We've mentioned OFFICE a bunch, and how much we like their smarty-pants pop, so we're pleased to be giving away two pairs of tickets to see them headline Reggie's Rock Club later tonight. Another Chicagoist fave, Ultra Sonic Edukkators is also playing, and the thought of they're hyper Brit-pop running headfirst into OFFICE's super tight arrangement makes us get all giddy, jumping up and down and clapping our hands. It's also worth noting that our......

While we're fans of Fu Manchu, we were going to skip their appearance at Double Door tonight. They always put on a dependable show, and we've never been let down by Scott Hill and his band of skater stoner-rockers, but every once in a while even we need to stay in and take an evening off to relax. Well, at least that was our plan. This morning, serendipitously, opener ASG's album, Win Us Over, made......

Since the 1986 release of his debut album Guitar Town, Chicago has long been home to one of Steve Earle's strongest fan bases. He's such a gifted songwriter that fans often overlook the fact that he's essentially made the same record since 1996, right down to the obligatory duet with a female singer, "state of my life" liner notes and beautiful artwork by his good friend, the local artist and noted unemployed film-goer Tony Fitzpatrick.......

This Sunday, Old Town School of Folk Music is hosting a hootenanny! Kids are invited to come in their pajamas and tote along their favorite plushie for this twee pre-bedtime show featuring Wiggleworms teachers Lindsay Weinberg, Rob Newhouse, Elaine Moore and others. Chicago Children's Theater promises to bring their own, life-sized Teddy Bear to join in the festivities. Show starts at 5 p.m. at Old Town's Lincoln Square location, and tickets are $11 for members......

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......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

We usually hate to just throw up a bunch of stuff in list form, but we’ve gotten wind of so many cool things that we just had to share 'em all. The kicker? They’re all free. No matter what your taste in celluloid or pixel, you’re bound to find something here to whet your whistle: Chicago indie flick The Minx is having a free screening on Saturday at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave. Director Michael......

Now that City Council has banned smoking tobacco on Chicago stages, city actors and audiences will have to get used to that cool herbal cigarette smell. If you're Jonesing for the real thing, you’ll have to head out to suburban Next, Circle, and Northlight theaters. Architect David Fisher, of “Leonardo da Vinci Smart Bathroom” fame, is hoping city leaders will go to bat for his next idea: a skyscraper whose floors spin slowly and independently,......

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......

After a week jam-packed with shows, we're not surprised that this weekend finds us wishing that payday hadn't been so long ago. Did you know Morrissey is making his only 2006 appearance in North America here in Chicago? We feel like it’s all we’ve heard about all week. But it’s true. Except for when he played SXSW back in March. So, not as special now. But still: Morrissey! Still spelling cranky as s-u-a-v-e after all......

This week marks the return of Adventures in Modern Music at the Empty Bottle. Arriving on the heels of the World Music Festival, the five-day event celebrates experimental music like the mash-up dance rock of Brazil’s Tetine, blessed-out head trips of France’s Colleen and Trapist’s space rock. A full lineup is available at the Bottle’s website, but don’t forget to see You’re Gonna Miss Me, a documentary at the Siskel Film Center on the fall......

Could adult men actually be more complex than they get credit for? Is it possible that labels like "meathead," "metrosexual," and "yuppie," don't tell the whole story? Could lame marketing and advertising ploys masked as bonafide studies be any more annoying and debasing to not only the people they purport to reveal information on, but also to those releasing this asinine report in the first place? Chicagoist is not sure how. So many things come......

Call it a case of Joni Mitchell’s Disease. Imagine you’re a folkie singer-songwriter from the 60s. In your genre, Bob Dylan is the standard-bearer and is the first name spoken when discussing those who’ve left their mark on it. But you’ve made great contributions too and can hear the influence of your work even today. After 30 years of waiting to be recognized and lauded for your contributions, what do you do? You do it......

Saturday night at the Park West, Chicagoist was entertained by Mike Doughty and his band of the same name. Trying hard not to pummel one another with our actual glass bottles (how nice to be treated like an adult at a concert), we settled into an evening of Mike creating a very intimate experience for the 900-person capacity venue. Jumping right into “Tremendous Brunettes” from his latest CD Haughty Melodic, the former Soul Coughing......

