words & photos by Zach Pollack

Despite the cold Chicago weather, Atlanta, GA band Deerhunter held up well at their Saturday afternoon (9/25) pop-up show at the 560 W. Grand Street underpass (a large parking lot across from the Chicago Tribune offices, under the Kennedy Overpass) as part of the ongoing Secret Generator Series presented by Urban Outfitters + Levi's. The band leaned heavily on material from their upcoming 9/28 release Halcyon Digest (4AD), most of which singer Bradford Cox stated was being debuted in a live setting for the first time that night. Deerhunter powered through their brief set with confidence and ease, and Halcyon Digest seems to be a very manageable record for the band to play live; the packed crowd ate it up.

Deerhunter opened up their set with a new track entitled "Desire Lines", which lead to "Hazel St." off of 2007's Cryptograms. From there Deehunter perfromed select tracks from their now five LP and two EP catalog since their formation in 2001. Set highlights included an extra long jammed out version of "Nothing Ever Happened", and between-song looping/sound build-up for the next.

Chicago has reaped the benefits of a free Deerhunter show, but don't fret New York you will get yours too, and on the record's release date. Deerhunter will play at the Apple Store Soho (103 Prince Street) @ 7:00PM TONIGHT (9/28). Wristbands are being distributed right now until capacity is reached (which it very well may be by the time of this posting).

Deerhunter will try on Halcyon Digest for size, on tour throughout October and Novemeber. That tour hits the less-intimate Webster Hall on 10/15 with Real Estate & Casino Versus Japan (tickets are still on sale). Stream Halcyon Digest in its entirety over at NPR.

More pictures, some videos, and the full setlist from the Chicago show, with all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter debuted new songs at a free Chicago show (pics, video & setlist) (NYC show tonight) "

Deerhunter @ Pier 54 over the summer (more by Natasha Ryan)

Deerhunter will release a new album, Halcyon Digest, on September 28th via 4AD (the band's first on the label). You can also stream the whole thing now at NPR. The Bradford-Cox directed video for "Helicopter" is viewable below.

To help promote that album release, Deerhunter will play some last minute free shows in major cities. Chicago gets an Urban Outfitters-sponsored show this Friday, 9/25, "at 4:00 p.m. at the underpass at 560 W. Grand @ the Chicago River under the Kennedy overpass." NYC gets:

Deerhunter Free Show !
Tuesday September 28 (Release Date)
Apple Store, SoHo In-store -- 103 Prince St. (nr. Greene St.)
Guaranteed entry wristbands will be distributed on September 28 when the Apple store opens (9AM).
In-store begins at 7PM

And actually that's it. If you don't live in Chicago or NYC you'll have to wait until the larger, less-free October and November Deerhunter tour (which also goes back to NYC and Chicago).

Tickets are still on sale for the October 15th show at Webster Hall with Real Estate. All dates and that video, below...

Continue reading "Deerhunter playing free shows, 'Halcyon Digest' streaming"

most photos by Josh Darr

Dodos w/ special guest Neko Case / The Antlers

"There were no special effects during Soundgarden's performance on the last night of Lollapalooza -- no lasers, no costume changes, no props or hydraulics. Even the video screens switched over to black and white. But the band didn't need any added visuals: Soundgarden delivered an explosive set of classic '90s songs in front of their biggest audience since their breakup 13 years ago. Chris Cornell underplayed the band's return, suggesting their decade-plus break was more like a few years. "It's good to be back!" said Cornell, who's grown his hair back out to its late-'80s length. "We just took a little break, but now we're back."" [Rolling Stone]

Soundgarden's Sunday night setlist (they played against Arcade Fire), a bunch of of videos and the rest of our 2010 Lollapalooza pictures, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 - Day 3 in pics, Soundgarden setlist, videos"

Lollapalooza 2009 (more by Paul Birman)

"The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is investigating Lollapalooza sponsors C3 Presents and their partners for anti-trust issues stemming from the radius clauses that the Austin, Texas-based concert promoters impose on all of the artists who play the giant, three-day concert in Grant Park, according to numerous sources familiar with the investigation." [Jim Derogatis]

Basically, bands aren't allowed to play in the same general area, for a certain amount of time, before or after another show they have scheduled. This ensures that one show doesn't compete with the other. The article says that club owners in Chicago say that this especially sucks for them, because so many bands play Lollapalooza and the length of time Lollapalooza says the bands can't play is unfair. Lollapalooza (C3) says that's just how it is, and people who agree with them would say that bands have the choice to play Lollapalooza or not, and then can come back and tour through Chicago later in the year. The above-linked article by Jim is an interesting read.

