Concert Reviews

A collection of 36 posts

Concert Reviews

PUP and Jeff Rosenstock Deliver Chicago an Evening of Love, Moshing, and Giving the Finger to Fascism

Having been born in the early 80's, I don't think anyone would argue if I referred to myself as a legitimate 'old'. Maybe not in the physical sense as much as the social sense. I'm a dad. I have a beard. A

Concert Reviews

Luke Combs Brings His Stadium-Sized Show to Chicago's Metro

As a country, it's not a controversial thought to say that we're obsessed with size. Sure, part of that energy is focused on making things smaller, especially in the tech world. Cell phones. Laptops. Power sources. Years or refinement and engineering go into making the next

Concert Reviews

Ben Burnley and Lacey Sturm Get Unplugged and Personal at the House of Blues

The 2000's rock scene was an incredibly crowded and competitive scene. In the decade prior, we'd made the painful transition from hair metal to grunge, and now we were leaving grunge in the rearview in favor of the absolute soup that was post-grunge/nu-metal/alt-metal. It

Concert Reviews

Winona Fighter Serve a Five Star Course at Chicago's Subterranean

Winona Fighter's Yes, Chef Tour couldn't have been any more appropriately named considering Chicago cannot get its fill of the band. As a city our Winona Fighter appetite is apparently insatiable. The initial signs of the hunger showed when the band made their first stop in

Concert Reviews

Perfume Genius in All His 'Glory' at Chicago's Vic Theatre

The relationship I've had with Perfume Genius' new album Glory in the two and a half months since its release has been interesting and unexpected to say the least. I can't pretend to be the world's biggest Perfume Genius fan. Hell, I had

Concert Reviews

Sleigh Bells Rekindle the Old Magic at Chicago's Metro

Are you able to forget one of the seminal albums of your life? It doesn't seem so when you first think about it. If you truly consider an album to be a big part of who you are or associated with your developmental years, it's going

Concert Reviews

Japanese Breakfast and Ginger Root Show They Can Do It All at Chicago's Salt Shed

Everyone knows that one person that's just good at everything, right? Whether it's someone you knew growing up that went to the special math and science academy once high school hit or someone at your workplace that you just know is going to make more money

Concert Reviews

The Linda Lindas Prove That Youth Is Still King At Chicago's Metro

If there's one thing my regular readers know (yes, both of you), it's that I don't shy away from my age when writing. A lot of the time it's to make a self-deprecating joke, but in reality age and music have always

Concert Reviews

Lauren Mayberry Puts On A 'Vicious' Performance at Chicago's Lincoln Hall

There's nothing in the music industry quite like a good Best Albums of the Year list. The ultimate opportunity to flex equally how contrarian and diverse you can be, it's also an easy way to get traffic and stir up controversy. But just like the seasonal

Concert Reviews

Magic City Hippies Flip Expectations on their Head at Chicago's Metro

Walk up to any fan of the HBO series Game of Thrones and say the words "subvert expectations" and see what kind of reaction you get. Don't blame me if you get spit on or slapped. The downfall of that show, going from what looked like

Concert Reviews

Marc Rebillet Flies by the Seat of his Undies at Thalia Hall

No matter who you are, where you come from, what your age is...chances are that you've seen some bad improv in your life. I'd argue that improv gets an undeserved rap, but if I'm being honest a lot of improv is not very

Concert Reviews

Enter Shikari Pack A Massive Show Into Chicago's Metro

England gave us The Beatles. And The Rolling Stones. And James Bond. For these things, we thank our friends from across the pond. England also gave us James Corden. And Russell Brand. And British cuisine. Hard pass on all of the above please and thank you. But not everything falls

Concert Reviews

Rise Against Write Their Own Script At Salt Shed Debut

I've got good news and bad news about the current Rise Against tour. Getting the negative out of the way first, the bad news is that there is no new Rise Against album, either right now or anywhere in the near future. And while that's not

Concert Reviews

Riot Fest 2024 Review Part 2: The People

Obviously the main selling point of a multi-day festival is the bands. That's who you're there to see and that's where the majority of your attention is going to be. Not many people give a lot of thought to the crowd that they'

Concert Reviews

Riot Fest 2024 Review Part 1: The Bands

I really do need to start this out by asking Riot Fest to forgive me for my stupidity. For as much as I talk about how much I love the Fest both on this very site as well as in my everyday life, in reality I'm a semi-recent

Concert Reviews

Sum 41 Get Their Windy City Farewell at Concord Music Hall

As someone whose college years spanned 2001-2005, I have been absolutely feasting over the last few years when it comes to tours. With my generation finally breaking into the coveted 40+ demographic, all of the sudden Super Bowl halftime shows and classic rock stations and network television commercials cater to

Concert Reviews

Bright Eyes Hide in Plain Sight For Secret Show at Chicago's Lincoln Hall

"This is actually our first show ever, so thanks for taking a chance on an unknown band." Normally, a lead singer making a true statement like that would not expect a solid chuckle from a sold-out audience. They also wouldn't expect the audience to sing along

Concert Reviews

Dillinger Escape Plan Reunite Just To Dismantle Chicago's Salt Shed

I'm not even that old and there are absolutely concerts I barely remember attending. Sure, everything from two drink minimums to late start times can contribute to the loss of those memories (or if the band is bad enough, prevented them from being formed in the first place)

Concert Reviews

Killer Mike Shows His 'Michael' Side At Intimate Promontory Lollapalooza Aftershow

Would it be stating the obvious to say that Killer Mike has some serious momentum right now? Last summer he dropped Michael, his first solo album since 2012's legendary R.A.P. Music, to universal acclaim. He followed that up with a late-summer tour barnstorming across the country

Concert Reviews

idobi Radio Summer School Holds Class At Concord Music Hall

We're all best friends here, right? I can bare my soul to you all without judgement? I'm a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to festivals. For all the raving I do about Riot Fest (all of it deserved), I've only been

Concert Reviews

Third Eye Blind Live Up To Their 'Summer Gods' Title at Darien Lake

This was a pretty cool first for me. I've reviewed bands more than once before. Sometimes I catch them at a festival and then a dedicated show of their own. Other times a band comes through as an opening act only to come back through town later as

Concert Reviews

Frank Turner's Live Chops Remain 'Undefeated' at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom

At this point, you might as well inject all Riot Fest-related things directly into my veins. When I'm not covering one of the awesome shows that they put on in Chicago, I'm constantly seeing acts who I was first exposed to through attending over the last

Concert Reviews

Friday Pilots Club Set the Bar for 2024 at 'Nowhere' Bottom Lounge Album Release Show

I never claimed to be unbiased. Hell, I'm not getting paid anything for this, so I'm actually quite open to being biased. Sadly, no offers (monetary or otherwise) have rolled in just yet. So for the time being, if someone wants to get a glowing review

Concert Reviews

Bayside After 20 Years: Fresh As Ever With the New Record to Prove It at Chicago's House of Blues

After taking over a year off from touring because of COVID-19, band re-emerged in mid-to-late 2021 like the cicadas we get here in the midwest, teeming with energy and vaccines. Awaiting them was an audience almost begging to fork over their disposable income to see not only their favorite bands,

Concert Reviews

Spanish Love Songs and Oso Oso Mine the Sad for the Happy at Chicago's Metro

Yeah, but I still come through when you want/It's like if I serve no use, where will I get my purpose from?/And then it always changes the second we see the sun Lyrics like that bring to mind a shoegaze-y downtempo number perfect to slot in