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The Hold Steady at Town Ballroom (4/8/14)

April 9, 2014

As advertised yesterday, The Hold Steady played the Town Ballroom last night. Cheap Girls opened (though I arrived too late to catch them) and dozens likely woke up with hangovers on this Wednesday morning. Though the band’s set wasn’t as strong as their harbor show last summer, they did pull off on an extended encore that felt even more invigorating than the main bulk of the concert. And they were, as always, The Hold Steady. Much of the fun and sense of community that surrounds a Hold Steady show comes from the way frontman Craig Finn physically embodies his music. Every song is presented as a tale Finn himself is absorbed by the details of. At times, he is seemingly incredulous at his own narratives. Finger quotes accompany certain lines. Lyrics are repeated away from the mic as if they were side notes. Yet Finn is never detached from the[...]

Cloud Nothings – Here and Nowhere Else

April 3, 2014

Cloud Nothings‘ face-crunching fourth album is a fearless, assertive follow-up to 2012’s Attack on Memory. Oscillating between a chaotic rush of existential howls and throaty but tuneful melodies, Here and Nowhere Else pounds its presence out through furious snare slams and clamorous cymbal crashes. For better or worse, Cloud Nothings are as foggy and nihilistic as their namesake implies. “You’re born / you’re gone,” cries frontman Dylan Baldi repeatedly on “No Thoughts,” succinctly whittling the human condition down to its coming and going. As in the songs of similarly-minded peers Titus Andronicus, however, the absurdity and cruelty of existence makes for some pretty addictive punk rock.  Here and Nowhere Else largely consists of blurry, anti-pop assaults of pop song length. Baldi is a dynamic vocalist, sliding from screams to Strokes-style singing with relentless charisma. Even as he complains that “life gets boring, it fades away,” he seems impassioned enough to annihilate the ennui he fears. On[...]

Tonight: House Concert w/ John Langford & Skull Orchard

April 2, 2014

Get up close and personal with Jon Langford & Skull Orchard tonight at the Boratin-Tanner home in Hamburg. Langford, a versatile folk-punk musician, has performed in the backing band for This American Life and is considered a staple of the Chicago music scene. Local songsters Unwelcome Guests will kick off the event with an acoustic set at 7:30pm. Don’t miss this unique and bound-to-be-great house concert.