Battles stopped by the Vic in the middle of their US tour on Friday, this time as a three-piece. It’s hard to ignore the gorilla in the room, or lack thereof, as singer and effective frontman, Tyondai Braxton left the band last year to pursue solo projects. But once the trio got started, that gorilla didn’t seem so big anymore. more ›

Battles is a band that mixes the math rock with the beats that make you want to dance. We remember seeing them at a totally stuffed, wall-to-wall people, show at Double Door a few years ago and were blown away at the effect they had on the crowd (and our feet). At that time they were a quartet with much of the visual focus falling on mulch-instrumentalist and vocalist Tyondai Braxton's gyrations behind his wall of gear while hisd bandmates Ian Williams, John Stanier and Dave Konopka whirled up an insane mixture of sound and rhythm that filled the room. Braxton left during the recording of the band's latest album, Gloss Drop, and the group continued on as a three piece with guest vocalists. The result sheds some of the proggier tendencies of their debut, Mirrored, but the band hasn't changed their focus on the gears inside their songs that make you want to move. Drummer John Stanier took a few minutes from the road to answer a few of our questions via email as the band made their way toward Chicago for their show tonight at The Vic. more ›

It's been eight years since folk-country singer Gillian Welch and her musical partner David Rawlings put out an album. Is the newly-released The Harrow And The Harvest worth the wait? more ›

of Montreal's thecontrollersphere, an EP of songs that didn't quite fit on last year's excellent False Priest, is an interesting beast. While we praised False Priest for harnessing in Kevin Barnes' penchant for running through a million ideas in every song by focusing on each tune's development, here we find him allowing singular ideas to unspool at great length to a no less desirous effect. Opening with the deeply creepy "Black Lion Massacre," a song driven primarily by an intense drum throb that allows Barnes to add layer upon layer of sexy dissonance atop before grinding to a halt, one falls quickly under this spell of hypnotism in motion. "Holiday Call" follows a similar underlying structure, allowing the song to grow ever more mesmerizing as it unspools, the dressing is different; funky and shiny instead of dark and turbulent. more ›

You could say we are Leslie Nielsen fans here at Chicagoist. Already this week we have remembered him twice. But who isn't a fan of the Canadian actor turned icon of deadpan comedic performance, who passed away earlier this week? We are just happy the Brew and View at The Vic is showing Airplane! tomorrow night, where we can watch raise a toast to that murderers row of now-departed deadpan talent, (Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Rorbert Stack and Peter Graves) as they anchor one of the most epic and beloved assortment of gags and groaners ever squeezed onto celluloid. Not all of the jokes work, but the sheer density of their numbers created such a sustained manic intensity that comedic filmmakers have been trying to replicate ever since. more ›

If you've never howled the "Awayyyyy-eeeee" chorus of James' omnipresent 1993 single "Laid" at a house party or in a bar, chances are you're a some sort of recluse. The Gen X megahit made the band momentarily famous in that one-hit-wonder way, and though the song lives on as a staple at wedding receptions the band itself spent the better part of the last 15 years in relative seclusion. Experimental albums and a greatest hits monstrosity barely cracked the modern rock Richter scale in the late '90s and mid-aughts, leaving James and its introspective frontman Tim Booth to rot on '90s comp albums alongside Positive K and Soul Asylum. more ›

While we were big Soundgarden fans back in the day, they were also one of the Seattle bands we felt far overstayed their welcome. We know lots of folks went gaga over their last two studio albums but we lost interest in them after Badmotorfinger. Yeah, it's totally a matter of personal taste, but we admit that they were the one reunion we were not excited to see grace a Lollapalooza headline slot. Nothing against the boys personally -- we once won a dance off with Kim Thayil so he's O.K. in our book, and while Chris Cornell's post-Soundgarden career has been largely laughable he's still got that voice -- but the idea of getting this particular band together didn't seem to be driven by a mission from God. more ›

