We admit we rarely really listen to WXRT anymore — in fact it fell of out regular rotation sometime in the '90s as their demographic skewed older and mellower — but we do still remember it as the "big" station that really tried to be a part of the community. And while WXRT's playlist may no longer excite us, we do still appreciate a number of the artists they continue to trumpet, their devotion to......

Last night's Decemberists show at Millennium Park was the last stop on the band's mini-tour playing with symphonies around the country. The free concert, curated by Metro, had the highest attendance volume of any free show we've ever seen at the park, and although we're bad with guessing crowd sizes, we'd venture to say there were upwards of 10,000 people in and around the amphitheater trying to at least hear a glimpse of sound. And......

Now that City Council has banned smoking tobacco on Chicago stages, city actors and audiences will have to get used to that cool herbal cigarette smell. If you're Jonesing for the real thing, you’ll have to head out to suburban Next, Circle, and Northlight theaters. Architect David Fisher, of “Leonardo da Vinci Smart Bathroom” fame, is hoping city leaders will go to bat for his next idea: a skyscraper whose floors spin slowly and independently,......

The talk of the "indie rock diet" that's been tossed around the blogosphere this week is ripe with irony; any of us who have hung out with a band for even a night know that the stereotypical indie rocker replaces food with alcohol whenever given the chance. And when on tour, anything goes. A friend of ours, who happens to drum in a band coming to Chicago next week, once told us about how the......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending......

Did the groundhog see his shadow this morning? What does that mean again? We'll just jump forward to spring and get us some tickets to shows where we can don a jacket instead of a parka. My Brightest Diamond will be opening for The Decemberists on a pair of evenings at the Riviera. If anyone has the perfect pedigree to open for the lit-rockers it would have to be Shara Worden. She's the granddaughter of......

Energy! Lots of people! These groups aren’t bands, they’re “collectives” – a moniker that let’s us accept that not every member will be on every album or even at every show. Not knowing who may show up adds to the anticipation. Animal Collective is known for creating layered, multi-faceted songs that carry the listener on a trip. Is it a drug trip? Chaotic? Or just a dreamscape of interconnectedness? Or the ability to stay connected......

For this week’s edition of Empty Out Your Wallet we’ve decided to primarily point you to smaller shows whose tickets are already available for purchase, plus one surprise. We’re always on the side of the little guy (and / or gal) and believe that they are deserving of your pre-show guaranteed dollars as well. Decemberists Alasdair Roberts The Decemberists are this year’s Death Cab For Cutie with a better background in literature and seamanship. We......

The little indie fest that could is all growed up and coming back to Union Park in Chicago on July 29-30. Pitchfork Media has decided that their name needs to be hyped more, but expect the same independent music. Last summer 30,000 people stood in long lines at Intonation Fest for water and were generally nice to one another while hearing from the likes of The Decemberists, Out Hud, The Go! Team and many......

The defining moment for Pitchfork’s Intonation Music Festival came just after Toronto’s Broken Social Scene began their Saturday evening set. Taking advantage of a security force that was as laid-back as the attendees, a few concertgoers slipped into the press pit with the same hesitation and excitement you’d see if they were trying to stand next to the prettiest girl in school. At any other show, a struggle would have ensued between drunks rushing the......

Pitchfork Media, that doyenne of indie rock criticism, kicks off the first Intonation Music Festival this Saturday with one of the most distinguished lineups of bands you’ve probably never heard of in your entire life. We know many of you have been losing your shit for weeks over the chance to see artists like A.C. Newman, The Go! Team, Broken Social Scene, and the Decemberists share the same bill and have also been giving the......

As the organizers of Lollapalooza struggle to dot their I’s, cross their T’s, and leave the bags of money behind the correct trees, Pitchfork does them one better by announcing they’ll be “curating” the first Annual Intonation Music Festival on July 16th and 17th at Pulaski Park. (Curating? Huh. So that’s what pretension smells like). But let’s leave our own sarcasm aside for a moment because Pitchfork has done something really crazy and released a......