David Ford is distinctly British in that he has no problem mixing orchestral arrangements with spry pop and boppy dancehall melodies, sometimes within the span of a single song. His latest album, Songs For the Road, consists of nine songs that don't stray, lyrically at least, from the topics of love won, lost, and lamented. Nothing really new there, huh? But the music behind the songs is a carefully crafted joy to listen to, and......

If you didn't catch Jon Brion at Hideout earlier this year, and missed him last night at Millennium Park, here's another chance to catch Jon Brion in an intimate setting at Martyr's. If you want to truly have your mind blown, you won't want to miss this. Tickets are on sale now for only ten bucks. w00t!......

We were one of the few lucky enough to catch Jon Brion when he stopped by The Hideout earlier this year. His one-man band is truly an awesome spectacle top behold, and will seriously leave anyone withing earshot slack jawed. When we heard he was coming back to Chicago to play a New Year's Eve show at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park we immediately thought, "This is the show to beat." So far, no......

We first witnessed the cockamamie genius of Jon Brion at the second Intonation Festival. Pouring rain be damned, the guy captivated 15,000 people that day, many of whom knew him only as “the guy who worked on Kanye’s records.” Chicagoist left the festival grounds that day with that rare inspiration feeling that reminds you of just how powerful it is to witness true musical aptitude when it meets unbridled creativity. Fast forward to the winter......

Last night we hiked out to one of our favorite clubs, Hideout, to take in the super sold-out Jon Brion show. The celebrity-festooned event (read: we think we saw the dude that played Darlene's husband on "Roseanne" there) packed the Hideout music room to the beams and rafters with an eagerly expectant crowd. Brion is famous for a variety of reasons (producer to the stars, composer of avant-pop movie soundtracks, mind-boggling grasp of musical history......

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......

It's true, hot on the heels of his super-sold out Steppenwolf appearance, we've been told Jon Brion will be performing at The Hideout a few days later on March 11. And tickets are already on sale. Get 'em while you can! Brion is best known for his collaborations with Fiona Apple, his stunning film soundtracks, and his just all-around genius-itude. This is even more exciting than that Andrew Bird show The Hideout snagged a while......

Last night was all about the Gutter Twins. The Double Door was packed, and the pheromones soaking the crowd served to fill in what little empty space there was. Greg Dulli's latest incarnation of The Twilight Singers has expanded to include the whiskey-soaked tenor of ex-Screaming Trees / Queens of the Stone Age vocalist Mark Lanegan, and we couldn't dream of a better aural foil for Dulli's own decadent squall. Dulli opened the show, strutting......

Now that we’ve fully recovered from Intonation this weekend, we’re stepping back to try and answer two questions: did the organizers create a brand separate from the Pitchfork Media juggernaut and is Chicago ready for a fest that brings together rockers and rappers with b-boys and badasses? We can’t find any fault with Intonation’s eclectic combination of musical artists. Some turned in performances that underwhelmed, while others could fairly be called historic (Roky Erickson) or......

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.......

. . . and we're spent. Though many were scared off by the early rains, Day Two of Intonation Fest 2006 rocked thanks to a lack of predicted thunderstorms (in your face, Skilling!) and a solid bill with tight segues. We were most impressed by Tyrades, Rhymefest, Jon Brion, and Dead Prez (though we gave thumbs up to almost everyone). As rain fell on the crowd watching Bloc Party, the vibe we'd been missing really......

(Editor’s Note: Are you an out-of-towner preparing to make the trek to Chicago this summer and wondering how to spend your time? Then download Act Like You've Been Here Before: The Chicagoist Guide To Chicago, a compendium of the Chicagoist staff’s tips for getting around Chicago and our favorite places in the city to eat, drink, shop and rock) in convenient PDF form. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the lion’s share of the press about......

Jon Singer, Mike Simons and David Singer of Intonation Music Festival...

This week in Chicagoland is turning out to be the week of updating who will be playing at what fest. Tomorrow at 8:30 am is the big Lollapalooza line up announcement. Official on-sale date for tickets/wristbands to be announced as well. We will be throwing something up regarding this as close to the announcement as possible - we can only type so fast while "working". We're still scratching our heads wondering who thought it was......

In order to get you all pumped up for the upcoming Ctrl-Alt-Rock concert, we've been going around chatting with the stars of the show. Last week, we chatted with Travis Chandler - one of the fellows behind the band Alphabet: Chicagoist: Can you explain the name of your band - Alphabet? Travis Chandler: Our favorite thing to do musically is to express somewhat complicated ideas in simple ways. Chicagoist: What are the things that you......