photos by Jeff Ryan

Telekinesis at Lincoln Hall on 5.15.2013

On Wednesday night (5/15), Telekinesis (aka the project of Michael Learner) brought his tour with Deep Sea Diver through Chicago for a performance at Lincoln Hall. The band, which now features Rebecca Cole (Wild Flag, The Minders), ran through most of this year's Dormarion, and of course played some older songs too. Were you there? If so, what did you think? We've got pictures from the 5/15 show at Lincoln Hall in this post. More below...

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photos by James Richards IV

White Mystery // A Giant Dog at the Hideout on 5.10.2013

On Friday night (5/10), White Mystery played a record release show for Telepathic at the intimate Hideout with support from Psalm One and Austin's A Giant Dog. From what we've heard, all three female-fronted acts put on a great show. Were you there? If so, what did you think? Pictures from the 5/10 show are the Hideout are in this post. More below...

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by Mark Cheskin

Black Moth Super Rainbow at Metro on 5.11.2013

Black Moth Super Rainbow visited Chicago this past Saturday (5/11) for a performance at Metro as part of a short spring tour. Accompanying them for the whole run are Chicago locals Oscillator Bug and The Hood Internet.

Osiclator Bug started things off with a swirl of dizzying analogue synths, that had him screaming into his mic and pounding away on his keys like a madman. Throughout the set he occasionally hung his mic around his neck in order to manually tweak his synths and drum machine on the fly. It was impressive what he could do with his analog-setup, which he made operating seem like a cakewalk.

Next up, DJ party duo The Hood Internet temporarily turned Metro into a dance club. They seamlessly threw together everything from Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" to R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)," which not only got the crowd dancing but singing as well.

Pittsburgh natives Black Moth Super Rainbow took the stage soon after looking fairly casual, except for the band's drummer who donned a slightly unsettling ski mask. Tobacco, wearing shorts, a baseball cap, and a hoodie, made a not-so-secret grin while walking towards his gear. Without saying a word he anchored himself to his prized synth vocoder and gripped the mic like a baseball bat. Black Moth played a bunch of new songs from their excellent Cobra Juicy album, as well as a few classics like "Sun Lips" while a projector provided a backdrop with some of the band's videos. Taking a whiff of the air you could smell that a few fans had secretly lit up while the band played some of their more subdued songs. Amongst the crowd, a few fans could be seen sporting their creepy Black Moth Super Rainbow masks, which were given to fans that helped crowdsource their latest album on Kickstarter. BMSR played a small encore before giving a small wave to screaming fans, leaving as quietly as they had entered.

Unfortunately, later on tour in St. Louis, someone(s) broke into their van and stole Tobacco's vocoder. The frontman then took to Twitter to say the setup "isn't too replaceable," but that he'll try. He also joked, "...if anyone finds who did it, I'll pay you to bring them to me. All in good fun."

Pictures of all three acts from the 5/11 show at Metro are below...

Continue reading "Black Moth Super Rainbow played Metro w/ The Hood Internet & Oscillator Bug (pics), got their van broken into in St. Louis"

photos by James Richards IV

METZ at Lincoln Hall on 05.12.2013

On Sunday night (5/12), Toronto-based abrasive punks METZ toured through Chicago to play their largest headlining show here yet at Lincoln Hall with No Joy and TV Ghost. As per usual, feedback reigned supreme throughout the performance, and all three members were drenched in sweat by the time it was said and done. Were you there? If so, what did you think? Pictures and a few videos from the Lincoln Hall show are in this post.

Between their non-stop touring schedule, METZ somehow managed to make it into the studio to begin working on their second album. Guitarist Alex Edkins told Exclaim!, "We did manage to find some time after the European tour to get into the studio, and we recorded a new track that will probably see the light of day in a month or two on the internet," he explains. "But it is tough to find the time to focus on new material when you're going from club to club. We're hoping come September, when our touring schedule is all finished, we can focus on the new record." As discussed, you can also catch METZ at the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival in July and at Pygmalion 2013 in September.

More pictures and some videos from their 5/12 Lincoln Hall show are below...

