Results tagged “schubas”

The whirlwind that is The Grates hails from Australia and threatens to take down everything in its path. Singer Patience Hodgson dominates the proceedings with voice that flips from sweet trill to all encompassing roar into playground chant without missing a beat. Through it all she rides a pleasant melodicism that contrasts brightly with the churning three-chord punk guitars carrying most of the songs forward.

We're just as guilty as the rest of you when it comes to living for the weekend. We have a habit of working hard for the pleasure of playing hard come Friday night. All routines get old after awhile and lately we've found ourselves venturing away from our desks and outside our living rooms on weeknights to partake in the shows that grace our favorite venues on the off evenings. Here's our picks for the week ahead in weeknights.

Chicago's musical landscape is ripe with indie bands who've built their careers and found success and acceptance on the city's streets and stages. There's a certain charm involved in watching a band blossom from obscurity, finding new fans in the faces populating your favorite local haunts and hangouts. Formed in 2007, and with a recent Daytrotter session and a new EP titled Calling You Out to their credit, Chicago indie folk pop act the Netherfriends are one step from full blown notoriety, savoring an endearing balance of critical praise and humble show hustling.

              

The fun. show at Schubas last night sent the crowd home with smiles that would put post-orgasmic lovers to shame. It is easily one of the best shows we've seen this year ... nay, in the past five years. The exuberance of the band was met by an insatiable enthusiasm from the crowd to create a vibe that was both emotionally intense and utterly pleasurable.

We had kind of lost touch with the Minneapolis group The Idle Hands over the years. The last time we saw them we found them to be an O.K. group that was perhaps a tad too besotted with late '80s shoegaze and 120 Minutes re-runs. Not a bad thing, but not exactly the sort of music that demands our full attention.

We don't know how they did it, but Amazing baby is claiming they have secured the AMAZING talents of the dance in the video below for their show at Schubas tomorrow. Just when we thought the band couldn't get any trippier they go and one-up themselves.

Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears' Fight Of the Knife showed promise. It leaned towards a glam aesthetic while simultaneously showing an affinity for more straightforward power pop, but the results ended up muddled, making it an enjoyable if slightly nondescript listen. With their follow up EP, Mad Valentines, the band has certainly found the focus they were missing and have put together a compelling collection of pop songs that zig and zag through genres while maintaining a common stylistic thread.

Nate Ruess must be some kind of jerk.

               

We were lucky to be in the packed house greeting Brendan Benson for his second Chicago show of the night last evening. Benson and his band played a set that never lacked for energy, and he proved that he is still one of the masters of that brand of furiously buzzing power pop. (Word is his early show had so much energy it knocked the power out on the whole dang block!) His set took material from his entire solo oeuvre, along with a playful cover of Superdrag's "Sucked Out."

We caught Emily Wells at this weeks Edible Audible Picnic primarily because she was a) playing directly across from our office and b) our significant other was very excited about the set. We admit we'd heard her cover of the Notorious B.I.G. song "Juicy" that had been making the rounds, but were unimpressed, and figured it was just another example of a female folkie going after some mainstream acclaim with a quirky cover.

Greg Kot broke the news that Schubas is opening a new mid-size venue, Lincoln Hall, in Lincoln Park to compliment their existing intimately sized room. The venue is located at 2424 N Lincoln, right down the street from the old Lounge Ax, and Kot notes the venue is a "soundproofed, two-level concert space," perhaps as a nod to one particular neighbor's complaints about noise in years past?

             

The Wrens made a special trip to Chicago for a two-night sold-out stand at Schubas last weekend. We caught the Friday show and the set we saw that evening is easily in our top five, if not top two, of the year thus far. Their t-shirts read "The Wrens: Keeping folks waiting...since 1989," a self-deprecating dig at the long waits the group's fans endure for both live shows and new material from the band. The reason folks do wait? The payoff is intense, and last Friday's show found the group delivering a career-spanning set of such incredible energy we half-feared that the Schubas stage would collapse under the rock onslaught. Unforgettable.

Andrew Bird will be playing an 18+ Rock For Kids benefit show at Schubas on August 6. Tickets go on sale at noon today and will run you $40 a piece, but after seeing Bird at Hideout earlier this year we consider that price to be well worth it. Some pre-registration is required so do that now. Good luck.

We Chicagoistas are unapologetic nu-folk, uh, apologists, but it's no wonder with the wealth of talent we have right at our doorstep. That's probably why it takes a lot for a guy with a guitar to saunter into town and really impress us.

Tonight's monthly installment of the Amplify New Music Series at Schubas seems to be a misnomer since headliners The French Kicks have been playing out for about a decade, and supporting locals Ultra Sonic Edukators ain't exactly new to the scene.

