Silversun Pickups
United Center – Chicago, IL
March 12, 2010

Silversun Pickups left me with just one thought as they left the stage upon completing their set: This band should have won the 2010 Best New Artist Grammy Award that it was nominated for…these four musicians deserved to have won. Instead, the Zac Brown Band took home the coveted award that can make or break an artist’s career. What the hell was up with that? Silversun Pickups only performed eight songs while opening for Muse last Friday night at Chicago’s United Center, but those eight chosen pieces of music were LONG. The alternative indie rock foursome from California played for almost 45 minutes, alternating between new songs from 2009’s release Swoon and 2007’s breakthrough record Carnavas.

More photos of Silversun Pickups after the jump…

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In a tale of addiction, and its affects on a band, comes Fresh Pots! the haunting vignette of Dave Grohl’s dependency of the coffee bean. For the first time Them Crooked Vultures have released a short video on how the addiction spiraled out of control, and just how bad it got. With a look of sheer terror on Joshua Homme’s face he chronicles Grohl’s daily coffee intake, speculating that Grohl “probably has 5 fresh pots a day!” To see it all unfold, visit the band’s YouTube (www.youtube.com/themcrookedvultures) and for even more ‘in studio’ footage from Them Crooked Vultures click here!

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ERNIE BALL PLAY CROSSROADS
CONTEST LAUNCHES TODAY AT
WWW.PLAYCROSSROADS.COM

MUSICIANS COMPETE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY LIVE AT THE
2010 ERIC CLAPTON CROSSROADS GUITAR FESTIVAL
JUNE 26 IN CHICAGO

Beginning today, unsigned musicians can enter the Ernie Ball Play Crossroads contest at www.playcrossroads.com to compete for a chance to perform live on the Ernie Ball Village Stage at the 2010 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival (presented by T-Mobile), Saturday, June 26 at Toyota Park in Chicago.

The day-long festival benefits the Crossroads Centre Antigua and will feature music from the legendary Eric Clapton and friends, including The Allman Brothers Band, BB King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Steve Winwood, Vince Gill, ZZ Top and more.

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The Dirty Heads have emerged onto the music scene with their unique signature blend of acoustic infused hip-hop and classic reggae, creating the perfect soundtrack for an upbeat summer. The band’s breakthrough single, “Lay Me Down” featuring Rome of Sublime With Rome, has become a top 10 single in a number of major markets across the country and has drawn comparisons to known musicians 311, Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson.

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New song from Envy on the Coast On Purevolume.com!
LOWCOUNTRY out March 30th on Photo Finish!

EOTC have just added “The Great American T-shirt Racket” their newest song from LOWCOUNTRY to their PureVolume page. Head over to www.purevolume.com/envyonthecoast to check it out and let them know what you think.

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Hockey
Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
3.12.2010

“You guys are awesome… no, for real!” – lead singer, Benji Gruben in reaction to the front row fans antics.

The too hip for hipsters donned their tightest skinny jeans for their Chicago show. The Portland-based group is currently touring the US with no end in sight. They toured the UK for the majority of last year where they first garnered attention from BBC Radio 1.

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The Constellations
Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
3.12.2010

Dirty rock:

The only real way to describe Atlanta-based band, The Constellations. Grinding bass lines, filthy guitar riffs and a pair of sexy background vocalists make me want some biscuits to go with the smoky eight-piece in front of me.

Lincoln Hall is one of my favorite venues, but they were a little off this Friday. The band packed its instruments on the stage: drums and bongos, keyboards, and plenty of electric guitars. After kicking out the early birds so the band could sound check, the venue still couldn’t cope with the posse’s large sound. Lead singer Elijah Jones could barely be heard when the entire band was in full force. Outside of the occasional “ba ba ba”, I heard maybe two full songs. His vocals are similar to the Gorillaz in the fact that it’s half-sung, half-spoken. The group’s music is more than enough to make-up for a lack of vocals. The crowd was digging every note the band put out there, and they were especially hungry for that cowbell.

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14TH ANNUAL ERNIE BALL VANS WARPED TOUR® BATTLE OF THE BANDS
NOW UNDERWAY

BANDS COMPETE ONLINE FOR PERFORMANCE SLOTS ON 2010 VANS WARPED TOUR,
$15,000 GUITAR CENTER SHOPPING SPREE,
CHANCE TO RECORD EP WITH MULTI-PLATINUM PRODUCER MATT SQUIRE, AND MUCH MORE

The 14th Annual Ernie Ball Vans Warped Tour Battle Of The Bands is now underway. Bands can go to www.battleofthebands.com to enter to win a chance to play on the Ernie Ball Stage at this summer’s Vans Warped Tour. The online contest also gives music fans around the world the ability to decide who is eligible to win the coveted slots on the Ernie Ball Stage.
For each of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour shows (June 24-August 15), four different bands will be chosen to play on the Ernie Ball Stage. The top 100 bands in each market–based on fan voting–will then be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals comprised of Battle Of The Bands partners, Vans Warped Tour Organizers, and Ernie Ball Inc. The winning four bands in each city will play live in their hometown venue in front of thousands of fans alongside main stage headliners and Ernie Ball Stage headlining artists Mayday Parade, Emarosa, The Swellers, Automatic Loveletter, Eyes Set To Kill, Closure In Moscow and more.
The winners of this round of the competition will go on to compete for the ultimate grand prize which includes:

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The Low Anthem
House of Blues – Chicago, IL
03.07.2010

Easily one of the most innovative collective groups I have witnessed, the Low Anthem is a quartet of Awesome-ness. If there is not a band out there with that name, I’m pretty sure the Rhode Island-based group should take this hint and call dibs. Post haste. I mean, don’t you love it when you can see a favorite band of yours and the opener is just as great as who you came to see? Although parts of their set would drag on the Low Anthem did get a chance to show off for a little while. Flex those musical muscles, so to speak.
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Hellogoodbye
House of Blues – Chicago, IL
March 5, 2010

Plagued by an unstable band lineup over the past couple of years, Hellogoodbye needed a stellar performance to prove their credibility; however, they failed to deliver a praise-worthy performance Friday night at the House of Blues in Chicago. When I arrived, Hellogoodbye had already taken the stage. Not to perform their opening set for headliner New Found Glory, though. Instead, Hellogoodbye was up on the stage conducting their sound check that should have already been completed earlier in the afternoon before doors opened for the evening’s actual concert. Fans awkwardly stood around watching as the band panicked over faulty microphones, broken equipment, malfunctioning monitors, and poor sound quality. What a way to start the show. Good first impression for any possible new fans? I think not…

More photos of Hellogoodbye (let’s be real here, Forrest Kline is Hellogoodbye) after the jump.

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