For many, going out New Year's Eve can be like going to junior prom over and over again; it's lots of fussy build-up with little payoff, leaving you with nasty hangovers, tacky swag, and, possibly, an awkward goodbye come morning. If swanky soirées aren't your thing, head to The Old...

Lucky enough to get a few days off for the Chrismukkah holidays? Several Chicago area music entities have been kind enough to give you time-filling options. Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore CD The Cool drops today, and he has announced live dates from New York to Honolulu in support of it. Chicago's...

Sure, you may be hungry like the wolf for the Duran Duran show tonight (get it? Hungry like the wolf? Duran Duran? No? Nothing?), but the big show we're excited about this weekend is taking place at The Metro Saturday night. Hip-hop legends The Wu-Tang Clan hit the stage in...

Man is there a lot going on tonight. Are you sure it's only Wednesday? Because it sure feels like the party is already kicking into high Friday mode. The last few weeks have been a tad lackluster, music-wise, but December is taking this year out with a bang! Here are just a few of tonight's options. Evan Dando resurrects The Lemonheads tonight at Double Door. We caught him last time he came through town and......

It may be too cold for 70's gym shorts (a la the Pitchfork Music Festival), but you can bet that tonight's Vampire Weekend show at Schubas will double as a winter fashion show/breeding ground for Chicago's hipsterati. The NYC quartet's kinda creepy, kinda awesome take on indie rock "world music"...

Tomorrow Liar's Club is hosting the Fourth Annual Toy Drive To benefit the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital Pediatric Playroom. They are hoping to provide toys and supplies to the KidsRehab program at the hospital. The folks at Liar's Club told us, "KidsRehab works with children who have sustained serious injury and need extensive physical, occupational and psychological rehabilitation." They need a whole bunch of stuff for the kids in the program (look after the jump for......

Kanye West leads the pack with the most Grammy nominations this year. Kanye is also famous for throwing a tantrum every time he ends up being beaten out by anyone else for any other award. This time around, we think maybe Kanye should be crossing his fingers in hopes that...

WXRT just announced this morning that Wilco will be playing a five-day residency at the Riviera Theatre in February. And the most exciting part is the band promises to explore its entire catalog, creating a unique set list for each show and playing songs they haven't played in quite...

What do you get when you combine an elaborate set design, rock and roll magicians, acoustic custom poetry, and a melange of feel-good local bands? A whole lotta awesome, that's what. Tomorrow night, newly created local label Comptroller Records debuts its new bimonthly showcase, nay, REVUE, at Ronny's, proving it...

Anything snarky that we come up with regarding the use of music in the Democratic Presidential campaigns just pales in comparison to the cold, hard facts: Hillary Clinton's theme was a Celine Dion song and has recently been replaced by a Big Head Todd and the Monsters tune, and Barack Obama's fundraising events feature performances by some of the most relevant and buzzworthy artists out there. Tonight's Change Rocks concert at the Riv brings......

If you were born before 1985, when you hear the phrase "Kids in the Hall," you probably think of the semi-popular 80's T.V. show. So last week when we got a press release about Kidz in the Hall, we just thought some wacky kids just couldn't spell. We were wrong! Kidz in the Hall is a local rap group who were lucky enough to have their song "Work to Do" chosen as a theme song......

Emergenza is an adult battle of the bands that sunk its foul claws into our city a few years ago. While it's certainly a boon to the clubs that play host to its elimination rounds, we can't see why any band would want to enter the competition. In order to...

Chicagoist recently had a conversation with a friend about our favorite "Christmas albums without Christmas songs," records that remind us of the holiday season without being full of carols and borderline-obnoxious good cheer. Our consensus choice was Richard Hawley's Coles Corner, a sprawling exploration of the warmest, most soothing, and...

On dreary days like this, as you sit in your office realizing you were the only one dumb enough to dig out your car / shovel your walk and actually go in to work instead of "working remotely," you are in definite need of a mood booster. We totally understand because we're standing right in your shoes. We were hoping one or the other of the dance party mixes we posted yesterday will help enliven......

We hope you enjoyed this morning's dance party, so let's keep it going, o.k.? We have reader E to thank for this one, since it we somehow missed it in our RSS feed last week, but Chicago's Matt Roan provided Discobelle* with a stellar new Mixin’ It Up compilation. For a while all we've had to go on, outside of fighting the crowds of beautiful people packing the room to the rafters at his......

Discobelle pointed us towards Shala Esquire’s Immortal Movement Radio podcast. It's got some of the Chicago area's hottest hip-hop and dance talent including: Cool Kids, Hollywood Holt, Kid Sister, Qualo, Mic Terror, and even The Jai Alai Savant. Snag yourself a copy and melt those early Tuesday blues into a...

So this dude's babysitter just put out a video featuring Kanye West. Check it out. We totally heart Kid Sister....