photos by Sara Pieper

Wilco // Lee Fields // Wye Oak

A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party finished off on Saturday night (9/15) with performances by Wilco, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Wye Oak, Wild Belle, The Corin Tucker Band, Kelly Hogan, The Waco Brothers with Paul Burch, and The Lawrence Peters Outfit.

Wilco closed out the festival with a 27-song headlining set featuring "Heavy Metal Drummer," "Impossible Germany," "Outtasite (Outta Mind)," and many others. More pictures from Day 2 of A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party (Day 1 HERE) and Wilco's full setlist are below...

Continue reading "A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party in pictures: day 2 (Wilco, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Wye Oak & more)"

photos by Sara Pieper

Iron & Wine / The War on Drugs

The first-ever A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party kicked off on Friday (9/14) with performances by Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, The War on Drugs, CAVE, and Guitarkestra. The second day of the festival is currently underway, and more pictures from Day 1 continue below...

Continue reading "A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party in pictures: day 1 (Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, The War on Drugs & more)"

Pallbearer at Knitting Factory earlier on tour (BKLYN) (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

today in Chicago
* Riot Fest (Day 1)
* Bob Mould @ Metro (Night 2)
* Frank Turner @ Cobra Lounge
* Hideout Block Party // A.V. Fest (Day 1)
* Holograms, Staring Problems @ Schubas
* Alkaline Trio, Brendan Kelly @ Empty Bottle
* Sondre Lerche, Fancy Colors @ Lincoln Hall
* Pallbearer, Royal Thunder, Backs @ Beat Kitchen
* The Handsome Family, Jon Langford @ Mayne Stage
* The Field Auxilary, Bounds, Silver Abuse @ The Burlington
* Naked Raygun, Dan Vapid and The Cheats @ Subterranean
* Millions, Electric Hawk, Today's Man, Neverender @ Township
* Roach Beach, Bike Cops, Warsaw Vices, The Fabulous Naturals @ Ultra Lounge

Both Riot Fest and the Hideout Block Party // A.V. Fest begin tonight. Which one are you headed to this weekend, or are you going to both?

Pallbearer bring their tour with Royal Thunder through Chicago tonight, for a show at Beat Kitchen.

Death Grips have a new interactive video for "I've Seen Footage." Watch it HERE.

The Walkmen played "Love is Luck" and "We Can't Be Beat" on Conan last night. Check out the footage below.

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

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

A.V. Club Chicago and the Hideout have combined A.V. Fest and the Hideout Block Party into one big event, taking place on September 14 & 15 (the same weekend as Riot Fest).

Stay tuned for more details.

photos by Josh Darr, AoL photos & words by Zach Pollack,

Archers of Loaf

It was back to the blazing sun and Hideout lot for day two of the A.V. Fest last Sunday (9/11).

Maybe it was the lineup or that most had their Sunday free, but the grounds were packed with people unlike most of the previous day. I walked in about halfway through Cloud Nothings' set. They were playing new material which they just said was cut to a record here in Chicago. Their fuzzy power-pop was loved by many (including me), and made for a great kick off to the day.

Up next was Seattle, WA's much beloved Telekinesis (who have since played Austin City Limits). Michael Lerner and co. brought their infectious indie-pop to the stage, holding absolutely nothing back. Their set was dominated by cuts from this year's 12 Desperate Straight Lines, produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla. A few songs in, Lerner held a brief Q&A sessions with the crowd. "How was it working with Chris Walla?", someone asked. "Oh great! He has the best hair in Rock n' Roll," Lerner replied.

Chicago's own progressive indie rock band and fantastic songwriters Maps & Atlases were passed the torch next. Band leader Dave Davidson has an incredibly thick, soulful voice that really carries through their technical stylings. Their collective level of musicianship awesd people at A.V. Fest like it did earlier this year at Lollapalooza 2011.

The always great Tokyo Police Club was up next. I think I had forgotten how big this band really was, as their crowd was packed tight with serious fans. With only two full length (and two EPs) to their name, the band have built a large career since 2006. Their most recent, 2010's Champ, was heavily featured in their set to much enthusiasm from the crowd.

The recently reunited Archers Of Loaf were up next. The four gentlemen entered the stage to the rabid cheers of a massive crowd. Opting to not say anything, they quietly got set and launched directly into "Audiowhore." The heavily intoxicated audience went absolutely nuts as bassist Matt Gentling said, "Thanks so much for sticking around guys." Bandleader Eric Bachmann quipped back, "Really? I think these are all different people than the rest of the day." Archers of Loaf continued to deliver with the remainder of their set. Glad to have them back.

Check out more pictures from Sunday of the A.V. Fest below (Day 1 HERE)...

Continue reading "A.V. Fest Day 2 pics & review (Archers of Loaf, Tokyo Police Club, Maps & Atlases & more)"

Hum

today in Chicago
* Renegade Craft Fair (Day 1)
* A.V. Fest (Day 1) @ Hideout
* Brian Posehn @ Cubby Bear
* Stanton Moore Trio @ SPACE
* You Am I, Farewell Captain @ Schubas
* Chris Thile & Michael Daves @ Lincoln Hall
* Telekinesis @ Saki Records (Free; In-store)
* Samiam, Walter Schreifels, All Eyes West @ Reggie's
* Outer Spacist, Kitchen's Floor, E.T. Habit @ Crown Liquors
* Marc Ribot, David Safran, Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic @ Martyrs
* Kitchen's Floor, Fat History Month @ Permanent Records (Free; In-store)
* Velocicopter, Great Iron Catastrophe, Swimsuit Addition, C. Batteries @ Panchos

The A.V. Fest kicks off today, right out side of Hideout featuring Hum, The Thermals, Disappears, Eef Barzelay, Maritime, and Like Pioneers. Set times HERE.

