Kwaidan have been added to Zs' November 28 show at the Empty Bottle. Advance tickets are on sale.

Tickets for Maritime's December 14 show at the Empty Bottle go on sale this Friday (10/19) at 10AM CST.

Tickets for Andrew Bird's December 21 show at the Fourth Presbyterian Church go on sale this Saturday (10/20) at 10AM CST. A JAM presale will be active from 10AM to 10PM on Friday; the password is thirdbird.

Tickets for Femi Kuti & The Positive Force's January 21 show at Metro go on sale this Friday at noon CST.

photos by Grant MacAllister

The Promise Ring @ Metro on 2/25/2012

"Man, I'm getting too young for this," joked The Promise Ring singer/guitarist Davey von Bohlen about halfway through their sold-out Metro show on Saturday [February 25]. Later he asked the audience to "Just keep yelling, I'll keep breathing." But without his calling it out, their music did not reflect that seven years had passed since The Promise Ring last graced Metro's stage during Flower Booking's 15th anniversary and 10 years since the band was active.

There was energy and passion all night long - from their more recent material such as the contemplative "Become One Anything One Time" to the poppy could've-been-a-radio-hit fare of "Emergency! Emergency!" to the deeper cut of the percolating "Red Paint." Encore song "Everywhere in Denver" was delivered with such fervor it sounded just at the brink of falling apart. "Stop Playing Guitar" got an audience-wide singing assist while von Bohlen zipped around the stage.

The pleading "A Picture Postcard" and "Make Me A Mix Tape" recalled that crushed-out ache that seems to cease existence post-college. So there was, too, a sense of nostalgia, but the songs remain fresh. And that spoke volumes to The Promise Ring's songwriting. [Chicago Tribune]

TPR frontman Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Dieder's other band, Maritime, headline the bottle TONIGHT with support from Panoramic & True and The Minor Leagues. Advance tickets are still available.

As mentioned, Joan of Arc are releasing a live score of well.. Joan of Arc on April 10 via Joyful Noise. More information on that HERE.

More pictures and the setlist from The Promise Ring's Chicago-reunion show, below..

Continue reading "The Promise Ring & Joan of Arc played Metro (pics, setlist); Maritime play the bottle TONIGHT"

Maritime and The Minor Leagues are playing the Empty Bottle on March 9th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (2/10), at 10AM CST.

The Temper Trap are playing Lincoln Hall on March 23rd & 24th.
Tickets for both nights go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Gotye has moved venues AGAIN, to the Aragon Ballroom.
More tickets for the April 3rd show go on sale this Saturday (2/11), at 10AM CST.

Gipsy Kings are playing The Chicago Theatre on April 27th.
Presale tickets will be available starting tomorrow, at 10AM CST. Password: cordoba
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, at 11AM CST.

Carolina Chocolate Drops are playing Lincoln Hall on May 5th.
Tickets go on sale this Saturday, at 10AM CST.

Plants and Animals are playing Schubas on May 11th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Rocky Votolato and Jeff Pianki are playing Schubas on May 17th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Joe Pug is playing Lincoln Hall on May 18th & 19th.
Tickets for both nights go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Bonnie Raitt and Marc Cohn are playing The Chicago Theatre on May 19th.
Presale tickets will be available starting tomorrow, at 10AM CST. Password: slipstream
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, at 10AM CST.

The Promise Ring

Milwaukee-based band The Promise Ring have been inactive since 2002, and have now announced that they'll be reuniting for some shows in 2012. The message, "Hello, again..." appeared on the band's brand new twitter account last week, and show announcements came late last night.

They'll be playing a hometown show at Milwaukee's Turner Hall on February 24th, and a Chicago show at Metro on February 25th. Tickets are on sale now for their Metro show.

Frontman Davey von Bohlen has been keeping busy with his band Maritime, and the other guys have been working on various projects (some music related, and some not) as well.

Stay tuned for more show announcements (full tour?).

photos by Matt Ziegler, words by Zach Pollack

Hum @ A.V. Fest

Saturday (9/10) afternoon, the A.V. Club's inaugural A.V. Fest kicked off in a block party style setup, steps from Hideout.

