The music and sights did the talking during the tightly paced, theatrically produced show. As a parting blessing, Cooper exclaimed, “It’s very close to Halloween, so may all your nightmares come true.” Photos by Philamonjaro.
Despite controversial opinions and provocative statements offstage, Morrissey needn’t have questioned his fans’ ardor for his music.
From start to finish, neither the Floridians nor the crowd missed a moment to celebrate the band’s impressive catalog — and simply seeing live music again.
Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop the most revered heavy-music festival in the U.S. from taking place.
Review and photos by Philamonjaro. After closing Lollapalooza, Foo Fighters played an indisputably uplifting event at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO.
A year and a half after Les Claypool’s trio announced a tour during which they would play Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety, the quirky band finally got the tribute under way in Idaho.
AGNQ has a unique musicality that really sets them apart from the dark pack. The material itself is simple, melodic, direct and loud; dense, yet spatial. What each player brings to the wobbly, whiskey-soaked table via their individual approach is what also makes them special indeed. They are quite an ensemble.
Billed as EOB, the group introduced material from the founding Radiohead member’s debut solo album Earth and added a couple of revealing covers.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco hit the beach, bringing 100 songs and plenty of friends and smiles along the way.
Moon Duo brought the psychedelic live show for their stunning new album Stars Are the Light to a packed house at Lodge Room last Friday, with support from Umberto.
As the night closed with a stunning “Visions of Johanna,” we were transported back out into the Brooklyn night knowing that we’d once again witnessed an absolute master of his craft.
The audience, in turn, gave him rousing applause at every turn, keeping him onstage at moments when others would’ve walked out awaiting applause for an encore. Visibly moved by this response, he vowed to come back to the U.S. sooner. We can’t wait.
Bauhaus returned from a 13-year hiatus to perform two sold-out shows at the Hollywood Palladium last week, with support from L.A. trio Automatic.
By choosing to focus exclusively on Chameleons material, though, he made me and the rest of the crowd very happy!
For the encore, we got another full set of covers (including an additional encore) and material from other Luna albums.
If a welcome home reunion show could be more triumphant, I don’t really know how. I was blown away.
The controversial ex-Smiths singer’s stellar showmanship won the day again.
The final day of Desert Daze 2019 featured performances by Wu-Tang Clan, Ride, Khruangbin, Moses Sumney and Lightning Bolt.
Day two of Desert Daze 2019 featured performances by Devo, Ween, Parquet Courts, and Altin Gun.
Day one of Desert Daze 2019 featured performances by The Flaming Lips, Stereolab, Animal Collective, and Metz.
Maryland’s finest rock band has played Idaho many times before, but its latest performance in the Gem State found them reveling in the cool air as the sun set behind them at Outlaw Field.
Anticipation for Vampire Weekend’s sold-out San Francisco concert was sky-high after the band’s six-year absence.
Closing day at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 19 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Where else could you see Judy Collins, The Meat Puppets and Michael Nesmith in one afternoon?
Day 2 of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 19 in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, and the crowds are treated to country rock courtesy of Margo Price, folk mastery from Joan Shelley and psychedelicized Led Zeppelin tunes from Robert Plant.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2019 kicks off in style with rousing sets from The Waterboys, Bettye Lavette and St. Paul & The Broken Bones at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Avant-rock trailblazer Adrian Belew brought his quartet to the Arcada Theatre with material from 2019’s Pop-Sided album. Songs representing stints with psychedelic pop heroes the Bears, prog-rock titans King Crimson, and uncategorizable legend Frank Zappa rubbed shoulders with Belew’s solo favorites.
Premier punk rock festival Riot Fest returned to Chicago for its 15th anniversary. Coverage of Day 3 includes Guided By Voices, the B-52s, Patti Smith, Nick Lowe, the Raconteurs, unlikely mosh pit instigators the Village People, and more.
British New Wave icon Adam Ant took fans at the Vic Theatre on a time warp 37 years backward to 1982, performing his top-selling solo album Friend or Foe. [Updated 9/9/2019 with approved photos.]
