seen you DJ and read your blog, you have a long way to go to be a critic or a judge of someone's musical output.
And I think Chicagoist should be pointing their disinterest in the lineup to the Mayor's Office of Special Events not one Radio Station. Especially one that still has the most diverse playlist in our city and perhaps the country. Yet you all forgot to mention the station for teaming up with Metro to bring The Decemberists to the Pritzker Pavilion to play alongside The Grant Park Symphony. Tankboy should like it, they have trendy hipster beards just like him.
"Especially one that still has the most diverse playlist in our city and perhaps the country."
That's the biggest pile of horseshit I've heard in a long time. What other radio stations do you listen to? It's totally Adult Alternative bullshit. safe. bland. easy to swallow. Just like that musical abomination John Mayer.
"safe. bland. easy to swallow. Just like that musical abomination John Mayer."
Oh please. The Pitchfork lineup is soooo dangerous. Lock up the women and children.
"sorry for the rant. but really, there's too many haters here. perhaps this is why chicago's scenes are so segregated."
I think I love you matty.
This is an argument I've had many, many times.
And I'm now trying to scheme a way to get my dude to go to Cheap Trick and Soul Asylum. Hmm. I may have to wing that one alone. I love me some Rick Nielsen.
can't let this one slide ... unless johnny marr's career has really taken an interesting twist, he's not working at loyola or the apartment people -- he's thinking about his time with the smiths and currently playing with modest mouse.
johnny MARS is working fill-in part time shifts at WXRT.
that's all.
I think Stinson is talking about most diverse playlist for a Commercial Radio Station
Will the hipsters be going to the Nugent Show at ridgefest this year? God I hope so. I would love to see Uncle Ted rip em a new one.
Nugent sucks anymore. His shows are right-wing rants and 10 minute versions of Fred Bear. Ugh.
Expected the response Erin. Ono's an individual person and this joke is just about a made up demographic but I agree it wasn't really very funny although I have to admit I don't know any balding khaki wearers or anyone for that matter who have my undisputably perfect taste in music (and all other things).
Expected the response Erin. Ono's an individual person and this joke is just about a made up demographic but I agree it wasn't really very funny although I have to admit I don't know any balding khaki wearers or anyone for that matter who have my undisputably perfect taste in music (and all other things).
By the way I'm not sure if I'll even be able to make this comment seeing as this site hasn't seemed to even work lately.
In regards to Cheap Trick and the author of this article, Evil D was on the money. Seems old Julene McCoy was more interested in riding the Metra home. Here's a part of the original review:
"The train ride home was a total party complete with Apple Martinis and an elaborate bartering system to get more beer from those who had brought more than enough in their enormous coolers that took four men to carry. Cheap Trick's concert was practically forgotten with all the mayhem riding the rails that night".
Wow- what an impressive review Julene, get out much?
XRT has sucked for 25 years.
Blandest crap on radio, even blander dj's.
No wonder Chicago doesn't make good rock bands.
Some, but not as many as if XRT were dead and stopped from lobotomizing the hell out of young would-be future rockstars.
I really don't get bitching about a free show...it is free right? Unless someone is forcing you to go?
This Hipster vs. Yuppie thing sounds rather...juvenile. Didn't you guys get enough of that in high school?!??
I’ll spend my non-existent money by checking out the Black Crowes, Umphreys, Cracker, Rodrigo y Gabriel a, and maybe, just maybe the Color Purple revue, but of course…I’ll be there for the food.
Now play nicely!
So ... "khaki" can only garner 50 comments? C'mon, we can get to 60!
Now, Kenny Rogers — there's a guy who hasn't aged gracefully. From 30 yards, he looks the same as he did 20 years ago, but close up ... scary. But nobody's getting that close to him, so who cares? Dude can still carry a melody.