photos by Sara Pieper

JC Brooks & Ume at BV Chicago // Epitonic SXSW -- 3.13.2013

Last week down at SXSW in Austin, TX, we teamed up with Epitonic to throw a free, two stage day party at adjoining venues Swan Dive and Barbarella Patio on Wednesday, March 13. The day kicked off with sets from Chicago's Many Places and NYC's folky The End of America, and was co-headlined by JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound and Generationals. In between, The Besnard Lakes, Ume, All Eyes West, Twin Peaks, On An On, Eric Pulido (of Midlake), WHY?, Minor Characters, Mister Lies, Autumn Owls, Mahogany, and Tango in the Attic all performed.

In addition to the music, our sponsors Redken were passing out bottles of their Clean Brew Extra Cleansing Shampoo, which helped to keep us smelling great all week long.

BV Chicago photographer Sara Pieper was on the scene and was able to grab pictures of all bands from the late afternoon on. More of her photos can be found below...

Continue reading "BV Chicago // Epitonic SXSW day party in pics (JC Brooks, Generationals, Twin Peaks, Ume, Besnard Lakes & more)"

Like many bands worldwide, international collective Mahogany are gearing up for their trek to Austin, TX for the 27th annual South by South West Music Festival. As discussed, they'll be playing our FREE joint day party with Epitonic at Swan Dive and Barbarella Patio on Wednesday, March 13. Their set will be at 12:45PM on the BV Chicago stage (at Barbarella Patio), and will feature an eclectic variety of instruments.

They've got a brand new single out, called "Phase Break," which is an eight-minute synth-y number with a cello at its center. It's very Talking Heads-like, and I suppose as its title suggests, the song takes a major turn at 4:30 from thick new wave to something more dainty. A stream of Mahogany's new single and their full SXSW schedule are below...

Continue reading "Mahogany have a new single (stream it), playing a BV Chicago Day Party at SXSW"

"can't get over how wonderful last night was. thanks for coming out everybody" - Mister Lies

Mister Lies at The Observatory (via BV Chicago Instagram)

Last night (Saturday, March 9), Chicago producer Mister Lies (aka Nick Zanca) played a private record release show for his debut album Mowgli (out now via Lefse) at The Observatory. The show was opened by Different Sleep and Soleman, and Zanca was joined by a live drummer for his headlining set. He ran through most, if not all, of Mowgli and brought out vocalist Jessica Blanchet for a two-song encore. Blanchet is featured on his Mass EP with Different Sleep and on his breakout track "I Walk." The live drummer and Blanchet were welcome additions to his live show, and Zanca said he's looking to turn Mister Lies into a full band thing in the future. A few more Instagram shots from last night's show can be found at the bottom of this post.

As discussed, Mister Lies plays our FREE joint SXSW day party with Epitonic at Swan Dive // Barbarella Patio on Wednesday, March 13. His set is at 1:30PM on the outdoor Barbarella Patio stage. Admission is 100% free (21+), so come by if you're headed to Austin.

All Mister Lies tour dates, his new video for "Hounded," and those Instagrams are below...

Continue reading "Mister Lies played The Observatory with a live drummer (pics), playing a BV Chicago Day Party at SXSW"

DOWNLOAD: Twin Peaks - "Stand in the Sand" (MP3) (Rolo & Grady Session)

Young Chicago dudes and Orwells affiliates Twin Peaks self-released their debut album, Sunken, back in July. It's a strong collection of glam-influenced garage rock that DOESN'T sound as if a bunch of youngsters made it. You used to be able to listen to the whole album via their bandcamp, but they've recently inked a deal with Autumn Tone Records (congratulations, guys!), and it disappeared. AT say they'll be releasing a Twin Peaks album in June, so maybe a reissue of Sunken is first on the docket? Twin Peaks recently recorded Sunken's "Stand in the Sand" for a Rolo & Grady session, which you can watch at the bottom of this post. You can also download an MP3 version of the session above.

