Another fantastic story, thom. Even if Maxwell's doesn't eventually get saved, you're certainly making some great memories. I loved the picture of your daughter on Facebook. How old is she?
I highly recommend hitting up Philly if you can. The show was absolute gold for a music obsessive.
Got to see Son Volt on Sunday night at Headliner's in Louisville. Much to my amazement, it was the first time I'd seen Son Volt or Jay Farrar live. A part of me wants to say I saw Farrar as part of a solo act at Schuba's, but I don't think so. I've been listening to their music for so long, I find it inconceivable that I haven't seen them live before.
Great show at a great venue. Played some songs off the new album, which is pretty reminiscent of their first two albums and made for solid live material. They closed out with a couple encores that just sent electricity through the room.
Picked up their new album at the merch table (and Katie got a t-shirt, too). They've put out two albums without my noticing, which really goes to show just how much I've been focused on modern jazz the last five years... that one of my favorite bands could put out two albums and it gets past me. I truly am no longer anything resembling a diverse music listener.
Saw Wire at the Black Cat in DC last night. Opener was a band called Bear in Heaven, which apparently has been around for a while but was new to me. Three guys clearly influenced by Wire, including a lead vocalist who also played keyboards and assorted electronica, bass player who switched to guitar for a couple of songs, and an excellent drummer. I didn't know any of their songs, obviously, but they captured and kept my attention for their entire set (probably 35-40 minutes) and I'm going to investigate further. Pretty much all I can ask or expect from an opening band.
Wire was great. I love their first three albums, but haven't heard much of what they've done since 1979, with the exception of the Read and Burn EPs, which are so good they made me want to go out on a Sunday night, by myself, to see a band that would probably play a bunch of songs I didn't know. The club was probably half full by the time they came out, so I was less than 10 feet from the stage, on the edge of what turned into a mini-mosh pit for the encores. My expectation turned out to be correct, in that I recognized very few of the songs they played, but it didn't matter. The three original members are all solidly middle-aged, and they've enlisted a younger (probably early to mid-30s) guitarist to join on this tour, but they played the faster stuff with a ferocity that was probably not much different from the way they would have played them in 1979. It wasn't all loud and fast, though, and the slower stuff was also compelling. Bottom line, I got home late, got way too little sleep, and I'm dragging a bit at work today, but it was totally worth it.
Saw Savages and Johnny Hostile last night. Holy crap they were amazing. If you enjoy post punk AT ALL you must see them. elwood, you in particular as a bass guy would go gaga.
This is kind of exciting, and just a couple of train stops down from the hood. Must admit wouldn't have expected Adam Ant, but why not?
Three rising independent promoters, including the founders of the Riot Fest rock festival and the Spring Awakening electronic-music festival, are joining forces to open a new 1,600-capacity music club next week in the Wicker Park-Logan Square neighborhood.
The schedule for Concord Music Hall at 2047 N. Milwaukee Ave. is expected to be announced Thursday, with Adam Ant headlining opening night Aug. 1. Other scheduled performers include Lotus on Aug. 31, Jimmy Cliff on Sept. 20, the Misfits on Oct. 20, Jason Isbell on Oct. 26 and a series of Riot Fest after-parties during the festival weekend Sept. 13-15 in Humboldt Park. The venue is expected to book a mix of rock, hip-hop and electronic music, reflecting the background of three major indie promoters who will join forces to book the venue: React Presents, which has presented Spring Awakening at Soldier Field and the North Coast Music Festival in Union Park for several years; Riot Fest, the company behind the annual festival of the same name in Humboldt Park, as well as Denver and Toronto; and Silver Wrapper, which has a history of bringing electronic-music artists and DJs to numerous local clubs.
Craig, one might guess the Mats would drop by for that "after-party"! The new club is especially welcome as it looks to replace a big old barn up the street (the Congress) where such acts might previously have been booked.
I refuse to believe the Mats are actually getting back together until there is a local date. Chicago, Toronto, and Denver? How can I be sure those places even exist?
My initial laugh was because this band has more drama than most bands, thinking of the lead singer melt down at SXSW, the blog post above, and now this. It's starting to approach Spinal Tap. Maybe.
It's been a fun last 2 months at Maxwell's. I wish I could have gone to more of the shows, but I managed to see Yo La Tengo/Condo Fucks, We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Fave (local band), The Feelies, and Mission of Burma. So I can't really complain...
I'm happy for all the great times and great people, disappointed with all the shows I missed, and sad that it's really time to move on.
That's a pretty good couple months thom, and some great memories.
