The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music During the day, she's the Chicago correspondent for the Nikkei stock exchange's newpaper. After hours, Yoko Noge is one of the more adventurous musicians in the city, with an innate grasp of the blues that many folks born and raised in this city would kill to have. Singing both in English and Japanese, Noge......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Chamber Strings have a turbulent history, but leader Kevin Junior -- having left many of his demons behind him -- is experiencing a joyous resurgence lately. The band's recorded output falls into the dreamy orch-pop category, but the songs really come alive and gain some grit on stage. Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia, 10......

It seems fitting to share this with you today. Bumpus has long been known for their energetic live show, but recently they took a large stride forward both sonically and lyrically. They've created their first video ever for "Something's Got To Give." The song's blatant political bent seem to ring true right now, especially given yesterday's voting results. It stands as a call to action and a plea to rise above political apathy, and it......

Let's take a look at some of the best live & local music in our fair city this week: Monday, 2/4: Tom Schraeder & His Ego, Wild Sweet Orange, Brent Pulse at Schubas, 8:00 p.m., $6 Ain't no party like a folk rock party, 'cause a folk rock party don't stop...erm, Chicago born-and-bred Schraeder has been racking up the positive press going into his Practice Space residency at Schubas. Alabama indie kids Wild Sweet Orange......

Crazy wild lineup for the Saturday installment of the Tomorrow Never Knows festival at Schubas. Let's take a look, shall we? White Williams is the current hip hop-electro indie wunderkind, and perhaps the blogosphere's favorite young son since Beirut's Zach Condon. While his recent tourmates Girl Talk and Dan Deacon are relatively over-the-top in their use of pop culture touchpoints, Williams is far more minimalist in his influences. They're impeccable nonetheless, and Williams has more......

Does anyone besides us remember Wolcott? That band had so much energy, combining Springsteenian grandeur with indie-rock passion. The only downside was that you HAD to see them live to get it. Their single album never did the group justice. Well, a bunch of guys that used to be in Wolcott teamed up with some ex-40 Piece Choir folks, re-jiggered the set-up, and named themselves The Quilts. They play a unique blend of Americana......

The Cool, Lupe Fiasco's much-anticipated follow up to Food & Liquor, dropped on Tuesday to a cloud of bittersweet press. Some critics have blasted the album for its darker sound, wishing for the breezier days when Lupe's rhymes were all about meeting cute girls and skateboarding. Others question if the change in sound is a move in the right direction. However you feel about the album (or if you haven't had a chance to......

In a past life we worked as a talent buyer for a local club, and one of the pleasant surprises of our life at that point was bringing in bands from out of town that were so much better than their demos. The Milwaukees, out of New Jersey, were brought to our attention by a friend, and while their demo was so-so, we took a chance on them anyway and gave them a show. The......

Ah, it's like shootin' fish in a barrel over at Chicagoist EOYW headquarters. We know how passionate you guys can get about these things, so we'll cut right to the chase: If you've never at least tapped your foot along with the vapid faux-angst anthems of Avril Lavigne, you may have been living in a mall-less town in, say ... Canada. Oh, wait. We've seen her in concert before under the guise of "journalism," and......

We love Blur. And Super Furry Animals. And Happy Mondays, Pulp, and Supergrass. So it's not surprising that we enjoy Chicago-by-way-of-the-'burbs outfit Ultra Sonic Edukators. The group's writing style is firmly rooted in the mid-'90s British explosion; some fault them for that, but we are of the opinion that the world would be better off if more bands took their cues from that point in time. The group has just released the digital only Bad......

This week looks to finally mark the beginning of winter around here, and while we're not huge fans of bulky sweaters, digging our out cars from under three feet of snow, and the unshakable common cold, we do love the feeling of coming out of the freeze and into our favorite cozy Chicago music venues. Ushering in wool sock weather this week are three very special rock shows: Oucho Sparks doesn't sleep, it waits. Three......

So we just got word that Juliette and the Licks will be appearing at Reggie's on November 16. We saw this group, led by Juliette Lewis, at The Note over the summer and admit to loving her live show. Some have opined that Ms. Lewis is too busy ripping off Iggy Pop and PJ Harvey to be very interesting, but we suspect these folks have a) never seen her live and b) have not heard......

Imagine our surprise when gearing up to see tonight's performance by The Mystery Jets, a band whose live show we've greatly anticipated seeing, only to be stymied. So yesterday we checked the website of the club they were scheduled to play to confirm the set-time, only to discover the show had been moved to Schubas! Which, oddly enough, is where we were supposed to see them the first time they didn't come around when their......

With a Kevin Shields-inspired, Lost In Translation-worthy intro track, Airiel's debut sets its agenda and keeps true to its promise. This band loves the wall-o-sound shoegaze of the late-'80s and early-'90s, and we love the fact they do that sound justice without resorting to sentimental trickery. Many bands have tried to tread the same path, building up walls of feedback, fuzz, and reverb to simulate the guitar crunching glories of those hazy days. Most fail,......

Today is the last day to register for your chance to win 2 tickets to see Earlimart at Schuba's Thursday night. We're loving the band's latest album, we love their live show, and we love the idea of kicking off the holiday weekend one day early. But what do we love most of all? The fact that one of our readers will be able to take in the show for free! Enter today for your......