Iceland's Sigur Ros may be on hiatus but you wouldn't know it from the output of frontman Jónsi Birgisson. Last summer he put out the side-project Riceboy Sleeps with boyfriend/Parachutes-cofounder Alex Somers under the name Jonsí & Alex. And now Jonsí is back with Go, his first solo effort. If Riceboy Sleeps, a cool, ambient work of loops, strings, and noise with little in the way of vocals, worked for the slip into autumn and winter, then Go is the perfect album for the transition to spring. A joyous, buoyant, and sometimes raucous record, Go sounds (to borrow a phrase from Tankboy) like Sigur Ros snorted pixie sticks. Gone are the eight minute opuses. Instead, each song is its own short symphonic burst - only two songs barely edge past the five minute mark - perhaps due to producer Nico Mulhy but also a reflection of the trend that Sigur Ros has been working toward over the course of their recent albums. more ›

In our own humble opinion, They Might Be Giant's album Lincoln was the highlight of their career, but we seem to be in the minority since thousands of fans of the band crammed into The Vic Saturday night to hear the band recreate their commercial break-through Flood. Many mainstream fans may deride the band as nerd-rock, but that's a flawed view of a band whose catalog includes a dizzying amount of musical diversity that demands a high level of skill to recreate in a live setting. So yes, there were songs about dead presidents, existential birdhouses and shoe horns with teeth (sung by a duo of sock puppets, The Avatars), but the playful and ofttimes ridiculous lyrics were delivered by an amazingly tight band unafraid to change musical direction, sometimes mid-song. We entered the show somewhat stunned by the extreme dedication of the band's fans, but we left the venue understanding why those folks fell so in love with the talented duo of Johns Flansburgh and Linnell. Sure they're nerd-rock, but they are really kick-ass nerd-rock. more ›

Sonic Youth is the picture of consistently. They're been releasing fine albums of music that could only be attributed to them for so long it's easy to lose sight of what an unfailingly excellent band they are. The group has spanned decades and continually releasing stuff that indicates their instruments still have plenty of noise to wring out and bleed all over the stage. It's remarkable. more ›

Looking for something to get you over your hump day and on that nice downhill towards the weekend? Head over to the Brew & View tonight at the Vic for some beer, movies, and even your chance at a Snuggie. WGN DJ Nick Digilio will be hosting the festivities, which get under way at 7 p.m. when the doors open. Besides the snuggie giveaways, there will also be some Lou Malnati's giveaways as well. The best part? The films themselves. It's a fun doubleheader that starts off with Hot Fuzz at 8 p.m. and concludes with Die Hard at 10 p.m. And all this for only $5, which just goes to show you it's still possible to have fun in town on the cheap. more ›

If you've followed the hot jams and buttery heartbreak of the reissues Chicago's Numero Group has been releasing for he last few years, then you know the sweet sound and fascinating stories of some of our city's best, if little known, R&B talent. more ›

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Last Friday's show was easily the best we've ever seen The Dandy Warhols play. In the past their shows could be incredibly self-indulgent, but that vibe was completely absent Friday night. The whole band seemed honestly appreciative to be performing in front of a sold-out crowd and all four members were obviously enjoying themselves. Even the usually stand-offish frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor was downright chatty with the crowd. Maybe now that they're on their own, and completely free of Major Label-land, they no longer feel like serfs being sent out to perform their master's bidding, and instead are honestly happy to be in front of their fans. more ›

It's utterly appropriate that Darker My Love is opening for The Dandy Warhols at The Vic tonight. Both bands share a love for all thing psychedelic and '60s, and both groups are handy at transforming drone into hooks. Darker My Love isn't as experimental as The Dandys, and they tend to stick within a single genre of music, but we don't mind that at all since it plays to their strengths. more ›

Just a quick note, Liz Phair has announced that on June 24 she'll perform her classic album -- and we don't mean that phrase to be taken lightly -- Exile In Guyville at The Vic. Tickets go on sale this Saturday. more ›

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Ah, late February in Chicago. Cubs tickets go on sale today, there's a forecast for a high temperature above 35 degrees next week, and thousands of indie rock kids around Chicago will soon be shedding their parkas for high-priced hoodies bought from Wicker Park boutiques (tip: ours cost us $12 at Target!) for several worthwhile shows around the Chicago area. Lots of tickets go on sale this weekend. So, despite this crappy weather, there is, in the words of Spoon, "something to look forward to." more ›

