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Ticket giveaway | Iggy Azalea
Iggy Azalea
T.I.'s new protégé was the first woman and the first Australian to make XXL's coveted Freshman Class. The rapper's bass-heavy bangers are good, dirty fun—and obsessed with "down under," if you catch our drift. After a mixtape, Ignorant Art, and a couple viral hits, the just-about-22-year-old is set to release her debut, The New Classic, later this year. Sign up below and you could win a pair of tickets to her June 2 show at Reggie's.
Booking Ahead | Justin Bieber, Peter Gabriel, Sebadoh and Taste of Randolph Street
Peter Gabriel
Concert announcements always fall off ahead of holiday weekends and this Memorial Day batch is no different. That said, there are a few big fall gigs on the horizon, such as certifiably legal adult Justin Bieber, who stakes out the Allstate Arena for two evenings this fall—Oct 23 and 24—with support from Carly Rae Jepsen. Tickets go on sale next Saturday, June 2, at 10am. Also returning to an arena near you is art-rock pioneer Peter Gabriel, who brings his "Back to Front" tour to the United Center September 27, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his pop benchmark So, for which he's reconvened many of the musicians from the original tour. Tickets go on sale Monday, June 4, at 10am. Other gigs of note include an intimate date with Sebadoh at Schubas August 16, plus an evening with soul legacy Lalah Hathaway at the House of Blues June 29. The Taste of Randolph Street lineup has also been revealed, with Los Campesinos!, Those Darlins, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the Hold Steady and Ezra Furman among those on hand this year. Find these and many other newly announced shows below, or visit timeoutchicago.com/bookingahead for a more extensive list of upcoming concerts.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at the Riv | Photos
This L.A. group makes joyful sunshine psychedelia. Or photog caught his live show at the Riviera Theatre. Read our interview with Edward Sharpe, aka Alex Ebert, here.
M. Ward at the Vic Theatre | Photos and review
When M. Ward visited Chicago on the heels of his 2009 blues-folk-rock album Hold Time, he had accomplished the feat of not only putting out a well-reviewed record, but also living up to the expectations following the success of 2006’s cherished Post War. Ward’s profile only grew from there, with a string of high-profile collaborations that included stints with Zooey Deschanel (She & Him) and Conor Oberst and Jim James (Monsters of Folk). Despite precariously high expectations, this year’s A Wasteland Companion—another era-transcending compilation of impeccable blues-structured pop songs—does not disappoint Ward’s ever-multiplying fan base.
Albums of the week | New records from Paul McCartney, Joey Ramone, St. Etienne, Hilary Hahn
Paul & Linda McCartney RAM [Special Edition]
RAM is the only Macca album to give Linda co-billing. It is also his most charming. I don’t think this is coincidence. True to the ovine wrangling on the record sleeve, RAM is the sound of a rich musician with innate melodic genius mucking about on a farm. His eponymous solo album was as well, but this sophomore effort fleshed out the off-the-cuff pop doodles with rustic psychedelia, much like “Ram On” itself builds from a sparse ukulele lilt into a tub-thumping parade of horns, whistles and harmonies. In this remastered edition, the details make the tracks much richer than you might remember. The wonderful non-album single “Another Day” remains the ultimate McCartney song. Chirpy and melancholy, the tune defines a young woman by her raincoat and her tea. Paul is enamored with the most mundane aspects of life. I think he means for it to sound melancholy, but it ends up wistful. He doesn’t pity these village people. He might envy them.
But back to Linda. The big knock on Paul has always been the silly nonsense and romantic platitudes in his lyrics. His tunes are comfortable and childish. That goes for RAM as well, but here these attributes are assets. The difference is that from this point onward (or from Wild Life onward, and not counting the fun outlier McCartney II), Paul would write to please his vast fanbase, the radio audience in general. On RAM, Paul is ignoring the market. He’s just trying to tickle his family.
Beach Boys at the Chicago Theatre | Review and photos
The Beach Boys is a band so steeped in tragedy and conflict that it’s sometimes hard to see past them to celebrate its occasional victories. Even then, for the past several years those victories have centered almost entirely on Brian Wilson’s comeback and the cult of his twin masterworks Pet Sounds and Smile, each of which inspired essential reissues and sparked widely praised tours. But with those wins came another ironic tragedy: So much focus was placed on Brian Wilson’s formative works, and so much ire directed at bristly longtime band steward Mike Love, that the notion of the Beach Boys as a band—of musicians, of brothers and cousins, of friends—went missing.
Fantabuloso at Allstate Arena | Photos
Fantabuloso, presented by 103.5 KISS FM at Allstate Arena, featured Enrique Iglesias, Gym Class Heroes, The Wanted, B.o.B., Cobra Starship, Havana Brown, Dev, Neon Hitch, Outasight, Karmin, Carly Rae Jepsen and Adam Lambert.
Booking Ahead | Riot Fest, Leonard Cohen, Weezer, Merle Haggard and Garbage
Iggy Pop
Riot Fest made a big splash this week with the announcement of its plans to invade Humboldt Park, complementing its usual home base at the Congress Theater. The whole thing goes down September 14 through 16 and features Rise Against, Iggy & The Stooges, the Offspring and Elvis Costello at the top of the bill. A couple months ahead of that is the annual Washington Park blowout that is the International Festival of Life, back in its 20th year, featuring such reggae royalty as Marley family matriarch Rita Marley in addition to Third World, Tarrus Riley and Freddie McGregor. Other weekend offerings include Wicker Park Fest, which goes down July 28 and 29 with headlining sets from Cursive, the Drums, the Baseball Project, the Budos Band, Lucero and Joe Pug, while the imminent Ribfest Chicago occupies the heart of North Center form June 8 through 10 and brings J. Roddy Walston & The Business, the Features and the Heartless Bastards among others. The Old Town School of Folk Music's new Lincoln Square outing Square Roots also unveiled its lineup, and though it doesn't bring the starpower of the Folk and Roots Festival (it's usual summer standby, which is on hiatus this year), we'll still happily devour sets from Malian songman Sidi Touré and hometown fave the Waco Brothers. More summer gigs of note include Weezer at Hammond, Indiana's Horseshoe Casino July 27, plus a special set from Garbage at the Metro August 7 (Lolla weekend), presented as part of the club's 30th anniversary. Even older than the Metro are Merle Haggard and Leonard Cohen, both of whom are returning to Chicagoland. The former visits the Congress August 1, while the latter serenades the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont November 23. (Enter to win a pair of tickets to the Leonard Cohen show here.) Find these and many other newly announced concerts below, or visit timeoutchicago.com/bookingahead for a more extensive list of upcoming shows.
Justin Townes Earle at Park West | Photos
Troubador Justin Townes Earle, the son of balladeer-activist Steve Earle, is following in his father's footsteps. He mixes old-time country and Texas swing with down-home blues and honky tonk in his music. He performed at Park West last week; check out our photos.
Jon Drake and the Shakes at Double Door | Review
I’m surprised Jon Drake & the Shakes aren’t more popular. For a band of their size and caliber, the Shakes put on a more fun live show than most bands in Chicago, blazing through dangerously danceable tunes with equal parts energy and technical proficiency.
