Schoolboy Q @ Reggie's on Tuesday (5/8) (via)

On Tuesday night (May 8), Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul brought The Groovy Tour through Chicago for a show at Reggie's. Where you there? How was it? Maybe you went to his meet and greet at Jugrnaut earlier in the day? Check out two videos from the show at the bottom of this post, one of which is an eight-minute clip of Q's "There He Go," "Hands On The Wheel," and a cover of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like."

Watch below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q & Ab-Soul played Reggie's, covered Chief Keef (videos)"

Maps & Atlases @ Hotel Vegan (bvChicago-SXSW) (more by Tim Griffin)

Maps & Atlases, who played bvChicago-SXSW, play a big hometown show on Friday night (May 11), at Metro, with So Many Dynamos and Sister Crayon. Tickets are still available and we've also got a pair to give away! Details on how to enter to win them are below.

St. Louis' spazzy So Many Dynamos join up with Maps for two shows on this tour, Chicago and a hometown performance at the Firebird on the following night. They're self-releasing a new EP digitally on June 26, which will be for sale via iTunes and Amazon. Its cover art and tracklisting can be found at the bottom of this post. They are also gearing up to release a new full-length, titled Safe with Sound, and we've got the video/single premiere of their track "Matter of Fact."

Maps contest details and So Many Dynamos' new music video, cover art/tracklisting below...

Continue reading "win tix for Maps & Atlases, So Many Dynamos & Sister Crayon @ Metro; watch a new So Many Dynamos video (premiere)"

A$AP stopping for a quick photo opp. before the show

Despite what was said to be a Chicago Police Department ban on the L.E.P. Bogus Boys' opening set at the House of Blues, headliner A$AP Rocky brought out the local duo for a surprise performance at tonight's show.

After the Bogus Boys ran through a few songs, Chief Keef's GBE crew (minus Keef) joined them and the A$AP Mob for a performance of "I Don't Like." The amount of people on stage (30+ at that point) apparently came close to breaking it, so the venue quickly cut the track/shut down the show.

Video footage of both happenings can be found below via Fake Shore Drive...

Continue reading "A$AP Rocky brought out the L.E.P. Bogus Boys @ HoB (video)"

ShowYouSuck and his ever-present hype man Auggie the 9th have a brand new video for their track "Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Homies Help Homies)." The clip was directed by Brian Lamb and shot at Jugrnaut in the South Loop and at The Congress Theater in Logan Square. Watch it below.

ShowYou has a number of upcoming shows, including TWO tomorrow night. He'll start the night off by opening up for Retrospect at Lasalle Power Co.. The WHOevers, Mint Lab Astronauts, and Chandler London are also on the bill. Later on he'll be performing at Reggie's alongside The Boy Illinois. Check out his current tour schedule and new video, below...

Continue reading "check out a new ShowYouSuck video; upcoming live shows"

Minor Characters @ bvChicago/Saki Record Store Day (via bvChicago Instagram)

We let you know their session was streaming live, and now you can watch the archived footage of Minor Characters' full 90-minute Audiotree Live performance. The group played their entire debut self-titled EP, covered Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," and slipped in some new songs too. View it below.

The band play the Firehouse in Normal, IL this Saturday night (May 5), and have just added an acoustic set at Township on May 24. Andrew Masters, Justin Jahnke, and Arithi Meera are also on the bill, and advance tickets are on sale. Watch their Audiotree session below...

Continue reading "Minor Characters played Audiotree (video); add acoustic show @ Township"

photo & video by John Yingling

Willis Earl Beal @ the Hideout

Last night (Thursday, April 19), Willis Earl Beal played a sold-out hometown show at the very intimate Hideout. Unlike his recent set at the House of Blues, Willis was the centerpiece and the packed crowd cheered loudly after each song. Were you there? What did you think of the show? Check out some live video footage at the bottom of this post.

This week's Chicago Mixtape (Mixtape 062) features a live version of "Sambo Joe From The Rainbow," a cut off of Willis' debut LP Acousmatic Sorcery. CM will post a new tape on Monday, so you have until then to download the current one, which also includes tracks from Santah, Joan of Arc, Bloodiest, and others.

Willis plays the Questlove-curated "Shuffle Culture" in Brooklyn tonight. His next hometown show is a performance on Friday (July 13) of Pitchfork Festival 2012. All known 2012 tour dates and some video footage from last night's show, below...

Continue reading "Willis Earl Beal played the Hideout (video); featured on the Chicago Mixtape"

photos & video by John Yingling

Wild Flag @ Metro on 4/05/2012

Last Thursday (April 5), label mates Wild Flag and Hospitality visited Chicago to play a sold-out show at Metro. During their encore, Wild Flag covered a trio of songs- Bobby Freeman's "Do You Wanna Dance?," Television's "See No Evil," and Fugazi's "Margin Walker." Here are some pictures, plus a video of their Fugazi cover, from Thursday night. More below...

Continue reading "Wild Flag & Hospitality played Metro (pics, video)"

"Nada Surf is such an underrated band. Incredible live performers. Best band I've seen this year." - Shannon

Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws playing the Metro store (photo by Jillian Barthold)

Last night (Monday, April 2), Nada Surf toured through Chicago with Australia's An Horse (who played Saki on Sunday), making a stop at Metro. Check out the setlist from each band at the bottom of this post. Stay tuned for a full set of pictures and a review.

After the show, NS frontman Matthew Caws jumped into the Metro store with an acoustic guitar to play "Blizzard of '77." Footage of his solo performance can also be found below....

Continue reading "Nada Surf & An Horse played Metro (setlists); Matthew Caws played the Metro store (video)"

Mastodon @ Terminal 5 in November (NYC) (more by Greg Cristman)

The Heritage Hunter Tour, which features the amazing bill of Mastodon, Opeth, and Ghost (who just played the Bottom Lounge), have announced all of their North American dates which includes a performance at the Riv on April 13th. Some dates will be headlined by Mastodon (like the Chicago show) and some by Opeth; Check them all out below. Ticketing info is forthcoming.

Continue reading "Heritage Hunter Tour (Mastodon, Opeth, Ghost) coming to the Riv"

Andre Williams @ Jay Pritzker Pavilion in May (more by Grant MacAllister)

The once Chess Records-signed, Detroit R&B artist Andre Williams is set to unveil his new album, Hoods and Shades, on February 28th via Bloodshot Records. The LP was recorded in his hometown by GRAMMY award-winning producer and musician Don Was (Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Roy Orbison, and more), featuring special guests like Motown legend Dennis Coffey, The Dirtbombs' Jim Diamond, Dirty Three drummer Jim White, and more. A Bloodshot presale will be active at midnight TONIGHT (2/01).

We were able to catch Andre at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in May, opening up for label mate Justin Townes Earle. More pictures like the one above can be found HERE. Go see the bluesman and his current band The Goldstars at the Hideout on March 23rd, with support from Jon Langford and his Skull Orchestra. Tickets are on sale now.

Check out Hoods and Shades' cover art and some videos, below..

Continue reading "Andre Williams to release 'Hoods and Shades,' playing the Hideout w/ Jon Langford & the Skull Orchestra"