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This Week in Great Music: 10/25 – 10/31

Sarah — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:17:07 +0000

If you’re looking for me this week, I’ll be on my Mumford Midwest Mini-Roadtrip. (I can’t think of another word with M. Migration, maybe?) I’ll be arriving in Minneapolis the 28th — it’s my first time there, so I decided to go in a day early to explore the city a bit. The show there is the 29th; then I leave the next morning for Milwaukee, and then the morning after that, it’s back to Chicago. It will be epic, and I will be exhausted, and I will sure be wishing that I had a vacation day on Monday. Oops.

Monday, October 25
Joshua Radin, Hard Rock Cafe. 6 pm, free
Robbie Fulks, Justin Roberts; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip; the Aragon. 8 pm, sold out
Tyler Hilton and Josiah Leming; SPACE. 8 pm, $15-28
Ezra Furman, Danny Malone; Schubas. 8 pm, $6

Tuesday, October 26
LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip; the Riviera. 8 pm, $35
Dar Williams; SPACE. 8 pm, $30-35

Wednesday, October 27
Maroon 5; UIC Pavillion. 7:30 pm, $39.40-77.45
Mayer Hawthorne and the County; Subterranean. 7:30 pm, $17

Thursday, October 28
Shawn Mullins; SPACE. 8 pm, $22-35

Friday, October 29
Shawn Mullins; Schubas. 9 pm, $20-22
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound; Hideout. 10 pm, $10

Saturday, October 30
The Weepies; SPACE. 7 pm and 10 pm, sold out
Bob Dylan and his Band; the Riviera. 7:30 pm, $61
Deer Tick; Bottom Lounge. 8 pm, $13
Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar; Symphony Center. 8 pm, $25-100
The Morning Benders; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $15

Sunday, October 31
Mumford and Sons, Cadillac Sky, King Charles; the Riviera. 7:30 pm, sold out
Joe Firstman; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-20

This Week in Great Music: 8/9 – 8/15

Sarah — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:43:39 +0000

After three days of Lollapalooza, I kind of don’t want to think about music right now. Fortunately for those of us who are sort of burnt out at the moment, there’s not a lot going on. I’ll be at the Rufus Wainwright show on Friday. I’m not in love with his new album, but as a Rufus (and Martha) fangirl, I’ll go to the concert all the same. Maybe I will love the new songs more, seeing them live.

Monday, August 9
Neon Trees; Hard Rock Cafe. 6 pm, free
Victoire; Millennium Park. 6:30 pm, free
Robbie Fulks; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation

Tuesday, August 10
Tony Lucca and Ernie Halter; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-20
The Cliks; Schubas. 8 pm, $8-10

Wednesday, August 11
Meh.

Thursday, August 12
Jeremy Messersmith, Judson Claiborne, Conrad Plymouth; Schubas. 9 pm, $8

Friday, August 13
Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright; Bank of America Theatre. 8 pm, $48.50-58.50

Saturday, August 14
Jeffrey David; Navy Pier Beer Garden. 5 pm, free
How Far to Austin; Cubby Bear Wrigleyville. 8:30 pm, $7
Katie Herzig, Andrew Belle; Schubas. 9 pm, $12-15

Sunday, August 15
Meh.

This Week in Great Music: 6/28 – 7/4

Sarah — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:26:25 +0000

I suppose the holiday weekend makes for a slow concert week. The most exciting stuff is happening over at the Taste of Chicago, really. On Saturday, I’ll be heading to a super-secret location for a teeny-tiny show by Rocky Votolato, who is doing a series of living room concerts over the summer. There are only a handful of tickets still available (7, at the time I’m writing this post), so if you’re interested, you should act fast. He was fantastic when I saw him at Schubas, so I’m super excited to see him in a much smaller setting.

Monday, June 28
Robbie Fulks, Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Huntsville; On Fillmore ft. Nels Cline; Millennium Park. 7:30 pm, free
Thao and Mirah with the Most of All, These United States; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $14

Tuesday, June 29
Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 5:30 pm, free
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Hacienda; Lincoln Hall. 10 pm, $12-14

Wednesday, June 30
Matt Kearney, Brett Dennen; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 5:30 pm, free
Eisley, The Lion and The Sail, Christie DuPree; Lincoln Hall. 7 pm, $15

Thursday, July 1
Todd Kessler, A Band Called Catch; Park Grill. 4 pm, free
Sons of the Never Wrong; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 5:20 pm, free
Sara Bareilles, A Rocket to the Moon; Hard Rock Cafe. 6 pm, free
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International, ft. Samba Mapangala; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 6:40 pm, free