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

After extremely accurate early leaks and then much teasing, Lollapalooza oficially announces this year's lineup. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

"Just got off the phone with Julian Casablancas and he confirms that the Strokes will indeed be headlining Lollapalooza this summer as first reported here a few weeks ago.

He says he's pretty stoked about the band's string of festival dates this summer. "We're getting the biggest offers of our career," he says. "It feels great, because I remember people writing things like 'We'll see if they're still around in 10 years' when we first came out."

...Casablancas says the Strokes are wrapping up their fourth studio album, and first since 2006. "I think it'll be out in September," he says. "I've written a lot of melodies for it, but the other guys have also contributed a lot more: melodies, choruses, parts. It's way more collaborative. So it'll have a different feel than our other albums." [Chicago Tribune]

The Tribune lists other probable headliners for Lollapalooza, happening Aug. 6-8 in Grant Park, as Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire,Soundgarden, Green Day and Phoenix. Some of those were listed by The Daily Swarm in February. Early Bird tickets to the fest are sold out - regular advance tickets are on the way.

The show in Chicago can be added to the Strokes' upcoming gig at Isle of Wight Fest in England this June.

Julian's upcoming tour dates include a show at Irving Plaza in NYC and a March 30th show at Sayreville, NJ's Starland Ballroom.

Continue reading "Strokes confirmed for Lollapalooza, Lady Gaga still rumored"

the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival will be held at Chicago's Union Park on July 16 - 18. We are pleased to announce the first batch of bands slated to perform, as well as proclaim that tickets are on sale today at 12 PM CST! This year's festival welcomes the highly anticipated return of legendary band Pavement as they make one of their first appearances since reuniting! Pavement will perform on Sunday night. Friday features indie-rock, chart-topping mainstays Modest Mouse, while Saturday and Sunday sees performances by LCD Soundsystem, Raekwon, Here We Go Magic, St. Vincent, Lightning Bolt, Cass McCombs and Sleigh Bells. Stay tuned, as more bands will be announced in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Sleigh Bells will be keeping busy by touring with both Yeasayer and Major Lazer. Pavement's first North American reunion date so far is Coachella. The list of confirmed Pitchfork bands, by date, is below...

Continue reading "2010 Pitchfork Music Fest - dates, tickets, initial lineup "

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Kurt Vile & The Violators

Kurt Vile & The Violators opened for The Black Keys on New Years Eve at The Riviera in Chicago, part of a multiple night run for the headliners. Graeme (our photographer) was in the windy city with plans to catch Black Keys AND Girl Talk. He succesfully made it to Girl Talk, but the timing didn't work out right for the Black Keys. He did get pictures during Kurt's opening set though. Those, along with video of the Black Keys New Years countdown, are continued below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile & the Black Keys played The Riviera in Chicago on New Years Eve - pics & video "

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Who needs a traditional ball drop when countless rolls of toilet paper are unfurled into the crowd? Continuous streams of white tissue were one of the festive components that helped Girl Talk ring in the New Year Thursday at a sold-out Congress Theater during a feverish 110-minute concert that evolved into a sweaty rave.

Backed by an elaborate stage set that featured a large-as-life dollhouse complete with a furnished hall, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room, the sample-based composer created an unbroken chain of pop mash-ups from the comfort of a laptop. The home-themed design and anything-goes atmosphere allowed Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, to play host to what doubled as the world's greatest block party. Perched behind a table, the ex-biochemist stayed in perpetual motion. [Chicago Tribune]

More pictures from the New Years Eve show, below...

Continue reading "Girl Talk built a house on stage @ the Congress Theater in Chicago on New Years Eve - pics "

photos by Joseph Xu

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

More pictures from the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival, below...

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Pitchfork Festival "

Fischerspooner @ MoMA in November (more by Ryan Muir)

Fischerspooner will be playing a live show at Irving Plaza in NYC on New Year's Eve. Tickets are on sale. They also have a pair of DJ dates scheduled in Europe.

Speaking of New Year's Eve, shows for the night are coming together. Some NYC NYE events we've mentioned before include Patti Smith's multi-night run at Bowery Ballroom (sold out), Dean & Britta then The Felice Brothers at Southpaw, Antibalas at Knitting Factory, The Obits & Eli "Paperboy" Reed at The Bell House, Roky Erikson at Maxwell's, Clutch at Starland Ballroom, and The Detroit Cobras & The A-Bones then Titus Andronicus at Mercury Lounge.

