photos by James Richards IV

In the Masonic's cozy, comely Scottish Rite Cathedral, the returning Detroit native served up a fiery if quick 80-minute set in his first show here in his new solo-artist phase, joined by an agile five-piece band and a capacity crowd of 1,500.

It was an event we don't see much anymore: a matinee rock performance, with a sellout evening gig still to come.

In some quarters, 2 p.m. is rock 'n' roll wakeup time, and the event had an offbeat feel from the outset. With the sun blasting as fans streamed into the Masonic in shorts and tank tops, it felt like a playing-hooky sort of afternoon [Detroit Free Press].

White began the evening show with a number of songs from Blunderbuss, including the raucous "Sixteen Saltines," "Missing Pieces," "Freedom At 21," and the folky "Love Interruption." He and his all-female band, The Peacocks (all-male band Los Buzzardos played the matinee show), also played a number of White Stripes songs: "Hotel Yorba," "You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)," "I'm Slowly Turning Into You," "Cannon," "My Doorbell," "Suzy Lee," and of course "Seven Nation Army." Raconteurs cuts including "Top Yourself," "Steady, As She Goes," and "Carolina Drama" made their way onto the setlist. White and co. closed the show with a cover of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene."

Reminder: Both Jack White and Alabama Shakes will be here for Lollapalooza.

A full set of pictures from Thursday night's show, both setlists, and some videos below...

Continue reading "Jack White & Alabama Shakes @ Scottish Rite Theater in Detroit (pics/setlist/video)"

Bob Mould reading from his book in Austin, TX in September (more by Tim Griffin)

today in Chicago
* Blowoff @ Metro
* Bob Saget @ Horseshoe Hammond Casino
* Redgrave, Touched by Ghoul @ Quenchers
* Chuck Mead, Tangleweed @ Bottom Lounge
* Buck 65, Busdriver, Qwel & Maker @ Reggie's
* Armin Van Buuren, Blake Jarrell @ Congress Theater
* Honeydogs, Dick Prall, Farewell Milwaukee @ Schubas
* Bubbly Creek, Hayward, Trevor McSpadden @ Hideout
* The Infected, HandMe Downs, Crackjaw @ Cobra Lounge
* Magic Ian, The Funs, Coffin Ships, Ree-Yess @ Ultra Lounge
* Bible of the Devil, Wizardcastle, Winterhawk @ The Burlington
* Needles, Sin Orden, Manipulation, Kontaminant @ Mousetrap
* A Friend Called Fire, Holding Mercury, Workout Music @ Lincoln Hall
* The Brokedowns, Truman and His Trophy, Wide Angles @ Township
* Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound, The Lawrence Peters Outfit @ SPACE
* Action Bronson, Sidewalk Chalk, The Palmer Squares @ Cubby Bear
* Evacuate the Earth, Alar Wave, Eddy Phenix and Jen Reilly @ Stage Bar
* Heaving Mass, Witchden, The Chicago Thrash Ensemble @ Empty Bottle
* Chino XL, Matlock, Nightwalker, Moodswangz, Micslingers, Joint Logistics, DJ Ambideckstriks @ Subterranean

Blowoff (the DJ project of Bob Mould) play Metro tonight.

Action Bronson plays the Cubby Bear on his way to Soundset Festival.

DIIV have a new video for "How Long Have You Known?" Check it out below.

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

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Have a Barbecue or something.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

today in Chicago
* De La Soul @ The Shrine
* E+, Magic Key @ The Burlington
* David Guetta @ Congress Theater
* Bobby Conn, CAVE, Starring @ Empty Bottle
* Anders Osborne, Clarence Bucaro @ SPACE
* Waco Brothers, The Riptones @ Beat Kitchen
* Breakway, C. Batteries, Daniel Wyche @ Township
* Bone & Bell, Adam Faucett, The Columbines @ Schubas
* Shovels And Rope, The Kernal, Robert Mcshane @ Subterranean
* Shaun Of The Dead vs. Dawn Of The Dead @ Lincoln Hall (Free Screenings)
* Fake Limbs, Blasted Diplomats, Blizzard Babies, DJ Supreme Court @ Hideout
* Terror Alert, Hotlips Messiah, EZ Kebage, Impossible Cork, Ebola 7 @ Stage Bar
* Royal Son of A Guns, Captain Red Beard and the Daydrinkers, Deep Sea Mammal @ Ultra Lounge
* DJ Quik, Fess Grandiose, Vic Spencer, DJ Audio Kush, Big Face 100s, Kenn Retro @ Double Door

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

What else?