As discussed, Twin Peaks will be playing our FREE joint SXSW day party with Epitonic on Wednesday, March 13 at Swan Dive // Barbarella Patio. Their set is at 3:45PM at the outdoor Barbarella Patio stage, and is not to be missed if you'll be down in Austin, TX. The guys are also playing the Hideout's SXSW kick-off party on Saturday afternoon (3/9), and then the NineteenTwenty House at night with Sister Crystals, Method Air, and Bell Labs.

All Twin Peaks tour dates and their Rolo & Grady session are below...

Continue reading "Twin Peaks played a Rolo & Grady session (video, MP3), playing a BV Chicago Day Party at SXSW"

photos by Chris Hershman

Minor Characters at Lincoln Hall on 3.01.2013

Chicago quartet Minor Characters celebrated the release of their new EP, Heal Me, Healing Times, with a show at Lincoln Hall this past Friday (3/1) with Pet Lions and Brother George. It was the most triumphant performance I've seen from the group yet, as they tried out their more experimental new material for a local crowd and took a fresh approach to older songs. Did you catch their EP release show? If so, what did you think? We've got pictures from their set in this post, but unfortunately none of Pet Lions or Brother George.

Minor Characters will begin touring down to Austin, TX for SXSW later this week. As discussed, they'll be playing our joint day party with Epitonic at Swan Dive & Barbarella Patio on Wednesday, March 13. The party starts at noon, their set is at 2:15PM at Barbarella Patio, and admission is 100% FREE. JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Generationals, The Besnard Lakes, Ume, and many more acts will perform on two stages through the day. If you're headed to Austin, come hang out.

More pictures from Minor Characters' 3/1 EP release show and their full tour schedule are below...

Continue reading "Minor Characters played Lincoln Hall (pics); playing BV Chicago day party during SXSW"

We're excited to announce that BV Chicago will be returning to SXSW this year! We have teamed up with Epitonic to bring you a FREE unofficial two stage day party at Swan Dive and Barbarella Patio (615 Red River Street) on Wednesday, March 13 from noon - 6PM. The outdoor Barbarella Patio stage will feature Chicago-based acts, while the indoor Swan Dive stage boasts an international lineup.

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound will headline the Barbarella Patio stage, along with support from All Eyes West, Twin Peaks, On An On, Minor Characters, Mister Lies, Mahogany, and Many Places. Attendees will be able to move freely between the patio and Swan Dive, which will house Generationals, The Besnard Lakes, Ume, Eric Pulido (of Midlake), WHY?, Autumn Owls, Tango in the Attic, and The End of America throughout the day.

It'll look like this:

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - BV Chicago Stage at Barbarella Patio
12:00PM - Many Places
12:45PM - Mahogany
01:30PM - Mister Lies
02:15PM - Minor Characters
03:00PM - On An On
03:45PM - Twin Peaks
04:30PM - All Eyes West
05:15PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - Epitonic // 1-Up PR Stage at Swan Dive
12:00PM - The End of America
12:45PM - Tango in the Attic
01:30PM - Autumn Owls
02:15PM - WHY?
03:00PM - Eric Pulido (of Midlake)
03:45PM - Ume
04:30PM - The Besnard Lakes
05:15PM - Generationals

Admission to Swan Dive // Barbarella Patio is 100% FREE and no badges/wristbands are required. There IS a 21+ age restriction though, sorry about that!

Thanks to our sponsors Redken for making this party possible. They'll be giving out free samples of their products throughout the day. More free stuff is TBA.

And stay tuned for the announcement of BrooklynVegan's day parties and showcases!

Kevin Rieg's Many Places will be following up their excellent debut LP, Another Oath, with a new EP, titled Home + Departed, on February 12 via local label Tandem Shop Records. In search of a bigger sound, Rieg and co. headed to Humboldt Park studio Minbal to track the album, but it's no less intimate than their self-recorded Another Oath. The rich-voiced frontman howls over raw-yet-full accompaniment, reminding me of exactly why their debut frequently makes its way into my rotation. You can take a listen to Home + Departed in its entirety (via Chicago Reader) at the bottom of this post.

Many Places don't have any upcoming local shows at the moment, but I doubt it'll be all that long before they announce some. They'll also be heading to SXSW in Austin, TX in March.

