My Chemical Romance scrapped an entire album, ostensibly returning them to their raw rock and/or roll roots after the wonderfully bombastic The Black Parade, before starting work on Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys. Danger Days returns to the grand notions and sounds of The Black Parade but continues to scrape off the band’s final layers of gothic screamo in favors of stadium pop polish. It seems My Chemical Romance is a band unable to give up its excessive tendencies, something we’re frankly glad to see. In an era where most stadium rock is empty bombast (see: a certain Hollywood heartthrob’s musical side-project that’s gone on 30 Seconds too long) is gratifying to see a band gleefully embrace pretension and fill it with winks rather than wince-worthy moments. more ›

Ah, late February in Chicago. Cubs tickets go on sale today, there's a forecast for a high temperature above 35 degrees next week, and thousands of indie rock kids around Chicago will soon be shedding their parkas for high-priced hoodies bought from Wicker Park boutiques (tip: ours cost us $12 at Target!) for several worthwhile shows around the Chicago area. Lots of tickets go on sale this weekend. So, despite this crappy weather, there is, in the words of Spoon, "something to look forward to." more ›

Illinois budgets are in trouble all over -- at a meeting with legislative leaders late Tuesday, Gov. Blagojevich warned that unless a budget deal is reached, state government could shut down next month. Selling sex toys on the side and earning a $64,000 salary wasn't enough. Karen Bailey, a top assistant to Cook County Commissioner Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from an 87-year-old woman, prosecutors and police... more ›

Having stayed up last night to watch the midnight showing of with all the other nerds, we enjoyed ourselves but came away feeling more than a little nostalgic for the good ole days of paper comics. more ›

We swore My Chemical Romance just left town in a haze of mascara and Queenesque choruses, but the inclusion of MCR on so many year-end, best-of lists means there’s money to be made. So the black parade marches again with local heroes Rise Against who seem to be cast in the unfortunate role of second to bands for whom they’ve paved the way. Allstate Arena, March 1, 7:30 p.m., $30, all-ages. On sale tomorrow at... 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 ›

Attention, lovers of live music! We’re not really sure how to put this delicately so we won’t: if you end up staying home this weekend, you’re a fucking poseur. We say this not because we are looking down from our hipper-than-thou mountain and proclaiming that WE are true music fans and YOU are not. Nay, it is the eclecticism in this weekend’s offerings that demand you get your homework done, dip into your savings, bring... more ›

Chicagoist did our duty and tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards last night just in case anything Chicago related occurred. Or in case a giant tidal wave washed over Miami. Either way, it would’ve been cool with us. It had been a number of years since we last had cable and were able to watch this so count us as being rather surprised by just how much the rock and/or roll dominated the proceedings.... more ›