Items filtered by date: November 2007

New York, NY: SOULFLY are wasting no time getting out on the road for a month of advance touring in support of their forthcoming seventh album, Omen, due in stores May 25, 2010. The tour kicks off March 2 in San Antonio, Texas and runs through April 1 in Reno, Nevada.

The bill will feature Prong, Incite and Rotting Corpse as the support acts.

Tommy Victor of tourmates Prong lends his voice to the song "Lethal Injection," which appears on Omen, and fans will experience Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera singing the song live with Victor on this tour!

In addition to the tour, a video for "Rise of the Fallen" will be shot next month. The song features guest vocals from Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato. Omen, by far the band's most in your face, punk leaning album, will feature an original cover illustration by artist David Ho, depicting the seven deadly sins.

Tour dates are as follows:

March 2 - Scout Bar - San Antonio, TX
March 3 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
March 6 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
March 7 - Firestone - Orlando, FL
March 8 - State Theater - St. Petersburg, FL
March 9 - The Loft at Center Stage Atlanta - Atlanta, GA
March 11 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
March 12 - Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
March 13 - The Expo Center at Marriot Hotel - Fitchburg, MA
March 15 - Higher Ground - South Burlington, VT
March 16 - Lupo's - Providence, RI
March 17 - Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY
March 19 - Peabody's Downunder - Cleveland, OH
March 20 - Al Rosa - Columbus, OH
March 23 - The Midland Theatre by AMC - Kansas City, MO
March 27 - MacEwan Hall - Calgary, ALB
March 28 - Starlite Room - Edmonton, ALB
March 29 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA
March 30 - The Venue - Vancouver, BC
March 31 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID
April 1 - Knitting Factory - Reno, NV

(photo by Carl Burke)

Retribution Gospel Choir opened their concert with a proclamation of straight forward rock music that is artistic and yet very satisfying.  Singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk has one of the best tones of a live guitar that this reporter has ever heard.  He is able to combine the perfect combination of distortion and cleanliness that people like Subpop veteran artist Dave Grohl should look into.  Bassist Steve Garrington performs like a humble musician that allows his instrument to do the talking for him.  Garrington steps into the spotlight when he is the lead and fades away when he is needed for support.  Drummer Eric Pollard collaborates on vocals nicely while providing a minimalism pulse that never lets go. 

Retribution Gospel Choir are able to make the middle-aged grunge fan remember why they became fans of Subpop records.  Subpop’s fans were able to see musicians create a great show while providing musical entertainment without the use of computers.  Retribution Gospel Choir displayed knowledge intellectually through their tools of craftsmanship. This band knows their tools like the back of their hand and they are able to create a piece of art that will be around for years to come.

Bored? Are you also so stressed out about your finances you feel you're going to "lose it" and end up in a psych ward? Do you feel desperate to escape the norm and everyday worries galore, but can't think of how to do it or what kind of getaway you can afford?

The lyrics, harmonies and melodies of the indie pop band, Wild Beasts, beat any Sanford and Son, Saved by the Bell, or The Maury Povich's Show, "Who's her baby's daddy?" episode. I have a suspicion the Wild Beast's titles of their tunes, alone, will too put your mind into a Sherlock Holmes's mode.

For instance, some of the names of Wild Beast's songs include: "The Fun Powder Plot," "The Devil's Crayon" and "Please Sir (www.wild-beasts.co.uk 2010.")

I'll let your intellect and imagination decipher what the Wild Beasts are trying to say, because that's a lot of the fun one can get while reading their song's titles and listening to the lyrics they deliver. But, can the Wild Beasts be sufficient in being a Chicagoan's reliever of economic headaches and "cabin fever?"

On February 13th I was in a real crappy mood. My disposition wasn't even being lifted by fulfilling my chocolate addiction or "scarfing down" other A-Z junk food. Seeing the Wild Beast's show at Schubas in Chicago was my last conceivable option for some way to be comforted and soothed.