Assuming the power comes back on at Schubas by tomorrow evening (and that battle rap isn’t your cup of tea), get ye out to take in the not un-U2-like grandeur of Brighton, MA. Chief songwriter Matthew Kerstein has been a talent to watch in Chicago since his days in Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, and he’s stepped into his creative happy place on Brighton’s debut EP on Loose Tooth Records. The songs are expansive without losing......

The cast of Family Guy will hit Chicago next month to present, live and uncensored, a “classic episode” of the animated series. Perhaps you love the show but would rather see it delivered by actors on book accompanied, Rocky Horror-style, by hundreds of Stewie groupies reciting their favorite punchlines. If so, get your butt down to the Chicago Theatre box office tomorrow morning in time to nab the close-enough-to-smell-Seth-Green’s-mousse seats. A hit at Montreal’s Just......

It’s difficult to choose only one performance that was my favorite from 2007 Lollapalooza. Polyphonic Spree's joyous performance captured my heart and made me remember what Lollapalooza and all music festivals are for — losing myself in the music. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on an energetic, tight set, and Daft Punk brought it all home with a phenomenal stage show that was never topped throughout the weekend. The performance that was miles ahead of......

Each morning we're going to highlight five bands playing at Lollapalooza that we think are worth seeing. Some will be popular, some less known, but we believe they're all worth your time. Today we're keeping it short and not including an after fest show because, to be honest, we're beginning to get a little worn down. We love that all this great music is happening in our fair city, but it tends to get a......

Each morning we're going to highlight five bands playing at Lollapalooza that we think are worth seeing. Some will be popular, some less known, but we believe they're all worth your time. And for those not making it to the festival itself, we'll round it out with an additional show going on after the grounds close down for the evening. Matt & Kim Bouncy, jouncy, fun, and happy, Matt & Kim are just the sort......

Each morning we're going to highlight five bands playing at Lollapalooza that we think are worth seeing. Some will be popular, some less known, but we believe they're all worth your time. And for those not making it to the festival itself, we'll round it out with an additional show going on after the grounds close down for the evening. The Switches We are sure we'll be cursing this band from England throughout the day.......

We’re gonna cut right to the chase, since it’s Friday and we’re all clock watching like woah: The Saturday lineup on the north stage of the Wicker Park Summerfest might be the best $5 you spend on live music all summer: Fancy Trash kicks off with a tough-kid brand of punky acoustic in the hangover breakfast slot, which sounds to us like a decent way to ease into that first beer of the afternoon. We’ve......

There’s been a subtle shift in Chicago’s independent music scene over the past year. As bands like The Ponys, The Changes, and Bound Stems are out of town more often in accordance with their newfound national attention, other hardworking bands are stepping up to establish themselves as the foundation of the city’s new music community. One of the leaders of this pack is Cracklin Moth, who has built a following on the strength of a......

Tonight sees the rare appearance of a most endangered species, something seen almost as rarely as the cicadas that currently roam our land; tonight sees Chicago's Hushdrops dusting the cobwebs off their instruments and hauling their gear onto the stage. Hushdrop's are fronted by multi-instrumentalist John San Juan, and the band is heavily indebted to both his love of The Beatles, the Who, and all things prog that you can fit into a four-minute song.......

In one of his rare stops in the US, Spanish-born Parisian Latin folk singer cum punk rocker Manu Chao played to a sold-out crowd at the Aragon Ballroom last night. Wildly popular in both Europe and Latin America, Manu Chao has had less mainstream success in the US, although his fan base here is large and loyal. Heavily influenced by the UK punk scene during his formative years in the suburbs of Paris, Manu Chao's......

The summer sun has rejuvenated the DDaN column, so we're clocking back with our thoughts on a few of the week's notable concerts. Tonight, if you didn't get invited to see Fall Out Boy, and you're not heading to Liar's Club to listen to (and to buy) the new Queens Of the Stone Age at midnight, might we recommend checking out The Hourly Radio at The Note? If you dig Placebo, and you haven't yet......

Memorial Day weekend is nigh! That means summer is officially here and girl-watching season is in full force. We thought we’d dedicate today’s EOYW to all the ladies who make summer worthwhile. Amanda Leigh Moore has been cultivating that girl next door image her entire life. We’re not sure how Mandy has managed to avoid the pitfalls of excess that other Hollywood divas her age seem to revel in, but this movie and television star......

We've only cried twice at rock shows. Once was when the Flaming Lips opened for Beck, and something about "Lightning Strikes The Postman" (was it the strobes? the bullhorn? the crowd's empathic explosion? we don't know) caused our tear ducts to let loose and lose control. The other time was Friday's Arcade Fire show at the Chicago Theatre, as we were surrounded by as unlikely a crowd as we ever expected to see rejoicing in......

We will never understand why Sloan is not the biggest band in the world right now. This group of Canadians consistently release strong albums, the weakest of which still put 98% of the world's rock and/or roll bands to shame. They've transitioned from a band of shoegazing popsters, into a '60s-tinged hit-machine until settling on their current trend of penning impeccable melodies influenced by equal parts '70s arena rock and timeless power-pop. The band's latest......

Chicagoist is a big fan of channeling our inspirations into our creative output, so we’re naturally drawn to the British Invasion — worshipping Locksley. Named for Robin of Locksley from Robin Hood, one has to expect and accept a certain amount of best-intended robbery. Fortunately, this fab foursome from Madison (by way of Brooklyn) has the gumption and showmanship to pull off the rip off with more than a bit of style and an......