DOWNLOAD: Amadou & Mariam - "Dougou Badia" (feat. Santigold) (MP3)

Malian duo Amadou & Mariam released their new album, Folila, last month via Nonesuch in the US. Their rhythmic blues-rock features hints of traditional West African music, employing deep djembe drums and iron bells. Vocal guests on the album include Santigold, TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, Bertrand Cantat, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Ebony Bones, Abdallah Oumbadougou, and Theophilus London. Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner plays guitar on a few tracks and production was handled by Manu Chao, Damon Albarn, and Marc-Antoine Moreau. Download the album's opening track "Dougou Badia," featuring Santigold, at the top of this post. They've also have a music video for the song "Wily Kataso," featuring Tunde and Kyp, which you can watch below.

Amadou & Mariam will head to North America this summer for a select string of festival appearances and some club shows. Among those are Osheaga, Central Park Summerstage, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands. They'll hit Chicago for Sunday (8/5) of the three-day festival. Single-day passes for Sunday only are still available.

All Amadou & Mariam tour dates are listed below, alongside their video for "Wily Kataso."

Continue reading "Amadou & Mariam released a guest-filled LP, playing Lollapalooza"

photos by Sarah Frankie Linder

M. Ward @ the Vic on 5/22/2012

On Tuesday night (5/22), M. Ward brought his tour with the Lee Ranaldo Band to Chicago for a performance at the Vic Theatre. A full set of pictures from the show and a video of M. Ward playing Monsters of Folk's "Whole Lotta Losin'" are in this post.

As mentioned, the Lee Ranaldo Band will join Chicago's Disappears for a few European dates in late-July. They are currently overseas right now and are slated to play Primavera Sound Festival next week. A full list of tour dates can be found HERE.

Pictures from Tuesday night's show at the Vic continue below...

Continue reading "M. Ward & the Lee Ranaldo Band played the Vic (pics, video)"

Zammuto @ Ecstatic Music Fest in February (NYC) (more by David Andrako)

Zammuto (aka Nick Zammuto of Books-fame) released his debut self-titled LP in April of this year via Temporary Residence. BV's Andrew Sacher talked a bit about it:

The new album is decidedly more pop than his work in The Books, but definitely maintains an experimental edge. Most of the vocals are heavily processed through vocoders and like much of the experimental pop coming out recently, the songs refuse to decide between organic and electronic sounds. The end result recalls the catchy frantic moments of Battles or a glitchier version of Four Tet's folktronica work.

After the album hit stores, Zammuto (with band) played a number of shows with label mates Explosions In The Sky. He'll hit the road with them again in mid-June, acting as main support on their previously announced show at The Chicago Theatre on June 26. Tickets are still available.

Nick Zammuto's old band The Books are prepping a career-spanning box set, due out "by the end of the summer," according to Zammuto's email list. The set will include all Books albums, audio/visual bonus material, and literature on their recording process over the years. Check out Zammuto's Tumblr blog for more information on the box set's release.

All Zammuto/Explosions In The Sky dates are listed below, with a stream of Nick's LP.

Continue reading "Zammuto are playing Chicago Theatre w/ Explosions In The Sky; The Books are prepping a career-spanning box set"

DOWNLOAD: Scott Lucas & the Married Men - "Blood Half Moons" (MP3)

Kelly Hogan @ the Vic in March (more by Chase Turner)

The A.V. Club: What was the origin of this album?

Kelly Hogan: Andy Kaulkin is the honcho at Anti- records, and I've known him for quite some time now through Neko. ... I was at Amoeba Records. We were doing an in-store with Neko, and I was shopping in the jazz section and Andy walked up. "I gotta talk to you." I thought I was late for bus call. I was like, "I'm sorry I'm late!" He said, "No, no, no. I want you to make a record for Anti-." I thought I was being punked. I was like, "Really?" It all goes back to Andy. The label's fantastic. It all goes back to the dude who's running it, because Andy just loves music so much.

The A.V. Club: So he had the concept of putting this band together and having all these people write songs for you?

Kelly Hogan: Yeah. He suggested from the get-go that I should call in favors, because I'd sung with so many different people. Last February, he said, "What do you think about coming to L.A.? And we invest our money in the band?" And I was like, "Okay, who are you thinking?" And he said, "I'm thinking Booker T." And I'm like, "Tell me more." He mentioned James Gadson on drums, and I'd just seen that Still Bill documentary the night before, the Bill Withers documentary. It's so great. James Gadson was Bill Withers' drummer. Have you seen the footage of Bill Withers on "The Old Grey Whistle Test"? You've got to Google that, man. It pans over to James Gadson and he's got this awesome Afro and this cool suit and a gold tooth and he's just smiling this gorgeous "Everything is all right and it's gonna be all right" smile. He still does that. That's his playing face. You know how when most people are concentrating on playing, they look like they're pooping?

