Items filtered by date: November 2007

I retrieved the rum from its hiding place feeling like a teenager sneaking booze into a friends house. The lack of searching at the gate further revealed itself in copious cloudsmokes of reefer, which created an almost constant scent in the crowds. Oh, and the following are some additional details on selected artists and occurrences from Pitchfork on Sunday July 19^th.

This was my second time seeing Green Day in concert, and they blew my mind just as much as the first time I saw them live; these guys can ROCK! Billie, Mike, and Tre have great chemistry together as a band and it manifests itself in spades onstage. If you looked up "stage presence" in the dictionary you might find a picture of Billie Joe Armstrong there...

 

Chris Isaak is now touring with, “Mr. Lucky”, his first new studio album in seven years and for old fans and new, it is a summer tour not to be missed. Chris has been with his band for 25 years but from the high level of energy and musicianship they still put out you’d swear it was just yesterday you witnessed Chris Isaak big breakout hit “Wicked Game”.

Warm breezes crossed the stage, the subwoofers were thumping, and the area in front of the stage was packed. The guitars were loud, the vocals on pitch, and the rhythm section was in perfect time.

Do you have a dream? The kind of dream that makes your whole family both respect your audacity and think you are crazy at the same time? The kind of dream that may take decades to fulfill, while quite possibly bankrupting your life savings?

 

If you’re finding that one of your brows is raised, if you’re bewitched, bothered, or bewildered, then you’ve probably yet to experience the work a compulsive ironist. The quotations cited above can be found in “The History Boys,” the Best Play Tony Award winner of 2006, which is now at TimeLine Theatre, under the splendid direction of Nick Bowling.

Taking cues from such bands as Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords, members Vince Foss (guitar, vocals) and Miguel Matallanes (percussion, vocals) have a comedy routine that they expertly weave throughout their set. In between (and many times during) songs, most of the audience is grinning ear-to-ear from the on-stage dialogue.

 

Usually the last Tuesday night of each month at Bungalow Joe’s in Hanover Park can be described as a laid back, mellow night of fun and music. Regular performers, solo artist David Biggs and Beat Salad, usually share the bill, each dishing out heartfelt acoustic sets in which the latter also incorporates congas, bongos and looping effects into their songs. Though the two mentioned acts are certainly worth checking out in their own right, this past Tuesday was especially inviting as Almond stopped by for a special performance that will have show goers in the northwestern suburb buzzing for some time to come. In other words, the mellow was shaken up.

 

According to many patrons, Almond, a one-man music machine, was unlike anything they have ever heard before – and that’s a good thing. His atypical lyrics coupled with his aggressive presentation took the crowd by surprise but quickly sucked them in, as Almond’s raw energy and unpredictable time changes injected everyone with a taste for the unknown.

 

While some songs like “Many of Your Cares” and “Tired Cock” carried with them a more catchy and melodic feel to them, outside-the-box tracks like “Rubber”, Length” and “Summer Frog” kept the audience off balance just enough to keep them planted in the last car on Almond’s roller coaster Thrill Ride Bizarre.

 

Towards the end of his set, just when one thought they might be entering the mind of Almond, his alter ego, Girth Garden, took over to perform the insane 40-second freak cruise, “Schindler’s Wishlist”. Then, just like that, Almond reappeared, once again taking control by inhabiting the artist’s human shell where he went on to perform his finale number “Water Sadist”.

 

Accompanied by his guitar, Almond also relies on a laptop for his rhythm and backing tracks. Almond’s show is musically charged and it’s his abundant eccentricity that puts him in a league of his own – something that is never easy to do.

 

Missed him? Worry not. Almond will be playing dates to be announced all around Chicago this summer.

 

For more information on this artist go to www.myspace.com/yesalmond.

 

Twice a week, I drive 30 minutes in rush hour traffic to pet three, delicious doggies for about fifteen minutes. And why not, it’s the only fifteen minutes of pure unadulterated loving I get without fail each week. Before I even get to the door, the barking and howling begins. “YAY, she’s HERE! She’s here to love us!”