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Okay, I’m going to give you the skinny on the Luxor hotel and Casino from top to bottom. The Luxor is the pyramid shaped casino everyone recognizes and it sits right on the main strip. When I go to Vegas for work or vacation I usually pick my hotel based on three factors:

Lost in Blue was officially awarded first place in Buzz Magazine’s Metal Wars 2009 contest after an amazing set at Powerfest when they were given their much deserved first place trophy. Powerfest promoter/organizer Chris Lotesto was on hand to present the trophy to the band and personally congratulate them for their achievement.

City Limits in Schaumburg was shaken up pretty hard last Saturday night in what their manager, Sandy, described as “the loudest show in their history”. With bands like Echoes of Ruin and Hesher in the Metal Wars 2 lineup, that was really no surprise.

Chicago is a great music city and that certainly includes metal. After reviewing all the entries for Metal Wars 2, my suspicions were correct as to how many bands were right here – in Chicago – that kick major ass.

Last Friday I had the privilege of attending the fourth annual Battle of the Bands competition at Triton College sponsored by Delta Omega Pi, a social group that formed nearly five years ago. Delta Omega Pi's Jesse Ward allowed me the pleasure of working the curtain so I could get a closer look back stage.

“Maybe it’s just Thursday,” remarked Antlers leader Peter Silberman to a packed crowd at Lincoln Hall, “but it feels like there’s magic in the air.” The resulting roar of approval and the alternating moments of fragile quiet and powerful release throughout the band’s memorable set indicated that Silberman may have been on to something.

The Brooklyn-based trio of Silberman, keyboardist Darby Cicci and drummer Michael Lerner returned, after playing in February at The Vic with popular UK act Editors, as a headliner to Chicago, in support of the critically acclaimed 2009 LP Hospice. The buzz surrounding the album and a Chicago fan base bolstered by multiple local performances during the past year made the show a weekday sellout, and the band delivered a solid hour and a half set focused largely on Hospice but featuring a smattering of songs from prior releases, a bit of new material, and a dirge-like cover of “VCR,” made popular by Londoners The xx.

Atmosphere was a key to The Antlers’ performance, and the stage show was simple yet effective. Contrasting with a completely dark house, the stage was bathed in alternating monochromatic light for much of the set, and blasts of smoke encircled the band and created a haze that reached to the back of the venue.  Small potted plants sat atop Silberman’s effects setup and Cicci’s weathered Rhodes piano, and added a subtle contrast to songs fixated upon illness and death (Hospice is a concept album revolving around a medical worker’s blossoming relationship with a terminal cancer patient).

Any concern that slow tempos and a general funereal quality to most of the band’s songs would make for a less-than-compelling performance was quickly allayed. As frontman, Silberman was surprisingly talkative, and the band’s emotional, energetic stage presence gave a drive to the songs that is present in the recordings could potentially have been difficult to reproduce effectively in a live setting. Lerner’s drums and a programmed bass track gave punch to the swells of guitar and ambient sound that accompanied the louder portions of songs like Hospice standouts and fan favorites “Two” and “Kettering.” Silberman’s voice, alternating between a falsetto reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and a controlled tenor, nicely filled the room and held most of Lincoln Hall’s two levels at attention for the duration of the show.

 In just nine months since their abbreviated appearance at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival, The Antlers have become vastly more assured as a live band and the songs of Hospice have taken on new qualities that can only be discovered through performing them night in and night out. The band’s next performance in Chicago takes place at this summer’s incarnation of the Lollapalooza festival, and checking them out is highly recommended. More information about the band, Hospice and upcoming concerts  can be found at their official Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/theantlers .

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.

Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen made his presence known in Chicago when he thrilled a packed hall last night at the House of Blues. Yngwie’s faithful arrived in full force, enjoying every riff-soaked moment of the 90-plus minute power set. The renowned shredder is currently touring his new album, Perpetual Flame...

Something you might be thinking not so far into Agoraphobic Nosebleed's new release Agorapocalypse: No drummer can play that fast and precise. As far as I'm concerned, you would be correct. The drum machine fueled grind metal machine lead by Scott Hull know their way around programmed percussion. This talent is put to the extreme, as they create some of the most menacing, ear-splitting music you might ever hear.