Set your nautical coordinates for guyville, ladies and gents, because Urge Overkill is back: The band announced its first album in 16 years, titled Rock & Roll Submarine (because why not?). According to a news release, Submarine will be distributed through its own UO Records, and will hit stores on May 10th. more ›

Normally this is the space where we take the time to set up the video we chose for "One for the Road" by noting some of the band's local history or how the band affected us in some way. But it's 69 degrees outside. We're heading out to enjoy it while it lasts today. you should, as well. more ›

Yeah, you read the headline right, Urge Overkill has dusted off the cobwebs and resumed playing their instruments! In fact the band has been working sporadically on new material for the last few years -- everywhere from the upstairs levels of a bar to professional studios -- but "Effigy" is the first of those recordings to see the light of day. Original Nash "You broke my stereo" Kato and Ed “King” Roeser, are now playing with non with drummer Brian “No I don't know where Blackie Onassis is” Quast and bassist Mike Hogkiss. The resulting noise they make, at least on this track, carries enough of the ol' UO mojo to make the song convince us that a legitimate comeback album might not be entirely out of the question. more ›

• Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald is reportedly stepping down due to a battle with Parkinson's.
• No surprise here: Blago's attorney is looking to have the lone conviction against the ex-gov overturned.
• The Chicago Police Union has responded to Supt. Jody Weis' letter from yesterday with a letter of their own calling on him to resign.

Every time this year the ordinarily quiet neighborhood of Ukrainian Village at the intersection of Chicago and Damen is overtaken by a cavalcade of festival enthusiasts awaiting West Fest's hodge-podge collective of live music, pet and kid friendly booths, as well as your usual set of local food, bric-a-brac and art vendors. Past year’s lineups are certainly nothing to sneeze at with world-renowned acts like The Meat Puppets, Red Red Meat and Chicago rock veterans Urge Overkill. We must admit, we are even more excited about this year’s eclectic mix of live acts as curated by The Empty Bottle including such touted indie acts as Beach Fossils, F’d Up, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Chicago’s metal and dirge-driven Bloodiest. more ›

Street festival music offerings have been looking unusually bleak this season, with even tried and true block parties letting us down. Sorry Wicker Park Fest and Do-Division ... you each have a few bright spots but as a whole you leave us cold. more ›

If you want to usher in the fall weather with an almost guaranteed good time, bust out your jeans and autumn jackets and head down to Division Street this Saturday and Sunday, where two of West Town's best attraction, the Renegade Craft Fair and Do-Division Street Fest, have joined forces for a weekend of crafty goodness, musical enjoyment, and plenty of hipster-watching. Held on Division from Damen to Wood, Renegade Craft Fair will bring together... more ›

Since we're so popular for spilling the beans about last night's Naked Raygun show at Cobra, we figured we'd go all "Oops, I did it again" on you. Tonight Urge Overkill are opening for Suffrajett. What? You don't care? Huh. Well, we don't either, really. We saw Urge over the summer and left us very "meh," even though the keyboardist was doing a pretty wicked Captain, from The Captain & Tennille, impression. We do... more ›

Chicago can be a cruel habitat for local bands that make it big. Just look at how quickly folks turned on The Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill and Liz Phair as their careers progressed. Okay, Phair deserved the hostile response once she started to seriously suck but that’s beside the point. OK Go jumped to head of the backlash pack with the release of their Major Label debut a few years ago. You couldn’t open a... more ›

First things first: if you still want to see the Pixies during their run here at the Aragon, you’ve still got time. Though most of their shows have been sold out since forever, tickets are available for Wednesday’s show with a reconstituted Urge Overkill. more ›

Our friends at Rotofugi reminded us that this weekend is West Fest and the East Village Arts Walk in, you guessed it, West Town and the East Village. The Arts Walk features over 50 East Village artists, many of whom have opened their studio spaces to let in the hobos like you. Grace Montemar, better known as Spasmodica, is showing a full retrospective of her plush line at Rotofugi, so get your cute on and stop by. West Fest is on Chicago between Damen and Wood. more ›

The Pixies have added one more date to their stop in Chicago! They'll be at the Aragon Ballroom November 17 with Urge Overkill. The Pixies were already scheduled for November 13-16 before heading to Detroit on the 18, but as far as we know those shows have long since sold out. The Datsuns open on the 13, Secret Machines the 14, the Walkmen the 15, and the Cocktails the 16. more ›