Friday, April 25: Aggrolites at Beat Kitchen Cloud Cult w/ Mason Proper at Schubas - Eco warriors fight the good fight through haunting orchestration and deceptively simple songwriting. MP3: Cloud Cult - The Ghost Inside Our House The Acorn at the Empty Bottle - Sunshine + Earth + water = acorns. Throw a few tight harmonies into that recipe and you'll end up this namesake group. MP3: The Acorn - Blankets Ted Ansani Project w/......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Lonely H are a bunch of high school kids with a real jones for the classic rock station. Of course in this day the classic rock station is just as likely to play Nirvana or Coldplay as it is to play The Who. Subterranean, 2011 W North, 9:30 p.m., $10, 18+ Keep On......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Pat McCurdy is one of those people who have been around forever. Seriously. Literally forever. His everyman songs appeal to a wide swathe of the population, which would explain his loooong-running Monday night residency at Beat Kitchen. He's sort of like a cross between Robbie Fulks and Jimmy Buffet, if you can imagine that.......

Local H fans are a very hands-on kind of people. Photo by Matt Birhanzel From May 7 through May 13 Local H will hold a residency at Beat Kitchen. Each night will see the full performance of one of their studio albums, in chronological order, through their latest, 12 Angry Months. Take that Wilco! Personally we're looking forward to the full performance of the overlooked but excellent concept album Pack Up The Cats. It's......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Chamber Strings have a turbulent history, but leader Kevin Junior -- having left many of his demons behind him -- is experiencing a joyous resurgence lately. The band's recorded output falls into the dreamy orch-pop category, but the songs really come alive and gain some grit on stage. Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia, 10......

We're huge fans of the Sunday kids' concerts at Beat Kitchen. This Sunday, take your toddler to see Little Miss Ann, a former CPS music teacher, fellow mama and one of our favorite local musicians. Her "Pirate Ship" song'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the weekend. The show starts at noon, and your $5 ticket includes a kid-friendly lunch of pizza and a juice box.......

Chicago's commercial rock community has always excelled in mixing and matching the various ingredients in its talent pool, and usually the results are greater than the sum of its parts (see Treaty of Paris as a prime example). Call it a mark of maturity or just settling into a groove, but there are some strong post-mall punk splinter groups making a statement in the city. Chief among them is American Taxi, a gang of accessible,......

We HATE the term Black Wednesday. We hold it in the same regard as other made-up holidays like Sweetest Day and Bosses Day. Growing up, we always knew it as "the weekend everyone is in town at the same time and gets fall-down drunk." Kind of like New Year's Eve, with longer legs and slightly less puking. Here are five spots with terrific musical happenings where we think the displaced weekend warriors will be few......

We know you head to Beat Kitchen to enjoy the likes of artists like Plane, New Duncan Imperials and Deadstring Brothers. Be prepared for your toddler to start dragging you back out when they hear about the “Concerts for Kids” shows on Sunday afternoons … at the same Beat Kitchen where you were rockin’ the night before. Once a month, Beat Kitchen opens up its concert space for local talent that caters to the younger......

Things slow down a little this week, but not by much. In fact, the only upswing to this week's slightly lighter musical calendar is that it doesn't force us to make as many tough decisions as last week! Apollo Sunshine is steeped in the psych-pop of the '60s, and we admit it's beginning to feel like we've been waiting since that decade for a proper follow-up to their last album. Maybe folks checking out their......

The summer sun has rejuvenated the DDaN column, so we're clocking back with our thoughts on a few of the week's notable concerts. Tonight, if you didn't get invited to see Fall Out Boy, and you're not heading to Liar's Club to listen to (and to buy) the new Queens Of the Stone Age at midnight, might we recommend checking out The Hourly Radio at The Note? If you dig Placebo, and you haven't yet......

The Comas have been at this shit for a while now. Originally formed in Chapel Hill, NC in 1998, their blistering brand of psychedelic-soaked garage rock has left a steady stream of sweaty, melted faces in its wake for nearly the past decade. They’ve collected some of the most desirable accolades an independent-spirited band can hope for, including contacts with North Carolina tastemakers Yep Roc and (currently) Vagrant Records, shoe shines from Pitchfork Media, Rolling......

Memorial Day weekend is nigh! That means summer is officially here and girl-watching season is in full force. We thought we’d dedicate today’s EOYW to all the ladies who make summer worthwhile. Amanda Leigh Moore has been cultivating that girl next door image her entire life. We’re not sure how Mandy has managed to avoid the pitfalls of excess that other Hollywood divas her age seem to revel in, but this movie and television star......

Well, we've already tried to hip you to tonight's free show at The Bottle, put there are plenty of other concerts to spend your time (and money) at this week. Tonight Bright Eyes begins a two-night Chicago stand. Their latest, Cassadaga, landed kind of limply upon our ears, but we're glad that main-Eye Conor Oberst seems to have outgrown his "child prodigy" mantle and is easing gracefully into middle age. Of note to the Chicago......

We've got a little bit of everything today to get you out of the house and over the blues that have overtaken many because of this second Winter we have been experiencing. Besides, it is supposed to hit the 50's today, so time to celebrate. We didn't have time to head to the WLUW record fair yesterday, but all the better with the sunny weather. The fifth annual record fair is at Pulaski Park Fieldhouse,......