The Cure delivered a celebratory performance at the Pasadena Daydream Festival last weekend, along with stand-out sets from Pixies, Deftones, Mogwai, Throwing Muses and The Joy Formidable.
Mark Knopfler has consistently defied the conventional definitions of guitar hero and rock star – while earning his reputation at the top of the heap. Knopfler brought worthy new songs from Down the Road Wherever to Chicago.
The Squeeze Songbook Tour date celebrated the band’s 45th anniversary and a rich back catalog that long ago earned appellations naming the songwriting engine of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook as the Lennon and McCartney of their generation. It’s a heavy crown for any songwriters to bear, but Difford and Tilbrook have done their best to keep it gleaming.
With minimal purple and pink hues lighting the stage, the camp fire-esque performance was all about the music (well, and Beam’s award-worthy beard) and the gentle sparks that crackle and pop between mutually admiring musicians.
One of the world’s premiere heavy metal bands of the 20th century, British powerhouse Iron Maiden continue to be a force in the new millennium. The sextet returned to the Chicago area on Thursday, bringing its “Legacy of the Beast” tour with dazzling spectacle, virtuoso playing, and relentless energy.
Mike Peters has written anthems to match the best of them, and the Alarm’s recent output and performances suggest more rousing sessions to come.
The Stray Cats revived rockabilly for generations of music fans in the ’80s, and the trio’s own songs continue to resonate. The band has returned with worthy new material from its 40th anniversary album.
George Clinton’s farewell One Nation Under A Groove tour featured Parliament-Funkadelic, Fishbone, Dumpstaphunk, and Miss Velvet & the Blue Wolf. For all of current society’s decisiveness, there was nothing but unity and diversity in the house as everyone was “getting down for the funk of it.”
It was a shame Earle wasn’t able to sell out the Egyptian, especially after Garth Brooks drew a record-breaking 86,000 attendees a month prior at the nearby Albertsons Stadium. But for those in attendance, who value authentic country music, Earle’s performance will be as memorable as his career — and his mentor Guy Clark’s.
Starr’s good-spirited message of peace and love remains well worth sharing, and the evening proved to be a great escape from the news cycle as well as a joyous musical celebration for generations of Beatles and Beach Boys fans.
Music fans up the road at Lollapalooza may have had their pick of more than 40 bands, but the Night Running tour packed adventurous musical variety onto one stage. Fans left Northerly Island confident that they had just seen the most spectacular rock show in Chicago.
The Mekons stormed into Los Angeles and rocked a packed house at Lodge Room last Monday, mixing songs from their new album Deserted with classics dating back to the mid-1980s.
Peter Frampton performed his final Chicago concert on Sunday, July 28, 2019. The set included hits like “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” and “Do You Feel Like We Do” alongside Humble Pie favorites and new songs from #1 Billboard Blues album All Blues.
Andrew Bird played a hometown show that made a strong case for the accurate naming of his new album My Finest Work Yet.
The show encapsulated Alvin’s breakthrough as a songwriter and solo voice, and served as a calling card to draw people back for the new songs and stories he continues to tell.
Thirty miles from downtown Chicago in Naperville, Ribfest continues to be a summertime destination event for music fans in Illinois. This year, the crowd of thousands enjoyed Living Colour, Billy Idol, ZZ Ward, Grand Funk, Bad Company and more.
Loudly singing along to the opener “Bad Guy” nearly drowned out Billie Eilish‘s amplified vocals in the cavernous Minneapolis Armory. After years of bubbly pop stars, the outcasts and weird kids finally have their own major pop star to look up to.
A multi-generational crowd assembled at Moline, Illinois’ TaxSlayer Center to hear the most celebrated catalog in popular music, delivered by the living legend responsible for it.
A band with such an ambitious, sprawling sound may have seemed an unlikely fit for the minuscule venue, but the intensity of their performance inspired the tightly packed crowd to mosh, marvel and mentally connect with the band’s affecting themes.
