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Welcome to the second full work-week of 2008. If yours is going anything like ours, the term "hump day" doesn't even make you crack a smile. Here's (hopefully) some motivation to get you to the weekend: more ›

What do you get when you combine an elaborate set design, rock and roll magicians, acoustic custom poetry, and a melange of feel-good local bands? A whole lotta awesome, that's what. more ›

Intonation is back! And they’ve partnered with the MCA to put on a big ‘ole party as part of the museum’s 40-year celebration. Even better? The whole show is as free as air. Intonation’s Rock/Art kicks off on tomorrow at 1 p.m. with a whole slew of local bands, representing some of the most notable sounds to come out of Chicago in the recent past. When you get there, check out the new Sympathy... more ›

We think even our grandfather knows The Police are playing Wrigley Field tonight, and he lives in South Texas. Their two-night stand in Chicago certainly wins the award for most hyped show of the year (and we've definitely been guilty of adding to the pre-show buzz). Even though tickets have long been sold-out, enough people bought extra tickets ahead of time in hopes of making a profit that the re-sale market for tonight and tomorrow's... more ›

When we received a Myspace bulletin from one of our favorite local bands, The Fake Fictions, we hoped it included news about an upcoming show, a new tour, an appearance on Conan ... Not news about a massive fire at their practice space. more ›

The Long Winters play a sort of jouncy pop that is probably a really good defense against the overcast skies of their hometown, Seattle. On Putting The Days To Bed they sort of remind us of The Shins on a sugar kick. What would ordinarily be boilerplate indie guitar rock is suddenly blindsided by a phalanx of peppy horns, as on the oddly disco inflected "Teaspoon." more ›

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... more ›

Oh wow. This is going to be so much fun. The first CTRL-ALT-ROCK was a huge success so version 2 had to be bigger and better, naturally. But we think we've outdone ourselves. Chicagoist has profiled all four of the bands performing, to bring you up to speed: more ›

Skid Marks from The Ladies and Gentlemen more ›

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to... more ›

Chicagoist loves itself some comics, whether they feature the heroics of the Big Blue Boy Scout or the tales of a little girl growing up in Iran. We’re still kicking ourselves over how long it’s taking us to get through the stack of goodies that Short Pants Press sent us a while back. * So it follows that we also love comic creators and by the transitive property would also love The Hero Initiative (formerly... more ›

This weekend sees not one, but two debut releases from two prominent local bands. Both records have been years in the making, both have been floating around in some form or another for quite a while, and both are much anticipated. Both bands look a bit into the past for some of their inspiration but both groups ultimately aim to create rock that rolls. Chicagoist has long enjoyed The Ladies & Gentlemen and has observed... more ›

Chicagoist likes to think we can tell you something you didn’t know about Chicago from time to time. But Marjorie Freed and her blog, chicagoTips, put us to shame when it comes to some of the city’s hidden gems. more ›

Frankly, Chicagoist has grown sick of the whole yuppie versus hipster versus Gamera versus Donkey Kong debate so we decided to investigate whether or not it was even possible for all of these groups to coexist peacefully. We found our answer in the most unlikely location. Liar’s Club. Chicagoist has hung out at Liar’s Club pretty much since it opened and we can even be found in the DJ booth from time to time. Amongst... more ›

Metromix’s annual Rock ‘n’ Vote contest is on again with ten local bands vying for a chance to play a show at Metro. Voting continues now through midnight Sunday. Currently leading the vote tallies are The Lifeline, The Emerald Lizards, and Otter Petter (which sounds like it would be nice work if you could get it). One of the bands we’re hoping gets a few more votes thrown its way is Reptoids. They’re a four-person... more ›

Chicagoist has been spending way too many nights at home this winter because who in their right mind would want to travel to this freezing tundra to entertain us anyway? We've been enjoying the great local bands, but national acts are starting to come back with more frequency and, boy, are we are happy. more ›

The Bon Mots are a band that certainly doesn’t sound like one thinks they should. Comprised of members from a number of other local bands – including the grandiose Light FM, the punky Big Angry Fish and the new-wavin’ Wes Hollywood Show – the end result would most logically be something large, bombastic and musically daunting. more ›

