Results tagged “metro”

Didn't get tickets to the sold-out Jesus Lizard shows on Thanksgiving weekend? Fret not! The fierce Chicago foursome has just announced they'll be playing Metro for New Year's Eve this year. Tickets for the 18+ show go on sale this Saturday at noon.

The Raveonettes fourth full length album, the recently released In and Out of Control, finds the Danish duo losing their footing and succumbing to the allure of pop rock. It's easily their most hook-heavy and accessible release, but for those of us who've followed Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner for years, it's a release that has us reminiscing the good times of B-movie surf rock and grimy, loud distortion. Joined by The Black Angels at the Metro Sunday night, The Raveonettes proved that a new direction for their recorded material does not equal a disconnect with their earlier work.

Somber electronic droning greeted our ears as we entered the low light of the Metro Saturday night for the sold out Chicago appearance of Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife's newest project, Fever Ray. Andersson channeled the occult, burying the audience beneath a dense fog of smoke penetrable only by the geometric beams of light slicing through the air. Mystery, intrigue and awe were the themes of the evening as we joined the rest of the audience with mouths agape, soaking in sensory overload.

          

Ladyhawke, a.k.a. Pip Brown, made her Chicago debut last Saturday, and the petite New Zealander injected her glossy dance rock with some gritty brawn that got the whole room moving. On album Brown juggles a number of the instrumental duties but live she augmented herself with a faceless but tight backing band. Brown is a bit on the shy side onstage, but her songs were powerful enough to do most of the talking for her. Kids danced in the balconies and dance pits opened on the main floor as her set progressed from a rawk beginning into edgier grooves as the night wore on, moving the crowd until it was glossed in a sheen of joyous sweat.

Look, I think we can all agree that Perez Hilton is a talentless twit, but his name as sponsor on the marquee should NOT keep you from seeing Ladyhawke at The Metro tomorrow night! Her self-titled debut garnered a well deserved spot on our music best-of list last year, and it still hasn't worn out it's welcome on ye olde tankPOD. Watch the magic in action.

Our pals over at Gapers Block have a birthday coming up, so that must mean it's time for them to throw a party! They've put a little celebration together at Metro on September 4 including musical entertainment from Nikki Lynette, The Hood Internet (who, we are proud to point out, made their live debut at one of the legendary Chicagoist CTRL-ALT-ROCK parties), Blane Fonda, and Panda Riot. That is literally a line-up with a little something for everyone.

We just went down this road a few weeks ago at the Pitchfork Music Festival, but it seems indie/twee/prog rockers The Decemberists (we're fans) dig the idea of the fan-selected setlist. The Portland, Oregon septet - already set to be in town for this weekend's Lollapalooza - will be performing this Thursday at the Metro and are asking you to help them fill out the setlist. You can slide by this website and choose from an array of Decemberists tunes, voting as many tunes as you want as many times as you want (the Chicago way!). We're curious to see if the grounds at Grant Park swallow up what can be a mellow performance from the band, but the Metro seems perfectly suited for them. Be warned, though, the ballot box closes at 11 p.m. tonight, so get clicking. Now pardon us while we go stuff the ballot box with requests for "The Infanta."

The Jesus Lizard was easily one of our top two favorite acts at Pitchfork this year, and we delighted in seein that while David Yow is a decade older than the last time he graced a Chicago stage, he's lost none of his insane mentality. There are people who are fearless onstage, and there are people who fearlessly own the stage. Yow is in the latter category with maybe two or three other living, breathing (barely) human beings. And the rest of the band are no slouches either! While David Wm. Sims, Duane Denison, and Mac McNeilly don't move around as much as Yow does, their attack is just as savage and their bass-guitar-drum attack weave together seamlessly into one ravishing sledgehammer to the senses.

          

Mannequin Men's chaotic record release party at Metro last Friday carried all the trappings of a successful show: stage sing-alongs, furious tunes, much ribaldry, and broken guitars. We had a blast.

The recent, much publicized antics of stoner-garage act Wavves has everyone taking note of what just might become the defining musical trend of 2009. The recent popularity of experimental acts like Dan Deacon and Animal Collective convinced music fans to think outside the box of head-nodding choral loops and drum solos and embrace the new sound of improvisation. The second half of 2009 sees guitars take the place of samplers as bands both old and new wash off the smiles, don dark shades and take a walk on the wild side.

          

Peter, Bjorn And John's latest is an eerie opus and anyone expecting an hour of "Young Folks" styled vibes at The Metro last Thursday was in for a disappointment. Instead the trio delivered a masterful set of eerie ambiance and undeniable power. The group turned The Metro into a spooky subterranean cove, into an echo chamber, into a World Beat dance club turned on its head, and into a jubilant room practicing profanity laced sing-alongs. These Swedes proved that they've amassed a formidable amount of available musical weapons in their arsenal over the last decade they've been together, and they use each one masterfully and with great precision.

Titus Andronicus pens desperate caterwauling stadium punk that steamrolls over everything in its path. And by that description you might think this band cares nothing for nuance, but there are subtleties buried in the layers of guitars fighting their way to singe your eyebrows clean off your head. They're opening for country-punkers (although that description doesn't really do 'em justice) Lucero -- who always draw a large Chicago crowd, so get there early and secure a sweet spot in which to not-so-gently rock.

