You can't throw a stone amongst a bunch of hipsters in the Wicker Park / Humboldt area without a decent chance of accidentally hitting Plastic Crimewave's carefully managed — and now more tightly clipped — 'fro. Long a staple of the local psych rock scene, at least as a prodigious historian and record-keeper with a killer collection (some of which saw airtime on a recent Market Frenzy podcast), Crimewave is assembling what he calls his... more ›

Time to get that credit card out of hibernation and spend away, my friends! This week must mark the proper amount of time between on sale dates and concert dates that corresponds to warm weather coming back to Chicago. Kaiser Chiefs will be out in support of their soon-to-be-released album Yours Truly, Angry Mob off which the single “Ruby” we were told sounds like Morrissey fronting Cheap Trick. While this image still has us reeling,... more ›

Chicagoist has begrudgingly come to grips with the arrival of fall – seriously, we had to wear a coat this morning – and embracing the good that comes with it. Namely: sweaters and hot toddies. more ›

As the Lollapalooza lineup grows (...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, The Ponys, Ben Kweller, Mark Farina, Drive-by Truckers, and the (International) Noise Conspiracy and have all recently been added), a few more of the acts find their way to Chicago this week giving you the chance to see them in their natural environments before they are allowed to roam free in the grassy expanses of Grant Park. more ›

Chicagoist knows you like being told what to do over the weekend, and we like telling you. If you're into orgiastic life-affirming pop symphonies, check out the robed and copious Polyphonic Spree (quoth Milhouse, "My doctor says I'm not supposed to go on sprees") and lead singer Tim Delaughter's attempts to become Wayne Coyne. The Spree will even have drummer Brian Teasley in tow after being cleared from the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List via that most trustworthy of alibis, TiVo. (See, we told you it's good for something.) Check out this band (cult? movement?) tonight and/or tomorrow at Park West and help them conquer the world one sugary single, iPod/VW commercial, and Michel Gondry film at a time. more ›