And, let me tell ya, I seriously practically had to "pick my jaw up off the floor" after hearing the Wild Beast's first song, "The Fun Powder Plot"--the singer's voice was countertenor and to almost die for!

The song was sung by, Hayden Thorpe, who I swear must have been abducted by some extraordinarily kind and generous aliens who gave him his vocal abilities. His vocals were that amazingly different, they were out-of-this-world--surely seemingly extraterrestrial, from outer space and/or the heavens.

However, Hayden Thorpe (Lead singer, guitar, bass and keys for Wild Beasts) is not from galaxy "whatchamacallit"--nor does he look like an alien by any socially contrived means. He's from England and so is the rest of the constellation, whose performance I also fancied: Ben Little (guitar and keys), Tom Fleming (bass, vocals, guitar and keys) as well as (Chris "Bert" Talbot (drums and vocals) (http://en.wikipedia.org 2010.)

The Wild Beast's first tune also set the stage for shock value because of it's lyrics, which partially include, "With courage and conviction, in donkey-jaw diction, we cry for the cause because the courts have left us lonely; disowned us daddies like the poopers of the party. Gently, gently take them from me… gently, gently take them from me…gently, gently take them from me, and I’ll be left dumfound as a donkey. This is a booty call; my boot up your arse hole. This is a Freudian slip; my slipper in your bits (www.wild-beasts.co.uk 2010.")

Plus, the "gents" moved their heads and necks similar to that of a camel from the start of their show, "stirring up" a goofy, highly "groovalicious" tone. Speaking of camels, five plus of their song's melodies lead me to think of the sound of a camel's hooves on the ground, and I felt as though I was riding on the back of one in the desert on a cemented path--I was baby steps away from my ideal new home and life in my very own human-sized sand castle.

Other times during the Wild Beast's performance, I continued to be "swept away" by a camel in the desert, but I received the vision and emotions of going in and out of circles that were comprised of eye-popping varying indigenous tribes playing primitive, enchanting, hypnotic all-four-senses-fascinating, invigorating and ever-so-soul-refreshing music.

(And, I wasn't too hot or thirsty for a drink one bit on my trip.)

The only bad things I can think of about the show were for one, Schubas was like what I would imagine being in a sardine can would be like--truly a claustrophobe's nightmare! The Wild Beasts had to be exceptionally good for me to not have seen a single soul fight his or her way the hell out of there! I had to stand on one of the two benches they had along each of the walls of the sides of the venue in order to get a decent view of the band and to move or dance had to be done with great care--I could seriously only budge a hair--I couldn't even stand with my legs apart in there!

(I hate to be a "Debbie Downer" for anyone who has tickets at Schubas for an upcoming show, I can say their employees I encountered ranked high in regard to their customer service skills, though.)

My second complaint is, the Wild Beasts had to have been a half an hour or more late to take the stage, but Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming apologized for the delay and thanked the audience for waiting and being such great fans more than a few times throughout their performance. They had come straight from an especially rushed and long road trip (all the way from the west coast to Chicago.)

With that being said, I'd like to give the Wild Beasts some well-deserved kudos for still being able to be so gracious toward people and sing and play their instruments with razor-sharp precision. They did have a bit of a problem with the sound system and broke a guitar string about four songs into their show, also. Yet, each of the "brutes" handled his extreme fatigue and the technical difficulties like a triathlete and entertainer pro.

My third and final "bone to pick" with the Wild Beasts is I, along with other audience members I had talked to right after the performance, wish they had played more. Their performance wasn't the slightest bore and it made all my problems go out the door. It's worth the price of a ticket ($20 or so), and I'm going to spend the money to buy both of their CDs ("Limbo, Panto" and "Two Dancers") from the store.

The journey of my entirety the Wild Beast's live show took me on covered as many as three differing cultures and countries. Which, in reality, would have been a vacation that would have cost me far too many "pretty pennies." And, in my humble opinion, you have to see one of the Wild Beast's performance's in order to fully believe their musicianship bestows such transcending properties.

