Record Store Day Roundup
By Veronica Murtagh in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 17, 2009 8:15PM
By now you've probably heard the buzz that is Record Store Day. Born as a concept in 2007, Record Store Day, held the third Saturday of April, celebrates its second year of bringing together independent retailers and musicians tomorrow in cities worldwide. The current economic climate coupled with the shift to digital formats and purchasing make this an especially important year to band together and champion the cause of the Independents.
Chicago has fared better than many other cities, with a long list of participating retailers in the city proper and surrounding areas. Live performances, sales, and exclusive album releases highlight the day and here is our rundown of a few of the many reasons you won't want to spend it at home.
It's refreshing to see how big this little idea has caught on with the music makers. Acts large and small have jumped on board, with exclusive (and often very limited run) releases. Between their three locations, Reckless Records is a great spot to scoop up the exclusives like the Pitchfork-gracing Flaming Lips limited 7" with the Black Keys. We also recommend heading over to Dusty Groove for Chicagoist favorite Numero Groups' limited run compilation This LP Crashes Hard Drives compiled alongside labels Light In The Attic, Daptone, Now Again, Honest Jons, Jazzman, Finders Keepers, Vampi Soul, Timmion and Sublime Frequences. For the DJs out there, a trip to Gramophone is in order for limited edition vinyl releases all day.
After you've filled your shopping bags with exclusives and old favorites, stick around and socialize at the numerous in-store performances slated across the city. The aforementioned Numero Group play a DJ set at Dusty Groove from 12-2pm. Also scheduled for noon across town, Azita plays live at Laurie's Planet of Sound. For the jazzheads amongst us, Jazz Record Mart features in-store performances at 11am by Jason Adasewicz's Rolldown with Keefe Jackson, Josh Berman and Jason Roebke, and at 1pm by local blues man Dave Specter. In the late afternoon, we recommend checking out the folk pop of Marissa Nadler at Permanent Records or heading to the South Loop for some quality time with the kids at Reggie's Rock Club (and the attached Record Breakers) for a 5pm all ages show featuring The Riverdales, The Hypnic Jerks and the Resistors.
Whatever your musical fancy, Record Store Day is a treasure trove for enthusiasts. We're hopping on our bikes tomorrow morning and taking a field trip around the city, talking with retailers, shoppers, and most importantly, buying some albums without clicking the mouse. We hope to run into some of you.