You have to be a pretty great band to allow years and years and years to pass between albums without ever dimming in the eyes of your fans. It takes a really great band to do the same and impress even the hardiest of sceptics when your new material is always top notch. Toss on top of that an amazing live show -- their Pitchfork set still remains one of our favorite live show ever -- and you can see why folks love love love The Wrens. The band's heartfelt rock and/or roll bursts with infective honesty with a gravitational pull none can resist.

There's never a shortage of events going on in Chicago on Fat Tuesday, but we decided to highlight two shows from opposite ends of the musical spectrum that accompany the spirit of the holiday without falling into cliche.

Nothing cures a bad case of Valentine's Day candy bloat like rock bands and scholarly get-togethers, which is what we've got for you today:

New York's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has been on our radar for several months, and they're finally enjoying a little indie moment in the sun thanks to a healthy recent dose of blog and P4k approval.

We know the economy is in the shitter and it's hard to find a good reason to sink money into any kind of outing. Luckily for you, Schubas Tavern is on the case with another round of their fantastic Monday residencies. This month's resident band is local indie popsters Brighton, MA, fresh off the October 2008 release of their LP Amateur Lovers. They're bringing along several other local bands for the ride and according to the band, a few of this month's sets will be special "acoustic" sets. Best of all? Every show is abso-freaking-lutely FREE. Many of us will be in attendance throughout the month (especially the February 16th set featuring Grammar, band of Chicagoista Lizz Kannenberg). Tonight's opener is Cast Spells a.k.a. Dave from Maps & Atlases. For Bonus Brighton, check out their recent appearance at Daytrotter.

The RAC remix of The Virgins' "Rich Girls" has held a steady spot in our DJ set-list in recent months but we must admit their debut went by unheard. We made the mistake of assuming that the band probably put their all into that single tune and couldn't sustain it's poptasticness over an entire album.

Thunderheist plays tomorrow at Schubas for their Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, co-sponsored by Chicagoist. They're opening for Hey Champ and we couldn't help but notice the visual similarity between Thunderheist's video below, and Hey Champ's "Cold Dust Girl." Great minds think alike?

As a proud co-sponsor of this year's Tomorrow Never Knows Music Festival at Schubas, we're giving away a whole slew of prizes to a couple lucky Chicagoist readers. We've got tickets, CDs, and T-shirts galore ... and our grand prize includes a 5-day pass for one of you to take in every single night of terrific music including the sold-out Cursive show Friday January 16.

Schubas' Tomorrow Never Knows Festival let loose with an initial flurry of bands playing the shows this January 14 18, 2009. There are more to come but the initial burst includes: Bishop Allen, Cursive, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Thunderheist, The Donkeys, Tulsa, Colourmusic, Bear Hands, The Disappears, Pretty Good Dance Moves, The Wonderful World of Bald Eagle, Allá, and Vacations. There are no super huge surprises so far since all those bands are already pretty Schubas friendly, but we think it's a solid start hinting that there are probably some doozies still to come. This thing always sells out, so make sure to snag single show and / or five-day passes when they go on sale tomorrow, November 26, at noon.

One of our greatest finds over the past year was Darker My Love. We loved their second album, swooned over their opening set when they came through with the Dandy Warhols, and now we can't wait to see them destroy the back room at Schubas this Sunday with their colossal psychedelic guitar groove. Highly recommended. Tickets still available.

We recently shared our opinion on the excellence of Tom Schraeder's new EP, and we were going to write a nice little preview of his record release show at Schubas tomorrow ... but then Schraeder went ahead and filmed a video to save us the hassle of hammering at our keyboard.

Now in its third year, the annual Mustaches for Kids fundraising event in Chicago combines an in (on?) your face concept with a commitment to raise money for Chicago public schools. M4K growers compete to sprout the sweetest ‘stash in four week’s time while soliciting the most pledges and donations to the campaign.

Over the past few months we've seen OFFICE undergo some surprising changes that included personnel overhauls and a more adventurous sonic direction. They've played a handful of local shows over the past few months -- including another appearance at Lollapalooza -- but this month they are reemerging in force with a monthly residency at Schubas on Monday nights through the entire month of October. (O.K., we'll say it, Rocktober!) In following with the bands recent turns away from "business as usual" all of the shows this month with be absolutely free!

Tuesday, Sept. 30

It's been a season of milestones for the city-sponsored music festivals. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the World Music Festival. What started out as a small festival centered in Chicago's notable places for international music has evolved into a city-wide event, with artists performing throughout the city limits. WMF highlights Chicago's reputation as a city of neighborhoods. In incorporating most of the major club venues, WMF also does more to shine a positive spotlight on our vibrant music club scene in one week than venue owners often do themselves. Only the ongoing resistance to the promoters ordinance can unite club owners as well.