Local H frontman Scott Lucas and his project the Married Men will act as main support on Monday night's show. Their new album, Blood Half Moon, is due out on June 5 via The End Records. Download the album's lead single "Blood Half Moons" at the top of this post. The band, who describe themselves as "country-ish alt-rock for people who like metal," will also be doing some touring with Deer Tick next month, and are included on the bill of the band's Chicago show at Metro on June 9. Tickets are still available.

All dates for both Kelly Hogan and Scott Lucas are listed below.

Continue reading "Kelly Hogan discussed 'I Like to Keep Myself in Pain,' playing Jay Pritzker w/ Scott Lucas & the Married Men on Monday"

California hip hop heavyweight DJ Quik is here. He'll headline the Double Door tonight (5/25), with support from Fess Grandiose, Vic Spencer, DJ Audio Kush, Big Face 100s, and Kenn Retro. Advance tickets are still available.

Quik began making a name for himself in the late-80s, DJing throughout Southern California and self-releasing homemade mixtapes. He's since gotten a Soundcloud account, handled production for Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and others, and has released eight studio albums to date.

His most recent LP, 2011's The Book of David (his given name is David Blake), includes collaborations with Ice Cube, Bun B, Bizzy Bone, Jon B., Kurupt, Dwele, and many others. The album was released via his own his Mad Science Recordings, founded in 2005. According to HipHop DX, Quik, Snoop, Battlecat, and The D.O.C. teamed up to create four songs for Dr. Dre. Two are said to be for Dre's long-in-the-works Detox and the other pair have been set aside for a project with Snoop.

In related news, Dam-Funk said, "If none of Dr. Dre's people reach out to the G.F.F.'s DaM-FunK to contribute to "Detox" then, it WILL NEVER BE be a 'true' representation of 'Los Angeles'. Period."

In also related news, Snoop Dogg threw out a ceremonial first pitch at the White Sox game last night before heading to the Horseshoe Hammond Casino to play a show. Check out a video of Snoop Dogg playing baseball below.

DJ Quik song streams and Snoop Dogg video below...

Continue reading "DJ Quik is here, playing the Double Door tonight"

photos by Aaron Joesph Maier, words & some photos by Rachel Angres

Here We Go Magic @ Empty Bottle on 5/17/2012

After releasing two folk albums under his own name in the mid-2000s, Luke Temple began working on the project that we now know as Here We Go Magic. Temple has since extended the project into a full band with members Michael Bloch, Jennifer Turner, and Peter Hale. Following last year's January EP, Here We Go Magic released their latest album, A Different Ship, earlier this month via Secretly Canadian. The LP was produced by longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich and serves as the group's most intricate effort to date.

Current tour mates Hospitality took the stage after local band Dolphins' brief yet charismatic set. Hospitality has colossal energy and versatility, blending eerie charm with layered hints similar to the sounds of early Broadcast- or even a less abrasive version of The Breeders.

Midway through their headlining set, Temple broke a guitar string: a mild and frequent casualty that is easily remedied if given the right tools. Yet as he started to announce that he needed to get a new string or borrow a guitar, he dropped his own. The crowd's mixed reaction of boos and cheers did not discourage Temple as he stood there shell-shocked, waiting for a replacement. "Wait, stop, my guitar is broken. We are going to start this over. Is Hospitality here? We need another guitar." He did not need a new guitar, nor did he need to stop the song to announce his broken string, but eventually Hospitality hospitably lent him one of their axes and the show lingered on.

Here We Go Magic have what is undoubtedly a fresh, compelling assortment of catchy riffs and hooks, that have rightfully earned them mass praise over the years. Mistakes were made at the Empty Bottle, and their set was at times shaky, but they finished with a redeeming double encore, belting out the finale with a remarkable version of "Fangella," a fan-favorite off their debut LP. The crowd, needless to say- did not leave disappointed, laden in sweat from all of the dancing, the venue's attendee's quickly shimmied out, with LP's signed and held tight by the die-hard fans smiling ear to ear with satisfaction.

A full set of pictures from their Empty Bottle show continue below...

Continue reading "Here We Go Magic, Hospitality & Dolphins @ the Empty Bottle (pics, review)"

photos by Ben Rodig

Reggie Watts @ the Vic on 5/16/2012

Rolling Stone: There's always been this lingering question: is Reggie Watts a comedian or a musician?

Reggie Watts: I guess, in a weird way, I've never actually thought of this until now, which is really odd. I guess, in a way, I grew up mixed race: half white, half black. That question's always been on my mind: what are you? Are you this or that? Are you a white dude or are you a black dude? In a strange way, music and comedy is kind of the same thing. I'm both. They're just different modes of expression.

Rolling Stone: People always want things to fit into a nice, tidy box.

Reggie Watts: Everybody's got their take on it. That's the cool thing about art. Everyone gets their own opinions, which is awesome. For myself, I just think, "Oh yeah, this is what I've always done."

Continue reading "Reggie Watts & Cameron Esposito @ the Vic (pics)"