Atmosphere
The Vic - Chicago, IL
11/16/2008

Atmosphere, hailing from Minneapolis, MN, was kind enough to stop in Chicago on the second to last night of their more than 50-date Paint the Nation Tour. “I’ve always had a crush on this city,” said Slug (Sean Daley) in between flows. Ant (Anthony Davis) rocked the 1’s and 2’s while slug spitting rhymes like:

A friend in Chicago said that I should stay persistent
If I stay around I’m bound to break resistance
Fuck you Lucy for defining my existence

The entire group is comfortable on stage, making it clear that they’ve done this before. With over 50 tour dates, they’ve quite literally painted the nation, “don’t ever fucking question that.” To round out the set, they played older songs right alongside the recent When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold tracks. Slug prefaced “God Loves Ugly” with “I don’t know why a city full of beautiful people would love some ugly fuckers from Minneapolis,” just before the beat dropped. During the track he shouted “now all the beautiful people be quiet” and the crowd erupted.

Read the rest of this entry »

Steel Train
Bottom Lounge
Chicago, IL
11/15/2008

Music genres have always given me a complex. Are you supposed to label genres based on each song, album, or artist? I give each artist one genre to make things easy. While tagging, I’ve always avoided using the word ‘pop’ in any way, shape, or form. At the mere site of the word, my skin would crawl. At least that was the case until recently.

Now that I’ve learned to embrace pop, I can call bands like Steel Train exactly what they are, pop. Listening to the their sophomore album, Trampoline, the songs fixate on love, a fundamental of pop. While I became a fan listening to these guys on CD, their live show is where the real money is at. When I saw these guys at Lollapalooza ‘08, I was blown away by the set they played. The album may be pop but the live show is most definitely rock. The most noticeable part of the set was the lack of shoes on stage.

Lead singer, Jack Antonoff, is one of the best frontmen that I’ve seen in a while. Even though the crowd was small, he made sure to keep them engaged and played as though it was a sold-out show at Metro. I didn’t realize the practicality of playing without shoes until their show November 15th at Bottom Lounge. If Jack were to wear shoes while playing that close to the crowd, people would most definitely die. Broken faces and decapitations would abound. Jack jumps higher than most of the people on my high school basketball team all the while playing his guitar and sometimes singing. Jack plays as though he is all hyped up on Mountain Dew and to say he goes nuts on stage is an understatement.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ludacris
Crescendo - Chicago, IL
November 9, 2008

Red Bull brought GRAMMY Award-winning rapper Ludacris (aka Chris Bridges) back to his hometown on Sunday night, so that the Chi could hear tracks from his upcoming album Theater of the Mind. His new record drops on Tuesday, November 25th. Ludacris is coming back to Chicago to perform live in concert this December - I am so there!

Read the rest of this entry »

The Academy Is…
House of Blues - Chicago, IL
November 6, 2008

William Beckett (vocals/acoustic guitar)

Not sure about you, but I was pretty sad about the fact that Chicago’s very own The Academy Is… did not sell out the House of Blues this time around. The band was originally supposed to play three consecutive nights at the HOB (Nov. 6-8). However, after failing to sell out any of those three nights, the third and final show was canceled. The first two shows still remained, but neither of them sold out. What is up with that?! The HOB only fits about 1,300 people! I have never been to a TAI… show that has NOT been sold out. I hate to say it, but I’ll say it anyway: the boys in The Academy Is… might be losing their touch. The band, which hails from the northwest suburb of Hoffman Estates, released their third album Fast Times at Barrington High in August. The only thing is, nobody knew that a new album was even available! Where the hell was the marketing and promotions behind the new record? Not even old school fans like my friend Rikki knew about the new album being out, and let me tell you, she has seen them more than anyone I know. She’s seen The Academy Is… back in the day at Mojoe’s Coffee House in Tinley Park and the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights.

Frontman William Beckett performed a brand new song solo on acoustic guitar while his four bandmates waited in the wings to rejoin him with more fan favorites. Beckett told the crowd that he wrote the song just the night before on the tour bus traveling to Chicago. Only three songs from the group’s sophomore effort Santi were performed at the show: “Neighbors,” “Everything We Had,” and “We’ve Got A Big Mess On Our Hands.” I was hoping they would also play “Seed,” “LAX to O’Hare,” and my absolute favorite track off Santi “Same Blood.” But this show was apparently all about Fast Times At Barrington High. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see how writing an album focused on high school memories is a sign of a band progressing in their musical career. The new songs just aren’t as catchy, nor memorable as the hooks found on their smash debut Almost Here.

Check out more photos of the The Academy Is… after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Metro Station
House of Blues - Chicago, IL
10/24/2008

Shake! Shake! Shake! Shake it! Shake it!! We all know and love this song by Metro Station. I know I personally sing it everyday, every dull moment I get just to perk me up.  When I found out Metro station was coming to town, I leaped on the opportunity to see them live. Metro station rocked the House in Chicago at the House of Blues on a rainy Friday night in the city, it was definitely the place to be!

