Poet Thax Douglas has long been described as a polarizing figure in the local music scene, but after viewing the recent documentary on Douglas, Thax: The Movie, we've decided that viewpoint is skewed and incorrect. While there are a number of incredibly vocal critics who deride Douglas' presence at shows, the overriding majority of musicians and concert attendees appreciate his contributions to the community. Luminaries from Ted Leo, to Josh Caterer, to Jeff Tweedy sing......

If you were holding off on picking up tickets to this year's Lollapalooza until you knew for sure when your favorite bands were playing, the day-by-day schedule just went up this morning. We still kind of wish Radiohead was closing out Sunday instead of playing Friday, forcing us to sprint a mile or so in 15-minutes so we can see The Raconteurs too. And I guess we'll be missing Wilco at Lolla for the second......

DeRo has the lowdown on a bunch of other confirmed Lollapalooza acts. We already knew Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Rage Against The machine would be headlining, but now you can add Racontuers, Kanye West, and Wilco to that list. We'd bitch about the fact that three of the six headliners have already played Lolla, which in its current incarnation is still a neophyte, but fuck it, we love all the headliners so we'll keep......

Local H fans are a very hands-on kind of people. Photo by Matt Birhanzel From May 7 through May 13 Local H will hold a residency at Beat Kitchen. Each night will see the full performance of one of their studio albums, in chronological order, through their latest, 12 Angry Months. Take that Wilco! Personally we're looking forward to the full performance of the overlooked but excellent concept album Pack Up The Cats. It's......

More fascinated by Kelis' milkshake than Daniel Plainview's? Is the only Oscar you'll watch living in a garbage can? Then this Sunday probably means nothing to you. You're burnt out on the "glitz" and "glamor" of the night, not to mention the drama surrounding that writers strike. Of course, it's never too early to make alternative plans! While all your friends and compulsive gamblers are setting up their Oscar pools and getting ready to check......

Even the cops can't get enough Wilco. While our Chicagoist photographer sat in line waiting to get into Friday night's show, a CPD cruiser drove by by with the intro to "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" planking away on it's megaphone, eliciting a roar from the crowd. The band is playing a 5-night stand at The Riv that looks to span the group's collected works. Tonight's show is being broadcast live on......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Aquarium: The Shedd Aquarium is offering free admission to its general exhibits, and reduced admission to the fancy-schmancy ones, all this week! We haven't been there in a while so this is an excellent opportunity for us to check in on all the fishies and the whales. 1200 S Lakeshore, weekdays 9 a.m. until 5......

That Obama, he's a total hipster. First it's Wilco, Cool Kids, and The Changes...now it's Andrew Bird and Dianogah. Despite the slightly weird combination of baroque chamber pop maestro and underground instrumental rock band, we'll take any opportunity to 'rock for Barack.' Also, as an added bonus -- at this event only -- all the folks willing to shell out the minimum $100 donation to gain entry will receive a super ultra-rare insanely limited-edition......

At the risk of feeding the hype machine, we still have to offer a congratulations to Mr. Kanye West for pulling in some Grammy gold last night. While we still don't buy the Grammys as an accurate barometer of the music industry and what's actually, you know, good in music these days, it's still the industry's main award show so there's something to be said for coming away with multiple trophies. While the night's big......

All week, Chicagoist will be breaking down the Schubas Tomorrow Never Knows Festival by day to take a look at the sometimes raw, always promising talent that's creating some of most deafening buzz on the independent music horizon. TNK kicks off this Wednesday. San Francisco's John Vanderslice is as regular a presence at Schubas as an out-of-towner can be, and his borderline-quirky yet still genre-appropriate, moody songs have carved out a place amidst the venue's......

WXRT just announced this morning that Wilco will be playing a five-day residency at the Riviera Theatre in February. And the most exciting part is the band promises to explore its entire catalog, creating a unique set list for each show and playing songs they haven't played in quite some time. Needless to say, we're excited. (Summerteeth, anyone?) Each show will also be all Wilco, all the time, as the band is playing unsupported......

Lots to rock about over the next few days, from Modest Mouse at the Congress, to Bob Pollard at the Metro, to our beloved Hall & Oates at the UIC Pavilion, but DDaN's gonna keep it live and local this week. InchWORM mounts the stage at the Double Door tomorrow night to fire up the cornfield psychedelia and shambling country pop that have garnered them comparisons to Wilco, Sparklehorse, and My Morning Jacket. Their most......

Obviously still angry about being featured on the cover of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Marina Towers Condominium Association (which only owns the top 40 floors of the two 60 floor towers) is now claiming a copyright in the name and image of Chicago's famous corn cobs. The entire document can be found here (pdf), and seems primarily to be a response to Marina City Online, a website run by Steve Dahlman, a resident with no......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Button up your sweaters and pack a picnic, because Wilco is set to give the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park a proper inauguration tonight. The skies don’t appear to hold the same nasty storms that plagued the Decemberists’ show there in July, so the full beauty and potential of the space should be on display this evening. Not to mention, it’s freakin’ Wilco. A beautiful Lollapalooza 2006 performance aside, it’s been a while since perhaps......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

- One apparently isn't enough: The 237 reasons people have sex. - All is not calm at Tavern on Rush. - Some "mechanics" on the West Side were caught engaging in their own "Gardenist" project. - Mayor Daley sets his sights on BP. - From the closet to the courtroom: R. Kelly finally goes to trial September 17. - Bats! With!! Rabies!!! - An female cop won $150K in a harassment suit filed because......