The mainstream media has moved on to other issues but the effects of Hurricane Katrina are still being felt by people in the Gulf Coast region. Two upcoming shows will try and ease some of the burden for folks who weren’t lucky enough to hit it big at the slots. (Seriously, CNN: was “flooded” really the best verb for the job in that second graf?) The stylish and hip folks at Pistil Magazine will strut......

Tonight is your best chance to see a Big Ass Rock Star kicking around town. Almost every major venue will be busy tonight with acts like U2, Beck, Franz Ferdinand, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Unfortunately, Beck and U2 are both sold out so Chicagoist has spent the morning speculating on where they might end up afterwards. Based on Beck’s penchant for impromptu performances in taco joints, we’re staking out Fiesta Mexicana. As for U2,......

What’s the best way to cap off a week of promotion for your new album? If you’re Kanye West, it’s taking on the President during a national telethon and cementing your status as the ambassador of the hip-hop nation. During an appearance on NBC’s “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” West departed from scripted remarks he was to deliver with fellow presenter Mike Myers. After an introduction by Meyers, a nervous-looking West stammered “You see a......

Saturday night’s your last chance to experience the free “high culture” of the Grant Park Music Festival and your best chance to wish WTTW a Happy 50th. When it comes to birthday bashes, these folks aren’t messing around. The emcess for the night are Joe “Fat Tony” Mantegna and Irma P. Hall who, for all their work supporting Hollywood’s biggest stars, have never actually worked together until now. The rest of the evening reads like......

Clear Channel Communications in a move to have more Chicago street cred has renamed their music operations here to Elevated Concerts. Apparently sick and tired of defending their strong arm tactics and monopolistic-like buyouts during the '90s, Clear Channel is trying to get in our good graces by changing their name, not by changing their practices. Chicagoist finds this akin to a murderer changing his name in order to continue killing while on the......

As always, there's a shitload of things to do this weekend. Go out have fun and don't forget to pick up some packs of sparklers. Even if you don't use them this year, it may be the last year you can get them legally... and you never know when a little sparkler action's gonna be needed. Stock up now. So here we go - African Carribbean International Festival of Life: Expect big, huge, diverse crowds......

Can’t decide whether the chicken or the burger is your afternoon delight? Why not screw the moral quandary and check out the FREE LunchBreak programs at the Chicago Cultural Center instead. This ongoing weekday series offers something for every wandering soul whose noontime errands are already run: Classical Mondays bring classical and opera performances; Jazz Café Tuesdays are for jazz, blues, and cabaret; the Dame Myra Hess concert series on Wednesdays puts the spotlight......

For anyone who still hadn’t seen it, the line that can be drawn as the shortest distance between the two points of gospel and soul music was sketched quite neatly in a sequence from the film Ray. As Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles is wooing his soon-to-be wife he steps into a version of “I Got A Woman” that’s even more tinged with the rhythm and movements of gospel than the version eventually laid down on......

Chicagoist has already cracked on Christmas albums in this space so there’s no need to belabor the point here (except to say Mannheim Steamroller and their entire yuletide-themed catalog can go straight to hell and come to think of it their other albums can follow them down to Old Scratch’s hideaway too). But we are partial to live music that is “of the season” as it gets us in the mood in a way that......

The mythology of The Day The Music Died hangs heavy over the world of rock music; it immediately evokes the tragedy of missed opportunity and loss. Few artists who have died in the midst of still relevant careers are able to escape its grip as commentators note that the artist was “turning their life around” or “on the verge of stardom.” True or not, it’s a generally accepted precept that we not speak ill of......

Chicago is infatuated with Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry thanks to his brilliant work on the Pritzker Pavilion and the BP Bridge in Millennium Park. But Gehry may not be finished gracing the area with his work. According to spokesman Keith Mendenhall, he is "actively exploring" the possibility of designing a library project in Deerfield. Best know for designing major civic projects such as Chicago's Millennium Park; Bilbao, Spain's Guggenheim Museum and the Walt......

Hear that? That�s the sound of Chicagoist rubbing its last two nickels together, plus the background tunes of the smallest violins in the world serenading us with phrases like, �Maybe if you didn�t spend all your money on alcohol and sneakers, you could afford not to eat rice every day.� That�s one of our favorite ditties. But August is the month of no fucking fun, and it�s been so chilly that we had to invest......