The Darkness is one of those bands wholly unafraid to embrace the excesses of rock and/or roll. The high theater of the ridiculous is a tightrope they walk with panache. And they drink deeply from the cup of spectacle. Their songs are rooted in an earlier era; a time where men in catsuits stalked the earth the guitars were big, the bass was rumbling, the drums were thunderous and the vocal harmonies scaled epic peaks to poke through the heavens. more ›

Andrew WK. Classically trained pianist. Motivational speaker. Heavy metal party monster. A true icon for our times. Can you believe it was only ten years ago that he burst onto the musical scene with his propulsive debut, I Get Wet? Was it only a decade ago that this twelve song collection dedicated to conveying the message of just how important it is to party until you puke really is? In under 36 hyper-adrenalized minutes, WK took huge pop hooks and covered them in about 74 layers of over-the-top guitars before topping it off with his candy coated screams. more ›

Usually we're complaining that Jeff Tweedy and the boys overlook Chicago when touring but heck if they're not remedying that this winter a they promote their latest album The Whole Love! They just added a fourth Chicago show -- following appearances at The Civic Opera House, The Riv and The Vic -- at The Metro. So if you've been shut out of seeing the band thus far, perhaps fourth time's the charm when tickets go on sale Saturday, October 15, at 10 a.m.! more ›

We loved the new Secret Machines disc, and were fairly certain we'd enjoy their show last week at The Metro. And we were right as we swooned under the narcoleptic fit induced by the band's grandiose guitar stomp overload. more ›

The Laureates tell us there are no more gentlemen, least of all themselves. So why does their music make us feel like we’re headed to the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance and they'll keep their damn hands off us? With tunes that make us snap along, this foursome puts audiences in a time machine with an early 60s-inspired sometimes punky, sometimes toe-tapping poppy, indie rock sound. Their album interweaves old school harmonized backup vocals and the practically forgotten end-of-song fadeaway, but like recycled fashion, these retro elements are made new again when paired with a bit of hard-edged modern grit. more ›

Hearing the neo-psychedelic gospel guitar freak-outs of Spiritualized® in a club sweating and expanding and contracting with acolytes put the songs in an entirely new context. It was grandiose. It was touching. It was a spectacle built on little more than a minimalist light show and a collection of incredibly powerful songs. more ›

Jason Pierce -- a.k.a. J Spaceman -- is adept at taking great washes of guitar and funneling them through an otherworldly filter to create a kind of secular gospel music to lose your mind to. His vehicle for doing so for almost two decades has been through the space rock psyche-out albums created under the Spiritualized® moniker. more ›

Sure, you may be hungry like the wolf for the Duran Duran show tonight (get it? Hungry like the wolf? Duran Duran? No? Nothing?), but the big show we're excited about this weekend is taking place at The Metro Saturday night. Hip-hop legends The Wu-Tang Clan hit the stage in support of their new record, The 8 Diagrams, their first record since 2001's Iron Flag and since the 2004 death of ubiquitous member Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP). more ›

This past Sunday marked the 25th birthday of Chicago’s most beloved (and sometimes bemoaned) rock club, the Cabaret Metro. Known to most simply as “The Metro,” the joint kicked off its venerable life with a performance by a then-little-known rock combo from Athens, GA called R.E.M. A quarter-century later, Metro is one of the last remaining major independent clubs in the country, with a rich history of offering many of rock’s most hallowed names their... more ›

We will never understand why Sloan is not the biggest band in the world right now. This group of Canadians consistently release strong albums, the weakest of which still put 98% of the world's rock and/or roll bands to shame. They've transitioned from a band of shoegazing popsters, into a '60s-tinged hit-machine until settling on their current trend of penning impeccable melodies influenced by equal parts '70s arena rock and timeless power-pop. The band's latest... more ›

We could grouse about Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard. Between what his main project has done as far as yuppifying indie rock and what his side project has done as far as mainstreaming electronic pop, we should hate him. We should all be throwing our cans of PBR and our wide white belts at him. But we can't, and it's not just because he makes us cry like little asymmetrically haircut boys and girls.... more ›

A short work week would usually get us super-excited for all sorts of live music goodness since it should, theoretically, give us more time to catch some kick-ass concerts. Unfortunately, when that four-day weekend is triggered by Thanksgiving that means not only do we generally lose Thursday, most of the week is given up for lost in face of the biggest amateur night of the year. However, if you look closely enough, there is plenty... more ›

Two Chicago pop-punk faves are ringing in the New Year* at The Metro. Swoon-worthy gods of the mall, Alkaline Trio will be headlining the evening, but they’ve enlisted the aid of legendary, and recently regrouped, locals The Smoking Popes to insure that everyone is happy, no matter which camp they belong to. We personally admit to enjoying both bands, even if we think neither is in their heyday any longer. Each group’s winning melodies, no... more ›

Lady Sovereign. No, she's not the British Eminem. No, she's not the female Streets. Yes, she is the biggest midget in the game. Okay, that last bit was actually created by her marketing team, so take it with a grain of salt. Lady Sovereign's long-awaited debut dropped this week. The entire disc had already basically been issued via singles and EPs over the last year, but it does serve as a nice compilation of her... more ›

Last Monday, Chicagoist ventured out to Metro for the much-hyped, sold-out TV on the Radio concert. We love going to shows at Metro because the sound quality is usually high, and there's a balcony - perfect for us under 5'5, who usually end up standing behind the 6'8, 240lb. dude in a Cat In the Hat headpiece. And most importantly to us non-smokers who don't want to smell like an ashtray the next day... more ›

Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black more ›

The recent inclusion of Wolfmother’s “Love Train" in the latest iPod commercial is sure to attract loads of folks who would have otherwise remained in the dark about this Australian trio’s wicked rock tunes. While we have been accused of being somewhat elitist in the past, sometimes we are all for folks jumping on the bandwagon. This is one of those times. We’ve been spouting off just how much we love this band since last... more ›

You would be totally forgiven for being so over that whole neu-New Wave/Joy Division/dance-rock trend that has gripped hipsters from coast to coast for the past couple of years. We wouldn’t hold it against you. Like any trend, this one was kicked off by a handful of talented groups that were eclipsed all too soon by a deluge of recent label signings motivated by the need to jump on the bandwagon before the tires blew... more ›

Chicagoist would like to make a few recommendations (and offer one warning) for ways to spend your weekend if you’re not going to be partying in expectation of a particular sporting event. Tonight you can either choose to dance your ass off or you can decide to zone out on waves of feedback but we think either way you swing you can’t go wrong. LCD Soundsystem is bringing their (well, technically we should say “his”... more ›

What’s rarer then a one-eared jackalope? It’s a talented singer-songwriter given room to breathe by the major label music machine. Luckily for all involved Chicagoan Rachael Yamagata is a rare beast indeed. Her smoky vocals plumb the depths of human emotion while her ever morphing band provides backing that runs the gamut from willowy to brawn. Yamagata is an arresting live entertainer who peppers her cathartic performances with dashes of self-deprecation and witty asides. Chicagoist... more ›