Results tagged “doubledoor”

Halloween is quickly approaching and next week brings a host of musicians through the city to get your ghoulish weekend kick-started days in advance.

             

Living Colour's sold-out show at Double Door was a marathon-length set that proved this hard rock / jazz / funk / kitchen sink quartet can still deliver a ferocious show over 20 years into their career. Singer Corey Glover, guitar whiz Vernon Reid, dextrous drummeer Will Calhoun, and swooping bassist Doug Wimbish crammed in amongst the piles of cables, pedals and gear onstage to pluck a set touching upon every stage in their career, as well as offering a preview of tracks from their latest album The Chair In The Doorway. All the material was met with an enthusiastic crowd response, with the audience matching Glover's singing and at times providing complete verses and choruses, much to the band's obvious delight. Our own personal highpoint of the show was the incredibly moving delivery of "Open Letter (To a Landlord)" that began with a swooping gospel vocal from Glover before the band descended into an impassioned heavy groove. Sunday night's show wasn't a band trying to reclaim former glories, it was a band still fully in its prime.

           

Soulsavers rolled through Chicago last night, but it was obvious everyone filling Double Door last night was there to see their frequent singer and collaborator Mark Lanegan. He presided over the evening's dark affair, and while he rarely moved just about every eye in the house was on him. It's hard to describe Lanegan's charms through pure description, since he stands stock still, doesn't address the crowd at all, and insists on stage lights that barely push through the darkness. But he is so focused on each song's delivery he becomes a hypnotic presence. He conveys more drama and emotion through sheer will than most other performers can do with a stage full of props. It's pretty incredible.

It often takes seeing a band live to better understand and fully appreciate their sound. We headed out Friday night to the Double Door to check out British pop's freshest new face, Esser, and conceptual electro-rock trio Datarock. Three hours and two acts later we left all smiles, appreciating the power a live show has to unite an audience and tie up the loose ends of an album.

Despite the fading stability of the independent record label model, Chicago has long remained an epicenter for small labels doing big things. Over the years you've heard the names of the main players—Thrill Jockey, Bloodshot, Touch & Go and Drag City—but Chicago boasts a host of lesser known, but no less ambitious labels.

Soulsavers is essentially a studio construction built by the duo of Rich Machin and Ian Glover. They create deft instrumental tracks that range from industrial scrawl to gospel wail. Their previous album was one of our favorites from 2007 primarily because amidst their meticulously crafted electro-soul rock jams, they employed an incredibly potent secret weapon in guest singer Mark Lanegan's vocals. Lanegan's presence took what would have been an interesting production project and elevated it into something viscerally appealing.

We gave you our own history of local band Mr. Russia a while ago. And we enjoyed their debut they dropped waaaaay back ... earlier this year. Well, you certainly can't call them lazy (or stingy) because they've already released a follow up Training For The Gameshow Host EP (for free)! The new EP is populated by a darker and slightly more skewed vibe, and while the debut was no light affair, the group seems more menacing here. But it shows a band branching out from its more rudimentary inclinations. The EP also houses a wicked cover of Radiohead's "The National Anthem." Download your own free copy before the band comes back to it's sensed.

We've noticed there's been a bit of confusion over tonight's Breeder's show, and we figure the blame probably lays firmly on the post-Lolla music hangover that's settled over the city. So let us clear things up!

         

Judging by the raucous crowd that braved an early set time and soggy weather to catch Gaslight Anthem Friday at Lolla, this foursome from New Jersey may be seeing their ship come in very soon. It's no surprise, really, as their Americana punk 'n' roll combines elements from a few very successful precedents. There's Springsteen's small-town desperation, Jimmy Eat World's soaring guitars and The Clash's peckish swagger. These boys didn't disappoint the capacity crowd at the Double Door on Saturday night, who crushed and danced despite the oppressive heat in the un-A/C'ed room. We're lucky we made it out with a functioning camera, because the sweat was flying for 90 minutes.

         

Stellastarr* played to a pretty crowded house last night at Double Door, and pulled out a mammoth set list including lots of gems these ears haven't heard in a live setting. Here's hoping they don't wait multiple years to swing back through town.

On June 6 avid storm chaser Fabian Guerra died in a car accident to meet up with two of his compatriots, leaving behind his wife and 12-year-old daughter. Fabian also left behind a bereaved Chicago music community, many of who he haad given their start in the back room of The Big Horse in Wicker Park.

It's been three years since Stellastarr* released their last album, and it's cliched to say this, but nowadays that really is an eternity. It's even longer when your band is one that sprung from the same dance rock movement that spawned The killers, The Rapture, Interpol, and a thousand other Brooklyn bands that discovered Joy Division and disco. We've always had a soft spot for Stellastarr* -- full disclosure: The first time we saw Stellatarr* we skipped the opening band ... The Killers -- and thought that their grooves were always just a slight bit more playful than most of their contemporaries. We were also always a sucker for the male / female vocal interplay between guitarist Shawn Christensen and bassist Amanda Tannen.