Seeing the play Twelve Angry Men, you get exactly that: twelve angry men. Twelve jurors locked in a room on a scorching summer day, wiping sweat from their necks and foreheads, fanning themselves with their hats, gulping down water -- it's the hottest day of the year onstage, and sitting there in the audience you can't help but start to tug at your collar a little bit yourself, despite the single digit temperatures of our fair city and the constant snow outside. The men yell and they bicker, they shout and accuse, they're constantly at each others' throats. A two-act play with the same twelve nameless characters in the same room the entire time. But how to make it interesting? Well, the Raven Theatre Company sure knows how.

Located at 6157 N Clark St, the Raven Theatre is an intimate venue with, for this particular show, seating on three sides, where the audience is either eye-level with or slightly looking down at the stage. Furnished with only a long table and twelve single chairs, the set is that of a 1950's, un-air-conditioned jury room. But it's not the set, or the lights, or the rare occurences of sound effects and music that give life to the play, but the actors themselves. Yes, certainly every play is brought to life by its actors, but in Twelve Angry Men interesting acting is crucial, seeing as it is the singular thing that develops, complicates, and eventually resolves the story; this play could be performed without a set at all, could be performed with just twelve men, and it could be just as dramatic and enthralling.

"...However you decide, your verdict must be unanimous. I don't envy your job, gentlemen. You're faced with a grave responsibility." And so begins the tortured struggle amongst twelve ordinary men who must decide whether a 16-year-old boy is guilty of murdering his father with a switchblade. These words are spoken by the judge of the case, whom we never see; nor do we see the teenaged defendent, the supposed murderer, because it is not important that we do. What is important is that we see (and inadvertantly become one of) a jury of individuals from different backgrounds, with different prejudices and different convictions, decide the fate of a young man -- who will mandatorily be sent to the electric chair in the case of a "guilty" verdict.

At the start, all the men are convinced the boy is guilty; the kid is from the slums, he's been arrested for mugging and knife-fighting before, it's an open-and-shut case, or so it seems. They take a vote: 11 guilty, 1 not guilty. Many of the men lash out at Juror #8, who believes that there may be reasonable doubt that the boy did not commit the murder. It's hot, they've spent three long days in court, one has tickets to a baseball game -- it's obvious he's guilty, so why not just call it a day? the other jurors think. Although opposed by everybody at first, Juror #8 stands firm and states that he cannot so easily send a boy off to the electric chair without talking about it first. After bringing up details that were not addressed during the trial (and questioning or re-evaluating details that were), the votes slowly turn over... 10 guilty, 2 not guilty...7 guilty, 5 not guilty...6 and 6...until finally only one stubborn juror remains convinced of the young man's guilt. The story, although simple in structure, is highly complex; the details of the trial are hashed and re-hashed from every possible angle, the drama is so palpable at certain points of argument or revelation that you can taste it, there are well-chosen moments of humor amidst the drama, and each juror's personality manages to shine through during the discussions and arguments that take place among them.

Raven presents a highly varied cast, with men of all ages, black, white, Asian-American, and Latino. C. L. Brown is a gentle and pensive Juror #8, while Dan Loftus plays a jaded and hateful Juror #3. Bryson Engelen is the intellectual Juror #4 and Reginald Vaughn is the volatile and highly prejudiced Juror #10. And some of the actors are stepping onto the professional stage for the first time, but I wouldn't have known had I not read it in the program. Despite a few opening night fumbles of tripping over words in certain lines, the actors performed superbly, especially considering the circular format the script takes that allows much room for accidentally jumping ahead lines, as the same topics are addressed multiple times throughout the show. Furthermore, a factor often taken for granted in theatre is blocking; with direction from Aaron Todd Douglas, the play stays visually interesting despite the limited setting and time frame. The actors are constantly moving, whether it's standing up, pacing, fidgeting, changing positions, moving to a different seat, et cetera...the audience will not even realize that they're not bored watching twelve men talk for nearly two hours.

