Chicago – M.U.D. That’s what day two of Riot Fest was all about. Lots and lots and lots ‘o mud! Another morning of pouring rain left Douglas Park even squishier and dirtier than before. Everywhere you turned people could be seen slipping and sliding from stage to stage, to see and hear a myriad of
Chicago – As per tradition, it rained on the first day of Riot Fest. We’re talking pour down, smack you dead in the face, rain, which of course left Douglas Park nice and muddy – day two will be no exception. As I write this, cats and dogs are falling – but the mud just
Chicago – It’s a good thing The Grateful Dead retired because there’s a new supreme jam band in town. Impossible you say? Obviously you’ve not yet had the pleasure of seeing the tongue twisting Australian seven-piece King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard then. A concert buddy highly recommended these psychedelic rockers to me, so when I saw
Chicago – Every festival brings a barrage of talented up and coming acts just waiting to be discovered by the masses, and of course music journalists, too. In preparation for Lollapalooza 2015, I did my homework, combing through the the line-up for the “best new bands,” reading bios and listening to YouTube and Soundcloud uploads.
Chicago – After months of speculation of whether or not Riot Fest would bring music to the punk rock, emo loving, not your cookie-cutter masses, thanks to a move from Humboldt Park to Douglas Park on the city’s South Side and a last-minute lawsuit, it seems we finally have the last festival of the summer on our hands. Although, September
Chicago – Back in 2013, when L.A. punk rockers FIDLAR released their self-titled debut, the foursome quickly built a reputation for partying it up (perhaps a little too hard) and letting loose on stage (never too hard on this end though), making for one of the best live shows around, complete with massive mosh pits
Chicago – LA band PHASES has literally gone through some phases. What started out as JJAMZ, with Z Berg (The Like), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), James Valentine (Maroon 5), Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley, The Elected, Bright Eyes), and Michael Runion, has turned into PHASES, with all original members, minus Valentine, who has been busy devoting himself to
Chicago – Despite being a Tuesday and a school night, U.K. rockers The Vaccines packed Lincoln Hall, selling out the venue, filling it with excited fans young and old, for the English Graffiti Tour, bringing their fantastic mix of indie, garage rock, and punk. The foursome recently released their third album, English Graffiti, hence the
Chicago – Australia has been pumping out new bands left and right, giving us amazing acts like Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, and The Preatures, just to name a few. This summer another group of Aussies, known as DMA’s, began to take the world by storm, touring throughout North America and Europe, playing pretty much every major festival known to man.
Chicago – The L.A. via Omaha band Big Harp played Lincoln Hall, along with another band started in Omaha, The Good Life. The bands have been touring together, which isn’t too surprising considering they share a member: Stefanie Drootin-Senseny. They also used to share the label Saddle Creek Records, but recently Big Harp made a change. They