As cult figures go, they don't come with much more cred than Motörhead bassist and frontman Ian Fraser Kilmister, a.k.a. "Lemmy." Revered by even Ozzy Osborne as the godfather of Heavy Metal, the English expat has cultivated an image of the badass working man's hero through a career that spans the British Invasion, the Jimi Hendrix Experience (where he was a roadie), psych pioneers Hawkwind, and, since 1975, Motörhead. As his career motors full steam ahead into its sixth decade, directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski spent three years creating the ultimate rockumentary on the man behind the muttonchops, Lemmy: 49% Motherf**Ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch. more ›

We first heard of Acrassicauda through a story on NPR, describing the trials and tribulations of these heavy metal band of Iraqi refugees. They were recently hunkered down in Damascus, but got out in the nick of time when Syria started ejecting all Iraqi refugees, and not the group is in Istanbul ... trying their damndest to keep from getting sent back to Bagdhad. more ›

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival. Filmmaker Brett Morgan introduced last night's screening by clarifying that his movie Chicago 10 is not a sequel to Chicago the musical. He was joking, but we could all use a little refresher on the events of August 1968, when riots turned the Loop and Lincoln Park into battle zones between the police and protesters. The chronology of the whole nightmarish week... more ›

We weed through the week's live-music high points so you don't need to waste your time getting newsprint all over your fingers as you dig through the concert calendars found in your local newspaper. Plus, we give you room to pipe in with your own suggestions. Awesome, no? Knife of Simpson have long been local favorites of ours, and since they don't play that often we try to catch 'em any chance we get. They... more ›

It’s a triple threat at the Metro Saturday evening with Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers, and Split Lip Rayfield. If Chicagoist hadn’t maxed out their credit cards before doing any holiday shopping, we’d pick this lineup for our Saturday live show pleasure, but alas… more ›

Rachel Barton Pine is a violinist on a mission spread classical music. And she's doing it by going on rock stations and playing heavy metal songs on her Guarneri violin. more ›