Chicago Psych Fest 3, a two-day mini-fest at the Hideout showcasing many of Chicago's best rock bands, is a great, low-cost way to introduce yourself to the Windy City's burgeoning psychedelic revival. Listen here. more ›

Italians Do It Better Records played Lincoln Hall this week during the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival. more ›

The quartet's latest, rock-filled self-titled album is streaming in its entirety over at AOL's Spinner site, which compares them to Superchunk and Whiskeytown. Plus, the band announces a record release show at The Hideout. more ›

Local independent publisher featherproof has a reputation for publishing edgy and envelope-pushing books. Their publications tend to contain supernatural experiences, secret agents, or complicated and conflicted characters (and at times, their books contain all of the above). And now they’re back with a novel by Tim Kinsella titled which looks to be yet another dense and rewarding read. more ›

Boy, that header makes Chicago rapper Psalm One sound like creepy, doesn't it? But don't be alarmed. The Rhymesayers rapper and hashtag facilitator just wants you to hear the third installment in her Get In The Van mixtape series, released Tuesday. more ›

Claire Zulkey's lineup for tomorrow's Funny Ha-Ha at Hideout is particularly strong. more ›

Hum and Like Pioneers are added to the bill for the A.V. Club Music Festival. more ›

Anyone who knows local psychedelic punk band Rabble Rabble knows they revel in the live concert experience. To replicate the band's live show in the best way possible, download the band's brand new live album through their Bandcamp. The group made the record available on Saturday. more ›

For those of you tried and true music lovers out there, those of you who are insane devoted enough to brave the 2011 Blizzaster, there will be music! A select number of venues and crazy dedicated musicians will be playing across our great, snow-covered land this eve. more ›

As the holiday fast approaches we've been so busy between shopping, baking, not to mention recovering from the Chicagoist holiday Festivus, that our heads haven't stopped spinning since Thanksgiving. Now is the time we decided to take a small break and actually enjoy the season with one of our favorite local acts here at Chicagoist, Scott Lucas and the Married Men. more ›

It’s hard to fault a guy named Sad Brad Smith for being just a tad on the melancholy side. But the truth is that listeners would miss a lot just by taking the name literally. To wit: Love Is Not What You Need, Smith’s album, which was released digitally last year on the heels of the singer’s “Help Yourself,” a song that made a memorable appearance in the film Up In The Air. Songs like “Get Together” and “Shooting Star” adeptly combine heart-rending sadness with pithy, self-deprecating humor, all set to simple, but engaging, music. In light of Need’s physical release, Smith spoke to Chicagoist about humor, pathos, Kurt Vonnegut and why the Beatles ruined his life. more ›

Still don't know what you're doing tonight? Aching for some more political drama, with the mid-terms in the rear-view mirror? Check out The Interview Show tonight at the Hideout. A live show hosted by Tribune Media Services columnist Mark Bazer, done in the format of a talk show, except on stage in front of a live audience and not broadcast on television. more ›

If you haven't yet reached your saturation point for block parties and street fests, the West Town Chamber of Commerce is introducing one more, this time celebrating all things aesthetically pleasing in the world of home design. Now that the stretch along Grand Ave in West Town is becoming increasingly known as the “Design District,” it’s only fitting that the site will play host to the inaugural Design Harvest Festival (which looks as if it might be ever-so-slightly breaking the mold of the city's typical neighborhood fests). For two days this weekend between Damen and Wood, the festival will feature pop-up shops from local stores like Salvage One, Grand St. Gardens and co-presenter, POST 27, plus a musical lineup curated by the Hideout. 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 ›

Cave’s 2009 release Psychic Psummer started off quietly, but then leapt off the speaker with frantic krautrock and pulsating proto-punk, like a compromise between formed between The Stooges and Neu! While the Chicago band certainly demonstrated an aptitude for laying down a sonic ruckus, it did so at the expense of exploring non-intense moods. So does the title of the band’s debut EP for Drag City, Pure Moods, suggest that they’ve gone the route of smooth jazz and ambient new age? more ›