A complete stream of Many Places' forthcoming Home + Departed EP is below...

Continue reading "Many Places releasing new EP (stream it here)"

UK singer Dan Croll makes catchy-as-all-hell indie pop. Just take a listen to his most recent single, "From Nowhere," at the bottom of this post, and tell us it's not immediately stuck in your head. Croll and his band will hit the U.S. for a run of tour dates surrounding SXSW. That tour kicks off on March 4 at Schubas, and advance tickets are on sale now. All tour dates are listed below.

All Dan Croll tour dates and a stream of // the video for "From Nowhere" are below...

Continue reading "Dan Croll touring the U.S., playing Schubas (dates, streams)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Chicago band Gypsyblood are currently working on the follow-up to 2011's Cold In The Guestway and have scheduled an April 14th headlining show at the Cobra Lounge. Advance tickets are on sale. Hamburglars and Hammerdown will act as main support.

Gypsyblood were one of the many bands featured on our bvChicago stage at Hotel Vegan. Above are two new pictures from the Wednesday (March 14), day party. Check out a full set of all acts (including FIELDED, Maps & Atlases, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound) HERE.

Gypsyblood song streams and videos below..

Continue reading "Gypsyblood announce show @ Cobra Lounge; here's a few more pics from bvChicago-SXSW"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound @ Hotel Vegan

"...Before we were able to bask in the glory, we were driving in MAD traffic to get across town to Hotel Vegas to play Brooklyn Vegan's "Hotel Vegan" party. We barely got to the stage in time, screeched up, lept out of the van like we were the A-Team. Set up. Go. 11 people in the room, tops. The big names are outside in the back. And then something clicked, we just continue to be locked in. I look up five songs later and the room is packed. Wall to wall hipsters, including friends from Gypsy Blood, The Pinstripes, and Kane Place Record Club. It was a riot. Like a real house party. Next thing I know, we're shaking hands and getting in cell phone pictures and some real cool guy from Chicago with a little city pride takes us all out to dinner..." [JC Brooks SXSW Tour Diary]

Special thanks to a Sailor Jerry, Brooklyn Brewery, HobNob Wines, and Honest Tea for providing refreshments. Thanks also to our backline partners Korg, Vox, and Blackstar Amplification for helping make the sound happen,

Thanks especially to everyone who stopped by and to the many artists who played. Check out more pictures from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "pics: Chicago represented @ Hotel Vegan in Austin (with JC Brooks, Maps & Atlases, Flosstradamus & many more)"

photos by Sarah Frankie Linder

Grimes @ the Empty Bottle on 3/14/2012

While our BV Chicago stage at 'Hotel Vegan' and the official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase at Bar 96 were in full swing (more on 'Hotel Vegan' later), Grimes played a sold out show at Chicago's Empty Bottle on Wednesday, March 14 with support from tour mates Born Gold and local project Ultrademon. A full set of pictures are in this post.

Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) then hightailed it down to Austin, TX for SXSW, playing the Pitchfork official showcase on Thursday night, as well as a few other sets throughout the fest.

If you missed her this time around, as announced, Grimes will be playing at Pitchfork Festival 2012 in Union Park in July. Tickets are still available.

More pictures from the Wednesday night Chicago show, below..

Continue reading "Grimes, Born Gold & Ultrademon @ the Empty Bottle (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: Gauntlet Hair - "My Christ" (MP3)

Gauntlet Hair @ BV-CMJ 2011 (more by Chris La Putt)

Gauntlet Hair, who are currently in Austin, TX for SXSW, have announced a Chicago show taking place at Schubas (where they played during TNK 2012) on April 29. Tickets go on sale TODAY, at noon CST.

The duo's most recent release, My Christ 7", hit stores in January via Dead Oceans. Download its A-side at the top of this post.

All known 2012 tour dates and some videos can be found below.

