Chicago -
By The Beachwood Bureau of Justice
This was apparently written a while ago, but then there’s been plenty of time – decades – to write about Jon Burge.
Song: Lawless One
Length: 3:28
Band: I Lost Control
Label: Unsigned
Next Show: July 6, 8 p.m., 21+/Ronny’s, 2101 N. California Ave.
Video:
Posted on June 30, 2010
By The Beachwood Music Ranking Desk
Earlier this month, the dynamic Sound Opinions duo of Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot played tracks from their favorite records of the year so far. As we are wont to do around here, we’d like to bring you the good news and add some value of our own via the good folks at YouTube. Enjoy – we did. (Hint: we thought the choices got better as the guys went along . . . )
Critic: DeRo
Record: This Is Happening/LCD Soundsystem
Critics’ Commentary: “The least of their three albums so far, however I haven’t been able to stop listening to it.”
Song: “You Wanted A Hit”
Posted on June 29, 2010
By The Beachwood Bluegrass Bureau
A week ago Sunday the Oak Street Ramblers performed a hi-falutin’ set at the Beachwood Inn; while we await editing on that video we thought we’d fill the gap with some other performance video by our friends from Madison, Wisconsin, including expat Beachwood regular Will.
1. I see headlights.
Posted on June 28, 2010
By The Beachwood Desk of Remembrance
“It may be impossible to fully measure saxophonist Fred Anderson’s impact on music in Chicago and around the world,” Howard Reich of the Tribune writes.
“As tenor saxophonist, he invented a rugged, craggy musical language that influenced generations of ‘free jazz’ improvisers.
As clubowner, he helped launch the careers of hundreds of players . . . And as jazz advocate, Anderson co-founded an organization the revolutioned jazz in the 1960s, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) . . .
“Anderson, a virtuoso tenorist who owned and operated the Velvet Lounge at 67 E. Cermak Rd., died Thursday, June 24, at age 81.”
Remembering Fred Anderson through his music, and a 2006 interview with Reich.
1. Timeless.
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Posted on June 25, 2010
By Gearwire
As described by Bob Popp of Chicago’s very own Gunpoint Recording Studios.
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Posted on June 24, 2010
By The Beachwood Red Rocks Affairs Desk
“One of the most extraordinary days in the mottled history of the island of Ireland was witnessed on both sides of the border last Tuesday,” Bono writes in the New York Times.
“The much-anticipated and costly Saville report … the 12-years-in-the-making inquiry into ‘Bloody Sunday,’ a day never to be forgotten in Irish politics … was finally published.”
Reports the BBC: “The long-awaited Saville report into what happened on the streets of Londonderry one Sunday afternoon 38 years ago has exonerated the victims and delivered a damning account of the conduct of soldiers.”
U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was not just about that day in Londonderry, but it encompassed it. Let’s take a look.
Released: March 11, 1983
Length: 4:42
Label: Island
Charts: No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Tracks
Wikipedia: “Sunday Bloody Sunday” grew from a guitar riff and lyric written by The Edge in 1982. While newlyweds Bono and Ali Hewson honeymooned in Jamaica, The Edge worked in Ireland on music for the band’s upcoming album. Following an argument with his girlfriend, and a period of doubt in his own song-writing abilities, The Edge – “feeling depressed . . . channeled [his] fear and frustration and self-loathing into a piece of music.” This early draft did not yet have a title or chorus melody, but did contain a structural outline and theme. After Bono had reworked the lyrics, the band recorded the song at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin.
Posted on June 22, 2010
By The Beachwood Been To The Mountain Affairs Desk
Highlights.
1. This is a hard life, baby.
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Posted on June 15, 2010
By The Beachwood Purple Affairs Desk
With Prince celebrating his 52nd birthday this week, we thought this was a good time to look back on his live performances here since the 90s, via the reviews of Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis.
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Date: August 18, 1992
Author: Kot
Venue: Hyatt-Regency
Headline: Prince proves his star hasn’t lost any of its luster
Review Excerpt: “‘Hey, check me over, do you like what you see?’
“By the time Prince closed a private show late Friday at a Loop hotel with ‘Baby I’m a Star,’ the answer to that question was already sealed.
“With just a hint of a beard, a new ‘typhoon’-style hairdo and an array of form-fitting costumes that accentuated his feral sexuality, Prince sure looked like a star as he wowed a gathering of industry high-rollers and fellow entertainers-from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Oprah Winfrey-at the centerpiece event of the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic empire’s annual conference . . . The cuts ranged from stripped-down funk to florid, neo-psychedelic ballads-in other words, a typically varied Prince menu.
“What’s different is how these tunes, new and old alike, were performed. Eschewing electronic gimmickry, the diminutive, high-heeled one from Minneapolis kept things raw, visceral and organic: real drums, gutsy voices and booty-bumping bass to accompany the splashes and jabs of keyboards that have become his signature.
“While digging closer than he has in years to his roots-Sly Stone, Stax Records, George Clinton, Jimi Hendrix-he also incorporated contemporary touches such as house dance rhythms and hip-hop vocals into his new music.”
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Date: April 5, 1993
Author: DeRo
Venue: Chicago Theatre
Headline: His Royal Badness Is Only Half-Bad At Best
Review Excerpt: “The goal of Prince ‘s current tour is to prove that His Royal Badness is back with a vengeance.
“‘My name is Prince , and I am funky,’ the Minneapolis singer announced as he stepped onstage in Chicago for the first time in five years.
“Unfortunately, his set only lived up to that boast part of the time.
“The first of Prince ‘s sold-out three-night stand at the Chicago Theatre opened with an elaborate funk-rock opera that drew almost entirely from his last album, which is untitled save for its cryptic symbol.”
Posted on June 9, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
On Monday we featured the mesmerizing stylings of the Do Division appearance by Angela Mullenhour and Sybris. Here are a few more performances by other bands at last weekend’s street festival.
1. Warpaint.
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Posted on June 8, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
Though they’ve been around since 2003, I only saw Sybris for the first time at the Do Division street festival on Saturday and it was hard not to be captivated, mesmerized and charmed by singer Angela Mullenhour’s big voice and soul-affirming enthusiasm and passion.
1. Dead, Dead, Dead.
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Posted on June 7, 2010
