Eleanor Friedberger @ BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Eleanor Friedberger is set to welcome her second solo album, Personal Record, on June 4 via Merge. The LP's lead single, "Stare at the Sun," is as fun and well-crafted as anything on 2011's Last Summer, and you can check out the music video for it at the bottom of this post. Eleanor and co. will be embarking on a summer North American tour with TEEN next month, which includes a performance at the Empty Bottle on June 7. Advance tickets are still available, and she'll also be playing a 6PM in-store at Reckless Records' Wicker Park location that evening. Admission is free, but space will fill up quickly.

All Eleanor Friedberger tour dates and that video are below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger playing an in-store at Reckless Records before her show at the Empty Bottle"

Trail of Dead @ BV-SXSW 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As discussed, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead will be heading to Chicago for a performance on Saturday (7/20) of the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival. Festival passes and single-day tickets are still available, and they've just announced that they'll also be playing the Double Door with fellow Austinites Ume on July 18. Tickets for the club show go on sale this Saturday (5/25) at noon CST.

All Trail of Dead dates and a stream of their most recent LP, Lost Songs, are below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead playing Double Door w/ Ume before Pitchfork Festival"

(via/via)

English musician Emma "Scout" Niblett welcomed her new album, It's Up To Emma, earlier this week via Drag City. It's her first since 2010's The Calcination of Scout Niblett, and is lead by the single "Gun." On "Gun," Niblett channels the raw power of PJ Harvey and angular guitar chops of Kurt Cobain as she sneers, "I think I'm gonna buy me a gun / A nice little silver one." You can check out the video for the track at the bottom of this post. The remainder of the album is great too, and you can grab a copy via Drag City's webstore.

Niblett's about to hit the road in Europe in support of It's Up to Emma, and will head stateside in late-August for a North American run. Dope Body will act as main support on many of her North American dates, including a performance at the Hideout on September 21. Ticketing information for the Chicago show is forthcoming, but check Ticketfly for updates.

All Scout Niblett tour dates and a stream of // the video for "Gun" are below...

Continue reading "Scout Niblett released 'It's Up to Emma,' playing the Hideout with Dope Body on fall tour"

Laura Marling @ Prospect Park, June 2012 (more by Jessica Amaya)

today in Chicago
* Pokey LaFarge, Al Scorch @ Lincoln Hall
* Bike Cops, Le Tour, Today's Hits @ Quenchers
* Laura Marling, Liam Hayes @ Athenaeum Theatre
* Taught Abroad, Software Giant, K. Serra @ Hideout
* Brett Newski & The Corruption, Elephant Gun @ Empty Bottle
* Architecture, Landmarks, The Father Costume @ The Burlington
* Brownie Mountain, Rhone, Yeesh, The Welcome @ Subterranean
* Vamos, An Unfortunate Woman, La Cosa @ Township (Late Show)
* Saturday Looks Good To Me, Like Pioneers, Mister Suit @ Schubas
* Shaved Women, Manipulation, Warrior Tribes, Tensions @ Township (Early Show)

Laura Marling headlines the Athenaeum Theatre tonight.

Pokey LaFarge and Al Scorch play Lincoln Hall.

Brownie Mountain, Rhone, Yeesh, and The Welcome play Subterranean.

The National performed "Sea Of Love" on The Colbert Report. Check out the footage below.

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What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

Michigan's Destroy This Place are comprised of ex-members of Thunderbirds Are Now!, New Grenada, and Friendly Foes. The quartet welcomed their new self-titled album earlier this month via Bellyache Records, and it's a really nice mix of power pop and harder-edged fuzz rock. Co-frontmen Ryan Allen and John Nelson split those duties respectively, yielding a well-balanced core sound. You can, and really should, take a listen to the LP at the bottom of this post.

DTP just came through Chicago for a show at Quenchers, but they'll be returning for a performance on August 10 with Tight Phantomz and Lifted Bells at a TBD venue. Stay tuned for more info on the Chicago show.

All known Destroy This Place dates and a stream of their new LP are below...

Continue reading "Destroy This Place put out a new LP, playing Chicago in August with Tight Phantomz"

Marc Ribot, who's know for playing guitar for Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, and many others, just recently welcomed a new LP with his trio Ceramic Dog. It's called Your Turn, and was produced // mixed by Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. You can check out a video of the group performing Your Turn's "Masters of the Internet" at the bottom of this post.

As discussed, Ribot and co. will be headed to Chicago next week to open for the Lee Ranaldo Band at Downtown Sound on Monday night (5/27). They'll also headline Mike Reed's Constellation on May 28, and advance tickets are still available.

Watch Ceramic Dog perform "Masters of the Internet" below...

Continue reading "Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog playing 'Downtown Sound' & Constellation next week, released a new LP"

While they were in town to play the Empty Bottle earlier this month, Coliseum visited the A.V. Club to participate in their Undercover series. They brought Bruce Lamont along, and chose to tackle the Eddie Money hit "Shakin'."

Watch them cover the tune below...

Continue reading "watch Coliseum + Bruce Lamont cover Eddie Money"

Half Moon Run @ BV-SXSW 2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

today in Chicago
* Secret Chiefs 3 @ Township
* Terriers, The Oarsman, Boil @ Schubas
* El Ten Eleven, Michna, Nude Pop @ SPACE
* Kastle, XXXY, Equator Club, Aztek @ Lincoln Hall
* Innkeepers, The Getouts, Sabres @ The Burlington
* Of Monsters and Men, Half Moon Run @ Aragon Ballroom
* Flashlights, Dead Native, Cougar Island @ Empty Bottle (Late Show)
* Jesse Langen, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett @ Empty Bottle (Early Show)

Secret Chiefs 3 play Township tonight.

Terriers, The Oarsman, and Boil play Schubas.

Kastle, XXXY, Equator Club, and Aztek play Lincoln Hall.

Jesse Jangen and Amanda DeBoer Bartlett (both of Ensemble Dal Niente) play an early show at the Empty Bottle.

Half Moon Run open for Of Monsters and Men at Aragon Ballroom.

Julia Holter has unveiled a video for "World," her brand new single from the forthcoming Loud City Song. Check it out below.

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What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

photos by James Richards IV

Foals at the Vic on 5.18.2013

Foals brought their North American tour with Surfer Blood and Blondfire through Chicago on Saturday night (5/18) for a sold-out show at the Vic Theatre. The band are on the road in support of this year's great Holy Fire, and delivered an extremely energetic headlining set. Frontman Yannis Philippakis, who often spends more time in the crowd than on stage, really went all-out at the Vic by climbing up the stage left opera box with his guitar on his back. While Yannis' antics were a lot of fun, they thankfully didn't take away from the group's excellent set, and only served to rile up the audience. (It worked.) Were you there? If so, what did you think? We've got pictures from the 5/18 show, and video footage of "Electric Bloom" in this post. More below...

Continue reading "Foals, Surfer Blood & Blondfire played the Vic (pics, video)"