What's coming up? Let's see. 2007 has been quite a year for the Cold War Kids, whose twangy indie rock has worked its way into the hearts of festival attendees across the world, playing everywhere from Lollapallooza to the Glastonbury Festival. If you’d rather see them up close and personal instead of surrounded by shirtless dudes holding plastic cups of beer, now’s your chance. Metro, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., $15, all ages. On sale at... more ›

We were not fans of Howl, the last release from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC). The band traded in it's Jesus And Mary Chain-saw guitars for Exile On Main Street Stonesy "rootsiness" and the transformation didn't quite take. BRMC have been revivalists from the get-go, but the new earnestness of Howl did not flatter them the same way their reinterpretations of bratty, shoegazing, walls of sound did in the past. Luckily the band is solidly... more ›

If we were one of the poor souls to pay a couple hundred bucks for a ticket to last night's Amy Winehouse show, we imagine we would be pretty fucking pissed off right now. It's never a good sign when a performer's pre-show prep includes stumbling in the street in search of non-existent paparazzi, dinner at Subway, and a trip to Walgreens for sweets (that you will later use to pad your set as giveaways... more ›

If you were one of those folks who paid beaucoup bucks to see Amy Winehouse at either of the super sold-out Schubas shows she was scheduled to play May 3, our hearts go out to you. Why? Well, they've moved her show from the cozy confines of Schubas' back room to the much roomier space of The Vic. The good news? Lots more folks will get a chance to see her now! The bad news?... more ›

It's way too nice outside to be sitting there staring at a computer screen, so let's get this done quickly, all right? Tonight's Klaxons show at Schubas is super-duper sold-out. Even those of us lucky enough to score a spot on the guest list stand a good chance of being left outside crying, so we hope everyone got a chance to see them play yesterday (and if you did, how was it?). Even if you... more ›

Another Friday, another snowstorm, another installment of Empty Out Your Wallet. This week we’re not so inclined to whip out the credit card as we have been in past weeks, but here we go. We honestly didn’t know these guys were still around writing songs for the Adult Contemporary crowd. Apparently, they are still popular enough to fill up the Vic. Five for Fighting is best known for "Superman (It's Not Easy)," which was the... more ›

You can't throw a stone amongst a bunch of hipsters in the Wicker Park / Humboldt area without a decent chance of accidentally hitting Plastic Crimewave's carefully managed — and now more tightly clipped — 'fro. Long a staple of the local psych rock scene, at least as a prodigious historian and record-keeper with a killer collection (some of which saw airtime on a recent Market Frenzy podcast), Crimewave is assembling what he calls his... more ›

As Rocktober draws to a close, it does so with a helluva bang. Sure, there are still a few days left to this beast next week, but for all intents and purposes this is the last hurrah before the chill of November settles in, and holiday festivities begin to drain the attendance levels at local shows. Here are a few that we suggest you check out this week. Tomorrow night, the wrath of The Venom... more ›

We hope you’ve been saving your money, because the shows we’re looking at this week are a bit pricey. We’ll be scanning Craigslist for someone looking to offload their tix cheap. Why, oh why, isn’t there a Hot Tix for shows? Now removed from the avalanche of hype that surrounded their last shows here, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah returns to town for a pair of shows at The Vic. Expect fewer people who “heard... more ›

Well, Lupe might not make it onstage tonight, but Isis ain't letting anything keep them at home. Apparently, due to a last-minute cancellation on the Tool tour they've been opening, they will be appearing at Beat Kitchen tonight! Opening for them are Beaten Awake and Yakuza. The mere thought of Isis' glacial sheets of metal pushing out at the walls of Beat Kitchen is enough to make us totally pee our pants with glee. If... more ›

This week marks the return of Adventures in Modern Music at the Empty Bottle. Arriving on the heels of the World Music Festival, the five-day event celebrates experimental music like the mash-up dance rock of Brazil’s Tetine, blessed-out head trips of France’s Colleen and Trapist’s space rock. A full lineup is available at the Bottle’s website, but don’t forget to see You’re Gonna Miss Me, a documentary at the Siskel Film Center on the fall... more ›