The xx @ Congress Theater, October 2012 (more by Zach Pollack)

The xx are beginning to announce some fall U.S. tour dates. They'll be touring throughout North America this summer with Hundred Waters and Grizzly Bear, and then will return stateside in September. The band's initial run of dates includes a performance at the massive Aragon Ballroom on September 26. Tickets for the Chicago show go on sale this Saturday (4/27) at 10AM CST.

Today, they've shared a new song, called "Together," which will appear on the Jay Z-helmed soundtrack for the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Take a listen to the new song and check out their full North American tour schedule below...

Continue reading "The xx announce Aragon Ballroom show; listen to their contribution to 'The Great Gatsby' (song stream)"

Bill Callahan @ BCoPA in 2011 (more by John Yingling)

Bill Callahan has announced that he'll be embarking on his first U.S. tour since the summer of 2011 next month. That tour features support from Flat Foot, and includes a performance at the Garfield Park Conservatory on May 6. Advance tickets for the Chicago show are on sale now. If you can't wait that long to get your Bill Callahan fix, Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film will be making its Chicago debut when it screens at The Society for the Arts next Friday, April 19. The film is "a collection of live performances and a glimpse of the road from Bill Callahan's American leg of the 2011 Apocalypse tour." Advance tickets for the screening are also on sale now.

All Bill Callahan dates and a couple of clips from the tour documentary are below...

Continue reading "Bill Callahan playing the Garfield Park Conservatory in May, screening tour doc. at The Society for the Arts next week"

Roger Ebert loved movies.

Except for those he hated.

For a film with a daring director, a talented cast, a captivating plot or, ideally, all three, there could be no better advocate than Roger Ebert, who passionately celebrated and promoted excellence in film while deflating the awful, the derivative, or the merely mediocre with an observant eye, a sharp wit and a depth of knowledge that delighted his millions of readers and viewers.

"No good film is too long," he once wrote, a sentiment he felt strongly enough about to have engraved on pens. "No bad movie is short enough." [Chicago Sun-Times]

RIP, Roger.

Rodriguez @ Bowery Ballroom, December 2011 (more by Ryan Barkan)

As seen on BrooklynVegan, Searching for Sugar Man subject Rodríguez is set to embark on a huge international tour later this month. That tour, which includes performances at Coachella, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, and more, has been expanded to include a show at the Arie Crown Theater on May 17. Tickets for the Chicago show on sale this Friday (3/8) at noon CST.

All Rodriguez dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Rodriguez playing the Arie Crown Theater in May"

Nick Offerman in Somebody Up There Likes Me

Nick Offerman, who was just recently interviewed by BrooklynVegan's Klaus Kinski, stars in a new film called Somebody Up There Likes Me. Offerman also produced the film, which "is a quirky comedy about the charmed life of one Max Youngman (Keith Poulson), who appears to be blessed with a dry sense of irony, accidental good fortune, and eternal youth. Over a period of three plus decades, Max, his best friend Sal (Nick Offerman) and his second wife Lyla (Jess Weixler) stumble through infidelities, divorce, therapy, and poverty in a breezy series of surreal jumps forward in time."

Somebody Up There Likes Me opens at The Music Box Theatre on Friday, March 8th, and runs through at least Thursday, March 14th. Offerman will be present for two screenings on Saturday, March 9, and advance tickets are on sale now. Additional screenings (without Offerman in attendance) will be announced.

Check out a trailer for Somebody Up There Likes Me below...

Continue reading "Nick Offerman's new film is coming to The Music Box; he'll be at two screenings"

Glen Hansard @ Pritzker Pavilion, June 2011 (more by Grant MacAllister)

Glen Hansard welcomed his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose, in June of 2012 via Anti- Records. The singer-songwriter did a bit of touring in support of the album last summer, and he's beginning to reveal some U.S. tour dates for this coming June. One of Glen's few announced dates is a performance at Metro on June 9. Tickets go on sale this Friday (2/22) at noon CST. All dates are listed below.

In related news, Glen's band The Frames are the subject of a new documentary, titled In The Deep Shade, which should be released soon. (It was screened this past weekend at the Dublin International Film Festival.) The film was shot by Conor Masterson on their 2010 20th anniversary tour, and you can check out a couple of trailers below.

All known Glen Hansard tour dates and trailers for The Frames' In The Deep Shade are below...

Continue reading "Glen Hansard playing Metro in June; The Frames are the subject of a new documentary"

Common @ Central Park Summerstage in 2010 (more by Andrew Frisicano)

Common was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night, mostly to chat about his new movie, LUV (out January 18). Fallon also got him talking about music, and Common shared that he'll be releasing an EP with the film, his first-ever mixtape, and a new album (due out in September)(via Fake Shore Drive). The Chicago-based entertainer also has a few more films coming out in 2013; it's quite the packed schedule. Stay tuned for more information on new Common music.

Footage of his chat with Jimmy Fallon and a trailer for LUV can be found below...

Continue reading "Common readying multiple projects for release this year"

On Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 8PM, Hopscotch Cinema will be presenting "Sprocket Hole/Speaker Box: The Music-About-Film & Film-About-Music Show" at The Hideout in Chicago. The evening will be a mix of film and music forms interacting and informing each other. Film artist and professor Lori Felker will be presenting a projector performance that uses the plastic forms of the film strip and the mechanical processes of projection to create a "musical" performance. Film artist and acclaimed cellist Tatsu Aoki will be providing a musical accompaniment to Tony Conrad's classic experimental film "Film Feedback." Local film critics Edward Crouse (Village Voice, Film Comment) and Ben Sachs (Chicago Reader, Cine-File) will be performing a selection of pop songs about films and film directors under the name Farewell Scarlet. Finally, a selection of four 16mm short films from the seminal art rock band The Residents will also be screened.

Continue reading "Hopscotch Cinema hosting a night of film and music at Hideout"

today in Chicago
* It's a Wonderful Life @ Music Box Theatre
* Silent Night Deadly Night 2 @ Logan Theatre
* National Lampoons Christmas Vacation @ Logan Theatre

Catch It's a Wonderful Life at the Music Box Theatre.

Both Silent Night Deadly Night 2 and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation are playing at the Logan Theatre tonight.

Check out Animal New York's hilarious Merry Indie X-Mas below.

Follow @bvChicago on Twitter, "Like" us on Facebook.

Follow bvChicago on Instagram.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday? (Christmas Eve)"

As you may know, The Comedy, Rick Alverson's new film starring Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, James Murphy, Gregg Turkington (aka Neil Hamburger), and others, is screening at theaters throughout the country on a limited basis. It's currently playing multiple times a night at Facets until November 29. Advance tickets are still available, and we've also got a pair to give away (screening of your choice)! Additionally, the winner will also received a vinyl copy of the film's soundtrack, which features Gayngs, Gardens & Villa, William Basinski, and more.

Contest details, a list of all Facets screenings, and the film's trailer are below...

Continue reading "'The Comedy' is screening at Facets (win tix & the soundtrack)"