Chicago Sun-Times

Oh, what a feeling — Lionel Richie hits the road with his greatest hits tour

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:28:21 -0500

Lionel Richie is headlining U.S. concert arenas after an eight-year absence. It’s a very special tour for the 64-year-old singer-songwriter.

YouTube acts live at the Riv, with no buffering

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:17:54 -0500

You’ve clicked on them, and now you can see them live. A gaggle of performers who are huge on YouTube (and next to anonymous in the analog world) will take the stage Thursday at the Riviera for Digitour 2103. Among them: singers Tiffany Alvord and Luke Conard, beauty advisor Tanya Burr and comedy collective Our Second Life. Headlining is Coco Jones, an actress-singer famous in old-fashioned places like Radio Disney and the Disney Channel. Details: thedigitour.com …

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, other musicians protest Spotify’s policies

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:39:22 -0500

Some performers and independent record labels that say the popular digital streaming service is building its business model on their backs, paying them a pittance in royalties while luring customers with the promise of full access to their music.

Phoenix focusing on music, less on success

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 11:45:42 -0500

Frontman and singer Thomas Mars says Phoenix’s latest album, “Bankrupt!,” was born out of the negative influences going on after the unprecedented success of the band’s Grammy-winning 2009 album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” “At that time, we started talking about success and not music,” Mars said. “I guess it was time to protect ourselves and focus on music again.” The band said it took some time to get on track when they began writing songs for “Bankrupt!,” released four years after “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” was named a Top 10 album on end-of-the-year lists for Rolling Stone, Time and Spin magazines, among …

Berwyn rocks with arrival of new club Wire

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 02:26:17 -0500

A suburban Music Row is taking shape with the arrival of a new concert hall (and future studio) down the road from FitzGerald’s.

The mix — Cool things to do this weekend and beyond

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:28:21 -0500

HAIL TO THE KINGS: The Kings of Leon headline the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 7 p.m. Oct. 2. Tickets, $50 (17and older). (312) 923-2000; houseofblues.com. BOYS WILL BE BOYS: Hot on the heels of their new CD “Electric,” Pet Shop Boys play at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, 8 p.m. Sept. 28. $49.50-$125. (800) 745-3000; auditoriumtheatre.org.ALL THAT JAZZ: The Hyde Park Jazz Festival runs Sept. 28-29, Midway Plaisance Park. The free fest features 13 stages throughout Hyde Park, outdoor dance floor, food truck vendors, artisans and more. Visit hydeparkjazzfestival.org. …

Firefighters united for kiddie rock band, Poochamungas

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:14:00 -0500

Situated a mile west of Wrigley Field, just about on the corner of Damen and Grace, Chicago firefighter John Joyce spends his day waiting for the next call. And that uncertainty of just what the day will hold is something he still is not quite used to, despite a 17-year career on the force. “It’s a job where you never know what is going to happen … every day is different,” says the firefighter from Engine 112, Tower Ladder 21 in North Center. “Obviously, there is a seriousness to what we do. We help people on their worst day, when …

Detroit pianist Vienna Teng rediscovers her musical passion on “Aims”

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 02:26:08 -0500

Three years ago, Vienna Teng set aside music to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan where she pursued an interest in environmental studies and business at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. It was a radical shift Teng had been thinking about for awhile.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Iron & Wine

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:14:00 -0500

The stronghold of Chicago-based support enjoyed by Iron and Wine was earned through frequent local shows. Visits in recent years by Texas resident Sam Beam have featured crowded Lollapalooza sets with his band as well as solo recitals — including one within the conservative halls of Wheaton College. Beam knew he was among friends at both venues, but couldn’t resist a good-natured jab at Wheaton’s Edman Chapel. “This next song is about Jesus,” he said, introducing a folksy number about betrayal and forgiveness called “Jesus the Mexican Boy” from 2003’s “The Sea & the Rhythm.” Iron and Wine has evolved …

Album reviews: Kings of Leon, Elton John, Drake

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 02:18:19 -0500

Kings of Leon, “Mechanical Bull” The four Followill brothers of Kings of Leon successfully transitioned, over four albums, from grungy Southern rock revivalists to summer popmakers known for dating models and pitching soft drinks. This latest album is likely to please the band’s earliest fans, packed with blues sleaze (“Rock City”) and primal rock (“Don’t Matter”), both signatures of their debut album. Caleb Followill sounds better suited howling about the other side of life: “I was running through the desert/I was lookin’ for drugs,” he sings. Fresh ground comes with “Temple,” a chugging guitar melody as if from the Tom …

CSO opens season on promising note

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 18:12:18 -0500

Eschewing a big showpiece or a star soloist, music director Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra opened the 2013-14 subscription season Thursday evening in less ostentatious fashion with a rewarding one-off concert of both favorites and obscurities.

Herbert Groenemeyer hopes debut North American tour garners new following

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 21:34:00 -0500

With his rich, booming voice, pop singer Herbert Gronemeyer has been introduced in the United States as “the German Bruce Springsteen.” On home turf, Gronemeyer needs no such comparison. With a career spanning 35 years and 14 albums, he is the most successful musician in his homeland with over eighteen million albums sold. Still, he doesn’t mind the analogy. “I’m quite honored by this comparison,” says Gronemeyer. “Musically, we are quite different. Maybe the length of the career and the length of our concerts are similar. As far as I know Bruce Springsteen, he sings about the needs of what …

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Over the Rhine

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 12:43:05 -0500

‘I don’t want to waste your time with music you don’t need,” purrs Karin Bergquist on the lead track from Over the Rhine’s 2007 album “The Trumpet Child.” Since beginning in 1989 as a sophisticated but powerful pop quartet, the group has never demonstrated an ability to produce throwaway material. Over the Rhine specializes in life-affirming, essential music. Following the departure of guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley in the late 90s, Over the Rhine coalesced around the core husband-and-wife partnership of instrumentalist Linford Detweiler and vocalist Bergquist. The duo’s potent songwriting has evolved into an organic blend of …

Album reviews: Elvis Costello & the Roots, Jack Johnson, Avicii

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:59:05 -0500

Elvis Costello & the Roots, “Wise Up Ghost” By the time he stops making music, there may not be a collaborator Elvis Costello hadn’t met. His latest album follows this trademark experimentation; a partnership with avant-funk collective The Roots, these new songs offer deep grooves and dreamscape enhancements that freshen Costello’s sound and vocal bite. Shimmering guitars, horns, drum loops, and melting strings combine the grit of the Blaxploitation soundtrack era and sexiness of late night cabaret. For the Roots, this collaboration breaks them out of the late night television rut to flex their strength as inventive stylists who create …

Savages gets physical with its sound

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 09:21:44 -0500

Savages is on its second U.S. tour in less than a year, including a stop Monday at Metro. This impatient touring schedule also seemingly fits the music: always moving, never resting, and apparently on the prowl.

Bravo, Verdi! The CSO kicks off season of homage to the Italian opera genius

Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:56:00 -0500

As a proud son of Italy—born in southern Italy, “Napoli,” as he invariably points out — Riccardo Muti makes no apologies for his emotional response to the world around him. And when it comes to music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director has a passion that stands above all — a long-standing devotion to the works of Giuseppe Verdi. One of the world’s greatest opera composers, the creator of “La traviata,” “Aida,” “Rigoletto” and more than 20 other stage works —Verdi was born Oct. 10, 1813. The CSO and Muti are celebrating the bicentennial of his birth with a vengeance …