Everyone except me fell all over themselves to praise the debut from The 1900s. It showed promise but the band certainly benefited from their cool-kid industry connections to garner goodwill, and I wished the local group well but I just didn't think they were delivering based on the hype surrounding them. On the heels of the release of their sophomore effort, Return of the Century, the prerequisite references mentioning their similarities to Fleetwood Mac and ham-handed attempts to describe their sound as orch-pop (?!) have come pouring out and the reviews read like carbon copies of previous reviews of the band's past efforts. I’m not going to waste your time by rehashing all of that. What I will tell you is ... buy this album. Now. more ›

Born out of the minds of two musicians with a penchant for wacked-out comedic stories, Abraham Levitan of the band Baby Teeth and Chicago Reader writer Brian Costello created a game show like no other: Shame That Tune. Hosted by Levitan and Costello and co-hosted by "The Coach," a.k.a. Time Out Chicago Books Editor Jonathan Messinger and "The Intern," a.k.a. Jeanine O'Tolle of the Chicago chamber-pop collective, The 1900s. more ›

Prepare yourself for a fury of red hair, Rickenbackers and 60s inspired rock as two of Chicago's most-touted bands, White Mystery and The 1900s, take the stage this Friday, August 27 at Lincoln Hall. more ›

You don't have to break the bank to see live classical music, and with so much great free stuff going on, we're putting it all in one place so you can plan your week. more ›

We know, we know, another festival. If we have gathered one piece of knowledge through covering summer events here at Chicagoist, it's that Chicago loves a festival. As if your skin wasn't burned enough from Pitchfork and your liver hadn't taken enough damage from all the day drinking that ensued there, yet another festival has decided to grace us with its presence. Well fear not, this one is a little less taxing on your body than Pitchfork and the forthcoming Lollapalooza. The Milwaukee Arts Festival, located in the trendy part of Logan Square, features a lot of the same stuff other festivals offer, i.e. art, local cuisine, local bands, booze, but it also offers a trolley to travel the grounds in to avoid even more blisters on our precious feet. There will also be the Logan Square Farmers market as well as some of our favorite local music acts to keep us entertained like The 1900s, Jon Drake and the Shakes and Bomba Deer. And lest we not forget what the festival is named for: art! There will be nearly 30-art-exhibitions, an indoor art market, open studios and galleries and a community mural project for those who want to get in there and make there own art. more ›

We are absolutely in love with Ed Anderson's vocals. They swoop and soar and have this timeless and liquid quality to them that entrances us. We loved his contributions to Plane when he was in that band, but in The 1900s he seems unable to replicate the excitement of pitting his voice against interesting or challenging arrangements. That said, the group proved a perfect fit with their surroundings during their lunchtime performance in Millennium Park yesterday. The space's pristine sonics picked up every flicker in The 1900s nuanced performance, and while we worried that thee band too often mirrored the sound of early Belle and Sebastian we were thrilled when they closed the set by tearing "Two Ways" absolutely apart and extending it into a spread out but never boring musical jam. We just wish they hadn't waited until the end of the set to show the crowd what they were truly capable of. more ›

Another weekend. Another street fest. This weekend the annual West Fest closes off Chicago Avenue between Damen and Wood for two days of live music, kid and pet festivities and even an outdoor fashion show. The antithesis of the chaos formerly known as Ribfest, West Fest is the one street fest we can always count on for a relaxing afternoon. more ›