Walter Meego once seemed destined for greatness, armed with songs dripping with dance hooks and shiny rock 'n pop crunch, but since their debut the band has fallen mostly silent. We saw a rare live show from them at Double Door last year and were surprised to see them in the midst of attempting to reinvent themselves in more of a progressive rock mold, a guise that came across as not yet being fully developed in a live setting. This wasn't surprising, bands reinvent themselves every day, but we feared our last impressions of the band would be a work in progress instead of a final statement. Luckily for us Walter Meego has decided not to leave it at that and is gifting fans with their new album Wondervalley for free. more ›

The following ten groups released albums or EPs that we believe launched them far above the roiling masses making up the Chicago music scene. While these are our favorites it should be noted that this was an amazingly strong year for the local scene, and we could have easily made a top 50 list without much of a problem. In fact, just reviewing the bands while making this list we realized how thankful we are to be located in such a musically fertile city! more ›

Yup, here it is, the inevitable "Best of 2008" music list (a later post centering on the top local offerings is forthcoming). In order to spare our readers the pain of reading through yet another list that tries too hard to impress with obscure releases or toe the party line on Stereogum / Pitchfork approved artists, we continue our personal decade-plus tradition of merely listing what we actually liked in 2008. That means that the albums below are the one we kept finding ourselves turning to when we wanted to kick back and enjoy some tunes. Sure, there was more artistically challenging stuff released this year than some of the selections below -- and we certainly do appreciate that sort of thing -- but our year end list reflects which music ultimately did for us what we think rock and/or roll is ultimately meant to do to any listener: it grabbed us by the heart and/or crotch and wouldn't let go. more ›

Chicago has been particularly successful in generating a bunch of dance rock band worth buzzing about -- Walter Meego, Hey Champ, Prairie Cartel, etc. -- and now we can add another to that list with Parks And Gardens. This newer group doesn't really deviate from the form of loop and sample laden rockin' designed with the discotheque in mind, but instead of utilizing those elements to create a cliche they inject an angular artsiness into their songs. In effect this creates a minor agitation in the listener, and we think that's kind of a bold move for any band trying to ingratiate themselves with a crowd not particularly interested in anything beyond basic Sybaritic pleasure. It's this element that bonds Parks And Gardens with the aforementioned bands, and helps raise them -- and the Chicago dance music scene in general -- above the countless other drones aping the style. more ›

Chicago ex-pats Walter Meego are making a stop in their hometown tonight at Subterranean with Ra Ra Riot. Their album, Voyager, played a large part in the soundtrack of our summer this year, so as the temperatures start to dip, we can't think of a better band to go see as we mark the unofficial end of summer. more ›

We're gearing up for the stretch-run of Chicago's premier music fests, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza. But there are some pretty great shows still happening unrelated to those fests and lots of tickets going on sale or already available. It's too hot to mull it over any more, so here we go. more ›

We have been waiting for the debut from local duo Walter Meego for forever. Seriously. We've seen them on "next big thing" lists for at least the last two years -- and believe us, they belong on those lists -- but only now can folks who haven't seen them live finally get what the buzz is all about. more ›

We're hot off a solid 48 hours in New York for the annual CMJ Music Marathon, so not only are we hyped for live music again, there are also a TON of bands on the road home from the conference making stops along the way in Chicago. Without further ado, here's a glimpse at the shit ton of good shows this week: Rogue Wave is touring both in support of this fall's Asleep at Heaven's... more ›

As we near the end of November and look to the winter, the on-sale listings begin to look a bit spare; only the hardiest of souls venture into a Chicago winter. The California band Curtains records for the Sufjantastic label Asthmatic Kitty. And while its sound resembles the delicate folk of his records, that’s like saying Rivers Cuomo and Ira Glass resemble each other because they both favor heavy glasses and sweaters. Curtains favors spare... more ›

Chicagoist is, in fact, indier than thou. So obviously we lurve the radio that is independent. This is why we cried last week when we learned WOXY was finally giving up the good fight. However, we cheered ourselves up with the news that KEXP would be doing a remote broadcast from our fair city. KEXP is in town for the next few days and there live on-air schedule is filled with Chicago favorites like (and... more ›

There are a lot of reasons to go to see live shows. Maybe you want to keep up with what’s happening in music. Or perhaps your favorite band is in town. Or you might be a crazy-ass groupie/stalker. Whatever your reason, tonight you can feed your jones and help out a sick little kid at the same time. Tonight at Double Door, several hot-shit Chicago bands will take the stage for the first of three... more ›