In which we take a quick look at a few recent musical releases. more ›

The New Pornographers rolled into town a day ahead of Lollapalooza for a show at The Metro last night. Running through a set heavy on their more recent albums, Twin Cinema, Challengers, and Together, the band was tight, stomping through songs, belting out some beautiful harmonies, and showing some good humor along the way (Neko Case's imitation of Midwestern moms discussing Lady Gaga was a particularly funny moment). Carl Newman led the band through a stellar set and while Neko Case (and her amazing voice) still plays the perfect female vocal companion, Kathryn Calder continues to impress as well, her voice adding more texture to the layered harmonies that are the root of the New Pornos' joyful pop. more ›

We gave you a sneak peek at the new album from New Pornagrapher A.C. Newman a few weeks ago, but you can hear the whole thing at The Empty Bottle this Saturday. There's a listening party there from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. and there is no cover. What's better than a free event with a great soundtrack? FREE BEER! Yup, RSVP ahead of time for an open bar of canned beers including PBR, Schlitz, and American Pale Ale. more ›

This year’s Hideout Block Party had it all: blues, world music, stoner rock, deep country blues, puppet shows, political dissidents, robo-rock, the return of Neko Case in two guises, and a punk rock marching band. In-between all of this the organizers managed to mix in voter registration, political discussion, and a drunken spelling bee. The amazing thing about this whole package? Its whole purpose was to raise money for various community centers, primarily in the interest in improving the lives of area children, proving The Hideout truly is striving to create a sense of community through the arts. more ›

We have to hand it to The Hideout, those cats know how to throw a party. What began as an affair populated mostly by local bands friendly to the bar has expanded to become one of the most inventively and entertainingly booked local festivals of the year. more ›

If you're not off to New York for the CMJ Music Marathon, or to Reykjavik, Iceland for the Airwaves Festival this weekend, there's plenty to take in right here on the home turf. There's nary a group of more talented individuals in independent music than Matador Records' New Pornographers. Despite the widely varying solo careers and additional projects of the main dudes, Carl Newman and Dan Bejar (of Destroyer and Swan Lake), and dudette Neko... more ›

There is nothing more that we want to get done than this installment of Empty Out Your Wallet, so we can get outside and enjoy this day. Leave it to the Ticketmaster gods to curse us once again with numerous great shows making our job harder. The show that our readers were looking forward to last week, The Flaming Lips at the Aragon, goes on sale at 11 a.m. on Saturday. This should be a... more ›

While most Pitchfork Music Festival coverage will undoubtedly focus on the headliners, we think it would be a shame to not mention our favorite part of the festival: the side stage. The Balance Stage, aka “the tent,” has been our escape at the past two Pitchfork-involved festivals. During the afternoon, much of the Union Park field is full of immobile patrons only half-interested in who’s on the stage, making walking around the festival a mile-long... more ›

Pitchfork has announced that the super-affordable three-day passes for their festival, along with tickets to Friday night's bill (featuring one band we're really excited to see), are already sold-out. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are still available. But believe us when we say that with a line-up including (and this is just a teensy sampling) Cat Power, Girl Talk, Oxford Collapse, The New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, De La Soul, Klaxons, and The Ponys, we're sure... more ›

In all the hubbub with Clusterfest, we missed out a rather significant piece of local music news: the Ponys signed with Matador Records. more ›

We at Chicagoist pride ourselves on our contrarian attitude; there’s nothing in the world so loved that it can’t be mocked. And so we turn our smarmy attentions to New Year’s Eve (from the Latin phrase annus novus magnus pecunia et difficilis vestis, which, loosely translated, means “the same shit you’d do any other night only for more money and in less comfortable clothing.”) Seeing a band play out on New Year’s Eve is a... more ›

As the temperature is expected to hit 90 degrees again today, we’re having a hard time getting into the sweater-weather mindset of fall that usually hits us around this time. Luckily, the Tribune and Sun-Times have some fall arts previews to get us in the mood. We’ve already given you the lowdown on the upcoming fall seasons at various theaters around town. But two shows out in the ‘burbs have pushed our fey and geek... more ›

Chicagoist hopes you love the Elephant 6 bands as much as we do. After all, any music collective that includes Elf Power, Circulatory System, The Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, and Neutral Milk Hotel is just plain awesome. Beulah is another band from the group, lesser known but equally talented. On fantastic albums like When Your Heartstrings Break and The Coast is Never Clear, they play some of the most maddeningly catchy pop music this side of The New Pornographers. (Listen for songs like "A Good Man is Easy to Kill" on a car commercial near you.) Recently, in the wake of nearly every band member breaking up with their spouse or significant other, Beulah threatened to quit if their latest album � the dark but lovely Yoko � didn't go gold. (And as good as that album is, guys, you were born a few decades too late for that to happen.) So go see them before they decide to disband, this Friday and/or Saturday at the Abbey Pub. Chicagoist saw them last fall at New York�s Bowery Ballroom and can verify they put on a good show.
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