In the late '90s and early aughts there was a coterie of bands that frequently played together. As time progressed, and it was only natural, those bands splintered, moved on and morphed into other groups. One of the central points of the local movement at that time was Light FM, a band full of talent and promise that was earmarked more than once to be "the next big thing." more ›

The Assembly have long been friends to Chicagoist -- remember them killing it at one of our CTRL-ALT-ROCK shows? -- so we were happy to hear they're back in the lab creating music for their next album. Singer Dave Suh tells us he's been influenced by '80s post punk and goth lately, so the music has taken on a slightly darker tone than previous output. more ›

Grab your quirky t-shirts and head over to the Metro tonight to celebrate the grand opening of the first Threadless store at 3011 N. Broadway in Chicago. To really tee it up and kick it off right tonight, Threadless and Metro are bringing you two free shows. Tonight's lineup will feature Hey Mercedes, Anathallo, Freer and host Marcus Monroe. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and is open to all ages, but you will have... more ›

We alluded to it earlier, but this is one hell of a weekend for music in our fair city. One of the upswings of the indiefication of America has been the steadily improving street festival bills, so we can at least enjoy good tunes with our processed meats and flat beer, and this weekend sees two of the best line-ups all summer unfortunately going head to head with each other. The inaugural Switchyard Festival is... more ›

We mentioned The Continental was putting together a little festival to give back to the community it calls home, and now we've got what seems to be a pretty full line-up along with a name for the event. Lots of Chicagoist favorites (a few who have even played showcases Chicagoist has organized in the past) dot the Switchyard Festival bill and it seems to be a pretty solid, locally based line-up. We're looking forward to... more ›

We’re busy hitting “refresh” over and over again on Reuters in hopes that they will finally announce that rumoured Police reunion tour, but until that confirmation comes through, here’s some shows to keep us busy this week. Tomorrow night, Local H's Scott Lucas is getting together with a bunch of his musician pals at Debonair Social Club to bang out a set of covers in a low-key environment. This should prove to be a fun-filled... more ›

Because everyone has their say on the subject, here's what Crain's thinks is wrong with the CTA. El Pistolero vs. El Piolin: Two Mexican shock jocks are in a tight race for Spanish-language listeners. Chicago is the #3 Spanish radio market in the country. The LA Times on why LA is better than Chicago for the Olympics. The Morton Arboretum is having a festival of Tu B'Shvat, the traditional Jewish tree-planting celebration known as... more ›

Chicagoist is, in fact, indier than thou. So obviously we lurve the radio that is independent. This is why we cried last week when we learned WOXY was finally giving up the good fight. However, we cheered ourselves up with the news that KEXP would be doing a remote broadcast from our fair city. KEXP is in town for the next few days and there live on-air schedule is filled with Chicago favorites like (and... more ›

This weekend sees not one, but two debut releases from two prominent local bands. Both records have been years in the making, both have been floating around in some form or another for quite a while, and both are much anticipated. Both bands look a bit into the past for some of their inspiration but both groups ultimately aim to create rock that rolls. Chicagoist has long enjoyed The Ladies & Gentlemen and has observed... more ›

After a robust week of posting and rocking here at the Chicagoist offices, the week seems like a blur. Was it really only a week ago that “Tank” Johnson was charged with assault and resisting arrest (incidentally, aren’t you glad you live in a city that has a guy named after an armored fighting vehicle on its football team?)? Of course, Mr. Johnson (if you’re nasty) wasn’t the only one causing trouble last week. Just... more ›

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Schuba's last night and made our first big music event a huge success!! We were afraid the shit weather would make you want to sit home and watch a movie, but you guys are troopers! Awesome. We had such a great time. Alphabet, May or May Not and The Assembly played an awesome show. And, as always, we met a ton of new people. It's always... more ›

We’ve been talking about it for weeks now and it’s finally here. Tonight is our first ever Ctrl-Alt-Rock show and we’re as excited as a puppy you’ve brought home from the pet store (though we’ve managed to not pee on the floor…so far). Three of our favorite bands will rock Schuba’s tonight: The Assembly, May Or May Not and Alphabet. To get you ready for tonight, we're posting a mix of tracks from each of... more ›

The Assembly more ›

Word’s starting to get around about Chicagoist’s Ctrl – Alt – Rock show. We even got picked up by a Todd Rundgren news blog. And why not? We’ve got a great bill together with The Assembly, May Or May Not and Alphabet. We’ve also got more giveaways to announce. The lovely people at addVice have dropped a quasi-Valentine’s Day package of CDs on us including Annie’s "Heartbeat" remix single, Death From Above’s Romance Bloody Romance... more ›

From the standpoint of the local talent buyer the month of January sucks. There aren’t many national tours in effect, and most that are do their best to avoid the usually frigid Midwest, folks are still reeling from the holidays are less likely to spend their dough taking in live music. To combat this, the month has unofficially become “Local Talent Month” since local bands are, for once, in high demand and are often offered... 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 ›

Chicagoist spends a lot of time acting as observer, critic and theorizer on Chicago’s local music scene. But for a few months now, we’ve been thinking about spending less time posting and more time doing. Specifically, we wanted to put on a great live show with local bands that we love. And so in that spirit: Chicagoist presents: Ctrl – Alt – Rock With: The Assembly May Or May Not Alphabet When: Thursday, February 16th... more ›

This just in. If you were planning on catching The Assassins when they open for Kill Hannah next week (because why else would you be at a Kill Hannah show?) you’re out of luck since the concert is plum sold out. However you can count yourself a lucky ducky since they’re playing at Darkroom tonight! This crew is a favorite of ours and their shows are always incredible so strap on the galoshes, wrap around... more ›

Light FM returns to town this weekend to bid adieu to the current incarnation of The Bottom Lounge before they close down on Sunday. A few months ago Josiah Mazzaschi moved to California. This in itself wasn’t all that odd. As a local musician with a fair amount of critical praise under his belt from stints leading the dearly departed mid-90’s indie darlings Motorhome and the new millennial fuzz-pop of his current group Light FM,... more ›

Dave Suh has been a staple of the local music scene for over the last decade. His first band, Emil Muzz, provided the city with future members of Light FM, Rockit Girl and Veruca Salt. Suh himself went on to join simultaneously join Caviar and Woolworthy and, later, The Drama. While he was a vital component of all those bands none allowed him the free control of sitting solo in the driver’s seat. So he... more ›