Some we haven't mentioned include Lee Burridge at Santos Party House (tickets), Trouble & Bass at Europa (flyer below), Alice Smith at Joe's Pub (tickets), and Chuck Berry (who replaced the Dan Band) at BB King's (tickets - early and late). Tons of jam-friendly options this year: Soulive at Music Hall of Williamsburg, The Word at Terminal 5, Gov't Mule at the Beacon, The Disco Biscuits at Nokia Theatre, and most importantly, Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden.

Phish have a four-night run in Miami.

For other out of town shows, The Black Keys and Kurt Vile play Chicago, where Jesus Lizard are also doing multiple nights and Jens Lekman is at the Empty Bottle (for three nights in a row actually). Girl Talk also plays Chicago that night- a sold out show at The Congress Theater. Crystal Castles are at Logan Square Auditorium. (Chicago wins)

Guns n Roses cover band Mr. Brownstone are playing Boston.

Pink Floyd cover band The Flaming Lips will be in Oklahama City's Cox Center, where they'll perform Dark Side of the Moon in full at midnight. They'll be assisted by OK's Stardeath and White Dwarfs. Flaming Lips are also reportedly planning an iTunes-only release of their own version of the album.

What else?

The Flaming Lips flyer, other flyers, and all Fischerspooner tour dates, below...

Continue reading "New Year's Eve options in NYC include Fischerspooner ++ Flaming Lips performing 'Dark Side of the Moon' in Oklahoma "

Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin - Nov 7, 2009 (by Chad Wadsworth)

There have been plenty of chances to catch The Jesus Lizard since they reunited. They've played Europe and a bunch of festivals. They played the Pitchfork Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fun Fest, and even ATP NY just a short drive north of the city. They even played in NYC on Halloween at a Vice party. They have not however yet played a completely public show as a reunited band in NYC. That is until tonight, 11/16, at Irving Plaza with Skeleton Key (and tomorrow at the same venue with Noveller). Tickets are still available for both shows (though only a "handful" left for tonight at the door).

If you stand close to the stage, be ready to catch David Yow. He is known to jump the second they hit the stage. Above picture from Day One of Fun Fun Fun Fest. Video and all dates below...

Continue reading "Jesus Lizard are here! See David Yow jump (at Irving Plaza Monday & Tuesday night) (and other tour dates) "

Kurt Vile (in orange) @ Woodsist/CT Fest on July 4th (more by Tim Griffin)

At [D.C.'s] the Black Cat Backstage [Nov. 5th], [Kurt] Vile ambled through the final date of a month of shows with his three-piece band, The Violators, for what he said was the largest crowd he'd played. Double digits, still -- right-sized. He opened the 70-minute set with a solo take of "Peeping Tomboy," which, like so much of the spectral folk side of his songbook, seemed to waft in from some phantom radio. Even when the combo joined him for the stouter stuff -- like "Freak Train," the self-explanatory centerpiece of his just-released "Childish Prodigy" album -- the cacophony was more ethereal than kinetic.

After innumerable self-releases, his songs still sound like their paint's still wet, which is part of their appeal. It remains to be seen whether they can, or should, expand beyond the cult of sober head-nodders who paid their respects last night. The only person dancing was a British girl whose accent was pitched just-so to be perfectly audible through the din.

"They're really quite good," she chirped. Cheers. [Washington Post]

The next show for Kurt Vile and The Violators is a November 17th show at Brooklyn's Europa. Also on the bill are local freaks Wild Yaks and Pink Reason and lyrical post-punks from NJ Home Blitz. Tickets are on sale.

The gig comes one day before Vile opens for Big Star at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (11/8). Tickets to that appear to be gone.

In non-New York news, Vile will be playing a New Year's Eve show at Chicago's The Riviera with The Black Keys. Tickets are on sale. Half of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, plays Webster Hall on Wednesday, November 11th.

A flyer for Vile's Europa show and all upcoming tour dates (in which Vile goes to Europe this December) are posted below...

Continue reading "Kurt Vile playing Europa, opening for the Black Keys on New Years Eve (in Chicago) - 2009 Tour Dates"

"In addition to being the sharpest-dressed band in Chicago, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound have been taking the city by storm with their unique brand of raw power soul." - Gaper's Block

Motown had one, so did Stax. Three deep soul acts and one smoking hot band to back them up. The triple-header of R&B: the soul revue. Once a mainstay of theaters, gymnasiums and VFW halls everywhere, the soul revue ultimately vanished in the late seventies as recorded sound pushed live performance out of the limelight and onto car stereos and refrigerator-sized boom boxes. The performers returned to their day jobs and the world was the poorer for it.

