photos by James Richards IV, Chase Turner & Fred Pessaro

"Vegan" (photo by James Richards IV)

"Rain controlled the tempo of Pitchfork Music Festival day one early on, but the clouds eventually gave way to sun shine and music from an eclectic and entertaining lineup of acts. At its close, Friday of Pitchfork Fest 2012 was a humid but fun time that was definitely not short on memorable moments." [LoudLoop]

"In a sharp programming shift, Day 1 went from the psychedelic pop of Olivia Tremor Control into the mixtape hip-hop of A$AP Rocky. The only similarity I can think of between the two acts is that there are higher than average odds that both their listeners partake of illicit substances." [Jim DeRogatis]

"Dirty Projectors, a six-piece New York band with some highly acclaimed albums in its resume, demonstrates seriously accomplished chops during a set full of art-pop songs. [Greg Kot]

We already posted up one set of pictures from the first day of Pitchfork Fest up on BrooklynVegan. Here is a BV Chicago exclusive set and it continues below....

Continue reading "#P4K Festival 2012 pictures (part 2) -- ASAP Rocky, Japandroids, Big K.R.I.T., Dirty Projectors, Clams Casino, Flatstock & more)"

photos by Matt Ziegler, words by Zach Pollack

On Friday (11/4), Leslie Feist and co. arrived in Chicago to play a sold out show at the Riv. Band member Charles Spearin (with whom Feist was in Broken Social Scene with) opened the show with his venture The Happiness Project.

Spearin's The Happiness Project is centered around creating music that follows along with the speech patterns of interviews he has conducted with his neighbors. The project was influenced in part by his early life with a blind father, and the general way that we habitually tend to ignore the structure of what we say. Before diving into each new song, Spearin gave a bit of background on the person he had interviewed for it. Their avant-jazz musical stylings made for an interesting pairing with the pre-recorded vocal tracks. At one point the Juno award-winning musician said, "It is kind of an accident that we are called The Happiness Project. If it were up to me, we would have been called Blood Baths and Beyond, unfortunately the name is taken..." Their short opening set made way for a long changeover, with equipment swaps for Feist.

Leslie Feist took to the stage with her band and three backup singers (aka Mountain Man), to loud cheers from the crowd. Without so much as a nod hello, they launched into the slow-building Metals track "Undiscovered First." By the end of the song the seven musicians had built up a wall of sound, complete with Mountain Man's Amelia Meath pounding on a floor tom. Then came "Graveyard," which further showcased the vocal talents of Mountain Man, this time accompanied a section dedicated to Spearin's trumpet arrangements. Feist's voice turned from soft and soothing, to powerful and commanding. Each song she played was its own unique live version, not just the recorded versions verbatim.

Before jumping into "Anti-Pioneer," the Canadian songstress invited the first few rows of the audience to climb the metal barrier and occupy the photo pit (which photographers were not allowed to use at any time during the show). During Metals' opening track "The Bad In Each Other," Feist and Amelia sang back and forth at each other, only inches apart. Amelia's strong on-stage personality was able to shine.

To kick off the four-song encore, Feist returned to the stage with just Mountain Man for a bone-chilling rendition of "Cicadas and Gulls." The rest of the band rejoined after that, and we received her big hit "1234," followed by a jazzy take on "Sealion."

Leslie closed the show with a solo acoustic performance of "Let It Die" while her band paired off and slow-danced behind her. About halfway through the song, she invited the audience on stage to follow along! With at least 50 people on stage cheering as she finished the song, the band bid Chicago farewell.

Head below to view more pictures of her performance at the Riv, and the full setlist....

Continue reading "Feist & The Happiness Project played the Riv (pics, setlist)"

Mountain Man @ 92YTribeca in December (more by Amanda Hatfield)

today in Chicago
* Khaira Arby, Delicate Steve @ Empty Bottle
* In Tall Buildings @ Welles Park (Free Show)
* Mountain Man, Gaberdine, Ever Isles @ Schubas
* Carrie Rodriguez, Doug & Telisha Williams @ SPACE
* Jolie Holland, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside @ Lincoln Hall
* Moon Furies, Noise FM, The Photo Atlas, Sunken Ships @ Fireside Bowl

Panda Bear (and Sonic Boom) played "You Can Count On Me" on Fallon last night. Check out the footage below..

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

Mountain Man @ 92YTribeca in December (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Mountain Man will head out in North America for much of July, starting tonight at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Manitoba. Blind Pilot will join them on select dates, as will BOBBY (the band they share a member with) on others.

Chicago will get theirs when Mountain Man play Schubas this coming Tuesday (July 12th) with Gaberdine, and Ever Isles. Tickets are still available.

That very same night their Partisan Records label mates Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside will play Lincoln Hall with Jolie Holland.

Mountain Man's Live at the Wiltern came out on July 5th via Partisan Records. The release can be purchased in audio, and/or video format.

You can view all 2011 tour dates below..

Continue reading "Mountain Man kick off summer tour tonight, playing Schubas +++ 'Live at the Wiltern' out now"

BOBBY (by Josh Darr), Thao & Mirah (by Grant MacAllister)

BOBBY

On Friday (6/3), Thao & Mirah, BOBBY, and Led to Sea played Empty Bottle. Photographer; Josh Darr was in attendance, and hung out with BOBBY before the show.

BOBBY's self-titled debut hits stores on June 21st via Partisan Records. Between now and then, you can stream the album in its entirety over at NPR.

Their Empty Bottle show took place in the midst of the Do Division Street Festival, which Thao & Mirah played on Saturday (6/4).

You can view more pictures of both performances below.

In BOBBY related news, Mountain Man kick off a month-long US tour in July.
They'll be in Chicago on July 12th to play Schubas. Tickets are still available.

All 2011 BOBBY, and Mountain Man tour dates can be found below.

Continue reading "BOBBY played Empty Bottle (pics) + streaming new LP, Thao & Mirah played 'Do Divison' the next day (pics)"

Death Cab For Cutie (photo by Autumn de Wilde)

Bob Mould (of Husker Du) will host an "evening of reading and music" at the Mercury Theatre on June 16th.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, at 10AM CST.

The Bronx are playing Subterranean on July 9th.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, at 10AM CST.

Mountain Man are playing Schubas on July 12th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

The recently reunited Cibo Matto will play Lincoln Hall on July 14th, with support from Tony Castles.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Band of Heathens are playing Schubas on July 28th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

The Handsome Furs are playing the Bottom Lounge on July 29th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

Taking Back Sunday are playing two nights at the House of Blues on July 30th & 31st.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at 10AM CST.

As previously announced,
Death Cab For Cutie and Frightened Rabbit will be playing at UIC Pavilion on August 25th.
Presale tickets will be available starting Friday, at 10AM CST and be off sale by 10PM.
Password: codes
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, at 10AM CST.

Houses will play Schubas on August 27th.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow, at noon CST.

They Might Be Giants are playing the Riv on September 23rd.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, at 10AM CST.