Ringworm @ Scoot Inn in Austin, TX (BV-BBG SXSW) (more by Greg Cristman)

Cleveland hardcore band Ringworm have announced a tour down to the Austin, TX festival Chaos in Tejas, featuring support from St. Louis' Everything Went Black. The two bands are set to begin their run together at Chicago's Beat Kitchen on May 29. Enabler and Reign Inferno are also on the bill, and advance tickets are on sale.

Ringworm are also included on A389 Records' annual mixtape sampler, which you can download here for FREE.

All 2012 tour dates and some videos/song streams below...

Continue reading "Ringworm are beginning a tour to Chaos in Tejas w/ Everything Went Black @ Beat Kitchen (dates)"

by Parker Langvardt

Belfast, Ireland's intensely positive And So I Watch You From Afar have announced a North American tour with their progressive Sargent House labelmates Zechs Marquise, which includes a Chicago show at the Beat Kitchen on July 11. Ticketing info is forthcoming.

ASIWYFA's tour with Zechs Marquise picks up from the end of the Irish band's dates with Chicago instrumentalists Russian Circles, which includes a stop at the Sled Island Festival in Calgary, Alberta on 6/20. Canadian duo Indian Handcrafts are also playing the festival and will be joining them for two other Canadian dates. Atmospheric metal outfit Deafheaven joins the pair in California for three dates, the last of which is a Sargent House/1656 Music-presented show with Chelsea Wolfe in Los Angeles.

Russian Circles and Deafheaven just wrapped up a two-month European tour. Check out RC bassist Brian Cook's three-part tour diary on the band's Tumblr.

All 2012 tour dates and some ASIWYFA song streams/videos below...

Continue reading "And So I Watch You From Afar playing Beat Kitchen on tour w/ Zechs Marquise + dates w/ Russian Circles"

DOWNLOAD: Grass Widow - "Goldilocks Zone" (MP3)

Grass Widow @ Prospect Park in 2010 (BKLYN) (more by Matthew Eisman)

Grass Widow will release their new LP, Internal Logic, on May 29 via the band's own HLR Records. Download the album's lead single "Goldilocks Zone" at the top of this post and/or stream it below. Preorder Internal Logic via HLR now.

In support of the album, the group will head out on a North American run at the end of this month. They'll make a stop in Chicago on June 2 to play the Beat Kitchen with The Soft Pack and Soft Speaker. Advance tickets are on sale.

All dates are listed below, along with a stream of "Goldilocks Zone" and an album trailer.

Continue reading "Grass Widow welcome 'Internal Logic,' playing Beat Kitchen on tour (dates)"

Dax Riggs @ Emo's in Austin, TX for BV-SXSW 2011 (more by Samantha Marble)

Dax Riggs is currently on the road and will bring his gritty blues rock to Chicago's Beat Kitchen this Saturday (May 12), for a 10PM late show with Young Jesus. Advance tickets are on sale. Dax's most recent album, Say Goodnight To The World, hit stores in the summer of 2010 via Fat Possum. The solo artist, who currently resides in Austin, TX, has not yet released plans for a follow up to his 2010 LP.

All 2012 tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Dax Riggs is on tour, playing Beat Kitchen this Saturday w/ Young Jesus"

Dry the River @ Lincoln Hall in March (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

Dry the River, who recently visited Lincoln Hall on tour with Bowerbirds, are headed back to Chicago to play the Beat Kitchen on May 24 as part of a headlining run of their own. Advance tickets are on sale. Dry the River (and Bowerbirds too, actually) are also included on the lineup of Lollapalooza 2012. All known 2012 tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Dry the River are playing Beat Kitchen & Lollapalooza (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Disappears - "Replicate" (MP3)

Disappears are set to release their new LP, Pre Language, on March 1st via Kranky. The album marks the first studio material that new-ish drummer Steve Shelly is featured on. Like Guider, Pre Language was recorded at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon West Studio in Hoboken, NJ and mixed with John Congleton. Download its lead single, "Replicate," at the top of this post and check out the tracklisting below.

The band have some upcoming shows with The Fresh & Onlys, though no hometown gig to speak of. Fellow Chicagoans E+ on the other hand, featuring Disappears members Damon J Carruesco and Jonathan Van Herik, have two local shows. They'll play Beat Kitchen on January 18th with Summer Girlfriends, Pearls, Magic City and then headline Schubas on February 1st with support from Wimps. Stream some demos via their Facebook and stay tuned for a proper record. You can also catch Disappears frontman Brian Case on January 25th, when he plays a DJ Set at the Hideout as part of their Soup & Bread series.

