Women with guitars are hot. See Lita Ford, Joan Jett and Heart's Nancy Wilson as Exhibits A, B, and C. more ›

Just in time for lazy gift-givers across Chicago, Wilco is launching its own brand of Intelligentsia coffee. (You can pre-order the "Coffee Lovers Bundle" here.) As the AV Club points out, this is just the latest in a recent trend of Wilco transcending itself as a critically acclaimed alt-country band, into a powerful marketing brand that trades in comestibles. Unfortunately, if you stop for gas on the Eastern seaboard (and Chicagoist hears they serve coffee there, as well), Jeff Tweedy won't see a single penny of your purchase at a Wilco Travel Center. (They're privately held, so it's not even in his 401(k).) more ›

Local rock critic and sometime-bass player / band member Jessica Hopper has released her first book The Girls' Guide To Rocking. It's a comprehensive and straightforward guide that covers everything you ever wanted to know about being in a band. more ›

Chic-a-go-go Host Mia Park more ›

This writer-photographer had never been to Lollapalooza and came with mixed expectations. Fortunately, we seemed to choose our acts correctly, and between the tight sets from The Hold Steady and Muse on Saturday and the intense energy offered up by Iggy and the Stooges and Cafe Tacuba on Sunday, we left the weekend without any disappointments. Chicagoist was fortunate enough to secure a few coveted photo passes, allowing us access to the photo pits... more ›

Voting for Lollapalooza's Last Band Standing contest officially began on June 1, and Chicago is already leading the pack. Although the standings are always changing, when we last checked the leader board, four out of the top 10 bands were from our fair city, with Evanston-based Rachel Metter at the top of the list with 1727 votes at press time. The band's profile says it has "gained a fan-base among high school students in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, following the recent release of their dynamite single, 'Intentions.'" Sadly, Chicago reps 100th place as well, with the ironically titled Elgin-based Rejection Letter coming in at last place with a whopping 127 votes to its name at press time. more ›

With Don Imus shooting his mouth off, the same old recycled music, and Clear Channel dictatorially ruling the airwaves, radio is leaving a lot to be desired these days. That's why community stations like WLUW (88.7) are such an oasis in the desert of mainstream radio. more ›

Tonight is AMPED! Columbia College’s Third Annual Battle of the Bands which is part of an ongoing series that invites participation from area high school students interested in arts and communications majors. Six bands comprised of local students will be competing at Hothouse for the princely sum of a $50 gift certificate per band member and, of course, the bragging rights of being Chicago’s best band! Chicagoist will be there as a “celebrity judge” to... more ›

No, we're not talking about the DIY Trunk Show. Although Chicagoist has a love/hate relationship with the "crafting a revolution" movement, we must admit that we do get excited over handmade goods, especially the affordable kind. We know that creating something by hand is time-consuming, and it's better to buy something made locally than some mass-produced crap made by a small child in Korea. We craft, too. We get it. But we often cry "bullshit!"... more ›

Chicagoist often wears its rock snobbery on its virtual sleeve so you can imagine how excited we are to welcome Ray Davies to the Vic Theatre this weekend (while the first show is sold out, the April 2nd date still has tickets available). While never far from any decent list of Greatest Bands Ever, the influence of the Kinks is even more evident now. As the group's lead songwriter, Davies perfected the art of creating... more ›

As Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Sex Pistols and others are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight, we’re wondering how important such an institution is in a time when a “Top 100 Fill-In-The-Blank Bands Of All Time” list pops up every time we turn on the television. After all, the best AP writer David Bauder can do is to masquerade this mash note to Debbie Harry as a news story about the ceremony. more ›

Raizel Performances is a Chicago-based dance company that you may not have heard of. They describe themselves as "fledgling, underground and independent modern" (lots o' adjectives!). Last year they had 2 small shows (Fall 2004 and Spring 2005) and they're having another this March at the Open End Gallery. They plan to raise the bar this time and have a large orchestra on stage with them for the performance. more ›

Tonight is your best chance to see a Big Ass Rock Star kicking around town. more ›

Don't even remind us that summer is coming to an end, we just want to continue having fun in the sun. With that in mind, here are a few of the shows going on around the city this weekend. Friday and Saturday there is the Riverview Music Festival benefiting NGBC at DeVry University's campus. Bands slated include: Liquid Soul, Nicholas Tremulis Band, and Poi Dog Pondering (Friday) and Cathy Richardson Band, The Freddy Jones... more ›

Chicagoist just loves a band that includes matching uniforms, manic energy and songs that have a sugary bite snappier than the mintiest Frango chocolate treat. Therefore Chicagoist just loves Peoria’s The Amazing Killowatts, a band that is celebrating their ten year anniversary this summer. more ›

Room 217, Musicians more ›

If serenading sows or crooning to cows sounds to you like a sweet summer gig, Illinois State Fair organizers want to talk to you. But sorry sellouts, they can't pay you. more ›

You could be forgiven for a reaction of stunned silence at the news that the umlaut-ed Queensrÿche has sold out a three-night run that starts tomorrow at the House of Blues (especially since it follows a sold-out show here earlier this month). We like “Silent Lucidity” too but geez… more ›

Can anyone give Chicagoist a ride to Springfield? We really, really want to go to the Illinois state fair this weekend, if only to see the new and improved butter cow. Well, that and Clay Aiken. Eh, the cow, Clay, and "The Beast, A 150-foot-long exhibit... that lets visitors walk through the creature and see its heart and other innards." Aow, we love innards. We�ll pay for gas? more ›

Chicagoist thinks it's interesting that our city seems to specialize in certain art forms - namely comics, improv comedy, and music. And the cover story of this week's New City offers a peek into that latter group, the great local music scene. In an article listing "Ten Bands on the Verge" � Chicagoist wonders on the verge of what, exactly? � music critic Dave Chamberlain calls out his favorite up-and-coming hometown acts. While sorting through the fray, he makes a few pithy, dead-on remarks about Chicago music, like "The rest of the world lumps Chicago's indie-rock bands together � and that's not necessarily a good thing" and "Chicago is strewn with with the corpses of bands that burned out and fractured before their star rose." more ›

One of the best weekend activities in Chicago is watching experimental theatre troupe the Neo-Futurists perform their weekly, ever-evolving show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. With the help of some raucous (read: drunken) audience participation, they miraculously put on 30 plays � comedic, political, and dramatic sketches of varying lengths � in 60 minutes. These crazy geniuses even determine your admission price based on the roll of a die and order pizza for audiences at sold-out shows. For good reason, it�s Chicago�s longest running theatre tradition. (Late Night Catechism be damned.) more ›