Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Kurt Vile excels live in a low-key, quiet environment. We saw Vile open up solo for Matador Records labelmates Fucked Up at the Viaduct Theater (itself a warm-up to a later show at the Empty Bottle) and were incredibly impressed. We've been huge fans ever since, and we're absolutely certain that Vile's latest album, Smoke Ring For My Halo will be in our top ten albums of the year. So imagine our excitement when Matador announced formally that Vile would be playing solo, acoustic in-stores at Cleveland-based Music Saves and at Chicago's own Reckless Records. more ›

We love Cobra Verde. We love Dinosaur Jr and pretty much everything J. Mascis' guitar touches. So when we heard about Sweet Apple -- combining singer / guitarist John Petkovic and guitarist Tim Parnin from Cobra Verde with Mascis and Dave Sweetapple, his bassist from Witch -- we had huge expectations. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival rolled to a triumphant close yesterday with a much-delayed set by Cut Copy literally stealing the show from the headlining Spoon. A few scheduling changes led to minor confusion between crowds from time-to time, but the organizers did a good job of trying to constantly remind people where they should be and when from the various on-stage announcements delivered by either Tim Tuten or Damon Locks throughout the day. It was also the dryest and warmest day of the weekend, but folks were looking out for each other and helped each other cope with the bright heat that settled over Union Park. more ›

It seems like yesterday that Chicagoist got an excited email from a fellow Dinosaur Jr fanatic, which bore the news that one of our fav formative-years bands would be playing a three-night stand at the Abbey Pub this spring. Like an 80-degree day after a weeks of 50’s, the time is nigh and the choppin’ starts tonight. more ›