Concerts

In the last decade or so, many metal musicians realized that while writing songs about demons and wizards was kind of cool, it was also a little silly. So they turned to largely instrumental music with titles that hinted at that world without the potential embarrassment of having to come…

Joan of Arc may be one of the most pretentious bands in existence, but it also puts on a kick-ass live show. The group doesn’t come off its throne above the city of Chicago often, but when it does, it almost always ends up snagging a few converts along the…

Waka Flocka Flame is an artist known just as much for his antics on stage as off. The rapper (born Juaquin Malphurs) hit the scene in 2009 with a monster single, “O Let’s Do It,” which not only spawned a new era of down-south bounce rap, but also ushered a…

Formed in Lafayette, Louisiana, this Bay Area band will immediately sound familiar to anyone who has been paying attention for the last handful of years to acts like Washed Out and Small Black, mainly because there is a similar effervescent, sun-washed flavor to Painted Palms’ electro-pop. But there is also…

Circuses are creepy. At least, clowns are creepy. On a philosophical level, the subtle menace of clowns is partly the result of the mask that separates them from the realm of normal society; basically, the clown is not quite human, but rather a grossly exaggerated caricature of one aspect of…

“Looking Down the Barrel,” Altitude Sickness’s opening track, leads with a Celtic feel and a tinge of bluegrass, with the fiddle pulling the melody along. James Campbell’s vocals seem informed by hip-hop in both his delivery and the flow of the lyrics, but the music never really crosses over into…

With Ninth and Lincoln’s 2008’s self-titled debut, founder and composer Tyler Gilmore pushed the boundaries of what a large jazz ensemble could do. But that album feels somewhat conservative compared to Gilmore’s compositions on Static Line. He’s developed considerably as a composer in the past couple of years, moving further…

The Roadside Profits have crafted an work of more-than-good production, slightly off-kilter rapping — in the pleasing sense — and a ubiquitous undertone of rap nostalgia with Roadside Saves. The album weighs in at a hefty fourteen tracks, with more than a few of those slowing down the record’s progress…

James Cooley is only in his early twenties, and he already has a few hundred songs under his belt. More impressive, Cooley — perhaps better known by the Mesita moniker — plays every instrument on his recordings, which he also engineers and produces himself. Since 2008, the Littleton native has…

Whatever image you conjure up when we say Matt Morris, forget it. It’s now as obsolete as a Hollywood Video card. You wouldn’t recognize the guy these days. We didn’t. When we stopped by Macy Studios just as he was finishing recording songs for his next album (currently untitled and…

A-Trak’s bio notes that he took home “every DJ title known to man before he could shave.” How’s that old saying go — it’s not boasting if it’s true? Indeed. The turntablist prodigy founded the Fool’s Gold label with Nick Catchdubs, helped launch the careers of both Kid Sister and…

The upcoming Robag Wruhme appearance at Cluster Studios is something special in more ways than one. Wruhme was part of the lauded Wighnomy Brothers before immersing himself in his solo career, and the Brothers’ wide-spanning sets were the talk of DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival) every year they played…

Yesterday, we revealed the winners for our VIP upgrade contest from last week (congrats, Gary Peck and Gina Lux). Didn’t win? No sweat. We’ve got a brand-new contest this week, same as the last one, only we’ve sweetened it with some additional perks, including a pair of Showcase T-shirts, two…

Bay Area quintet The Memorials (playing tonight at the Walnut Room with Yerkish and the Orchid Set) are definitely definable as a hard-rock band, but underneath ex-Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen’s brutal rhythms, there is a progressive, funk-influenced smoothness. Much can be attributed to the vocals of Viveca Hawkins, but…

When Rebecca Folsom began working on fundraisers with Blue Sky Bridge, an advocacy group for abused children, the event she played was called Acoustic Harvest. “That was probably about ten years ago,” Folsom notes. “I came in as a musician and ended up being pretty blown away by what these…

MOGWAI With Errors 05.02.11 | Bluebird Theater Errors, from Glasgow, Scotland, started things off with what seemed like the intro to an ethereal, somber set of music. Turns out, though, the foursome was just getting warmed up with a slow drift into its first song. Clearly the band had spent…

Tyler Gilmore believes in the power of intuition. When composing, the Ninth and Lincoln founder avoids putting anything on paper right away. “For my process,” he reveals, “I try not to write anything until maybe about two-thirds of the way in. So the first however long — two weeks or…

One of the most coveted spots in town has been snatched up. The building at 1446 South Broadway that had been Cafe Cero and then Open Tap will reopen as the Black Crown Lounge late this month. Business partners Mark Cameron and Brian Grace have been busy transforming the space…

Once upon a time about a decade ago at 60 South — in the space now occupied by the almighty 3 Kings Tavern — a trio of DJs got together and launched a night that happened one Monday a month and was devoted solely to playing their favorite songs, tunes…