Friday, July 2
Derek Nelson and the Musicians; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $7

Saturday, July 3
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 12 pm, free
Brooke Waggoner, Dignan; Schubas. 10 pm, $10
Rocky Votolato; A living room in Chicago. 8 pm, $20

Sunday, July 4
Passion Pit; Grant Park (Taste of Chicago). 12 pm, free

This Week in Great Music: 5/3 – 5/9

Sarah — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:00:26 +0000

It looks like a quiet week, but I find myself strangely busy. I’ll be checking out the Laura Marling show tomorrow night, and Jerome Holloway’s show on Friday. I saw him open for Nneka in February and thought he was really good, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with a headlining spot. Saturday also has some strong line-ups of local bands, both at Bottom Lounge and at the Beat Kitchen.

And if irreverent, snarky humor is your thing, Joel McHale is doing two shows at the Chicago Theatre on Saturday. It looks like both shows are sold out, though, so you might have to do some Craigslist sleuthing to get tickets.

Monday, May 3
Robbie Fulks, Gerald Dowd, and KC McDonough; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Prohibition Orchestra of Chicago; SPACE. 7:30 pm, $5

Tuesday, May 4
Laura Marling, Smoke Fairies, Pete Roe; Lincoln Hall. 7 pm, $15
Shelby Lynne; Martyrs. 8 pm, $27.50
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone; Schubas. 8 pm, $8-10
Ozomatli; House of Blues. 9 pm, $18-20.50

Wednesday, May 5
Aqualung, Krista Polvere; Schubas. 9 pm, $15

Thursday, May 6
Kaki King, An Horse; Park West. 7:30 pm, $16
Crooked Still; SPACE. 8 pm, $18-30

Friday, May 7
Jerome Holloway, Simplesinger, Cassy Baxter; Double Door. 9 pm, $5
Lt. Dan Band, ft. Gary Sinise; Hard Rock Cafe. 9:30 pm, $25-30 (Proceeds go to ®Artistic TOOLS for Wounded Soldiers and arts programs in Vietnam.)

Saturday, May 8
Canasta, Gregory and the Hawk; Schubas. 7 pm, $10
Mary Gauthier, Mindy Smith; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm, $18-22
My My My, Green Sugar, How Far to Austin, Josh and the Empty Pockets, Cobalt and the Hired Guns; Bottom Lounge. 8 pm, $8
Frightened Rabbit, Maps and Atlases, Our Brother the Native; Metro. 9 pm, sold out
Derek Nelson and the Musicians, Soft Speaker, Mallory, Ceiling Stars; Beat Kitchen. 9 pm, $10
Canasta, Brighton MA; Schubas. 10 pm, $10

Sunday, May 9
Butch Walker and the Black Widows, Locksley; House of Blues. 9 pm, $20-23
Relaxation Record, Tadoma, Shalloboi; Empty Bottle. 9:30 pm, $3

This Week in Great Music: 3/29 – 4/4

Sarah — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:36:01 +0000

And so it begins – the slow trickle of bands, big and small, making its way to our fair city after playing a ridiculous amount of shows in a ridiculous amount of venues in Austin. The month is only going to get busier, so hang on, it’ll be a wild ride.

As for me, I’ll be at the 10pm show for Alejandro Escovedo on Saturday. I’m debating hitting up Lincoln Hall on both Wednesday and Sunday. One peek at my upcoming concert list says that I might as well just move in to Lincoln Hall for the month as it is already. And that free bill of Daniel Merriweather and Angel Taylor at the Hard Rock on Tuesday is pretty tempting. It’s free, I enjoy Angel Taylor’s music, there is food at the Hard Rock, and donations are being taken to support Musicians On Call.

Monday, March 29
Janelle Monae, Schubas. 8 pm, sold out
The Powwows, Uncommon Ground (1401 W Devon). 8 pm, $10 suggested donation

Tuesday, March 30
Daniel Merriweather, Angel Taylor; Hard Rock Cafe (63 W Ontario). 6 pm, free
Janelle Monae, Schubas. 8 pm, sold out

Wednesday, March 31
Green River Ordinance, Vedera, Angel Taylor; Lincoln Hall. 7 pm, $12
Serena Maneesh, Bottom Lounge (1375 W Lake). 8 pm, $13-15
The Ruby Suns, Toro y Moi; Schubas. 9 pm, $10
Mike Middleton, Double Door. 9 pm, free