That is, until April 4th, 2009, when the Numero Group, the world's premier reissue label, mounted the first Eccentric Soul Review, packing Chicago's Park West Theater with soul-hungry acolytes, satisfying them and then some with the real thing: a seventeen-piece band backing, The Notations, Renaldo Domino, The Final Solution, Nate Evans and Syl Johnson, putting on a show that combined seventies slick with revival meeting fervor.

It was a magical evening, as the past lived and breathed and got on down, right here in the present. Those in attendance went home that night knowing they'd seen something that just wasn't done anymore. And they went home wanting more. Well, the wait and the want is over. The Numero Group is taking this show on the road: Syl Johnson, Renaldo Domino and the Notations, backed by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound are hitting Columbus, Washington DC, and two boroughs of New York City.

The revue visits NYC's Grand Ballroom and the Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 12th and 13th, respectively, with special guest Missy Dee. Tickets are on sale.

The premise is somewhat similar to what's going on at the Brooklyn Soul Festival, which occupies the Bell House on August 28th and 29th. The house bands for those nights will be Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves for the first, and the Sweet Divines for the second.

The trailer for the Eccentric Soul Revue, a flyer and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Numero Group's Eccentric Soul Revue on tour, 2 NYC shows"

photos by Paul Birman

Maynard

"First came the rain on Friday, then the heat on Saturday. But Lollapalooza breeds a hearty stock, so with slip 'n slides, togas and giant Chinese peasant hats in tow, out came the 70,000-plus for another day of music that was capped by fill-in headliners the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and doomy metal icons Tool.

Taking the place of the Beastie Boys, who had to drop out several weeks ago due to MC Adam Yauch's bout with cancer of the salivary gland, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their always-colorful A-game, led, as usual, by fashion-forward singer Karen O, who took the stage in a kaleidoscopic, towering bird costume. Down on the south end, things couldn't have looked and sounded any more different, as Tool singer Maynard James Keenan stripped down to a pair of black workout shorts and moaned the lyrics to his band's turgid D&D metal as giant H.R. Giger-like images of giant bugs and morphing aliens were projected on the big screens." [MTV]

No that isn't an All Points West review. More pictures from the second day of this year's Lollapalooza festival, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - Day 2 in Pictures"

The Gaslight Anthem @ Lollapalooza 2009

12:35 p.m. (1:35 p.m. est)

It's raining in Chicago, which is perfect weather for an outdoor festival. Good thing I brought a raincoat.

Most people weren't as fortunate and had to buy a poncho for $5 outside of the festival. Who knows how much one costs inside the grounds.

While hiding from the drizzle in the media tent, I'm listening to Hey Champ. I haven't heard them before, but they're a sort of pop indie group. Like what I've heard so far.

I had planned to get here earlier and see Hockey at 11:30, but catching the train and walking a mile or more to Grant Park got me here a little too late.

I don't have anyone in particular that I want to see until Bon Iver at 3 p.m., so I'm probably going to wander the grounds and familiarize myself. [Omaha.com]

That live report from Lollapalooza comes to us from Omaha.com. Sounds like not a blast so far. And there is a STREAM (a poorly advertised one).

Like All Points West this past weekend, Chicago has rain, Chicago has Hey Champ, and Chicago has a random iclips.net stream of some of the bands at the festival. Unlike All Points West, Chicago has The Gaslight Anthem (I'm watching and listening to them on the stream as I type this) (they allow umbrellas there).

Tonight's Lolla headliners are Kings of Leon and Depeche Mode. Stream schedule below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza kicks off in Chicago, it's raining, it's streaming"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cock Sparrer - "Spirit of '76" (MP3)

First of all, Riot Fest Chicago is not a celebration commemorating the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention. There are no cops in attendance (unsympathetic ones anyway), and no one is there to "set the record straight".

In 2005 Mike Petryshyn started Riot Fest... With one eye on the legendary Chicago punk scene and the other on the bands that inspire them, he started building the festival, with an ambitious multiple show/venue format despite his inexperience. He put special emphasis on reuniting influential punk and underground bands who hadn't shared the stage in years and Chicago's rich punk history has always been a huge part of the Riot Fest roster, this year 11 bands from the area are confirmed so far.

Year five of Riot Fest in Chicago is systems-go from Oct 7th-12th and with an enviable punk rock lineup of Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Murder City Devils, NOFX, 88 Fingers Louie, Screeching Weasel, Pegboy, Off With Their Heads, and many many more. Full lineup and flyer (with New Bomb Turks not listed) is below.