The play itself is a timeless piece that brings up issues that are relevant today and have been relevant since the play was written in 1955. After witnessing such a compelling, revealing, and oftentimes frustrating, story, one cannot help but question whether or not things are as black-and-white as they seem. "But it's possible..."

 Like many of the newer productions hitting Broadway, 101 Dalmatians caters to the children in the audience. Regardless, the show tries to incorporate some more adult oriented lines to stimulate the adults in the audience. Unfortunately these lines are rather low brow and barely register a laugh. At least they tried to throw ‘em a bone. The show, in my opinion, is not of the same caliber of heavy hitting musicals but is still fun none-the-less. The kids in attendance seemed to love every minute of the show which is priceless in its own right.

This production is the non-Disney interpretation of the book, "101 Dalmatians," by Dodie Smith. Like the book, the production is meant to be seen through the eyes of the dog.  Director Jerry Zaks tried to do his best to stick to that vision which has led to mixed reviews. I, for one, thought it was clever to have the actors playing humans use stilts to effectively differentiate them from the actors playing dogs.

If you have young children and they have never seen a theatre production, this would be a great first show for them to see. The production is only in town for a two-week engagement and will continue their cross country tour after their final local performance February 28th. Tickets range from $18-$85. For more information, check out www.broadwayinchicago.com or call (800) 775-2000.

Killswitch Engage - photos and story by Carl Burke

The curtains are pulled and Yello’s “Oh Yeah” is blasted from the front speakers.  The crowd starts banging their heads and pumping fists.  The energy of the crowd has just taken a booster shot like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction.  The people behind me form a chain with interlocking arms and prepare themselves for the hostilities of blaring guitars and homemade superhero costumes.  Drummer Justin Foley approaches his kit in a quiet and calm matter and clicks four quarter notes.  The lights match the intensity of the crowd and there is no turning back.  Killswitch Engage is able to show their enthusiasm and enjoyment for what they do: playing a kick-ass metal show that can appeal to anyone.  They are able to appeal to the Dungeons and Dragons geeks, the people in Wall Street and the ultra hot stripper with 36 DD’s. 

Drummer Justin Foley and bassist Mike D’Antonio play in a pocket that can only be touched by the likes of Flea and Chad Smith or Paul and Ringo.  Foley and D’Antonio are able to fill a quarter note pulse better than most rock bands out today.  They quickly remind me that playing an instrument isn’t always about playing as fast as you can, but how much emotion goes into what you play.  Foley and D’Antonio are able to make simplicity sound masterful and they are just the backbone of what makes this band such an awesome site to see. 

Guitarists Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel are able to have their instruments talk to each other and to the crowd in a matter that actors could only dream of.  They’re able to play and converse in ways that are similar to Abbott and Costello in “Who’s on First?”  The two of them are lightning quick and express a tone of excitement that continue to impress musicians worldwide.  The only thing missing from this five star revue is the singer.

Killswitch Engage’s lead singer, Howard Jones, is not on tour with the band due to an “unexpected absence”.  Phil Labonte of the band All That Remains is performing vocals for Jones for the duration of the tour or until Jones is ready to return to the stage; Phil Labonte also auditioned for being the singer during the same time Howard Jones did.  With that being said, one cannot compare the state of Killswitch Engage with Phil to the Killswitch Engage with Howard.  Even Dutkiewicz said on-stage: “We are Killswitch Engage.  As many of you know, Howard is not able to make it tonight.  So, instead, we have Phil Labonte on vocals.  Tonight, we will be known as Philswitch Engage!” 

Phil appears on the stage as a veteran, but as a rookie with his mates.  He doensn’t have a problem showing his enthusiasm or his intensity as a metal singer. Labonte did a great job for stepping in when he needed to.  He brings emotion and passion when it is required most.  The worst part of his performance is the lack of chemistry between him and the rest of the band.  For example, there were times when Phil was on top of a speaker, while the rest of the band was jamming together on the other side of the stage.    