Thursday, April 1
Spoon, Deerhunter, Micachu and the Shapes; The Aragon. 6 pm, $27.50
Woodhands, Light Pollution, This is Versailles, Seafarer; Bottom Lounge. 8 pm, $10
The Powwows, Tamara Bedricky; Uncommon Ground (1401 W Devon). 8 pm, $10 suggested donation
Miles Kurosky, Schubas. 9 pm, $12-14

Friday, April 2
Ingrid Michaelson, Mat Kearney, Cara Salimando; The Riviera. 7 pm, $30
Steve Poltz, Schubas. 7:30 pm, $15
Passion Pit, Mayer Hawthorne and the Count; Congress Theater. 8 pm, sold out
Beach House, Metro. 9 pm, $14-16
Seabear, Via Tania, Soley; Schubas. 10 pm, $12

Saturday, April 3
A Lull, Suns, Group of Altos, Young Sun; Subterranean. 6 pm, $10-12
Audra Mae, Haywood Yards; Martyrs. 7 pm, $8-10
Alejandro Escovedo, Megan McCormick; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm and 10 pm, sold out
Joanna Newsom, Robin Pecknold; The Vic. 7:30 pm, sold out
Xiu Xiu, tUnE-yArDs, Talk Normal, Zola Jesus; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $12
Mucca Pazza, Martyrs. 10 pm, $12

Sunday, April 4
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Freelance Whales; Schubas. 6 pm, $12
Miike Snow, Metro. 7 pm, $17-19
The Watson Twins, Daniel Knox; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7:30 pm, $16-20
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Bear in Heaven; Schubas. 9 pm, sold out
Shearwater, Wye Oak, Hospital Ships; Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $12

This Week in Great Music – 10/5 – 10/11

Sarah — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:58:25 +0000

Another week, another great round of live music. I could see myself at a show every night, if I were, you know, made of money and didn’t have other responsibilities. I will be at the Decemberists show on Thursday, and so have the next few days to decide between that age old dilemma — do I head straight for a seat in the balcony when I get to the Riviera, or do I try to battle it out amongst the rest of the crowd to get a good spot on the floor? It’s a Hazards of Love show, so I may opt for the balcony, the better to see things with. As for Thursday’s Hideout lineup, I don’t know anything about any of the three bands (Disappears, Follows, and Implodes), but I love the fact that all three band names are verbs and that alone kind of makes me want to check it out. I’m way sad that the Portugal. The Man/Hockey/Drug Rug shows sold out at Schubas before I figured out if I wanted to go or not. I’ll be keeping a lookout for some last-minute released tickets at Schubas, if I’m lucky.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Erin McCarley and Landon Pigg, Schubas. 7 pm, $15.
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, Lakeshore Theater (3175 N. Broadway). 8 pm, $20.

Tuesday, October 6
Yo La Tengo, the Vic. 7:30 pm, $24.
Vedera, Hard Rock Café (63 W. Ontario). 9 pm, free. Donations accepted at the door to benefit Chicago’s own Breast Cancer Network of Strength.

Wednesday, October 7
Ian Anderson, the Vic. 7:30 pm, $70.
Colbie Caillat, Howie Day, and Trevor Hall, the Riviera. 7 pm, $27.50.
Vienna Teng, SPACE (1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston). 8 pm, $18-34.
Andrew McMahon, Lakeshore Theater. 8 pm, $25.

Thursday, October 8
Maxwell, Common, and Chrisette Michele, United Center (1901 W. Madison). 7:30 pm, $20-150.
The Decemberists and Laura Veirs & The Hall of Flames, the Riviera. 7 pm, $30.
The Horse’s Ha and Simon Kashama, Chicago Cultural Center. 6:30 pm, free.
Disappears, Follows, and Implodes, Hideout. 9 pm, $10.

Friday, October 9
Mat Kearney and Diane Birch, House of Blues. 7:30 pm, $23-27.
Leon Redbone, Old Town School of Folk Music. 8 pm, $24-28.

Saturday, October 10
They Might Be Giants, the Vic. 4 pm and 8 pm, $25.
Paramore, Paper Route, and The Swellers, House of Blues. 7:30 pm, $27.50.
Loney Dear, Asobi Seksu, and Anna Ternheim, Bottom Lounge. 8 pm, $15.
Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm, Park West. 8 pm, $20-22.
Portugal. The Man, Hockey, and Drug Rug, Schubas. 10pm, sold out.

Sunday, October 11
Brazilian Music Festival, Nichols Concert Hall (1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston). 1 pm, free.
Portugal. The Man, Hockey, and Drug Rug, Schubas. 8 pm, sold out.