Chalk it up to Midwestern modesty; on its website, Like Pioneers explain the story of their debut album, Piecemeal, in humble terms. The band’s name is born out of a “self-deprecating joke,” the record is one that “with the help of many” and the group themselves are “a bit surprised” to present Piecemeal at all. Perhaps Like Pioneers is an unlikely indie-rock phoenix as any in the Chicago music scene. Consisting of members from dearly departed local bands, including Bound Stems, The Narrator, and Chin Up Chin Up, Like Pioneers appear to be hedging their musical bets--or at least are making new music cautiously. more ›

Time to lock and load this week's list of hometown shows, SXSW style. 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 ›

There’s been a subtle shift in Chicago’s independent music scene over the past year. As bands like The Ponys, The Changes, and Bound Stems are out of town more often in accordance with their newfound national attention, other hardworking bands are stepping up to establish themselves as the foundation of the city’s new music community. One of the leaders of this pack is Cracklin Moth, who has built a following on the strength of a... more ›

So, is everyone getting excited to once again “taste the flavor of Northcenter” on June 9th and 10th? Area marketing firm Big Buzz Idea Group released their annual Ribfest lineup this morning, and it’s a typical street fest mix of solid local acts and some curious headlining choices. Let’s take a gander at Saturday’s alt-country-heavy plate for a quick and dirty example. You’ve got your full on honky-tonk (Fulton County Line), your country punkers (Dollar... more ›

The Onion's A.V. Club has leaked the line-up for Lollapalooza one day early, and you can read it here. If it's legit, Chicagoist is one happy camper! Many of the bands were already suspected, but a couple surprises do pop up. (Juliette and the Licks? Fuck yeah! Silverchair? Well, considering that their latest is actually good, we're even looking forward to seeing them too!) Chicago represents with acts like Rhymefest, Lupe Fiasco, Chin Up Chin... more ›

The Long Winters play a sort of jouncy pop that is probably a really good defense against the overcast skies of their hometown, Seattle. On Putting The Days To Bed they sort of remind us of The Shins on a sugar kick. What would ordinarily be boilerplate indie guitar rock is suddenly blindsided by a phalanx of peppy horns, as on the oddly disco inflected "Teaspoon." 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 ›

We all know that lists are great for pulling in readers and encouraging debate. As a matter if fact, this trend has grown into obscenely silly proportions in the MS(music)M, but we suppose they will do whatever they can in an attempt to keep themselves fresh. We’re looking at you Blender, Q, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly. (We’re letting Time off the hook for this one since their recent music list was just so obviously wrong, and people tend to turn to them for news and not music.) more ›

As we noted yesterday, winter is on its way (though you’d never know it), which means it’s harder to convince yourself to leave the house and spend time seeing great live music. But it also means it’s time for Tomorrow Never Knows, the “mini-winter-indie-fest” at Schuba's, now in its third year. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for the five-day fest that are yours for the having, if we pick your name. more ›

While we felt nationally the year was a little flabby when it came to music to get us excited, we found succor in Chicago’s constantly expanding scene that continues to grow in its influence. We had a hard time winnowing down our list to just a few stand-outs since so many great albums came out locally, but the following acts kept finding their way into our iPods and our DJ sets. And for those of... more ›

Bound Stems don’t sound like they’re from Chicago. Actually, they sound like they should either be from the Pacific Northwest or D.C., since both of those areas seem particularly adept at teasing out the emo (and we mean Rites of Spring emo, not Flop Haired Boy mall-punk) and fusing it with jarring pop. The group’s debut, Appreciation Night, is filled with clattering tunes that lean in towards the maelstrom of sound the band throws around.... more ›

As we near the end of November and look to the winter, the on-sale listings begin to look a bit spare; only the hardiest of souls venture into a Chicago winter. The California band Curtains records for the Sufjantastic label Asthmatic Kitty. And while its sound resembles the delicate folk of his records, that’s like saying Rivers Cuomo and Ira Glass resemble each other because they both favor heavy glasses and sweaters. Curtains favors spare... more ›