
Sufjan Stevens Hey Chicago! Like most other weekends in our fair city, there's no shortage of music. We've got shows both large and small including Sufjan Stevens at the Chicago Theatre , King Sparrow at Schubas , Ume at Mayne Stage and so much more. Let's get to it, shall we? FRIDAY SUFJAN STEVENS [...]

[caption id="attachment_14049" align="alignnone" width="445" caption="King Sparrow Cover Art"] [/caption] After a year and a half of nail-biting anticipation, Chicago's King Sparrow have finally released their first full length album King Sparrow . These British inspired garage rockers have made a lively, free-spirited album filled with twelve catchy tunes that make you want to dance like a fool (seriously folks, I'm shaking it as I type this). Although the trio has only been together since 2008, the band has already received high praise from critics for [...]

Chicago's Subterranean is the ideal venue for an intimate, darkly expressive rock show, and Friday night's bill was a perfect fit for the space. On its first tour in support of debut album Tonight is the Ghost , Hurricane Bells capped off an engaging night of local music with deep guitar and floating, sadly hopeful vocals. Opener Verona Red warmed up the crowd with a surprisingly accessible brand of Chicago rock. You don't expect a totally familiar vibe from a band you've never heard before, but there it was. [...]

Photo by Alanna Bagladi Three is-this-guy-really-telling-us- to-be-inside-on-this-beautiful -night reasons to leave your jackets at home and hit up the Empty Bottle tonight... 1. Chicago's very own The Kickback are celebrating their Spat! Records release, Great Self Love , and I'm sure would love to see you there. Their songs are a pleasant mash-up of Zombie's style riffs with a little of the old indie rock the kids flock to. Pop music on a rare warm April 1st sounds oh so nice, doesn't it? [...]

God help me if the next two weeks are anything like today was at work. I'm going to be such a miserable piece of shit. I'm trying to think positively about my temporary schedule change, but it's so depressing. I might as well be one of those cult goons standing on a street corner near the "Dream Center," handing out lemonade to passing cars. That's how useless I feel. When I took a short 15-minute break today, I found myself walking across the street for a soda, and I had a vision of myself five hours later crying over a [...]