On first glance, this year's lineup reads like a combination of best-of acts from previous years, bands catching the "let's reunite for a large festival" bug, and letting the music that's brought younger audiences to Grant Park in recent years hold a larger sway on the festival's programming. more ›

OK, this isn't so much Chicago based but since the annual Gathering Of The Juggalos occurs downstate and The White Stripes played Chicago a lot in their early days we taking that entryway and running through it with this piece of astounding news. more ›

Few musicians in the past decade can even think of comparing resumes with the likes of Jack White. From forming the generation-defining band The White Stripes, to producing country music legend Loretta Lynn and later collaborating with his Detroit buddies Brenden Benson and members of The Greenhornes in the form of The Raconteurs, White has seemingly done it all. The journey has been filled with many twists and turns along the way which have included a few acting gigs, his move from his beloved Detroit to Nashville, Tennessee with his wife Karen Elson and two children. But White's not one to stay still and he started a new collaboration with Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and two-time band mate, Jack Lawrence (the Greenhornes and Raconteurs) for what we think is his most interesting and hard-hitting project yet: The Dead Weather. Their sound is rife with intense guitar tones, severely ominous lyrics and vocals that would make most people's hair stand on end, something that we've referred to as "Murder Blues" in Chicagoist offices. Though its influences are abundantly clear, nothing sounds quite like it, and for that matter nothing probably ever will. more ›

It’s practically a modern pop-culture pastime to delight in the train wreck that can result when an actor- or model-turned-musician cuts their first album. The track record for such entertainers is spotty at best, so we were tempted to reserve a little cynicism for Karen Elson— (still probably best-known as the flame-haired, ghost white supermodel of things we can’t afford). To do so would have been a bit unfair to Elson, who isn’t really new to the game at all: she's lent her talent to collaborations with Cat Power and Robert Plant, and sings with the cabaret-styled collective she co-founded, The Citizens Band. more ›

We were one of the lucky few to attend The Dead Weather "secret" KIN show at Marquardt Trucking Company last Saturday. We went in with low expectations partially because while we enjoy The Dead Weather's gothic blues we aren't exactly rabid fans and partially because these sponsored shows rarely live up to the hype that precedes them. So imagine our surprise to discover that an old trucking warehouse had been transformed into one of the more cozy venues we've been in. The crowd was eager and happy to be there and while there was an open bar for all, we never had to wait to long for a drink and we didn't really notice anybody misbehaving. The mayor was even on the premises before the show started! more ›

One-upping all other comers with the "hey, guess what we're releasing RIGHT NOW" game is the Jack White / Brendan Benson-led Detroit combo The Raconteurs. The group announced today's release of their new album Consolers Of The Lonely exactly one week ago, and the album is available both digitally and is physically -- both CDs and vinyl versions -- in stores. We have no idea how a) they kept the whole thing quiet this long and b) how they wrangled the physical distribution so quickly. This is just another example of a band attempting yet another new approach to counter the failing business model plaguing the music industry at large. more ›

The Von Bondies play the Abbey Pub tomorrow night with SSM and Freer, 9:00 p.m., $12 advance/$15 day of. more ›

Everyone is to blame for album sales being down except the actual industry itself. Who gets the spotlight for bringing down the sales this time? It’s the media and those promo copies they receive in order to review albums before they hit the street. Everyone remembers the Jack White/Q101 fiasco a few weeks back after Electra played Icky Thump in its entirety and then (surprise!) the album showed up on file sharing sites three weeks... more ›

The last thing on our mind this morning was spending money, but then we started perusing what goes on sale this weekend and we’ve spent our whole damn paycheck! Meg and Jack White want us to believe many things about them - that they are brother and sister, that Jack will never be quoted accurately because he’s famous, or that they are unbelievable musicians who literally march to the beat of their own drummer. Whether... more ›

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried... more ›

Jack White’s entire week was ruined by one fan with a bit of influence and a lot of airtime. DJ Electra, who handles afternoons on Chicago alterna-giant Q101, was fortunate enough to stumble across a full version of the White Stripes’ forthcoming and very much anticipated Icky Thump album. She did what any self-respecting superfan with a listenership of several hundred thousand rock fans would do – she put that shit on the air. While... more ›

We swore My Chemical Romance just left town in a haze of mascara and Queenesque choruses, but the inclusion of MCR on so many year-end, best-of lists means there’s money to be made. So the black parade marches again with local heroes Rise Against who seem to be cast in the unfortunate role of second to bands for whom they’ve paved the way. Allstate Arena, March 1, 7:30 p.m., $30, all-ages. On sale tomorrow at... more ›

Recording their first album in thirty-three years, the revamped Stooges are in town recording at Steve Albini’s home away from home, Electrical Audio. Over the last two weeks or so, Mr. Albini has been getting quite the press. His business is profiled in a Crain’s series regarding music and the bottom line, he’s the subject in Bob Mehr’s piece “The Plumber”, and now the MSM has decided to jump in and talk about our indie... more ›

After this weekend the city would be absolutely nuts to ever let Lollapalooza slip from its grasp. Before even entering the festival grounds, we witnessed throngs of attendees (marked by their omnipresent blue wristbands) eating at restaurants all throughout the Loop, buying countless trinkets and souvenirs, and really giving the city’s hospitality industry a refreshing shot in the arm. As a destination concert intent on drawing people to Chicago from all around the globe, this... more ›

It’s funny how the granddaddy of “weirdo-festivals” is now, for all intents and purposes, a secured bastion of the establishment. We still remember the very first Lollapalooza and the feeling that “we” were on the verge of winning the cultural war through music. We were, unfortunately, correct, and we’ve been paying for it ever since as Madison Avenue keeps packaging and re-packaging that which we hold dear in order to sell us an edgy new... more ›

Chicagoist awakened Sunday morning to grey skies and rain. Luckily, Day Two of the Intonation Music Festival was anything but dreary. Following are some recaps of the performances that we liked best (and, boy, narrowing that down was a hard decision). Before the clouds even had a chance to dissipate, we were blown away by the Tyrades. Finally, a pure and simple punk band. We loved Jenna Tyrade's screams and the whole band's assaultive attitude.... more ›

Chicagoist headed to the historic Auditorium Theatre to see the first of three shows by the White Stripes Monday evening. The stage was set in the requisite red, white, and black that the band has branded themselves in with painted white palm trees and a red and black backdrop of palm trees. The stage was full of all the goodies that Jack and Meg need to create their staccato and sustain sounds, from extra... more ›

So imagine you’re a rock guy. You’re born in Detroit (and have been known to hang out with Jack White) so you’ve got a quality rock pedigree but you’ve also been spending a lot of time in Berkeley, CA so you’ve got that pop stuff going from all those flowers in your hair. You’ve opened for Keane so you’re riding a nice buzz but you’re a little concerned about keeping your rocker cred. So what... more ›