Tagged: bottomlounge

In what some are calling it the best time in a long time for self-made DJs and producers, it's just too easy now to stand behind a laptop and let the music bring energy to a sold out crowd. Alex Botwin, AKA Paper Diamond proved that playing electronic music can and should be much more [...]

Disappears Annnnnnd, it's the final Weekend Diversions of 2011. So sad. So, so, so sad. Or is it? Yes, it is. Maybe. Either way, there's no shortage of rad New Years Eve shows we just have to talk about this weekend. Of course, there's Disappears at the Bottle or Local H at the Bottom Lounge , but there's also JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound at Schubas tonight and so much more. Dig it, y'all. [...]

Let me nerd out for a moment as this is not the kind of band we normally post about. I LOVE Kill Hannah . I love Kill Hannah without a cent of irony. Next to the Smashing Pumpkins, they're second to none, the bee's knees, the best thing since sliced bread. I'm embarrassed (and proud) to admit how many times I've seen these guys play over the past decade and how many states I've traveled to for their shows. (I lost track at 84 four years ago. Really.) Back in the [...]

My Gold Mask | photo by Audrey Leon Hopefully, you have all managed to get through this blackest of Black Fridays without getting trampled upon for a $2 waffle maker, Chicagoans, because we've got an incredible line-up of musical acts setting up shop all round this fair city. We're talking Scott Lucas and the Married Men at Hard Rock Cafe, My Gold Mask at Empty Bottle, Tandoori Knights at Bottom Lounge and so much more. Come on, Pilgrim ! [...]

SBTRKT and vocalist Sampha brought their live show to Bottom Lounge in Chicago.

Matthew Sweet's new album Modern Art is actually pretty good. But it's hard to top the pop masterpiece Girlfriend . Sweet is playing the second of two nights at Bottom Lounge Friday where he plays Girlfriend in its entirety (a 20th anniversary gig). Here's a track from his new album: Late Nights With The Power Pop - Matthew Sweet

Monday Afternoon Quick Fix runs every Monday afternoon to showcase the best of Chicago music news, views and stories from around the interwebs and blogosphere that we might have missed. • The Tribune's Christopher Borrelli explores the history of one of Chicago's best known music clubs The Hideout . • Speaking of The Hideout, WindyCityRock.net's Andrew Hertzberg reviews this past weekend's Hideout Block Party . • Meanwhile, TimeOut Chicago has a short review and a meat-heavy photo gallery of the first annual Rock and Roll Pig Roast [...]

Asobi Seksu It's the autumnal equinox, Charlie Brown! In celebration of the first real day of fall, we've got a fine selection of shows for your weekend party planning. We're talking up The Hideout Block Party, Deerhoof, Asobi Seksu and much more! Come on. Feel the Illinoise , already! FRIDAY NEWVILLAGER Some bands make art for the sake of art. [...]

Heavy, dark and scary. That's how I usually describe Swans , which made one of the best albums of last year ( My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky ). This long-running band plays the Bottom Lounge Thursday night.

Monday Afternoon Quick Fix runs every Monday afternoon to showcase the best of Chicago music news, views and stories from around the interwebs and blogosphere that we might have missed. • NPR is now streaming the new Wilco album, The Whole Love . • Jim DeRogatis has another installment of the highly entertaining The Vortis Diaries on his WBEZ blog that details their problematic gig earlier this month at Subterranean . • Greg Kot profiles local R&B/hip hop/jazz up-and-comers Kids These Days for [...]

The Laureates Three Thank-Grimace-It's-Thursday reasons to head on down to Bottom Lounge tonight... 1. How about some endearing indie rock? If you like a little bit of jingle with your jangly guitars The Laureates more than deliver with its Spoon-like bluesy, toe-tapping rhythms and its Morrissey-esque vocal stylings. Our own editor-in-chief Richard Giraldi had some nice things to say about the group's sophomore record Spells back in June, describing the Laureate's sound as "rough-and-tumble garage rock with a power [...]

Chk-Chk-Chk Is it me or does it feel like everyone and their mother have a show in town on Saturday night? Well, like the highlander, there can only be one (or two). Here are our top picks for this weekend's must-see shows. FRIDAY DICK WOLF! Need some good ol' twitchy, touchy feelie tap-rock in your life? Well, that's good news because [...]

You're an aging rock star who made your best album about - let's say - 20 years ago. Hey, why not do a tour where you perform that classic album in its entirety to a bunch of aging, once-adoring fans? Yes, Matthew Sweet is releasing a new album next month. And he is giving away a free song off the new record. But Sweet's high-water mark will always be the 1991 pop masterpiece Girlfriend . The good news: He will play the album for two shows at the [...]

I was so pumped after seeing Archers of Loaf at the Bottom Lounge recently that I ordered the reissue of the band's classic debut album Icky Mettle . The vinyl LP is supposed to land on my front step Tuesday (the official release date). I already got the download for the digital remaster and a pair of videos from the band's first reunion show in North Carolina earlier this year (part of the deal). Like the Bottom Lounge show, the videos are killer and Icky Mettle [...]

WHOOO! WEEKEND! HELL YEAH! Anyway, there's just WAYYYY too much going on this weekend for me to jabber on about right now. Let's just dive in, shall we? FRIDAY HAPPY FUGGIN' 8TH of JULY As we reported earlier this week, local screen printers and poster artists FugScreens Studios is opening its shop to the public for a night of free [...]

After six long years, Nobunny finally returned to the always fun Chic-A-Go-Go studio to perform (err, lip sync to a prerecorded song). We have to admit it's oddly hypnotic seeing a leather jacket-wearing adult male (Justin Champlin) in a bunny mask mouthing and showing cue cards reading "Hi-de Hi-de Ho." But possibly the best part of the video is how the adults are jamming out while the children look confused, possibly frightened. Anyway, if you are fiendin' for some more of Nobunny's whacky garage-punk numbers, be sure to hit up the Bottom Lounge [...]

Ok, so you don't want to fork over $215, hate heat and crowds and think festivals are lame. Well, when Lollapalooza comes trudging into town the first weekend of August, you also have the option of checking out one of the many aftershows featuring Lolla artists. This morning DO312 released the aftershow schedule, and it looks pretty rad...for the most part. The big ones are looking like Death From Above 1979 at the Metro, Smith Westerns at Schubas and Cults at the [...]

heaven is a shroud by village Village really caught our attention with their art-meets-indie rock fueled full-length Local Moves , and now, by golly, they've done it again with two new free tracks their calling a digital 73. The two tracks, titled "Heaven Is A Shroud" and "Got No Hold," can be downloaded for free at Village's Bandcamp page . But, of course, this is a LISTEN post, and you need something to listen to, right? Well, you should probably go ahead and [...]

chaperone Hot town, summer in the city. Summer is creeping upon us, Nick Minaj-style . But enough of the weather report, we have a lot of music to get to. We're talking about Urge Overkill at Bottom Lounge , Tommy Stinson at Double Door and Rambos at the Whistler . Let's get to it, gang. FRIDAY [...]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bINhNn HDmfA Saturday night was a night of epic guitar rock from two bands whose heydays are separated by nearly a decade. Promising, young upstarts Surfer Blood and grizzled, journeymen …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead took over the Bottom Lounge with a blitzkrieg of heavy riffs, crazy fills, and extended solos. Above you can watch Surfer Blood perform the set-closing, barnburner "Anchorage" off their debut LP Astro Coast . Check it out: [...]