While the deluge of bands making their way through town after SXSW remains strong, we decided this week we would focus on some hometown heroes. All Smiles is Jim Fairchild, stepping into the spotlight after play guitar in the now defunct Grandaddy. Fairchild crafts just the sort of lush pop you would expect, given his pedigree, but it's missing his previous group's willful quirks. Fairchild adopts a more direct approach with earnestly pleasing results. We're......

Hm, mid-February means two things: it's starting to warm up a titch outside, and the city is beginning to simmer in expectation of all those gazillions of bands that will be sweeping through town leading into and out of this year's SXSW next month. This week has a few groups matching that migration pattern as well as some locals (and local labels) just releasing new material for public consumption. Honestly, we've always been slightly suspicious......

Freezing cold? Check. Snowstorm on its way? Check. Another week of great music in Chicago despite (or "to spite") the weather? Check. We're not going to employ any lame Valentine's Day digs or puns. It's Wednesday. Who cares? OK, that was a dig. Anyway, Flosstradamus is one of our favorite DJ teams around, anywhere, right now. Their files may be digital, but the beats they throw down are organic as hell. Their sets literally mash......

It figures, as the number of shows each week ramps up, the mercury in the thermometer drops down causing us to risk frostbite whilst waiting for the bus, or drop way too much dough on cabs. Here are a few things that makes either of the above options palatable. Is Airiel actually from Chicago? You wouldn't know it from their sound, which leans walls of My Bloody Valentine guitars against melodies plucked from the late-80's......

This week we have some bands in town to do good, make us take our panties off, and give us a reason to get out from under our blankie in this cold weather. Buck up, Chicago – it’s only January! A recently sober Ryan Adams is taking the stage at the House of Blues to help Len & Bob raise some cash for Cubs Care. We’re not sure if this sobriety will cause Ryan to......

We were just going to keep our traps shut about this, but the ensuing talk we keep overhearing on street corners and other blogs has induced us to share our opinion on the latest idiocy displayed by a national magazine trying to display their knowledge of local markets. We are, of course, talking about Playboy’s selection of The Empty Bottle as one of America’s Top 10 Rock Clubs. Now we have nothing personal against The......

Last Thursday night, Chicagoist went out to the Hideout to catch a couple of bands. We had seen Das Kapital before because we know one of the guitarists* and had heard great things about Reptoids and M.O.T.O. These three bands perfectly complemented each other more than any other show we’ve seen this year. Reptoids opened the gig with a mix of influences from punk to blues-driven rock and metal. We were thrilled to see women......

Things are definitely winding down, and our cash is disappearing at an alarming rate. That’s why we’re not heartbroken that there aren’t too many shows this week to distract us from all that shopping we still have left to do. A free show will help alleviate those wallet pains. Thursday night at the Metro check out GZA from Wu-Tang Clan for nothing but an R.S.V.P. to www.scion.com/livemetro. Fyre Department and DJ Klever round out the......

This week it seems almost impossible, but we're looking ahead to even more holidays for the shows that went on sale today. First of all, and also on the 1st, The Hold Steady just aren't playing New Year's Eve at the House of Blues, they're gonna stay around for the first day of the year and do it all over again. Boys and Girls in America made 2006 a lot of fun. We think this......

Thanksgiving is over and the power shopping days are here. Taking some time out for music this week shouldn’t be too hard – it’s getting up early for work after four days off that’s difficult. Following are a few shows that will carry us from November’s rain to December’s snow. Tuesday or Wednesday can be spent with Ray LaMontagne at the Vic. This pair of shows is XRT’s Holiday Concert for the Kids. Bring a......

If there is any justice, Polyvinyl Records will soon remake the musical heritage of Champaign, IL, in its own image, making the town known less for ridin’ the storm out and more for smooth, pop confections that are heavy on harmony and keyboards (Parasol Records is already fighting the good fight in Urbana, with guitars firmly in hand.) Headlights is the latest band to lend its support to the cause. After an EP of some......

Well that was quick. Little more than a week after we reported on Thax’s burgeoning singing career, Tribune reporter Kevin Pang tell us that Thax is hopping a midnight train to Chicago and returning to the city that helped make him semi-quasi-famous. Apparently, Thax was unable to find a job or continue crashing at the recording studio he called home while living in NYC. He plans to seek employment here and presumably continue his poetry......

This weekend is really just too jam-packed with music we want to check out. We mean, WAY too jam-packed. We’ve already mentioned Veruca Salt tonight, but that’s sort of a high-profile show that most folks probably already know about. There are a couple bands coming through town this weekend that you’ve a) probably never heard of and b) are well worth your time. Early tonight, Thunderbirds Are Now! fly into the Beat Kitchen with a......

TGIF! Here are a few of the reasons why we're saying, "Hangover, be damned!" and getting up early tomorrow to feed the monster that is Ticketmaster. 30 Seconds to Mars Head Automatica Oct. 20, Congress Theatre, 6:00 p.m., $21, All Ages After a theatrics-filled set at Lollapalooza this summer, we need more of the Leto brothers. Luckily, they are returning with a slew of openers for an MTV $2 Bill show. Of course, we'll need......

Well, Lupe might not make it onstage tonight, but Isis ain't letting anything keep them at home. Apparently, due to a last-minute cancellation on the Tool tour they've been opening, they will be appearing at Beat Kitchen tonight! Opening for them are Beaten Awake and Yakuza. The mere thought of Isis' glacial sheets of metal pushing out at the walls of Beat Kitchen is enough to make us totally pee our pants with glee. If......