Continue reading "Gauntlet Hair schedule Chicago show"

Back in April artist David Barnes, brother of Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes, released a 128-page art book, What's Weird?, that consists of paintings and drawings from the last 20-years, including album covers and other designs for the band. The book was limited to 3,000 copies. Here's a few words from Polyvinyl, who handled its release:

After 20 years and countless paintings, the idea manifested itself for David Barnes to curate his first book. In his true D.I.Y. style, Barnes personally poured over hundreds of drawings and paintings spanning his career.

He picked and placed each piece to create What's Weird?--a book showcasing over 100 paintings, hundreds of sketches and doodles, and funny, interesting, insightful comments about the pieces written by Barnes--all providing a glimpse into his mind and unique creative process.

Over the past decade, Barnes has developed a cult following drawing portraits of fans in his unique style and achieved widespread recognition for his work as art director for Of Montreal (his brother Kevin's band).

Barnes' visual interpretations of the group's music has been manifested in the form of iconic album covers and theatrical live performances that feature skits along with elaborate stage sets and props.

Of Montreal hit SXSW this week for two performances: their label's showcase on Thursday, March 15 and Under the Radar magazine's day party on the 16th, where they'll play their album The Sunlandic Twins in full for the first time.

All 2012 tour dates, contest details, and some videos, below..

Continue reading "David Barnes released an art book; Of Montreal are playing Metro (win a copy of the book & tix to the show!)"

EMA @ Webster Hall in October (NYC) (more by Amanda Hatfield)

today in Chicago
* Colin Hay @ Park West
* SXSW Send Off Party @ Hideout
* Robert Glasper, Bilal @ Double Door
* SXSW Send Off Party @ Empty Bottle
* Julia Nunes, Mark Rose @ Subterranean
* EMA, Nü Sensae, Stagnant Pools @ Lincoln Hall
* Rich Aucoin, Kidstreet, Minor Characters @ Schubas
* Gardens, Big Colour, Soft Candy @ Crown Tap Room
* Balkan Beat Box, Palenke Soultribe, Black Bear Combo @ Metro
* Pipe, Thunderunderus, Jupiter Theory, Omegawatt @ Ultra Lounge
* Jake Shimabukuro, Helen Money @ Old Town School of Folk Music
* Deicide, Jungle Rot, Abigail Williams, Lecherous Nocturne @ Reggie's
* Call Me Lightning, PROTO IDIOT, The Pamphleteers @ The Burlington
* The Fallen Rivers, Bully In The Hallway, Left On Carroll @ Beat Kitchen
* Edie Sedgwick, Freddie T. and the People, Reds and Blue, Travels @ Township

The Hideout's SXSW send off party goes until 1AM. The Bottle's starts at 9PM.

Jazz pianist Robert Glasper plays a sold out show at the Double Door tonight.

Minor Characters play Schubas tonight and BVC-SXSW at Hotel 'Vegan' on Wednesday.

Cymbals Eat Guitars have a new video for "Definite Darkness." Check it out below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

The Hideout's annual South By South West send off party takes place today, featuring over ten Chicago bands that are all headed down to Austin within the next few days.

Kicking off at 1:30PM, the day will look like this:

01:30PM - Paper Thick Walls
02:30PM - Football
03:30PM - Unicycle Loves You
04:30PM - Redgrave
05:30PM - Cains & Abels
06:30PM - Outer Minds
07:30PM - The Waco Brothers
08:30PM - Hollywood Holt
09:30PM - Musikanto
10:30PM - In Tall Buildings
11:30PM - Kids These Days
12:00AM - Saturday Night Dance Party w/ DJ set by Hollywood Holt

The Bottle have a send off of their own, a two-day event dubbed Sausage Fest, which begins at 9PM tonight. Advance tickets are $8 per day or $15 for a full weekend pass.

Speaking of Chicago and SXSW, if you are headed down to Austin: stop by Hotel 'Vegan' on Wednesday, March 14 for a full stage of Chicago bands.

We're excited and pleased to announce BV Chicago's first-ever Austin event, a full stage of Chicago musicians along side TWO MORE BrooklynVegan-programmed stages, at Hotel 'Vegan' (aka Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge at1500 E. 6th Street) on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 from noon - 6PM. Hotel Vegan will be runing from Wednesday through Saturday during SXSW Music, and we're excited to be showcasing Chicago bands on one of the three stages, on the first of those four days.