From the standpoint of the local talent buyer the month of January sucks. There aren’t many national tours in effect, and most that are do their best to avoid the usually frigid Midwest, folks are still reeling from the holidays are less likely to spend their dough taking in live music. To combat this, the month has unofficially become “Local Talent Month” since local bands are, for once, in high demand and are often offered... more ›

The details are falling into place for Chicagoist’s first live rock show, Ctrl – Alt – Rock. For those of you who will still be nursing broken hearts after Valentine’s Day, Chicagoist invites you to Schubas on February 16th for an evening with three of Chicago’s best local bands: The Assembly, May Or May Not, and Alphabet. They will warm both the cockles and sub-cockular regions of your cold, black heart. Just in case you... more ›

Chicagoist spends a lot of time acting as observer, critic and theorizer on Chicago’s local music scene. But for a few months now, we’ve been thinking about spending less time posting and more time doing. Specifically, we wanted to put on a great live show with local bands that we love. And so in that spirit: Chicagoist presents: Ctrl – Alt – Rock With: The Assembly May Or May Not Alphabet When: Thursday, February 16th... more ›

Last night, some of Chicago’s best-known music writers and editors got together to answer a simple question: how does an unknown band get nice things written about them? The discussion, presented by the Chicago Music Commission was titled “Pitching Your Story: Media and Local Music” with Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot serving as moderator. In attendance were Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork Media; Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader; David Jakubiak, with the Chicago Sun-Times;... more ›

We’re still suffering from a White Sox hangover so the very thought of staying out all night to see live music has us feeling a little nauseous. But if you’re a Cubs fan or looking for some good live music with your Halloween festivities then there are plenty of options this weekend. We love a good cover song and the notion of bands masquerading as other bands is a natural for Halloween. Beat Kitchen hosts... more ›

Chicago can be a cruel habitat for local bands that make it big. Just look at how quickly folks turned on The Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill and Liz Phair as their careers progressed. Okay, Phair deserved the hostile response once she started to seriously suck but that’s beside the point. OK Go jumped to head of the backlash pack with the release of their Major Label debut a few years ago. You couldn’t open a... more ›

MOBfest is dubious at best in its claims of being a major player in the record industry even though it continues to infer that it has helped create album deals for Rachael Yamagata, The Killers and Kill Hannah. It’s pretty obvious that all of those groups had things in the works, though, long before they hit the stage at what is currently Chicago’s only music festival that claims to draw in the big label A&R... more ›

Chicagoist knows that singer/songwriter Kat Parsons has been kicking around Chicago for the last five years or so but we’re just getting to know her now. more ›

One of Chicagoist's favorite bands, Magnus, was recently selected as one of 2004's best unsigned bands by the Illinois Entertainer. This Friday at Metro IE is having it's Best of Around Hear showcase, featuring Magnus and two other great local bands, The Bon Mots and Canasta. more ›

Is there a bigger double-edged sword in any live music scene than the cover band and its fraternal twin, the tribute band? You could decide to form Safety Dancers: A Tribute To Men Without Hats and though you’d still have a built-in audience most clubs (at least the ones that don’t feature a “quarter draft night”) would be reluctant to book you because no matter how hard you work you’ll still be derisively referred to as “just a cover band.” With live band karaoke now the rage, most bands are finding that they have to bring a unique spin to the artists they cover in order to separate themselves from the pack. more ›

Magnus, one of Chicagoist's favorite local bands, is playing at Double Door tonight. Steve, Chicagoist's friend & band member, just sent us a jpg image of a flyer that will getcha in for only 3 bucks. Click for a full-sized version of the image and print it out, then present it at the door. Magnus goes on at 9:45 sharp. Also playing tonight are The Dears, Ariel and The Arks. more ›

It’s a constant battle: you want to see more live music and yet when it comes time to get your butt out of the house and queue up at the Metro, Empty Bottle, etc. you find yourself punking out to stay home and watch Cops. Chicagoist knows how you feel. We don’t see enough live music either and probably use the same excuses you do to talk ourselves out of it but this weekend you have no argument: more ›