Besides the obvious awesomeness of Naked Raygun, who played their first reunion gig at Riot Fest in 2006 (and who are playing NYC soon, tickets on sale), and a few key others, one exciting band on the lineup is the UK's Oi! pioneers Cock Sparrer:

Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) are a punk rock band formed in 1974 in the East End of London, England. Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, the band is considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands in history, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. Their style was influenced by pub rock, glam rock and raw 1960s beat music as delivered by bands like The Small Faces and The Who. Their lyrics mostly dealt with topics related to the daily lives of working class people.

Cock Sparrer recently played Chaos in Tejas. Riot Fest and a two night stand at The Great American Music Hall in San Fran are currently the only US dates that the band has lined up for the future (dates below).

Cock Sparrer just released their first album in 10 years, Here We Stand, which washed up on US shores last month via Pirates Press. The 14 track LP was recorded by Pat Collier (The Vibrators) and mixed by Lars Fredriksen (Rancid) and includes "Spirit of '76" which is downloadable above.

Meanwhile, Riot Fest is also spreading it's wings out west to bring Los Angeles it's own taste from November 12-14. Lineups are to be announced, but look for those bands at the participating stages of The Palladium, The Wiltern, Key Club and The Roxy. More details are to come.

Continue reading "Riot Fest Chicago - 2009 lineup (Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Murder City Devils & more) "

Tool is rumored to be playing the 2009 edition of Lollapalooza (August 7-9 in Chicago's Grant Park). That would be in addition to the reunited Jane's Addiction who just seem like a given.

Jane's Addiction are touring with Nine Inch Nails earlier in the summer. NIN won't be playing Lolla though, because they played it last year.

The Pitchfork Festival happens in the same location city as Lollapalooza one month earlier. A few bands on that lineup were announced earlier today.

Built to Spill @ ATP 2008 (more by Zach Dilgard)

The 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival -- to be held in Chicago's Union Park Friday, July 17 - Sunday, July 19 -- is announcing the first round of band's to perform at this years festival, as well as a new series that will include Friday's performances. On Friday, the festival welcomes Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard (first show in Chicago in eleven years!), Tortoise and Built to Spill; Saturday will see performances by The National, Pharoahe Monch, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, while Sunday's event includes Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen and Vivian Girls!

In years past, Friday night has been presented in conjunction with All Tomorrow's Parties and their "Don't Look Back" series, which is devoted to artists playing one seminal album from their back catalogue in its entirety. In 2008, Mission of Burma performed Vs., Sebadoh played Bubble & Scrape, and Public Enemy performed It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. 2007 saw Slint performing Spiderland, Gza/Genius performing Liquid Swords, and Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation.

This year, the Pitchfork Music Festival is mixing things up a bit and putting the set lists in the hands of the fans, under a new series titled "Write the Night: Set Lists By Request." When someone buys a ticket they will receive a confirmation email that will include a link to a web page where they can vote on which of each band's songs they'd like to hear during their set - and truly be the ones to "Write the Night." Voting will begin on March 13 (when tickets go on sale) and will end on June 12.

To recap the 2009 line-up so far:

Continue reading "Pitchfork Fest announces initial 2009 lineup (Gbear, VivGrls, National) - lets fans decide Friday setlists (BTS, Tortoise)"

haircuts @ the 2008 Pitchfork Festival (more by Elizabeth Weinberg)

The 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival will be held in Chicago's Union Park Friday, July 17-Sunday, July 19. This year marks the fourth anniversary of the festival - and the fifth time Pitchfork has presented a music festival in Union Park. The three-day event will once again showcase a wide range of global artists on three stages, with a focus on forward thinking programming at a reasonable price. Beginning with the music and continuing through all facets of its production, the Pitchfork Music Festival is dedicated to providing both attendees and musicians an overwhelmingly positive, comfortable, and fun experience.

Pitchfork also announced their SXSW party. Lineup below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork Music Festival dates & Windish SXSW party lineup "

Wilco @ Lollapalooza 2008 (more by Zach Dilgard)

Jeff admits to being a Cardinals fan while wearing a Cubs uniform...

Continue reading "Wilco perform 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' & an interview @ Wrigley Field in Chicago (video)"

We just learned that tickets to ALL Metro and Smart Bar shows are only available through their websites, or the Metro Box Office. There will still be service fees for tickets bought online, though we believe they will be much reduced due to Metro handling all sales internally, and there is still never a service fee for tickets bought at the Box Office.

What does this mean? Ticketmaster has just lost one of the venues it's had long-standing relations with. We asked Metro spokesperson Jenny Lizak for the reason behind the switch and she said, "Basically, we're responding to customer requests and technological advances that have occurred over the years, and this change is going to help us simplify the buying process and bring customers an affordable ticketing solution." [Chicagoist]

(thx Jason)