Tokyo psychedelic ensemble Kikagaku Moyo played to a capacity crowd at the Regent last Wednesday with support from The Mattson 2.
Featuring heavily dissonant riffs laden with death-metal vocals, Necrot gave a blitzkrieg of a performance that alternately dizzied and tizzied the club crowd.
Post-punk legends Gang of Four brought their influential blend of funk, disco and noise-rock to the Roxy last week. Founding guitarist Andy Gill led the band through a propulsive set that mixed newer material with classics from the band’s early years.
The musical legacy of 1970s glam rock was celebrated last Thursday at the Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles, as guest singers performed classics from the era accompanied by a solid house band.
Two guys, two guitars, and one small stage in the middle of the room.
John Maus performed a sold-out show at the Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles last Friday, with support from Maraschino. The dates were part of an ongoing North American tour that finds the singer returning to his one-man-band performance style.
Radiohead fans enamored of Thom Yorke’s experimental excursions into electronic music sold out the ornate and stately Chicago Theatre. The set list was built around Yorke’s solo material, primarily focused upon 2014’s Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. The singer was clearly in his element while pursuing a musical vision purely his own.
The Scottish post-punk made a brooding, yet also uplifting, return at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
Goth-punk legends The Damned celebrated the success of their latest album Evil Spirits with a fiery performance at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.
Coverage of Chicago’s Riot Fest includes text and photos of Johnny Marr, Elvis Costello, Gary Numan and more.
Beach House kicked off two-sold out nights at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, an ideal setting for their haunting brand of dream pop.
Photos and a quick excerpt from Day 3 of Lollapalooza.
Day 2 of Lollapalooza 2018
Pre-coverage for the 2018 installment of Lollapalooza.
Radiohead in 2018 continues its decades-long campaign of confounding expectations and challenging the norms of conventional rock bands. An adventurous crowd in Detroit offered strong support on Sunday. Photos by Andrew Potter.
Review and photos by Philamonjaro. The Pretenders’ playing is as vibrant and visceral as ever. The catalog of songs by Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers and company reveals rock and roll with substance, savvy arrangements and a mountain of melodic hooks. No pretending here; this band is the real deal.
A rundown of Chicago’s beginning to festival season – Spring Awakening 2018.
Songs that sound like whimpers on the original Lp like “Even the Odd” and closer “January’s Little Joke” were as powerful as the immortal singles such as the aforementioned “Obscurity Knocks” and “Only Tongue Can Tell.”
Irish rockers U2 performed two dates at the United Center in Chicago, IL for its eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour. The set list leaned heavily upon U2’s recent bookend albums Songs of Innocence (2014) and Songs of Experience (2017). Photographer Philomonjaro was on hand to capture the action on Tuesday, May 22, 2018.
Preoccupations and Moaning played two sold-out dates at The Echo in Los Angeles, with support on Thursday from Facial.
Acid Mothers Temple closed out their North American tour with shows in Los Angeles and Long Beach last week, leaving minds blown and eardrums buzzing. The 40-date tour also featured Yoo Doo Right from Montreal, with local support from Hooveriii (at the Echo on 5/8/18) and Leaf (at Alex’s Bar on 5/9/18).
Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers play through the The Pretenders songbook in front an appreciative Boston crowd.
Iceage finished their run of three sold-out nights at Gold Diggers in Hollywood on Saturday, with reclusive legend Gary Wilson opening.
The first FOXES Fest in Los Angeles featured performances by Cosmonauts, Sextile, Death Valley Girls, Honduras, Thee MVPs, and The Mad Walls.
Legendary cyberpunks Chrome headlined an eclectic night that also featured stand-out performances by Automelodi and Boyscouts of Annihilation.
Images from Day 1 of Snow Globe Music Festival.
With the extensive The Great Circle Tour 2017 barreling toward its final date in Sydney, the reactivated Midnight Oil showed no sign that it ought to return to retirement. The band’s activist posture and reinvigorated music are more potent and relevant than ever.
Franklin and Hartridge bring a mix of brawn and finesse to the fore as they tear through Raise and Mezcal Head in fine fashion.
Australian activist rockers Midnight Oil stormed the stage at Cleveland, Ohio’s House of Blues for a night of political agitation and feral rock and roll. Cover photo by John Welk.
Photos and words of Day 1 of Lollapalooza 2017.
Paul McCartney brought his One on One tour to Chicago on Tuesday. Here’s an unconventional review of the former Beatle’s unconventional connection to some of his ardent fans – through the eyes of 11-year-old Melody Elbel. Photos by Curt Baran.
Photos and a few words from the final day of Pitchfork 2017.
Photos from Saturday of Pitchfork 2017.
Photos from Friday of Pitchfork Music Festival 2017.
Gorillaz launched their North American tour supporting Humanz under a full moon at Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island.
Photos from July 4th at Summerfest, in Milwaukee.
Photos and a quick recap of Sunday of Bonnaroo 2017.
Photos and coverage from Friday of Bonnaroo 2017.
U2’s first of two nights at Chicago’s Soldier Field transcended mere nostalgia. The veteran Irish rockers shared the “desert songs” of 1987’s landmark The Joshua Tree album with a multi-generational assemblage of devoted fans as an act of spiritual communion.