All 2012 dates and Pre Language's tracklisting, below..

Continue reading "a new Disappears MP3 & LP details; check out E+"

DOWNLOAD: Owen - "I Believe" (MP3)

Chicago's own Owen (aka Mike Kinsella) is set to release his sixth studio album Ghost Town on November 8th via Polyvinyl Records. The record was produced by Brian Deck and Neil Strauch, whose production credits include Iron & Wine and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy respectively. Ghost Town is Owen's most rock album to date, discarding his more singer-songwriter sound for a louder, full band one. Download the album's first single "I Believe" at the top of this post. Ghost Town is up for pre-order via Polyvinyl's webstore.

Owen kicks off a short, fall tour tonight (11/4) in San Antonio, TX. He'll return to Chicago on November 12th to play two shows at the Beat Kitchen. The first is a 6PM, all ages show with Into It. Over It.. The late show is a 21+ event with opener Love of Everything. Tickets are still available for both performances.

Head below for Ghost Town's tracklisting, and all 2011 tour dates.

Continue reading "Owen to release 'Ghost Town,' playing two shows @ Beat Kitchen, & other dates"

DOWNLOAD: Milagres - "Here To Stay" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Milagres - "Glowing Mouth" (MP3)

Milagres @ The Rock Shop in January (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Last seen touring in October with Peter Wolf Crier, Brooklyn-based band Milagres are making their way to Chicago for a performance at the Beat Kitchen tomorrow night (11/3). Their sophomore LP Glowing Mouth was released this past September via Kill Rock Stars. Download "Here To Stay" and the album's title track at the top of this post.

The Hudson Branch and My My My will open the show. Tickets are still available.

Milagres only have a few upcoming tour dates. Check them out below along with a recent live session they taped for LA's 98.7 FM.

Continue reading "Milagres to play Beat Kitchen tomorrow night w/ The Hudson Branch & My My My"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Still Corners @ Mercury Lounge

In NYC for CMJ, UK-based band Still Corners played a bunch of different shows including our own Thursday (10/20) day party at Knitting Factory, and their label Sub Pop's showcase later that night at the Mercury Lounge. Pictures of the latter continue below. They play Schubas tonight (10/27) with Ganglians and The Tiny Fireflies. Tickets are still available (at the door).

Speaking of the California-based band Ganglians, they will open all of Still Corners' remaining US dates. In mid-November they'll headline their own tour with support from Friends (who just played our day party), returning to Chicago on December 2nd to play the Beat Kitchen.

2011 tour dates for for both Still Corners and Ganglians are below.

Continue reading "Still Corners are playing Schubas tonight w/ Ganglians, played a Sub Pop CMJ showcase @ Mercury Lounge (pics)"

words & photos by Zach Pollack

Powerhouse Austin trio Ume brought the heat to Chicago's Lakeview-area bar/venue Beat Kitchen last night (9/15) . Toting their not even three-week old debut LP Phantoms, the band launched into an energetic forty-five minute headlining set. Bandleader, guitar virtuosa, and straight up bombshell Lauren Larson runs around stage like a firecracker ready to explode at any given moment, pouring all of what she is into the performance. Bassist Eric Larson and drummer Rachel Fuhrer round out the group, creating tight grooves. Though I didn't fully realize it going in, Ume was exactly what I needed and what I've been jonesing for. It's rare these days to see a band so talented, with such unbridled passion, who are also completely down-to-earth and modest.

Side note: as I learned from Lauren and her longtime friends who brought a jar to the show, Ume is actually a type of Japanse apricot. Just a little fun fact.

Ume are now on tour. Head below to view more pictures from the Chicago show..

Continue reading "Ume played Beat Kitchen (pics & review)"

DOWNLOAD: Ume - "Captive" (MP3)

Ume @ Brooklyn Bowl in August (more by Chris La Putt)

Austin, TX's post-punk, power trio Ume are here tonight (9/15) to headline Beat Kitchen, with support from Elusive Parallelograms and Chicago's own Health & Beauty. We here at BrooklynVegan (as a whole) have a huge crush on this band.

The band released their debut LP Phantoms not too long ago (on August 30th) via Modern Outsider, of which their performance tonight will most likely be heavy on. At the top of this post you can download Phantom's single "Captive." Ume will continue to tour through the Midwest, reaching Nevada, California, Arizona, and more western states towards the end of the month.

You'll find all 2011 tour dates, and some videos below.