With rumors continuing to speculate confusion of what is happening with Jones, Killswitch Engage did their best with the situation they were given.  They did a kick-ass job with knowledge of presence and power.  Despite having Phil Labonte as the singer, the band still knows how to rock hard with passion and dedication to their fans.  Job well done, guys!

While supporting their recently released studio album, Hello Hurricane, Switchfoot returned to Chicago, this time to the House of Blues, where they brought their highly-charged live show, beguiling songs and positive point of view to their doting fans once again. As the San Diego-based band made their way onto the stage the expected screams and cries were heard, but the moment the music rang out the crowd began to jump in unison, causing the floor to buckle enough to feel like a mild earthquake (4.3?) – and the shaking continued throughout the entirety of the concert.

The band’s first three songs, including “Stars”, were enhanced by a massive strobe light attack, making what were already high-energy numbers even more intense. By the time Switchfoot cruised into their fourth song, “Oh! Gravity”, the energy of the crowd was completely projected onto the band and vice versa, evident in both Switchfoot’s performance and fan reaction. Singer/guitarist/frontman, Jon Foreman, then set course through the jam-packed hall, high-fiving and delivering hugs to anyone near at the same time singing as the band played on. 

Switchfoot’s sound couldn’t have been more crisp and full. Meaty guitars echoed throughout the House of Blues via Jon and Drew Shirley’s rich sounding axes, often augmented when Jerome Fontamillas added a third when he wasn’t manning the keyboards or fielding a percussion instrument. Two toms – one on each side of the stage – were the victims of random beatings by both Jon and his brother, bassist Tim Foreman, adding to drummer Chad Butler’s bashing beats. 

Taking a break from the joie de vivre of the revved power set about midway through the show, Switchfoot went into their emotional ballad “Always” as a piano was wheeled to center stage for Jon to play. Jon first explained how he learned to play music on his parent’s piano. The band’s set list was well-rounded and included such songs as “Free”, “Mess of Me”, “Bullet Soul”, “Dare You to Move”, “Needle and Haystack Life” and that night’s encore opener, “Hello Hurricane”, a melodic and hard-hitting piece that again found Jon enthusiastically roaming throughout the crowd.  

As for a complete rock and roll show, Switchfoot’s performance had it all…almost. There was no talk of drug use, no cursing, no vulgarities, no negativity, no womanizing and no relating to the crowd with the message that being lost and depressed is cool. However, the lack of these rock show familiars is testament to how good Switchfoot really is – proof that a band can be highly entertaining with good music, high energy, fun crowd interaction and a strong message that there is always hope. 

Born in a world where listeners have a short attention span and are download crazy for singles with catchy hooks, The Antlers’ Hospice was a welcome deviation from the norm.  Praised by many critics as one of the best albums of 2009, this concept album takes you deep inside an honest, dark, and hauntingly truthful story of loss and finding hope in a hopeless situation.  The Antlers’ live set at The Vic in Chicago on President’s Day was nothing short of majestic.  Listeners found themselves engulfed in the sound coming from the three-man band led by Peter Silberman’s captivating vocals. 

Rounding up a talented crop of young musicians, including a Brad Pitt-alike on drums and a bassist that probably would have felt more at home in Limp Bizkit, Air Supply played an inspired set shuffling between their top hits and new material like “Dance With Me” – a poppy, upbeat number from their forthcoming album, Mumbo Jumbo.

A rowdy crowd gathered at Chicago’s House of Blues on February 12^th to see the party band Great White. Jack Russell and the boys took the stage once again to sing and play their hearts out and to entertain the concertgoers. Packed in tight, hands waved in the air, heads were banging, and the music was moving fans through the room.  It was a hell of a night for music and a night that will not soon be forgotten.