Renegade Craft Fair begins today too, on Division Street in Wicker Park.

Stay tuned to (@bvChicago) for the lowdown on A.V. Fest.

Telekinesis' in-store is part of the on-going Epitonic Saki Sessions. Braids plays one soon too, as well as Empty Bottle later that night. Don't forget we have tickets to give away!

What else?

Archers of Loaf @ Webster Hall in NYC (more by Chris Gersbeck)

Thursday shows HERE: The weekend begins with Friday....

FRIDAY

Bloodshot Records celebrate their 15th anniversary at Hideout with Waco Brothers, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Danny Black, Nora O'Connors & Friends, and DeadString Brothers (solo).

Ganglians play a 5PM in-store at Permanent Records, and then headline Beat Kitchen with support from Soft Speaker.

Kevin Devine, and The Features play the Bottom Lounge.

Alison Krauss & Union Station play the Chicago Theatre.

Cloudbirds, and The Glory Singers play an early show at Schubas. Motopony, Tiny Fireflies, and Prussia play the late show.

Zoso (the Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience) is at Park West.

SATURDAY

A.V. Fest kicks off today, outside of Hideout.

Telekinesis, who play A.V Fest on Sunday, play an instore at Saki today.

Renegade Craft Fair begins today too.

Samiam, Walter Schreifels, and All Eyes West play Reggie's.

Brian Posehn will make you pee your pants at Cubby Bear.

Chris Thile & Michael Daves play Lincoln Hall.

Marc Ribot (who also plays Ellnora Guitar Fest on Friday), David Safran, and Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic play Martyrs.

SUNDAY

Doro and Earthen Grave play Reggie's.

The Milk Carton Kids and Tom Brosseau play Schubas.

Richard Thompson plays SPACE tonight and Monday night (9/12).

What else?

As mentioned many times, The brand new A.V. Club Chicago A.V. Fest is taking place this weekend (9/10 & 9/11) from noon - 10PM right outside of Hideout (N Elston Ave & W Wabansia Ave). The killer lineup includes the reunited Hum and Archers of Loaf along with The Thermals, Tokyo Police Club, Disappears, Maps & Atlases and others. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $10 per day. A portion of those proceeds will go to benefit Rock For Kids. Give if you can. The set times are posted again below.

Simultaneously, the traveling Renegade Craft Fair will hit Division Street in Wicker Park from 11AM - 7PM. The 9th annual event will feature over 300 different artists, local food, and live music (courtesy of Reckless Records, CHIRP, and Dusty Groove DJs). Christmas is coming. Flyer below..

Stay tuned for more weekend events coming in our Weekend Show Roundup...

Continue reading "Renegade Craft Fair & A.V. Fest this weekend too"

DeKalb, IL's Middlewest Fest is back for a second year, taking place next Friday (9/9), and Saturday (9/10) at various venues throughout the city.

Featuring artists like: Tokyo Police Club, Gene Ween, Maps & Atlases, and more; the festival has positioned itself against the upcoming A.V. Fest, Hideout Block Party, and Pygmalion Music Fest.

Two-day passes are available for $40 each, with single-day passes being priced at $25. You can also purchase individual tickets for each show.

Head below to view the full festival lineup, and schedule.

Continue reading "Middlewest Fest is taking place next weekend in Dekalb -------- full lineup, set times, & other details"

Before playing on Sunday (8/7) of Lollapalooza 2011, Chicago's Disappears opened for the Arctic Monkeys on Saturday (8/6) at the House of Blues.

Their friend Jeremy Lemos (of White/Light) recorded their set straight from the mixing board. Stream it directly below via the SoundCloud widget.

Disappears - House of Blues 8/6 soundboard recording

After wrapping their current tour with Obits, as mentioned, Disappears will play the A.V. Fest on Saturday, September 9th.

Disappears @ Lollapalooza 2011 (via)

Chicago psych-rockers Disappears recently played Lollapalooza, an aftershow at the House of Blues with the Arctic Monkeys, and now Daytrotter has posted a four-song session they did with the band.

No stranger to live sessions, the group chose to play two songs off of their most recent record (and my favorite) Guider, an unreleased track, plus a cut from 2010's Lux. Check out the session HERE.

Disappears are playing on Saturday (9/10) of the A.V. Fest.

With the addition of Cloud Nothings, the two-day A.V. Fest lineup is finally complete! Above, are the set times and lineup for both Saturday (9/10), and Sunday (9/11).

You can win VIP tickets by visiting the A.V. Fest's new webpage to enter.

As previously announced, the A.V. Club will be throwing their own festival in the outdoor space near Hideout on September 10th & 11th.

The two-day fest; simply dubbed A.V. Fest has now seen the lineup additions of Hum(!), Maritime, Call Me Lightning, and Like Pioneers (who will be playing out this weekend).

Previously announced acts include: Archers of Loaf, The Thermals, Tokyo Police Club, Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide, and Telekinesis.

They've promised an update (set for next Thursday) announcing the final three acts, splitting the lineup into two days, and debuting information on ticketing for the event.

Stay tuned.

"Screw it, we're doing a music festival too" is what appeared across the headline of the A.V. Club's website earlier this evening.

The festival; dubbed simply A.V. Fest will take place on September 10th & 11th in the same outdoor space as the Hideout Block Party (Wabansia Ave. & Elston Ave.).

The two-day festival will feature 12 bands in total, 5 of which are Archers of Loaf, The Thermals, Tokyo Police Club, Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide, and Telekinesis.

If you're capable of basic math, that means there are 7 more acts to be revealed, "...over the next couple of weeks, as well as ticket information (short answer: SUPER cheap)."

Well..you've heard them, stay tuned (preferably right here!) for any and all developments.