Chicago – Have you ever found yourself falling in love with a new band, only to discover said band lives oh so far away – we’re talking on another continent – and won’t be touring near you any time soon? Yeah, it’s the pits, right? Well, that’s my experience with Australian band Hockey Dad. While
Chicago – While most of the U.S. has been experiencing a heat wave and seeking shelter in air-conditioning, emo kids and modern punks have been having the best summer of their lives, with Warped Tour being in full-effect, despite the gnarly temperatures. On a Saturday afternoon, hoards of teenagers and twenty-somethings piled into the Hollywood
Chicago – On a beautiful Mother’s Day, Brooklyn based Americana group Alberta Cross graced Chicago with its warm, heartfelt tunes. The six-piece, fronted by founding member Petter Ericson Stakee, must’ve brought the warm weather with them because as of late, Chicago Spring has been a real drag, filled with chilly days, too much rain, and
Happy Monday! Allow us to help you start your week with our Mixtape #3, featuring tracks from all our Best Song nominees in the Newbie Awards, plus tracks from last week’s live review of Saskatchewan and Vensaire at Glasslands in Brooklyn, and Katrina’s favorite track from The Babies’ new album, which she reviewed. Bonus track:
Neon colors, LED light accessories, giant dancing robots, sing-a-longs, and crowd-surfing second line parades are some of the things you can expect at a Rubblebucket show. You can expect your face to start hurting from smiling so much, but to not care because you’re at a super fun party where you could get blasted in
Seeing The Helio Sequence live is a cathartic experience. Since they’re touring in support of what may be their most introspective and meditative album yet, Negotiations, this makes complete sense. Guitarist/vocalist Brandon Summers and Drummer/keyboardist Benjamin Weikel come off as mellow, understated folk who have a keen sense for spacious, atmospheric compositions, and who are
Thursday night was a trip of the musically-induced variety, when The Fresh & Onlys and Quilt played Music Hall of Williamsburg. The Fresh & Onlys are one of those bands where it’s easy not to realize exactly how good they are until experienced live. With introspective lyrics set to heavily hazy psych pop jams, they
Saturday night was the finale for CMJ 2012, five days jam-packed (literally) with panels, shows, powwows, and late nights. It was like cramming a month into a week. The final show that I was not mad about at all was Wild Nothing, BRAIDS, and Weekend at Bowery Ballroom. In a way, this show summed up
Friday night was the Panache Showcase at Public Assembly, with their fun and eccentric roster of bands ranging from Dent May to Violent Bullshit. I ended up only seeing enough of the latter to see front man Jayson Green getting in a heckling war with a dudebro. After realizing the futility of what was becoming
Thursday night of CMJ ended up being good for sweat and beer at Knitting Factory, but it didn’t start out that way. The first musician I caught there was Daughn Gibson. who paired some dark country croonin’ with electronic beats. He was joined by a librarian-esque keyboard player, who added an extra layer of dusty