Bela Fleck recently took time to exchange e-mails with Chicagoist about the re-addition of Howard Levy, Future Man's new Drumitar, and whether or not you should dance at a Flecktones concert. more ›

Judging by recent reviews in other cities, it would be safe to say that most of the audience packed into the Vic Theatre Wednesday for the first of a two-night engagement featuring Courtney Love and her latest incarnation of Hole came expecting a meltdown. A trainwreck. Perhaps even an on-stage bottle-slinging, cuss-intensive teary-eyed emotional breakdown. But I have a feeling the now-46-year-old Love takes a lot of pride in not giving people what they expect or even what they necessarily want. more ›

Few performers are as animated as the Venezuelan-bred freak folk singer-songwriter, Devendra Banhart. In an intimate seated show last Monday night at the Vic Theatre, Banhart brought his nonsensical, neo-hippie compositions to life, writhing in time to his own vocal tics and painting himself every bit the true original that his albums suggest. more ›

This Sunday, young Chicago authors will flood the Vic Theatre for the ninth-annual Young Chicago Authors poetry slam, Louder than a Bomb. While Flava Flav further exploits the legacy of Public Enemy to VH1’s Celebreality bacchanalia, Young Chicago Authors brings over 650 of the best and brightest writers attending over 50 Chicago area schools and community centers together to spit, flow, and speak the truth in the name of oral storytelling and the spoken word. more ›

, Chicago has long been home to one of Steve Earle's strongest fan bases. He's such a gifted songwriter that fans often overlook the fact that he's essentially made the same record since 1996, right down to the obligatory duet with a female singer, "state of my life" liner notes and beautiful artwork by his good friend, the local artist and noted unemployed film-goer Tony Fitzpatrick. more ›

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... more ›

Time to get that credit card out of hibernation and spend away, my friends! This week must mark the proper amount of time between on sale dates and concert dates that corresponds to warm weather coming back to Chicago. Kaiser Chiefs will be out in support of their soon-to-be-released album Yours Truly, Angry Mob off which the single “Ruby” we were told sounds like Morrissey fronting Cheap Trick. While this image still has us reeling,... more ›

Thanksgiving is over and the power shopping days are here. Taking some time out for music this week shouldn’t be too hard – it’s getting up early for work after four days off that’s difficult. Following are a few shows that will carry us from November’s rain to December’s snow. more ›

Well, it’s that time of year again. We’re done with Halloween costumes and on to the more pressing question, “How are we ringing in the New Year?” We know our readers aren’t chumps and bought their Raconteurs tickets for the 30th at the much cheaper rate than the New Year's Eve show. Here are a few more choices for that evening that holds so much promise, but usually just ends up being expensive with someone crying uncontrollably. more ›

Chicagoist often wears its rock snobbery on its virtual sleeve so you can imagine how excited we are to welcome Ray Davies to the Vic Theatre this weekend (while the first show is sold out, the April 2nd date still has tickets available). While never far from any decent list of Greatest Bands Ever, the influence of the Kinks is even more evident now. As the group's lead songwriter, Davies perfected the art of creating... more ›

What better way to get over that Memorial Day hangover than with some cheap beer and a couple of Tim Burton movies? This week, the Brew & View at the Vic Theatre, one of the few venues in the city where you can drink and watch quality films at the same time � unless you sneak a flask into Facets, that is � puts on a mini-retrospective of the oddball director�s work. Tonight, they�ll screen the magical Big Fish at 8 and follow it up with the eerie Sleepy Hollow at 10. (Christopher Walken as the Hessian Horseman is the very definition of the word �eerie.�) Though Chicagoist thinks these films pale in comparison to his classic Ed Wood (not to mention the criminally underrated Mars Attacks), you can�t go wrong with the $5 (per film) admission price or the Tuesday night drink specials. Edward Scissorhands � perhaps Burton�s greatest and most personal achievement � will show there Thursday at midnight. more ›