Chicago Music News

Helping you through your Post Concert Depression

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Modest Mouse thrills long time fans

Modest Mouse thrills long time fans #modestmouse #thelonesomecrowdedwest #rivieratheatre

While The Lonesome Crowded West was not Modest Mouse’s first album, it was certainly their breakthrough album that turned heads and piqued people’s interest. Friday night, diehard Modest Mouse fans crammed into the Riviera Theatre to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band’s second album, The Lonesome Crowded West. Modest Mouse’s iconic sound and vocals have captivated listeners for years.…

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Julien Baker and The Wild Hearts Tour

Julien Baker plays The Salt Shed as part of The Wild Hearts Tour #julienbaker #wildheartstour

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PODS at Aragon Ballroom

PODS at Aragon Ballroom #PODS #aragonballroom

Meet your new favorite house music duo, PODS. Friends since childhood, Dominic Fortuna and Mike Lelito have been making a name for themselves at every nightclub across Chicago thanks to their electric house beats you can’t help but move to. Over Memorial Day weekend, PODS had their biggest show to date opening for the world renowned DJ Flume at Aragon Ballroom. Check out some pics of their killer…

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Feeling the Heat with Glass Animals

Feeling the Head with Glass Animals #glassanimals #dreamland

Top rock artist, Glass Animals stopped by Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago during their Dreamland tour. The show began and the crowd went wild. The set opened with the first track, “Dreamland” and that moment felt like I was listening to the album for the first time again. The next song that played was “Life Itself” followed up by “Tangerine”. Listening to the boys perform older songs felt…

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Jesse McCartney at Park West

2000's nostalgia with Jesse McCartney #jessemccartney #parkwest

It was everything your twelve year old self dreamed of and so much more. Jesse McCartney played a sold out show this weekend at Park West, greeted by a crowd of screaming fans who have grown up alongside the triple threat performer. Performing a mix of classic hits and songs of his newer albums, everyone couldn’t help but sing along to his hit “Beautiful Soul,” with Jesse then making a costume…

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Twenty One Pilots Take Over Chicago

Brian Fuentes covers Twenty One Pilots during their Chicago Takeover!

Following the release of their latest album “Scaled and Icy”, the Grammy award winning duo Twenty One Pilots (Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun) began touring and playing live music again. The Chicago takeover week began at Bottom Lounge and continued on to venues as big as the United Center. We were able to make it to the Aragon Ballroom during their Chicago tenure. The crowd was ready for the show…

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Celebrating 15 years of the Pitchfork Music Festival! 2020 marks the 15th anniversary for Pitchfork Music Festival, whose lineup was just released today. In addition to boasting a heavy-hitting lineup, the festival organizers are also putting on special events during the week leading up to the festival which takes place July 17-19 at Chicago's Union Park.  Pitchfork Music Festival tickets are currently on sale. Three-day passes are $185 and single-day passes are $75 each. For more information on ticketing, click here.

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Whitney rounded out their Forever Turned Around tour with 5 nights at Thalia Hall in their hometown of Chicago. The historic venue is one of my favorites in town, and its rustic charm made for the perfect setting for the band’s shows. A beautiful backdrop was suspended behind the band, and all the musicians were dressed to the nines for the occasion. After opening the show, singer and drummer Julien Ehrlich confessed that it was his first time wearing a turtle neck and that it was hotter than he had anticipated. Under the bright lights of the venue and knowing he would be going at the drums for the next hour or so, the concern was legit.

Despite the discomfort of the hot turtle neck and Ehrlich being on the mend after losing his voice earlier in the week, Whitney put on an excellent set. Backed by horns and a string section, electric and acoustic guitars, and drums and keyboards, the band expertly wove together rich, textured melodies that gave me a sense of comfort and nostalgia. Ehrlich’s incredible vocals and guitarist Max Kakacek’s flowing riffs were the cherry on top of already flaweless instrumentation. Throughout their set, you could hear influnces from various genres and time periods. Some songs had a more vintage, retro feeling while others had more folk-country vibes. But regardless of the spirit of the song, all of them came with a heavy dose of soul.

We are lucky to have Whitney call Chicago their home and I’m sure everyone in attendance those 5 nights left feeling just as fulfilled as I did!

Review and photos by Abby Walter

Whitney’s return to Chicago Whitney rounded out their Forever Turned Around tour with 5 nights at Thalia Hall in their hometown of Chicago.

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Aussie band Skegss caused quite the riot at Bottom Lounge this past week! Known for their killer surf punk jams and wild energy, Skegss had the crowd going nuts from the second they struck their first chord. Headbanging, crowdsurfing, and wildly singing along with the band, the fans rifled raw energy right back at the band. Considering it was their first time playing in the Widy City, I was surprised to see how many fans they had already bewitched! During the set, bassist Toby Cregan switched instruments and roles with singer and guitarist Ben Reed which everyoen ate up. The energy in the room was electric and everyone left a little sweatier, a little exhausted, and completely elated.