Headlining the BV Chicago stage will be JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound (who just announced a big hometown show at Metro). Also on the bill: Flosstradamus (which one half of, J2K, performed at a recent BV Chicago event) with a special guest, The-Drum (who shared that bill with J2K), Maps & Atlases (who have a new album and big hometown show at Metro + tour coming up), White Mystery, FIELDED, Gypsyblood, and Minor Characters (who have a pre-SXSW show at Schubas).

It looks like this:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - bvChicago Stage at Hotel 'Vegan'
12:00PM - Minor Characters
12:35PM - Gypsyblood
01:15PM - FIELDED
02:00PM - White Mystery
02:45PM - Maps & Atlases
03:30PM - The-Drum
04:15PM - Flosstradamus
05:00PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Thanks to our backline partners Korg, Vox, and Blackstar Amplification for providing the gear to make this party possible.

And stay tuned for the rest of the "Hotel Vegan" lineups soon!

UPDATE: Here's what another one of the Wednesday stages looks like.

Best Coast - The Only Place cover art

As seen on BrooklynVegan, Best Coast are set to release their new LP, The Only Place, on May 15 via Mexican Summer. The album's cover art is above and you can check out its tracklisting below.

Starting with the 35 Denton Music Fest and SXSW, Bethany Cosentino and co. will head out on a spring/summer North American tour with first JEFF the Brotherhood and then Those Darlins. The Chicago show, taking place on July 27 at the Vic, will also serve as the tour-ender. Ticketing information is forthcoming.

As highlighted on BV, Those Darlins are working on a new EP and are also contributing to a Repo Man soundtrack - covers LP.

All 2012 tour dates and The Only Place's tracklisting, below..

Continue reading "Best Coast to end tour @ the Vic w/ Those Darlins; LP on way"

Yellow Ostrich @ MHoW in January (BKLYN) (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Yellow Ostrich, whose new album Strange Land hits stores tomorrow (March 6) via Barsuk, will tour through Chicago later this week tagging the Empty Bottle on Thursday, March 8 with tour mates 1,2,3. Advance tickets are on sale. After Chicago, the band will tour their way down to Austin, TX for SXSW, joining up with Howler for a West Coast run after the festival.

Check out their full 2012 tour schedule and stream Strange Land in its entirety, below..

Continue reading "Yellow Ostrich's 'Strange Land' out tomorrow (stream it here); playing the bottle w/ 1,2,3 on Thursday"

Black Tusk at Gramercy Theater(more by Greg Cristman)

Black Tusk kicks off a SXSW-bound tour with Royal Thunder, Hull & East of The Wall on 3/8. Look for them in Chicago at Ultra Lounge on March 9th. Tickets are on sale.

Black Tusk recently shot a video from their 2011 release Set The Dial. No word as to which song or when it will surface, but keep a look out.

All dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Black Tusk, Royal Thunder, Hull, & East of The Wall playing Ultra Lounge on tour to SXSW (dates)"

Maps & Atlases @ Lollapalooza 2011 (more by Grant MacAllister)

As previously mentioned, Maps & Atlases' sophomore LP, Beware and Be Grateful, hits stores on April 17 via Barsuk Records. Visit our early-February post to check out the album's cover art, tracklisting, and a stream of its lead single "Winter."

To quote ourselves:

Maps & Atlases will kick off a short string of Midwest dates in March, which takes them down to Austin, TX for SXSW 2012. A two-week European run has been set for April and we can expect a full North American tour in May.

After SXSW as part of their May headlining run, the group will play a big hometown show at Metro on May 11. Tickets go on sale this Saturday (March 3), at noon CST.

A full list of 2012 tour dates can be found below..

Continue reading "Maps & Atlases announce North American tour dates ------- (BVC SXSW & Metro included)"

Electric Guest @ BV CMJ 2011 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

As seen on BrooklynVegan, Los Angeles' Electric Guest are kicking off a spring international tour tonight (February 27), with a hometown show at The Echo. After tagging Europe and SXSW, the band will make their way to Chicago for an April 27 performance at Schubas. Tickets will go on sale this Friday (March 2), at noon CST. A direct link should be active shortly.