Mako Sica are just one of the many great acts on Permanent Records' house label. Sludgy psychedelia drones along, a thick fog of dark, ambient guitar, percussion, trumpet and an occasional vocal cue. Their formal debut, Dual Horizon, is only three tracks, but still over 40 minutes in length, giving you, even without a listen, a grasp of the band's preference for sprawling compositions that slowly uncoil to reveal layers of hidden intricacies. more ›

Culling decades of wordly influences, the Chicago Metaphysical Circus aims to reimagine underground psychedelia right here in Chicago on Friday night with the presentation of the city's first-ever Psych Fest at The Hideout. more ›

Arresting vocals from Gretta Rochelle complement her minimal percussion and balance the guitar backing offered by My Gold Mask bandmate, and husband, Jack Armondo. Icy vocal edges slice through moody instrumentals that alternate with notes of black pop on the duo's sophomore effort, a new EP slated for release tomorrow titled, A Thousand Voices. We sat down with My Gold Mask in advance of tomorrow's release party at The Hideout and got to know the people behind the dark echoes and hollow riffs. Candid, gregarious and prone to finishing one another's sentences Rochelle and Armondo want you to know that they're not sure where they'll end up, but they're going to get there making music they like, on their terms. more ›

In these trying times everyone is cutting back where they can, even awesome block parties. The Hideout has trimmed their two-day affair to a single day -- though to be fair, until a few years ago it was always that way -- and have brought in Bloodshot Records to curate the day and celebrate their 15th birthday with a big ol' party. In many ways this is a return to form for The Hideout; after a couple years of putting together jaw dropping weekends that rivaled most smaller music festivals tomorrow's shindig a return to the more relaxed vibe of earlier years. The block was always a place where you could take your kids, have a lot of fun, and hear a bunch of great music from national and local acts with deep roots to The Hideout's scene. more ›

Batterymouth, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln, Wednesdays through Feb. 25, 8 p.m., $10, Purchase tickets here. more ›

Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, 12/15, 8 p.m., $20-$25 more ›

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The mesmerizing new Ting Ting's video was shot mostly in the alley/street in front of the Hideout. I was (coincidentally) there the night they were were making this, and the production staff bought everyone at the bar a round so we'd stay inside while they finished filming. Cheers! [via] more ›

We have to hand it to The Hideout, those cats know how to throw a party. What began as an affair populated mostly by local bands friendly to the bar has expanded to become one of the most inventively and entertainingly booked local festivals of the year. more ›

As the end of summer draws near (sobbing) we asked some Chicagoist staffers what they would choose to do if they had to plan a date this weekend. Behold. more ›

Funny Ha Ha, an occasional reading series hosted by local writer (and friend) Claire Zulkey, is staging a Ladies' Night Wednesday at the Hideout. The show will include high-larious readings from such funny Chicago women as Amy Shearn, Wendy McClure, Mimi Smartypants, Megan Stielstra, Cameron Esposito, and, uh...me, plus a short film from the surprisingly-ladylike Steve Delahoyde. more ›

We've already covered quite a bit going on this weekend in Chicago, but if you're looking for something a little more literary-minded, we highly recommend the release party for Susannah Felt's new bookThis Will Go Down On Your Permanent Record, happening this Sunday at The Hideout. If Felt's name sounds familiar, that's because she spent several years writing for such publications as the Chicago Reader (pre-takeover) and Time Out Chicago. She now resides in sunny Birmingham, Alabama, but is back in town to promote the release of the book. We haven't gotten a chance to check the book out yet, but judging from the excerpt, it's one we'll definitely be picking up soon. more ›

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Funny Ha-Ha is a guaranteed good time. Tonight's edition at The Hideout features a host of writers, but seems to be "headlined" by Eric Zorn. We love Zorn, but find it kind of funny his credit is "Chicago Tribune Columnist & Blogger" while Claire Zulkey's is "Blogger & TV Critic for The Onion & Los Angeles Times." more ›

Time to lock and load this week's list of hometown shows, SXSW style. more ›