I started my week seeing JD & The Straight Shot for the third time in three years. Previously I had seen them at huge venues (United Center opening for The Eagles and Huntington Bank Pavilion opening for a Don Henley solo show) where I had to take pictures from far away. When I heard they’d be playing the much much much smaller City Winery here … Continue reading JD & The Straight Shot at City Winery 6/11/19
On my birthday last month I received an email from Erik Rothlind of The Foons. He was at Handwritten Records working with Rick Riggs, the gentleman who helped propel Hasty Revelations to the heights we reached. I’m always happy to check out anyone that records with him, so I told Erik I would check it out. And I did, insomuch as I gave it a … Continue reading The Foons-Summertime Summary
The anticipation for a new Chromatics tour was extremely high when they finally announced shows earlier this year after a 5 year hiatus from the road. The show in Chicago sold out rather quickly, but I was able to get in to see the dream pop masters for the first time in person. I showed up later than I’d anticipated and missed the first opener … Continue reading Chromatics at Park West 5/31/19
Every live performance Josh Ritter delivers is a little gift to the people in the audience. I’ve learned over the years that there’s no point in fearing disappointment because he always delivers an amazing show. I’ve also learned that my final judgement on any new Ritter album has to wait until I hear the songs at a concert. Fever Breaks has a lot of tunes … Continue reading Josh Ritter at The Vic 5/22/19
It’s been 40 plus years since The Damned first electrified the radio waves with their single “New Rose.” They beat The Sex Pistols by a few weeks with the first punk single and album in the U.K. they followed their first success with a failure and nearly gave it all up after that. They’ve stuck it out, however. Through many comings and goings within the … Continue reading Punk Icons The Damned Return To Chicago