We raved about The Heavy last time they landed in Chicago, and our prediction was spot-on. Here's what we said.

The great part of Lollapalooza is the music. The not-so-great part is the crowds. For those of you who love the music but hate the festival scene, Lollapalooza weekend provides the city with plenty of preshows and after shows. For more, check out the list of all of the so-far-announced post-Lolla shows.

'Tis the season of free music in the city, but don't put your wallet in the lockbox for the summer quite yet or you will miss out on these veteran acts gracing two of Chicago's best stages in the coming months.

              

Sweat dripped from the ceiling at Double Door last Thursday as The Sounds and Hey Champ brought a double-barreled attack of rock and dance to the thronging masses. Hey Champ opened with a set and the band has definitely benefited from their nigh non-stop touring. Folks tend to forget they're a rock band since they've been playing with primarily hip-hop and electronic acts since signing to Lupe Fiasco's label last year, but their time on the road with The Sounds has led them to inject their music with new-found brawn that gives even their dancier tunes a pleasantly gritty edge.

This year's SXSW over-marketing award goes to White Lies, whose logo was everywhere: from a 20-foot high projection on the side of a loft building on heavily-trafficked Red River to the front of our hotel swipe key. Whether or not we appreciated the barrage, we certainly remembered the band's name and made a mental note to see what all the hype was about.

Company of Thieves celebrate the hometown release of their new album Ordinary Riches with a show at Double Door next week on Thursday, February 19 .... and we've got a pair of tickets to give away along with a signed copy of their new CD!

O.K., we admit we're way behind on this one, but when The Webstirs' new album hit our in-box we thought we had just discovered an incredibly promising new local band ... until we realized they've been around 15+ years. Of course once we learned that all we could do is gasp in disbelief that these guys aren't more popular and have flown so far under the radar.

Since releasing its self-titled full length last year on Bloodshot Records, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir has tirelessly drummed up business and collected fans here and abroad through exhaustive touring. Lucky for us, they've come home for the holidays.

Juliana Hatfield's recently released tour diary / autobiography of sorts When I Grow Up: A Memoir touched on a number of subjects that had been plaguing her for over two decades from a dislike of touring, an eating disorder, clinical depression, and the like. At the same time it revealed a true admiration for her collaborators and musical heroes over the years, and projected an admirably resolute sense of resolve when it comes to the business side of her art and her ability to meet its commitments mostly on her own terms. We also learned that while most venues don't exactly roll out the welcome mat when she arrives, Chicago's Double Door does a good job of making her feel particularly welcome, and that Chicago is home to some of her most enthusiastic and appreciative fans. She ended the book with a warning not to hold great expectations for any touring beyond a smattering of shows here and there from here on out. Luckily for us she doesn't seem completely beholden to that promise since she'll drop by Double Door tomorrow to promote her new album, How To Walk Away.

MSTRKRFT at Double Door. We're so happy they moved this banger of a show from Metro since it means a) no little kids and b) the fucking monstrous beats of MSTRKRFT will be demolishing a room as small as Double Door! Wahoo! It's bound to be absolutely insane. If you like either dance music or rock music, you do not want to miss this. Getcher tickets now, because it will sell out.

The last time we mentioned Farewell Captain we were expecting them to release an album shortly thereafter. That was a year and a half ago. Honestly, we had begun to resign ourselves to the idea that they might be one of those Chicago bands to record great albums that never saw the light of day ... but this Friday the world will finally be able to get its hot little hands on the band's debut, The Jersey Bounce.

            

Sloan played Double Door last Monday and we were lucky enough to catch them rip through a blistering set in top form. After the show we headed down the street to check out Rehab at evilOlive and had a surprisingly good time. We recommend checking it out sometime.

Crystal Castles create dance music out of brittle 8-bit derived beats and high-pitched squeaks and squonks. It's dance music for the Nintendo generation, full of dancing Marios and Luigis grinding up against ambisexual Sonic the Hedgehogs. For the most part their music is heavy on the treble and way in your face, and we understand that's not for everyone.

We saw The Midnight Juggernauts open for Justice a few months ago and were surprised at how much enjoyed them more than we did the headliner that night. This Australian trio takes dance music, injects it with plenty of proggy Pink Floyd touches, a heavy dose of glammy disco, and then latches it all onto the back of a hard-charging muscle car powered by guitar churning rock and/or roll.

There's no way around it, and it has to be said, but The Sleepers gleefully worship at the altar of Angus Young. Three to four chord riffs, 4/4 drums, and whiskey frayed vocals power this combo, smelling of graffiti, subterranean dressing rooms, and day old kegs. You can almost feel the sweat causing you outgrown bangs to stick to your cheeks.