It’s like Midnight Oil never left
Midnight Oil selling out the modestly sized Vic was a foregone conclusion. But coming back from a 15-year break for a fiery set that felt like no time had passed...
All Stories
Timeless Zombies bring beloved ‘Oracle’ to vibrant life at Thalia Hall
The Zombies broke up back in 1968, not long before the release of the band's second album, "Odessey and Oracle," and several months before that album's final song "Time of...
Steve Earle doesn’t know when to stop during City Winery winter residency, which is good
Steve Earle began the first night of his four-date January residency at City Winery on Monday the way many acts might have ended their last. Standing next to opening act...
The 1975 cranks intensity to a fever pitch at Aragon Ballroom
An ominous drone hummed through the Aragon's speakers for several minutes, swelling up to the start of The 1975 set Sunday night, the first of two shows. Overactive smoke machines...
Sia is a bundle of fascinating contradictions during United Center performance
It took only a few minutes to realize this would not be your standard arena gig. The singer Sia Furler, best known by her first name alone, stood at the...
Preoccupations is a new name coupled to sonic darkness
Calgary's Preoccupations began its Wednesday evening set at Thalia Hall backlit against a wall of icy blue before bursting into "Anxiety." You could tell from the first few moments of...
Dolly Parton was, as always, an entertainer at Ravinia
It was 20 minutes or so into her sold-out Ravinia show when Dolly Parton started talking about her Smoky Mountain roots in east Tennessee. A farmer's daughter, 12 siblings sharing...
Joanna Newsom makes her sonic magic look easy at Chicago Theatre
Divisive since the first bleat of her distinctive duckling-turned-swan of a voice, Joanna Newsom has remained fearlessly idiosyncratic. Whether sticking with the massive, majestic pedal harp as her instrument of...
Replacements still a mess, but a mischief-filled one
"Can't repeat the past?" challenged the Great American Novel. "Why of course you can!" For years, however, the Replacements — the Great American Band if ever there was one —...
TV on the Radio still a glorious sonic collision
When TV on the Radio debuted a little over a decade ago, the weight of time and place was almost as important as the music the band made. Situated at...