Continue reading "Ume are here, Beat Kitchen tonight w/ Elusive Parallelograms"

DOWNLOAD: Ganglians - Jungle (MP3)

Touche Lamore @ House of Vans (more by BBG)

BrooklynVegan just exclusively announced a massive Touche Amore tour that will keep the California screamo/post-hardcore band on the road all of November and some of September and December too. If you look through those dates you'll see a Wednesday, November 23rd Chicago show at Beat Kitchen with Pianos Become Teeth and Seahaven. Tickets go on sale Friday, 9/9, at 10am.

Speaking of Beat Kitchen and Friday, that's where and when Calfornia band Ganglians play in support of their new album Still Living which was released via Lefse on 8/23. An MP3 from that LP can be downloaded for free above. Previous Ganglians releases have seen the light of the day via Woodsist, Captured Tracks, and Souterrain Transmission. Stephen Paul Smoker and Soft Speaker are also on the Chicago bill.

Ganglians also play a 5PM in-store at Permanent Records the same day. Watch a live Ganglians "Terroreyes.tv" session below...

Continue reading "Touche Amore playing Beat Kitchen in November, Ganglians play there much sooner. "

DOWNLOAD: Xylos - "X-Ray" (MP3)

Brooklyn-based band; Xylos released their self-titled debut LP on April 5th via the bands own 1000x Records. The album was produced by Britt Myers (Yeasayer, Chairlift), and since its release the band has shared the stage with the likes of Tapes 'n Tapes, Oberhofer, The War On Drugs, and more.

Starting tonight, they'll embark on a month-long summer tour which will make a stop at Chicago's Beat Kitchen on July 14th. Tickets are on sale now.

At the top of this post you can stream/download the album's single, "X-Ray." Below, you'll find the premiere of the music video for the very same song.

Continue on for all 2011 tour dates.

Continue reading "Xylos is on tour now (dates, MP3, video premiere)"

words by Parker Langvardt, photo by Kevin Marunowski

Coliseum headlined a laid-back metal show at the Beat Kitchen on May 27th, near the end of their US and Canadian tour. The line-up included the Chicago bands Hunters, The Swan King, and Sweet Cobra; the last of which also played three Ohio dates on the Coliseum tour. Stylistically, they all displayed heaviness and sludge, but each had their own take on it.

Hunters' introduction drone led into doom-y metal riffs and low screaming. The vocalist also used a higher-pitched scream similar to that of Bongzilla. The lack of melodic and rhythmic experimentation in the vocals became repetitive, but there's a lot of potential within the group. The instrumentalists had a tight chemistry; in one song they threw in triplets at the end of measures, eventually pushing the band into a massive and slow breakdown. Their thrash-tendencies came out towards the middle of the set, chugging on awesome, dark riffs. Bassist; Jeremy Pyrzynski proved his talent by soloing an atmospheric, Isis-like introduction to one song. They surely had friends in the small audience, happily yelling, "That fucking sucked," and "Play a cover!"

The Swan King played melodic metal with the intensity of hardcore punk to a more filled out room. Guitarist; Dallas Thomas yelled the lead vocals while playing busy riffs, stretching his hand across the fret board and his legs across the stage in the widest power stance I've seen. After a technically difficult song the crowd appreciated, he noted, "I'm glad you guys liked it because I don't like playing that song at all." Their bass tone was complimented by some grinding distortion, adding nice color to the trio's sound.

Square white lights eerily shined up at Sweet Cobra as they began pounding out their brand of sludgy hardcore. It took a couple songs for them to play and sing passionately, but the moment was noticeable when their vocalist/bassist; Botchy Vaquez sunk into the feeling of the groove and began to belt his gritty vocals instead of merely reciting them. Their tone was massive and raw, coming out of vintage tube amplifiers. Though sludge metal does rely on repetitive riffs, it seemed that at times Sweet Cobra jammed for too long without variation or the presence of a compelling element.

Coliseum showed the most energy from the start, hopping and throwing their upper bodies into their head banging. Vocalist; Ryan Patterson let his guitar feedback as he stretched his arms out and gestured with his hands, singing with similar grit as Nick Oliveri in his Queens of the Stone Age days, but with a deeper tone. Coliseum is the least dark and complex of the three bands, with an inherent southern influence. The crowd appreciated their set the most out of the four, and Ryan offered, "We'll play all night. We'll make shit up, but you don't want us to do that," followed by a long, whole-hearted thank you to the crowd. Their encore was the most exciting part of the set, with a little moshing between a group of friends, plus raised fists and beer glasses throughout the crowd.

