So remember that Jonathan Richman show at Double Door that got postponed way back in June? Well, it’s rescheduled for tomorrow. You probably already knew that but just in case. Tickets from the June 25th show are being honored and the show’s not sold out yet so this is your last chance to catch him. His new album Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love finds him working in dual romance languages (French and Spanish) but not leaving behind his journeyman guitarist sensibilities. It’s also somewhat fitting that Richman name-drops “Salvador Dali” and “Vincent Van Gogh” on this disc as he’s always been an artist who’s painted vivid sonic portraits himself. more ›

With the Jonathan Richman show postponed, the best musical bet this Friday night is over at Metro, where Austin's Spoon will perform. Combining some of the best elements of Elvis Costello and Wire, Britt Daniel�s band writes simple, infectious rock songs that make creative percussive use of handclaps and breathing sounds. (Chicagoist firmly believes that handclaps can make any good pop song great.) Spoon put on a solid live show, to boot, doing strong... more ›

There's that apocryphal statement about the Velvet Underground � attributed to everyone from critic Lester Bangs to Lou Reed himself � that their records never sold a million copies, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band. Thankfully, one of those people was Jonathan Richman, who paid tribute to his idols in the song "Velvet Underground": "They were wild like the U.S.A./ A mystery band in a New York way/ Rock and roll, but not like the rest/ And to me, America at its best/ How in the world were they making that sound?/ Velvet Underground!" more ›