As for me, I did end up going to the Best Coast/Prissy Clerks show last night and am glad I did. Bethany Cosentino has a MUCH bigger voice than I ever realized and the band was really tight. So it was a darn good time.
M Doughty is back! Mike Doughty will once again be dropping the 'ike' and performing Soul Coughing tunes. My high school self is having a heart attack.
I heard rock 'n' roll's future, and its name is Headphones & Snowcones.
Let me explain. Saturday night, at the open-air venue at Northerly Island on Chicago's lakefront, the Chicago-based "jam band" Umphrey's McGee played one of its usual raucous shows before a near-capacity crowd that swayed and bobbed and danced along.
Twenty people in that crowd, me included, experienced the concert with the addition of a pair of high-quality headphones you can rent from the band, filling your head with a perfect audio mix fed directly from the soundboard. The rental program is named Headphones & Snowcones, after an early UM song.
I can totally see the benefit of this at a rock show - Or for acoustic music for venues where the sound isn't so good or the crowd is noisy.
That sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure a discussion about headphones at concerts came up either here or over yonder before. While I'm not going to rant about it and claim it as the stupidest thing ever, I see it as having a pretty good use but far from being the future of concert going. It's like sporting events with the gigantic jumbo tron displays. If you clean up the live experience too much, why not just buy a bigger TV and better sound system and watch it at home?
Or they could play on all electric instruments with no PA system - then no one would hear anything except if they paid. I'd love to watch that without the music - a couple hundred people head bopping and grooving along to what seems like nothing.
Well, after just being here in March (after being away for a decade) Springsteen has announced another tour for February. I saw the three Sydney shows in March (see upthread) but am going all out this time - Melbourne, Sydney, Hunter Valley winery show, Brisbane and Auckland. Got all the tickets in presale today, except Melb but that can wait. Taking three weeks off work. (skipping Perth and Adelaide, would have to take a month off work ...)
Comments
I highly recommend hitting up Philly if you can. The show was absolute gold for a music obsessive.
Craig
Great show at a great venue. Played some songs off the new album, which is pretty reminiscent of their first two albums and made for solid live material. They closed out with a couple encores that just sent electricity through the room.
Picked up their new album at the merch table (and Katie got a t-shirt, too). They've put out two albums without my noticing, which really goes to show just how much I've been focused on modern jazz the last five years... that one of my favorite bands could put out two albums and it gets past me. I truly am no longer anything resembling a diverse music listener.
Wire was great. I love their first three albums, but haven't heard much of what they've done since 1979, with the exception of the Read and Burn EPs, which are so good they made me want to go out on a Sunday night, by myself, to see a band that would probably play a bunch of songs I didn't know. The club was probably half full by the time they came out, so I was less than 10 feet from the stage, on the edge of what turned into a mini-mosh pit for the encores. My expectation turned out to be correct, in that I recognized very few of the songs they played, but it didn't matter. The three original members are all solidly middle-aged, and they've enlisted a younger (probably early to mid-30s) guitarist to join on this tour, but they played the faster stuff with a ferocity that was probably not much different from the way they would have played them in 1979. It wasn't all loud and fast, though, and the slower stuff was also compelling. Bottom line, I got home late, got way too little sleep, and I'm dragging a bit at work today, but it was totally worth it.
My full review is at MiG, but the tl;dr version basically boils down to: Holy shit.
Craig
I'm actually seeing Jimmy Cliff on Sept. 19.
Craig
Craig
Could make for an interesting show!
Craig
Craig
The lead singer fell off the stage halfway through their opening song, broke his leg, and they had to cancel the concert.
Sounds like he's going to be okay, so it's just another concert story to add to my library!
Craig
Craig
Oh, and I found out I've now also won tickets to Best Coast tomorrow. Not sure yet if I'll be going or not, though.
Craig
My initial laugh was because this band has more drama than most bands, thinking of the lead singer melt down at SXSW, the blog post above, and now this. It's starting to approach Spinal Tap. Maybe.
Craig
I'm happy for all the great times and great people, disappointed with all the shows I missed, and sad that it's really time to move on.
As for me, I did end up going to the Best Coast/Prissy Clerks show last night and am glad I did. Bethany Cosentino has a MUCH bigger voice than I ever realized and the band was really tight. So it was a darn good time.
Plus no legs were broken.
Craig
Craig
Umphrey's McGee adds to live show experience ... with headphones
Your concertgoing ears might have a new best friend -- if Umphrey's McGee's live listen-in catches on
I can totally see the benefit of this at a rock show - Or for acoustic music for venues where the sound isn't so good or the crowd is noisy.
Here is a classic pic from March ;-)