Read the rest of this entry »

Girl Talk
Congress Theater
Chicago, IL
11/08/2008

To cap off my week of really ridiculously good concerts (Kings of Leon, We Are Scientists, The Whigs, and Ghostland Observatory) was the naked DJ himself, Gregg Gillis. Not familiar with that name? Maybe Girl Talk will ring a bell.

Gillis ran onto the sold-out stage of Congress Theater, the biggest show he’s ever played. Starting out in a yellow sweatshirt and some navy sweatpants, he was quickly down to just a pair of boxers shielding our eyes from his cash-and-prizes. It would have been incredibly awkward if Gillis was on stage alone. Thankfully, a small number of fans were allowed on stage with him; not his usual type of show.

Tons more photos and some senseless words after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Senses Fail
Chubby Rain’s House of Tunes
Poplar Grove, IL
11/07/2008

…A lesson in punk rock.

A thousand feet away from the venue, not even close to any of the bands, I could feel the excitement and emotion flowing from within Chubby Rain’s House of Tunes. On this November night, alternative rock band Foxy Shazam, metalcore band Sky Eats Airplane, and post-hardcore group Dance Gavin Dance opened for pop punk favorites, Senses Fail.

More after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

Relient K
House of Blues - Chicago, IL
November 2, 2008

Matthew Thiessen (lead vocals/piano/guitar)

Apparently, the Christian pop/rock music scene in Chicago is huge - bigger than I thought. When The Uncle Fest Tour rolled through Chicago last Sunday with headliners Relient K, the show SOLD OUT the House of Blues! I was completely shocked to say the least. For those of you who don’t know, Relient K is band of many genres, falling under the categories of alternative rock, piano rock, pop punk, and most notably Christian rock. This fivesome from Canton, Ohio is about as wholesome as you can get. Remember though, I am talking about the music here people - I don’t know the guys personally. My favorite Relient K song is called “Sadie Hawkins Dance” if that gives you any inclination as to the band’s lyrical subject matter and relative content. The best line of that song is by far “There’s nothing better than / Do you like my sweater?” LOVE it! I had just seen Relient K on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour headlining the main stage, but had no idea how popular they really are in Chicago until seeing the adoring fans smashed up against the barricade in the front row at the Chicago HOB show last weekend. On both the 2008 Vans Warped Tour and The Uncle Fest Tour, the boys of Relient K have been promoting their most recent album The Bird and the Bee Sides. I admit, I do not like all of the band’s music; however, I give them major props for sounding AMAZING live. Since there are five guys in the band, all the instruments are covered and the songs sound as good live as they do on the albums. Each song had some combination of drums, rhythm and lead guitars, electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, bells, bass, and my favorite: the PIANO. There was no shortage of vocals, with Matthew Thiessen singing lead and John Warne, Jonathan Schneck, and Matthew Hoopes contributing the backing vocals.

More photos of the band members after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Lights
Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
October 30, 2008

Seeing Lights live in concert after listening to her EP at least once every day for the past three months or so was a dream come true. I had first heard the song “Drive My Soul” on MTV’s “The Hills.” Yes, I know, I admit to watching Lauren Conrad and Co. live the glamorous life in L.A. on that ridiculous reality TV show that continues to garner my attention week after week. However, in my defense, I could care less about the “busy” and “dramatic” lives of these girls who don’t have to worry about making their rent each month or paying their bills. I watch the show for the music believe it or not. Even though the show features some pretty mainstream artists occasionally, it also features placements of unknown indie artists whose music is just as good (if not better) than their mega-successful contemporaries. Anyway, while watching the show back in September around the beginning of Season 4, I also happened to be reading a magazine. Out of nowhere, my ears picked up on this new sound and melody and voice that I had never heard before, but instantly LOVED. I jerked my head up (as if that would make me hear better?) and to my utter delight saw the title of the song and the artist it was performed by scroll across the bottom of the screen while LC was breaking up with her current flame…

Hear the rest of my story on how I discovered my new favorite artist and check out more photos of Lights live in concert after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Gym Class Heroes
Congress Theater - Chicago, IL
October 24, 2008

Travis McCoy (vocals)

When Travis McCoy, the frontman for live band hip hop group Gym Class Heroes, asked the audience “How many of you people only know us as that band who sings the song about Cupid?” I was proud to NOT be one of the fans screaming and raising their hand high in the air. I can honestly say I have been a fan of Gym Class Heroes since June 2006, when I first saw them perform on the Vans Warped Tour outside of Charleston, South Carolina. There were maybe 10-15 kids standing around contemplating whether they should stay and watch or head home after a long, hot day at the Warped Tour. Gym Class got stuck with a time slot near the end of the day, so I couldn’t blame kids for being exhausted and wanting to drive home and go to sleep (and be in an air-conditioned house!). However, my friend Jennie and I wanted to stay until the VERY end and see as many bands perform as possible. It was the first Warped Tour for both of us and we felt like we had to soak up the entire experience that day. We grabbed a seat on a picnic bench next to the GCH’s stage, sat down, relaxed, and watched the foursome from upstate New York try to rile up a crowd of kids who were ready to pass out for the next 12 hours.

More photos of the band members from the show after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »