By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk
Tools of the trade.
1. Alabama Music Office visits Chicago Music Exchange.
Posted on July 31, 2012
The Weekend in Chicago Rock
By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk
You shoulda been there.
1. The Drums at Wicker Park Fest on Saturday night.
Posted on July 30, 2012
The Last Two Weeks In Chicago Rock
By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk
Duty called. We’re catching up.
1. Blood Red Boots at Plainfield Fest on last Saturday.
Posted on July 27, 2012
The Ghosts Of Lupe Fiasco’s West Side
A Hopeless Prison Few Escape
From this week’s episode of MTV’s RapFix Live:
Get More: Music News
Posted on July 26, 2012
Here’s To Bobby Too Tuff
By The Beachwood Blues Bureau
Word comes now from local blues professor Steve Balkin that Maxwell Street blues legend Bobby Too Tuff will be feted on Sunday on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
The party will be held at the Polk Street Pub from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. House band Lowreen and the Maxwell Street Market Blues Band will provide the entertainment, with “a lot of legends from the old Market sitting in.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Too Tuff, here’s a little taste:
Posted on July 25, 2012
Get Your Fender Bass On
By Bass Club Chicago
“Bass Club Chicago sits down with Kevin from Fender to discuss the difference between a Custom Shop Fender and Masterbuilt pieces.”
Posted on July 24, 2012
Rig Rundown: Roger Waters, G.E. Smith & Dave Kilminster
Interviews By Premier Guitar
Gear report from backstage before the Roger Waters show at Wrigley Field, featuring Dave Kilminster, G.E. Smith, and Waters’ guitar tech.
1. Killer.
Posted on July 19, 2012
The Weekend in Chicago Rock
By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk
You shoulda been there.
1. Grimes at Pitchfork on Saturday night.
Posted on July 16, 2012
Fiona Apple In Chicago
By Steve Rhodes
Tribune rock critic Greg Kot awarded Fiona Apple’s new album 3.5 out of four stars in a review in which he called the recording “a raw, unsettling listen” filled with “jagged arrangements, lurching rhythms and off-kilter melodies” that lay out “tales of personal mayhem.”
WBEZ music blogger Jim DeRogatis couldn’t disagree more; on a recent edition of Sound Opinions he told Kot that listening to Apple was a “chore.”
“You’re so wrong,” Kot replied.
So which is it?
Apple was in town last week at the Chicago Theatre; I’ve pulled some YouTube videos so you can judge for yourself – though obviously not all selections are from the new record. And if it makes any difference, here’s what a couple others think.
Ryan Dombal, Pitchfork: “[T]he most distilled Fiona Apple album yet . . . Every single waveform is pierced with purpose.” Nine out of ten stars.
Jeremy D. Larson, Consequence of Sound: “Apple’s vocal violence is both hard to listen to and yet totally punk rock . . . succeeds in creating a singular world more daring than any of Apple’s previous records and one of the most daring pop records in recent history.” Four-and-half out of five stars.
Also, here’s a much talked-about New York magazine feature/profile.
And now, Apple at the Chicago Theatre.
(One thing I will say about Kot’s incredibly well-written – as usual – concert review: I’m not sure Fiona looks “fierce”; she looks anorexic, which is worrying when it comes to her. Only her voice seems physically strong.)
*
1. It’s Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty covert)
Posted on July 14, 2012
The Week in Chicago Rock
By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk
You shoulda been there.
1. Fiona Apple at the Chicago Theatre on Tuesday night.
Posted on July 13, 2012