Latest blog headlines Demo2DeRo: Doppler Shift (8/27/2008 15:53:29 PM) The Walkmen, "You & Me" (Gigantic) [1.5 out of 4 stars] (8/27/2008 15:51:23 PM) Hell hath no fury like Jonas fans scorned (8/26/2008 08:52:11 AM) Ben Weasel: His brain hurts (again) (8/22/2008 23:01:38 PM) Eddie comes home (8/21/2008 22:59:17 PM) David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" (http://everythingthathappens.com) [3.5 out of 4 star] (8/20/2008 10:27:21 AM) Demo2DeRo: Blackdog (8/20/2008 10:24:10 AM) The Jonas Brothers loom large on the pop landscape (8/19/2008 16:47:23 PM) This weekend: Joanna Newsom, Ben Weasel (8/19/2008 16:46:15 PM) Aesop Rock: Making underground hip-hop accessible (8/19/2008 16:44:24 PM)
Jim DeRogatis: The inevitable ascendance of the Jonas Brothers as the male tween-pop phenomenon of the moment was obvious when the group opened for Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus on her massive tour late last year. The brothers crooned, cooed, spun and jumped, but "discreetly libidinous" was the only impression the Broadway-trained, closeted Christian trio from Wyckoff, N.J., made on me that night, and the 11-year-old Hannah/Miley fan beside me wasn't much more enthusiastic.
As you might expect from a band named for one of the most iconic songs on the most famous of all officially untitled fourth albums, the Chicago quartet Blackdog gives a whole lotta love and then some to Led Zeppelin, which ranks first and foremost on a list of classic-rock heroes that also includes Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Yet while this can be a dire thing indeed in the hands of mere mortals or copycat wannabes in the Lenny Kravitz mode, thunder god drummer Andrew Elbert, bassist Jason Segal and guitarists and vocalists Antony Ablan and Sam Reicher have both the chops and the bluesy, boozy joie de vivre to pull off the sound and the stance in a most convincing way.
Jim DeRogatis: On the list of underground legends of Chicago rock, few bands rank higher than Screeching Weasel. Formed in the mid-'80s in suburban Prospect Heights by childhood friends Ben Foster, better known as Ben Weasel and the group's vocalist and primary songwriter, and John Pierson, aka Jughead, punk guitarist extraordinaire and sometimes co-songwriter, Screeching Weasel was the punk band that made it cool again to embrace bubblegum melodies -- the missing link between the Ramones and the Buzzcocks and pop-punk's modern-day platinum-selling heroes Green Day, Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy.
Jim DeRogatis: It's not easy being Eddie Vedder. An indie-rocker at heart, the Evanston native became the second biggest rock star of his generation -- after only Kurt Cobain, of course, and look what happened to him. Though Vedder has a wide range of musical interests, the majority of the singer and songwriter's fans remain wed to the arena-friendly classic-rock that has only ever been part of his story.
After four widely acclaimed albums in the hip-hop underground, Aesop Rock set out to do something different with "None Shall Pass," his 2007 release for New York's renowned Definitive Jux label.
Peckenpaugh doesn't quite have the vocal chops to pull off everything he tackles -- it would be interesting to hear him collaborating with a really strong and dynamic singer, a la Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet -- but his music is well worth checking out on the Web at www.myspace.com/scottpeckenpaugh. He'll also be performing live during a free afternoon of art and music at the 3160, 3160 N. Clark, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jim DeRogatis: For nearly three decades, the Ex has been one of the most revered names in the rock underground. An "avant-ethno-improv-punk band" from the Netherlands, as their Chicago label Touch and Go describes the quartet, it is second only perhaps to Sonic Youth in terms of stretching the envelope and refusing to recognize any limits for what rock 'n' roll can and cannot do.
Jim DeRogatis: Sitting at the defense table in Judge Vincent Gaughan's courtroom on June 13, an emotional R. Kelly greeted the news of his acquittal on charges of making child pornography with the simple statement, "Thank you, Jesus." The Chicago R&B superstar hasn't uttered a word in public since.
At its best, the group conveys a New Wave sneer and icy sexuality reminiscent of Blondie or the Cranberries, though it can also veer a little too close to Pat Benatar's cheesier metal side. Hopefully, producer Marc McClusky has toned that down on the new disc and emphasized the band's strengths; the demos posted on its MySpace page, myspace.com/marizen, bode well in that regard. You also can keep track of the group's upcoming live schedule at www.marizen.com.
Jim DeRogatis: In its fourth year as a reinvented destination festival in Grant Park, last weekend's Lollapalooza was the biggest and best Chicago has seen. Yet aside from the lingering questions about corporate sponsorships, the impact on the local music scene and the difficulties of accommodating a massive crowd, the core question remains: Is this the ideal way to hear live music?
As rap-rockers Rage Against the Machine headlined Saturday at the southern end of Grant Park on the second day of Lollapalooza, a violent, thrusting mass of fans developed. Within four songs, security was reporting two fans forcibly ejected, one of them riding away in a squad car, and emergency personnel were treating numerous people.
Anders Smith Lindall: It's Hump Day at Lolla. We've been blessed with lower temps and a milder dew point. I've slathered on the sunscreen, so let's get to it: In the words of the great Paul Westerberg, "I was raised in the city, I'm ready to rock." Don't ever let it be said the Sun-Times doesn't give you the inside look at Lolla. How much more inside can you get than this? One of the luxe air-conditioned "mobile lavatories" in the V.I.P. sections (not quite a porta-potty, is it?) Unauthorized attendees (but hey, this is the people's park, right?)
The group is as likely to pay homage to a marital aid, an illicit young love or a B-grade horror flick -- as on "RubberMade," "Hi Skool Luv" and "Zombies," respectively -- as it is to deliver a startlingly powerful, moving and once again relevant cover of the '60s hit "Soldier Boy," which betrays the sort of mile-wide emotional streak that every true punk hides beneath his or her leather jacket. To date, the group has two self-released EPs available, but I for one am eager to hear more.
The bottom line: A good but not great evening from Radiohead though Radiohead at its least extraordinary is arguably still better than any other band that spans that gap from Lollapalooza Then to Lollapalooza Now. And the new Lollapalooza sold out for the first time, with 75,000 fans filling Grant Parks Hutchinson Field by the end of the day Friday.
Lollapalooza's promoters are fond of the mantra that the giant music festival, which has descended upon Grant Park for its fourth year today through Sunday, is a tremendous bargain: "130 bands -- a dollar a band," they chant for anyone who'll listen.
The intense competition that Lollapalooza represents to every regular venue in town means that, as far as club-hopping goes, the only real game this weekend is the officially sanctioned aftershows carefully doled out to local clubs in an effort to make up for curtailing their business for much of the rest of the summer.
Jim DeRogatis: Radiohead was set to make an announcement today about a surprise show at the Chicago Theatre Thursday night. But the group pulled the plug on the show earlier today because singer Thom Yorke has been sick, and he wanted to rest up before the band's big headlining gig Friday night at Lollapalooza in Grant Park.