Coliseum played their last show of tour in Cincinnati, at Mayday this past Saturday.

The Old 97's

today in Chicago
* Gipsy Kings @ The Chicago Theatre
* The Sleeptalkers, Cloudbirds @ Hideout
* The Old 97's, Those Darlins @ Vic Theatre
* Future Islands, Ed Shrader, Wumme @ Empty Bottle
* The Swan King, Chord, Electric Hawk @ Beat Kitchen
* Motorhead, Clutch, Valient Thorr @ Congress Theatre
* Asylum Street Spankers (Farewell Show) @ Lincoln Hall
* Southeast Engine, The Royal Pines, New Ruins @ Schubas
* Biffy Clyro, Moving Mountains, Carbon Tigers @ Double Door
* The Dismemberment Plan, Kid You'll Move Mountains @ Metro
* Frontier, Wolf Eyes, Envenomist, Bloodyminded, Plague Bringer @ Abbey Pub
* Swim Ignorant Fire, Quite a Mob, The Welcome, Snow 'N Charm @ The Juicer

The Dismemberment Plan are not only playing tonight in Chicago, but tomorrow too at Metro with Maritime, and The Forms.

What else?

Josh Ritter @ The Beach - Governors Island (more by Chris La Putt)

today in Chicago
* Moxie Motive, The Laureates @ Subterranean
* Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Scott Hutchison @ Vic Theatre
* Secret Colours, Young Circles, Panda Riot, Calm Palm Vapor @ Empty Bottle
* Volcanoes Make Islands, Antennas Up, Debello, The Noise FM @ Beat Kitchen

Josh Ritter just re-released his Animal Years LP on February 14th.

Secret Colours are a Chicago based psych pop band that I highly recommend catching tonight.
You can get in for free if you RSVP to: RSVP@EmptyBottle.com / Subject Line: BETTA
They are also doing an 18+ secret show in Chicago tomorrow night!
RSVP to SecretColoursMusic@Gmail.com for details.

What else?

Deerhoof @ (le) Poisson Rouge 10/13/2010 (more by Chris Gersbeck)

today in Chicago
* Jeff Parker @ Rodan
* Killer Moon, Czar, Angel Eyes @ Empty Bottle
* Fences, The Pear Traps, Great Grey Buildings @ Beat Kitchen
* Deerhoof, Ben Butler & Mousepad, Nervous Cop @ Bottom Lounge
* Hemmingbirds, Pinto and the Bean, Jet W Lee, TIny Bones @ Double Door

Jeff Parker is a member of the band Tortoise. He curates a weekly Experimental Live Jazz Set at Rodan. He'll be joined by his Tortoise bandmate John Herndon and Josh Abrams of the band Town & Country.

Fences is playing for the first time tonight in Chicago.

Deerhoof's new album Deerhoof Vs Evil has been out for 21 days now via Polyvinyl/Joyful Noise. Their track "Super Duper Rescue Heads!" was featured on Insound's December 2010 Digital Mixtape.

What else?

Interpol @ The Creators Project in 2010 (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)


today in Chicago
* Big Gigantic, Kraddy @ Lincoln Hall
* Interpol, School of Seven Bells @ Riviera Theatre
* Tortoise, Cheer Accident @ Empty Bottle (Late Show)
* Tortoise, Spookey Ruben @ Empty Bottle (Early Show)
* Otter Petter, Warm Ones, Penthouse Sweets, Black Light Saints @ Subterranean
* Cobra Skulls, The Reaganomics, Downtown Struts, and Sore Subject @ Beat Kitchen

Cobra Skulls recently released their Bringing the War Home EP, via Fat Wreck Chords.
The 5-song EP includes a cover of Bad Religion's "Give You Nothing" feat. Fat Mike from NOFX .

What else?

Gang of Four @ Webster Hall 2/8/2011 (more by Chris La Putt)

today in Chicago
* The Church @ Park West
* Gang of Four, Hollerado @ Metro
* Brilliant Pebbles, J+J+J, Windbreaker @ Empty Bottle
* Robyn, Diamond Rings, Natalia Kills @ Riviera Theatre
* Soft Speaker, Coupleskate, Astro Fang @ Beat Kitchen

According to Robyn's Website, she had to cancel her two most recent shows (2/8 in Columbus, OH), and (2/9 in Detroit, MI) due to health problems. I hope that the extra days off before her show at the Riv will lead to an amazing performance.

What else?