Continue reading "METZ played Lincoln Hall with No Joy & TV Ghost (pics, video), working on new LP"

Night 1 Photos by James Richards IV, Night 2 Photos by Sara Pieper

Deer Tick at City Winery Chicago on 5.07.2013

Last week, Deer Tick came through Chicago for a two-night stand at the fancy City Winery Chicago. They were joined by extremely fitting local openers on both nights: Shiloh on Tuesday, May 7 and Twin Peaks on Wednesday, May 8. The band may have been sans drummer Dennis Ryan due to the passing of a relative of his, but they still managed to put on a pair of raucous performances. Were you there? If so, what did you think? Pictures and Deer Tick's setlists from both nights are in this post. More below...

Continue reading "Deer Tick played two nights at City Winery Chicago w/ openers Shiloh & Twin Peaks (pics, setlists from both nights)"

Goat @ the Empty Bottle on 5/02/2013 (more by Carmelo Espanola)

Swedish outfit Goat invaded the Empty Bottle on May 2, joined by Holy Wave. The show was one of the last they played on their tour of the US, after hitting Austin Psych Fest and NYC in late April. Check out more photos and a review of the 5/2 Empty Bottle show over at Invisible Oranges.

photos by Milos Markicevic

Butterclock at Reggie's on 4.16.2013

Butterclock released the digital version of her EP last month (4/15), which included the Grimes-esque track, "Holograms," which didn't appear on the physical version. Last week, she dropped the video for that track, and you can watch that below.

The day after the digital release of her EP, Butterclock brought her tour through Chicago for a show at Reggie's with Teen Witch, Magicks, Shuteye, and Moon River. A set of pictures from that show are in this post.

More pictures and the new video below...

Continue reading "new Butterclock video & pics from her Reggie's show"

photos by James Richards IV, words by Milos Markicevic

Purity Ring at Metro on 5.03.2013

Purity Ring played two sold-out shows at Metro this past Friday (5/3) with fellow Canadians Blue Hawaii. Blue Hawaii's Raphaelle Standell-Preston introduced herself and told the crowd to excuse her if she didn't dance due to a back injury. She instead politely requested that the crowd dance on her behalf, which they did. Folks raised their hands in the air, as if at a rave, while Blue Hawaii effortlessly layered and looped vocals alongside airy beats. Feeding off the crowd's energy, Preston even danced a little despite her injury.

Purity Ring took the stage after a brief intermission and began their set with the wobbly "Amenamy," which made the packed venue go wild. Their pulsating cocoon lights didn't hurt either. Corin Roddick's interactive setup was also on full display, as he tapped his light-up triggers to build the beat. Meanwhile, Megan James floated around the stage looking like a ghost in her white dress. She later grabbed an industrial looking torch that illuminated her and nearby audience members, and occasionally perched herself on top of a speaker, crooning into her mic. The band performed all of Shrines, as well as a cover of Soulja Boy's "Grammy" before telling the audience, "See you in a few hours!"

A set of pictures from their 5/3 early show at Metro are in this post. More below...

Continue reading "Purity Ring & Blue Hawaii played Metro (pics, review)"

photos by Cory Dewald

Big Boi // Killer Mike at Park West on 5.01.2013

On Wednesday night (5/1), Big Boi brought his Shoes For Running tour with fellow Dungeon Family member Killer Mike through Chicago for a performance at Park West. The show was originally set to take place at the Vic Theatre, but was moved to the smaller and nearby venue at the last minute. Aside from his great solo material, Big Boi's 25-song set also featured many OutKast favorites, including "So Fresh, So Clean," "Ms. Jackson," and "The Whole World." He brought out Killer Mike for the latter of those three, which was fitting as the track threw much attention Mike's way when it was released in 2001. Did you make it out to Park West? If so, how was it? A set of pictures and Big Boi's full setlist from the 5/1 show are in this post. More below...

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photos by Stan Golovchuk

Clinic // No Joy at Lincoln Hall on 4.24.2013

UK experimentalists Clinic are about to wrap up a North American tour in support of their 2012 LP, Free Reign. Last week (on Wednesday, April 24), they came through Chicago for a performance at Lincoln Hall with tourmates No Joy. Were you there? If so, how was it? Pictures of both acts and Clinic's full setlist in this post. More below...

Continue reading "Clinic & No Joy played Lincoln Hall (pics, setlist)"