Review and photos by Abby Walter

Skegss raising some hell at Bottom Lounge Aussie band Skegss caused quite the riot at Bottom Lounge this past week! Known for their killer surf punk jams and wild energy, Skegss had the crowd going nuts from the second they struck their first chord.

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K.Flay may speak of Bad Vibes on her new album, Solutions, but Friday night was nothing but positivity and and great beats!

Decked out in all white, K.Flay entered the stage to, what I can only describe as, the “Hey” song that we Chicagoans probably associate with the Bulls. Needless to say, it got the fans shouting, clapping, and ready for some K.Flay action. She immediately launched into “Not In California,” one of my favorites on the new album. Not compromising her vocals, K.Flay jumped around on stage and helped keep the energy high in the room. Immediately after, she sang “This Baby Don’t Cry,” another crowd pleaser off of Solutions. A guitar was brought out mid-song and K.Fley shred on her guitar along side her bassist. Despite the fact that the album is only a little over 2 months old, fans came prepared to sing along to both new songs and old fan favorites.

No one can deny that K.Flay’s music is catchy and riles people up, but I think one of my favorite things about her music, and especially the new album, are her lyrics. She doesn’t write them from a pedestal–she writes them as a human being going through all the same shit as everyone in the crowd. For those at Park West, Friday night was an opportunity to escape the outside world, get out of our heads, and enjoy a night of music!

Fans loved every second of the set. They sang, they danced, and they went wild, especially for her hit “Blood in the Cut” which brought the night to a close.

Nothing but good vibes at the K.Flay show K.Flay may speak of Bad Vibes on her new album, Solutions, but Friday night was nothing but positivity and and great beats!

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Coming off the release of their new album, Thrashing Through Passion, The Hold Steady played three nights in Chicago.  I was able to see their first night at Thalia Hall. It also happened to be the lead singer Craig Finns’s birthday. They played a plethora of hits stemming across all their albums.  Opening the set with “Constructive Summer” got the crowd really going. Craig screaming “Our psalms are sing along songs” could not have been more true this night.

In between songs, Craig talked about his love for the midwest, his connections to Chicago and now excited he was for it to be his birthday.  Blasting through such hits as “Hurricane J”, “Stuck Between Stations”, “Sequestered In Memphis” and many more, The Hold Steady did not disappoint.  With beers in the air, the crowd sang along to almost every word. I personally enjoyed some of their new songs they played. It definitely had an old Hold Steady feel with the return of their piano player Franz Nicolay. Overall, this was a night to remember. I can only imagine the next two nights were just as rowdy and just as loud with sing a longs.

Review and photos by Mike Jahn 

The Hold Steady in Chicago Coming off the release of their new album, Thrashing Through Passion, The Hold Steady played three nights in Chicago. 

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Known for their energetic sets, UK’s Bad Sounds did not disappoint Wednesday night at their first ever Chicago show at Metro! The band was started by brothers Callum and Ewan Merrett whose diverse taste in music helped create the band’s unique sound. Sounding like a mix of pop, hip hop, rock, and funk, the band offers a sound that cannot be found elsewhere. Their full sound and catchy beats quickly won over the concert-goers and they had had pretty much everyone moving along to the music within the first three songs. The band members expressed their gratitude not only to Broods, but also to the fans for showing up early to see them open up the show. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the band left Chicago with hundreds of new fans. Can’t wait to see what’s next for this band!

Review and photos by Abby Walter

  Bad Sounds turns it up at Metro #badsounds #metro #metrochicago Known for their energetic sets, UK's Bad Sounds did not disappoint Wednesday night at their first ever Chicago show at Metro!

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Country Night out with Jimmie Allen

Joe's on Weed

1.23.2019

For more photos and a review of the show, click here.

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The Darkness

Park West, Chicago

4/11/2018

“Fans rushed to hospital after faces melt at The Darkness concert“

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MGMT

The Riviera Theatre, Chicago

3.4.2018

More photos here. 

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MGMT Take Us On A Ride Through A More Carefree, Decadent 80’s Giving Us Hope That We Will Survive This Little Dark Age.

Laura Hoke @tennislala February 9th ended the 5 year wait for MGMT’s fourth studio album under Columbia Records, Little Dark Age. It’s widely known that accidental rock stars, Ben Goldwasser and An…

A review of MGMT's latest album + ticketing info the Chicago shows this weekend!

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Mac DeMarco

Concord Music Hall

Lollapalooza 2017 Aftershow

8/4/2017

More photos and concert review here.