One week from today we’ll be sitting in the sun (hopefully) listening to The Polyphonic Spree. We know everything doesn’t end and begin with Lollapalooza, so here are some concerts that are happening locally after the madness is over. Wilco in the Park – that should be the album they record when we, their fans, are past our prime and sit on park benches reminiscing about the good old days of mp3 players. Instead, Sky......

It’s all fun and games until someone calls sell-out, but how is almost every artist not a sell-out when it comes to putting tunes behind a commercial these days? From the use of “Lust for Life” to get us aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Wilco shilling for Volkswagen, what are the best or worst songs used in commercials? Mark Caro wants your comments about that over at his blog, Pop Machine. Do we care......

While most Pitchfork Music Festival coverage will undoubtedly focus on the headliners, we think it would be a shame to not mention our favorite part of the festival: the side stage. The Balance Stage, aka “the tent,” has been our escape at the past two Pitchfork-involved festivals. During the afternoon, much of the Union Park field is full of immobile patrons only half-interested in who’s on the stage, making walking around the festival a mile-long......

One of the most revealing things Wilco's leader Jeff Tweedy says on this week's Sound Opinions (airing on WBEZ 8 p.m. tonight, 11 a.m. tomorrow, and available as a podcast after that) is his answer to Greg Kot's question of what stood in the way of Wilco being truly collaborative in the past. Tweedy answers, "Well, I probably stood in the way of that a lot of times, to be completely honest." We've been following......

We realize we’re a bit late to the game on this one, but Illinois Entertainer recently published a list of the top 25 local albums of the last ten years. And we’re a bit surprised that it hasn’t inspired more discussion on their site. The usual suspects made the list with Wilco, Sea and Cake, Jim O'Rourke, Kanye and Smashing Pumpkins all making appearances. Local H seems to be the most glaring omission here, as......

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......

After a week jam-packed with shows, we're not surprised that this weekend finds us wishing that payday hadn't been so long ago. Did you know Morrissey is making his only 2006 appearance in North America here in Chicago? We feel like it’s all we’ve heard about all week. But it’s true. Except for when he played SXSW back in March. So, not as special now. But still: Morrissey! Still spelling cranky as s-u-a-v-e after all......

Where can we spend, spend, spend that paycheck? Perhaps a few of these shows going on sale this weekend will empty out that wallet. Well, the presale is happening today at 10:00 a.m. for Wilco. Don’t be a “turkey” and miss out on this, or Jeff Tweedy just might punch you in the face. Wilco will be at the Auditorium Theatre once again for a pair of shows during the biggest party weekend of the......

For this week’s edition of Empty Out Your Wallet we’ve decided to primarily point you to smaller shows whose tickets are already available for purchase, plus one surprise. We’re always on the side of the little guy (and / or gal) and believe that they are deserving of your pre-show guaranteed dollars as well. Decemberists Alasdair Roberts The Decemberists are this year’s Death Cab For Cutie with a better background in literature and seamanship. We......

Whew! Happy, sore, tired, but mainly thrilled Lollapalooza spends her time in our home town. We'd like to give props to each and every one of the fans who stood their ground to be down front for whoever was their favorite band from The Flaming Lips to Wilco or The Raconteurs and the Chili Peppers. You guys are the ones who made Lollapalooza the best! Here are just a few more thoughts on the bands......

As if 130 bands, overpriced food, kids’ shows, an art exhibit, and people watching weren’t enough, Lollapalooza 2006 will serve up afternoons of interactive entertainment on the Mindfield Stage. Good to see three local comedy offerings on the bill but, with all due respect, they’re pretty much the opening act everyone’s sitting through to get to the headliner. To any of our readers coughing up $60 or more just to see Chicago comedy in Grant......

Chicagoist awakened Sunday morning to grey skies and rain. Luckily, Day Two of the Intonation Music Festival was anything but dreary. Following are some recaps of the performances that we liked best (and, boy, narrowing that down was a hard decision). Before the clouds even had a chance to dissipate, we were blown away by the Tyrades. Finally, a pure and simple punk band. We loved Jenna Tyrade's screams and the whole band's assaultive attitude.......

Still waiting to hear back about those Conan tickets? Yeah, you and 70,999 other people. But NBC has announced guests for some of the four “Late Night” shows to be taped at the Chicago Theatre May 9-12. On Monday, May 9, Sean Hayes, Glen Ellyn native and Illinois State University alum, will be a guest. “Will and Grace” will air its series finale the next week. Dave Chappelle and Common are scheduled to appear on......