The group will welcome their debut, Danger Mouse-produced LP Mondo on April 24 via Downtown Records. Stream two of the LP's tracks over at BrooklynVegan.

All 2012 tour dates can be found below..

Continue reading "Electric Guest to tag Schubas on tour (dates)"

After releasing 7"s on HoZac, Goodbye Boozy, and Push My Buttons, Chicago's Outer Minds are set to welcome their debut self-titled LP via Southpaw Records on March 5. Stream two of the LP's tracks, "Gimmie A Reason" and "Conversation" at the bottom of this post. The album is now up for preorder on both black and colored vinyl, instant digital download included.

Outer Minds will begin gearing up for SXSW in early March, playing two Chicago shows before heading down to Austin for the festival. The first will be Baby Teeth's record release show at Schubas, taking place this Friday, March 2. Tickets are still available. They'll also play The Hideout's massive SXSW send-off party on March 10.

On April 7, Outer Minds will play a FREE record release show at the Empty Bottle, with support from Mannequin Men, Radar Eyes, and Summer Girlfriends. RSVP to secure your spot for this excellent bill.

All 2012 tour dates and song streams, below..

Continue reading "Outer Minds to release their debut LP; schedule shows"

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Chicago soul revivalists JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound have a number of exciting upcoming gigs.

The first, is an opening slot for fellow Chicagoan Mavis Stapes on Wednesday, February 29 at the Tivoli Theatre in nearby Downers Grove, IL. Advance tickets are on sale. As mentioned, Mavis will also headline the 2012 edition of the Chicago Blues Festival in June.

JC and co. are also playing an Epitonic Saki Session on Sunday, March 5 at 4PM, which will serve as their tour-to-SXSW send-off.

Speaking of Chicago and SXSW, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are the first artist that we can reveal are playing the BV Chicago-programmed stage at Hotel 'Vegan' on Wednesday, March 14th, from noon - 6PM! We're extremely honored to have them on board and are looking forward to sharing more of the lineup with you soon.

Happy Friday!

All 2012 tour dates, some videos, and the Hotel 'Vegan' flyer, below..

Continue reading "JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound to play Downers Grove w/ Mavis Staples, an Epitonic Saki Session & BV Chicago SXSW"

Rockie Fresh

Chicago rapper Rockie Fresh, who recently dropped his new mixtape Driving 88, has just announced a short West Coast run featuring Casey Veggies and The Dean's List.

The tour kicks off this weekend right here in Chicago, with a Reebok presented showcase at Reggie's on Sunday, February 26th. Rockie will headline the event with support from L.E.P. Bogus Boys (who were recently featured on Raekwon's new tape), AILite Ent, Lungz, Scheme, and Astonish with DJ Scend. Advance tickets are on sale and you will also be able to purchase them at the door.

The tour will bring Rockie down to SXSW for Thursday and Friday (3/15+16) of the fest.

All 2012 dates and some videos, below..

Continue reading "Rockie Fresh kicking off tour w/ Casey Veggies & The Dean's List this weekend @ Reggie's"

Ohio-based rapper Stalley is gearing up for the release of his new mixtape, Savage Journey to the American Dream, due soon via Maybach Music. As a warm-up for the tape, the thickly-beaded MC is currently offering a free series of tracks called Songs by Me, Stalley. Listen to and download all four installments at the bottom of this post. As stated on his website, when he hits 50k twitter followers (46,411 at the time of this post), he will reveal SJTTAD's release date.

Stalley will head out on a short tour in a few days, which leads up to a stint at SXSW 2012. He'll reach Chicago on March 2nd, for a performance at Reggie's with ProbCause, ShowYouSuck, Dave Coresh, and DJs Stefan Ponce/O-Zone. Tickets are on sale now.

All 2012 tour dates, song streams, and show flyer, below..

Continue reading "Stalley to release 'Savage Journey to the American Dream,' playing Reggie's w/ ProbCause, ShowYouSuck & others"