Fri 12 Mar – Hockey, The Constellations

The last time I saw the vaguely-Portland-based quintet Hockey, they were tossing out free beer to a crowd of listeners at Lollapalooza, a sort of consolation prize after their set was cut short due to a significant lack of power to the stage.

This time, there were no such energy crises, and also no free beer. But the band has tightened up their act a good deal since their turn on the Lollapalooza stage. They seemed much more at home in front of the sold-out audience at Lincoln Hall, and slightly less…

Tue 9 Mar – Sonos

It’s not hard to pigeon-hole a cappella music as a quirky novelty act. A cappella music conjures up images of smiling, lovable-yet-nerdy undergrads, waving their jazz hands and singing versions of kitschy pop songs. If you’re not well-versed in the genre, at best, maybe you’re thinking of the cast of Glee (with their totally not a cappella music, yes, I hear you, band playing as backing track). And even then, you’ve probably got a bit of a snicker going on, because, okay, even I can admit it, a cappella can be pretty cheesy sometimes.

But…

Sat 27 Feb – Joe Pug & Justin Townes Earle

Justin Townes Earle is a bit of an anachronism, with his suits and suspenders and old timey stage presence. That’s not even getting into his music, which would sound right at home in a mix of other classic country stars. I’m not talking twangy my-dog-died-and-my-truck-broke-down stereotyped country, either; this is rough and dirty honky-tonk, complete with hooting and hollering. (Or would that be hootin’ and hollerin’?)

Joshua Hedley on fiddle and Bryn Davies on upright bass made up Earle’s band, but they were more than just background accompaniment. Both were…

Fri 26 Feb – Rocky Votolato @ Schuba's

I’ve been a fan in passing of Rocky Votolato’s music for a few years now. I’d listened to and enjoyed his songs but never quite spent enough time focusing on what I was hearing. So what I missed out on was just how powerful his music could be. Votolato’s latest album, True Devotion, strips away much of what serves to distract from that, and his live show takes his music down to the bare minimum. With just a guitar and his raw voice, Rocky Votolato puts forth a show that runs…

Sun 14 Feb – Nneka, Jerome Holloway

A show by Nneka isn’t just an introduction to her heartfelt brand of soul music. It’s also a crash course in world affairs, the realities of living in an oil-rich nation, and in Nigerian politics. Nneka took the stage at the Double Door in front of a diverse crowd and wowed everyone with her impassioned blend of R&B, soul, rap, and everything in between.

Though she’s just beginning to make a name for herself here in the United States — her first US album, Concrete Jungle, was just released this month —…

Sat 16 Jan – Owen Pallett

Owen Pallett mentioned to the packed house at Schubas that he wasn’t feeling well, apologizing for not being his usual “showgirl self”, but any side effects of a lingering illness were invisible on Saturday night. His performance was just as intense and impeccable as it was the last time I saw him, with the only real difference being a lack of between-song banter. But with the high caliber performance Pallett (and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Gill) put on, it absolutely didn’t matter.

His performance is truly something to behold. With one leg often swinging back and…

Fri 8 Jan – Butch Walker, GOLD MOTEL

Butch Walker can sleep well at night, knowing that if he were ever to become suddenly and inexplicably incapacitated during a concert and could no longer sing, that his incredibly exuberant fans would pick up the slack and sing every last word. Even to songs which he would much rather forget, apparently.

Closing out four nights of his residency at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago, where the setlist on this last night was set by fan requests sent in over Twitter, Walker’s material included new songs, songs that were never released (oftentimes with…

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It’s easy to forget that Andrew Bird’s a classically trained violinist. The sometimes nonsense-lyrics, the eccentric personality, the giant speaker horns that dwarf him on stage, the usage of layers of sound and looping pedals, the fact that his last name is Bird and he whistles – all serve as plenty of conversation fodder when talking about him. People talk about the time he dropped his violin and it snapped in half earlier this year, they talk about the early days of his career, when you could still catch him at the Hideout, they share stories of awkward…

Sat 12 Dec – Over the Rhine, Lucy Wainwright Roche
Sat 12 Dec – Over the Rhine, Lucy Wainwright Roche

It’s not every day that you get to see one of your favorite bands not only perform twice, but perform two stellar sets and manage to outdo themselves each and every time. Saturday was just one of those nights, with two shows by Ohio natives Over the Rhine (husband and wife duo Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, backed by a phenomenal band) at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

I’ve seen Over the Rhine several times over the years…

Thu 5 Nov – The Mountain Goats, Final Fantasy

John Darnielle is one of those performers who my husband would put in a category with singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan. This is sort of a backhanded compliment, though, as if you ask him to tell you what he thinks about Dylan, he’ll say that the man’s an amazing lyricist but a terrible singer. This, for the record, is why I rarely drag him to most of the concerts that I attend, since a lot of the music I like falls into that category for him. (There’s a hilarious side story in…