          

Seriously, was this the same band that played Chicago just about a year ago to a few dozen people? The Ting Tings commanded a sold-out show at Metro last Sunday and delivered a set that nearly blew the roof beams into the sky in a combustible blend of rhythm and melody hot enough to melt the April snow storm raging outside. The crowd -- made up of folks ranging from their late teens to post-retirement age -- shook their collective ass off and turned the duo's loop-enhanced attack into a dance party worthy of a light-up disco floor.

Peter, Bjorn & John's new Living Thing features a trio well known for lush compositional touches mostly stripping their sound down to the basics without losing the melodies they're known for and while inflating the emotional resonance.

          

Primal Scream tore into town and performed at Metro last night to a packed house. The genre-hopping rock combo played hits spanning their entire career and about halfway through the set we noticed the band was playing every single song as if it was the last one of the night. The effect on the crowd was mesmerizing, and the lone pockets of dancers at the beginning of the show spread their enthusiasm as a contagion and by the end of the show the entire floor was massed with a sweaty pack of dancing fools. After the show the band hung out downstairs at Smart Bar where they affably mingled with fans and capped off a perfect show with a perfect show of bonhomie.

We've already gushed over Primal Scream's upcoming appearance at Metro this Sunday, and now you have NO reason to miss it.

        

Minneapolis' Tapes 'n Tapes played Metro Saturday night to an enthusiastic, packed crowd.

WXRT hasn't been shy about promoting today's "U2 Day" on the station, featuring U2-themed events, music, and specials all day. Speculation around where else the megaultrasuperstar band may be appearing in town has been running rampant, however.

Later this month, Primal Scream comes to Chicago for the first time in years. Their latest disc, Beautiful Future, abandons the classic rock cliches that dragged down their previous effort and finds the group regaining a more solid dance rock stance. The aggressive tendencies displayed on XTRMNTR and Evil Heat are still there but now it's again tempered by a groove provided by thrumming basslines and propulsive rhythms as on dreamier works like Vanishing Point. Through it all there's a deft nod to '80s pop holding the whole stew together, allowing various influences to slop out from its borders and spill over the listener.

Dan Auerbach's full-time gig is blowing out eardrums with meaty blues licks in the The Black Keys. In his off time though, Auerbach settles back into a more reflective phase in his solo work, as showcased in the recently released Keep It Hid. Don't worry, it's not some namby-pamby folksy record singer-with-a guitar record -- Auerbach knows his primary weapon is buried in the wiring to his distortion pedal -- but it does allow him a bit more breathing room than his day gig usually affords.

It's time for the internal rhyme. At midnight. That's right, Metro has announced a special midnight show this Saturday featuring the legendary Rakim, with support from Chicago outfits Primeridian, Que B.I.L.L.A.H., and DJ Intel.

The Godfathers -- a legendary band best known for their anthem "Birth, School, Work, Death" -- return to Chicago tomorrow for the first time in 20 years on their only U.S. tour stop. Amazingly the Metro show isn't sold out yet! Don't push your luck and wait 'til the last minute though ... getcher tickets now!

We've already spewed forth our admiration for Chicago new-wave-punk-garage-rock quartet Mr. Russia, but we just wanted to alert you to their CD release show for their debut album -- Teething -- at Metro this Friday. To whet everyone's appetite in advance of the big day the group has cobbled together a video for lead single "Skipping Hearts."

Mates Of State comes through town in April with Black Kids providing the opening salvo for the evening. Black Kids' debut didn't quite change the world as many overeager bloggers predicted it would, but the perspective provided in the months since the fervor has dies down shows the debut still stands up as a dandy little slice of disposable hooks adorning a passel of fun little tunes. Their live show has progressed nicely and we thoroughly enjoyed their engaging set last year at Lollapalooza.

Jay Reatard at The Empty Bottle

Photo from the band's MySpace by Rumi Sakuraeda

Tomorrow's show at Metro with Kid Sister, Flosstradamus, and The Hood Internet should provide a cap on a pretty wild year for all three groups. High profile gigs and buzz have followed this crew internationally and the anticipation for both Kid Sister and Flosstradamus' debuts has steadily built to nigh ridiculous levels. This bill is basically constrcuted from the kings and queen's of Chicago's feel-good party scene, so we expect Metro to be a madhouse. The fact that it's happening on Blackout Wednesday (which precedes Black Friday every year) should only add to the chaos.

Courtesy of our sister site DCist comes the news that D.C.'s mass transit system, Metro, is issuing special commemorative SmarTrip passes (similar to CTA's Chicago Card) for Obama's upcoming inauguration. This has us wondering if the CTA can think of a way to one up D.C. Maybe relabeling all Orange lines with the signature Obama "O"?

What do you do when an album you've recorded gets leaked online just after it's mastered and three months before it's scheduled to hit the shelves? Most bands would either move the release date up or just say "fuck it" and hope touring revenue makes up for any lost sales. Or, if you're Deerhunter's leader Bradford Cox, you head back in the studio and bang out a second disc to release along with the original album when it's finally publicly released.

Often when a band self-titles an album after a few years on the scene it means that they view the disc as some sort of mission statement or it’s the result of a band reinventing itself. The Secret Machines lost their original guitarist a few years ago, and when a band’s sound is primarily built on waves of distinctive guitar tones that can be a distressing thing. Some bands might strike out in an entirely new direction, and some might just keep on keepin’ on and try to replicate the sound that brought them to prominence. In the case of The Secret Machines they seemed to have adopted both approaches on their own third -- self-titled -- album.