I arrived about halfway through Chicago-based band Like Pioneers' set and enjoyed what I heard of their careful mix of indie and roots rock. The small, early crowd was mostly milling about grabbing lunch from the gourmet food trucks inside of the fest, and actively searching for a shady spot to park it. It wasn't until Maritime started to play around 2:30PM, that the festival grounds became hoppin'.

Maritime was formed in 2003 out of the ashes of two beloved bands: The Dismemberment Plan and The Promise Ring, but rather than just repeating their past, the group bring forth some infectious indie pop with a slight dance-y tinge to it. With only six bands on each day, A.V. Fest is able to both stack the lineup full of amazing acts, and give each band a full hour or more on stage. Toting 4LPs and 1EP to their name, Maritime were able to make great use of the large chunk of time they had been given. The crowd grew larger and larger as their set went on, and everyone watching appeared to be very into it (myself included).

Up next was the Clem Snide frontman Eef Barzelay playing a set of mostly Journey covers, fashioned in his own way. To preface this very strange sounding happening, note that Barzelay previously covered Journey's 1983 power ballad "Faithfully" for A.V. Club's 'Undercover' series. Though I can't say I was really interested in the Journey aspect of things, his smooth voice really carried the performance through for me. He played some of his own songs too, all on a ukulele.

In a major turn of mood, genre, and mostly volume, Chicago's Disappears, who also played Lollapalooza this summer, were next (complete with semi-recent addition Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth on drums to help fill out their massive sound). They blend shoegaze and garage rock like no other, featuring the shouting vocal stylings of frontman Brian Case (ex-90 Day Men/The Ponys). Their face-melting, tight-as-could-be set went by so quickly that I didn't even realize an hour or so had passed. The band's most recent LP Guider, came out this past January via Chicago's Kranky Records. Stay tuned for what these guys have in store for the future. They are not a band to miss.

The Thermals

Hutch, Kathy, and Westin, formally known as The Thermals began their knock out set at 7PM last night. They began by playing their awesome 2010 record Personal Life from start to finish, then hitting the crowd with a few b-sides, followed by some older tracks. The power trio cranked out every ounce of energy they had in order to make their set memorable and exciting. The musicianship of all three members really shone through, especially when just about the entire crowd was moving to their songs. Before jumping into their last song of the set, frontman Hutch Harris told the crowd how psyched they were to play right before Hum, and shortly after, that's exactly what we got.

After watching stagehands load massive amps and gear, the reunited Hum took to the stage at 8:30PM. The Champaign band have been pretty quiet for 10 years, but Chicago is spoiled. Hum returned at the beginning of 2009 for a couple of reunion shows at Double Door and then again in 2010 to play a free Memorial Day show in Millennium Park - a big treat for Chicagoians then, and now (let's keep the yearly tradition going!). Formed in 1989, Hum bring 90s alternative rock and post-hardcore to the table and are still good at it. The band sounded full and tight, while the massive crowd ate up every note that poured out of the speakers. No word on if the band will do a full reunion tour like Pavement and Sunday fest headliners Archers of Loaf, (review coming soon), but they did play High Dive one night before A.V Fest, and they'll be playing at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin in November.

Hum's two Illinois show setlists and more pictures from most of Saturday, below...

Continue reading "A.V. Fest Day 1 in pics & review (Hum, The Thermals, Disappears, Eef Barzelay, Maritime & more)"

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.

The Dismemberment Plan @ Galaxy Hut, Virginia 1/15/2011 (more by Jeffrey Martin)

today in Chicago
* The Godfathers, Frosting, DJ Erik @ Double Door
* Mueran Humanos, YOU., Unur @ Crown Liquor Bar
* The Dismemberment Plan, Maritime, The Forms @ Metro
* Bongripper, Sick/Tired, Paucities, Cyborg @ Empty Bottle

The Forms are also playing a free show tomorrow night at Empty Bottle with John The Savage, and Chicago natives Archie Powell & The Exports.

What else?

The Dismemberment Plan have SOLD OUT both night one and night two at Metro. A limited amount of tickets have been released for both shows. Tonight features JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, and Kid, You'll Move Mountains while tomorrow has Maritime, and The Forms on the bill.

These two shows are the only currently announced Midwest stops for the band, so don't miss out!