By The Load-Out Affairs Desk

“Jackson Browne may represent the ultimate singer-songwriter from the ultimate singer-songwriter era: Los Angeles in the early 1970s,” Mark Guarino writes for the Sun-Times. “But like every good story, there’s a better back story, and in Browne’s musical biography that constitutes David Lindley, whose guitar work provided the perfect emotional counterweight to Browne’s melancholic lyrics and sad, thoughtful vocals.
“Lindley’s guitar stopped being heard on Browne’s albums once synthesizers started being heard on them – it was the 1980s, after all – and the two musicians only just recently regrouped for a live album and now a tour. Because Browne’s name still tops the bill and the set list had no surprises, the sold-out show at the Chicago Theatre on Thursday was less a reunion than a revisiting of a signature sound between two collaborators that neither recaptured in their 30 years apart.”
A couple highlights and bonus back-video:
1. A debt that I owe, on a bet that I lost.

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Posted on September 27, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Opening night of a four-night stay at the arena formerly known as Chicago Stadium. After intermission. (Pt. 1 is here.)
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1. Don’t give in without a fight.

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Posted on September 23, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Like many, many others, Pink Floyd’s The Wall was/is one of the most important records of my life – by one of the most important bands in my life. On Monday, Wall impresario Roger Waters – one of the great artists of our time – brought The Wall to the former Chicago Stadium for the first of four nights here. Here is the first half of that show. Tomorrow we’ll show you the rest Here is the second half.
1. Is something eluding you, Sunshine?

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Posted on September 22, 2010

By The Gold Soundz Affairs Desk

“At Pitchfork, the band sounded tentative, as if still feeling its way around the songs, and never developed much momentum,” Greg Kot writes. “Two months later, the quintet was clearly sharper, and there even were a few smiles exchanged as the band members took turns conjuring up old Chicago haunts.
“‘This is very reminiscent of when I first walked into Lounge Ax,’ quipped percussionist Bob Nastanovich, always the band’s most animated weapon.”
Highlights:
1. ‘Cause I’ve decided to make a stand.

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Posted on September 15, 2010