Rhett Miller is as poppy a dude as you'll find, but he's mastered the art of knowing when to hold back and when to let the whole symphony out to play. As leader of the seminal-turned-name-checkable insurgent Americana band the Old 97's, Miller culled a rep for giant, hooky melodies and had one of the sharpest tongues on the independent rock scene. As a solo artist, he's replaced much of the whiskey and vinegar of the 97's with melodic flourishes of strings and piano on 2002's The Instigator and 2006's The Believer. With the 97's touring again, perhaps on the strength of a kinda bizarre cameo (filmed at the Riv) in a certain Chicago-set Jennifer Aniston movie, now is the time to catch Miller alone and in an intimate setting where the real sweetness of his songs can shine through the snarkiness of his lyrics. more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese... more ›

Rhett Miller has spent quite a bit of time in Chicago. Between his band The Old 97's recording albums with local engineer Chuck Uchida, and constant touring that always seemed to treat Chicago as more of a home base than his native Dallas, we could be forgiven for viewing him as a bit of a homeboy. In recent years old homeboy has made a few grabs at pop stardom spending a decent amount of time growing a solo identity apart from the band that made him famous. And who could fault him? Wouldn't you trade in country licks for Gap ads and mainstream adoration? We probably would, especially if a supermodel wife was thrown in to sweeten the deal. more ›

Covered in dust from Intonation Fest, Chicagoist headed over to Rock Around The Block to see the band we're most likely to stalk - the Old 97s. more ›

If you're heading down to sample all the tasty pre-cooked goodies at the Taste this weekend – Chicagoist once heard that pizza stand Bacino's starts prepping, and freezing, pies in January for the event – you may want to skip the food and just check out the free music acts at the Petrillo Band Shell instead. As with any Taste line-up, there are a fair number of uninteresting bands – in years past, that's included everyone from a past-their-prime Hootie & the Blowfish to the once-tolerable local mainstays Poi Dog Pondering. This year is no exception, with performances by not-bad-just-unspectacular musicians like Melissa Etheridge (tonight) and the Counting Crows (Sunday). more ›