Music

Living Legends: A Night at Buddy Guy’s

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Image of Buddy Guy's LegendsChicago has mastered many things. Deep dish pizza. Hot dogs. Architecture. Beer. While arguments for the Mississippi Delta and Kansas City might be heard, it should be argued that the blues ranks highly among those cultural features.

Buddy Guy’s Legends was opened in 1989 by blues master Buddy Guy and remains one of the liveliest blues clubs in the city – if not one of the only ones remaining in operation. Located in the middle of the South Loop, it is a destination for both locals and tourists alike. Blues masters regularly make appearances to pay homage to the city that gave the country Chess Records, that introduced Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Howling Wolf to a wider audience. And every January, Mr. Buddy Guy himself makes a residency, sticking around town for the entire month.

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The Act of Being: Louis C.K. at the Chicago Theater

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Louis C.K.

Image via netdna-cdn.com

So, I got to see Louis C.K. do a stand-up show at the Chicago Theater last night. This was sort of a huge deal for me. In fact, my first impulse for this article was just to state that fact and then post Nyancat. I’ll try for more, though!

Since discovering his eponymous TV series nearly five years ago I have become an enormous fan of Louis C.K. His melancholy sense of humor, playful intelligence, dedication to not being a corporate jagoff, and disheveled style have been cornerstones of my pop culture identity. To wit, more than one friend has told me they’ve watched a particularly sad or embarrassing scene on Louie and felt bad for me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so vocally a fan of his or because he’s had such a influence on me, but there we go. If the goatee fits I will wear it. [Read more…]

Three Poppy Punk Chicago Bands to See This Month

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At a recent Swimsuit Addition show, someone turned to me and very sincerely asked “What if there are no rules anymore?” The four-piece sprawls over their music, and they’re in absolute control of evil beach punk.

Swimsuit Addition is celebrating the release of their new 7 song TANKS! EP with a free show at Emporium Barcade this Thursday, Dec. 11th. It’s great if they’re the only ones who know the rules.

Oh no, a pop punk band with fun synth bits who mention pizza. People do it, and Absolutely Not does it so much better. Their longest song is 2:39, but the number of stop-and-gape hooks they jam into each one is staggering.

They’re headlining a great (and free) Chicago Singles Club lineup at the Empty Bottle on Monday, Dec. 29th. If you don’t dance, you’ll be trampled.

The meanest band here, Meat Wave favors music that drives along non-stop until your chin is on the floor. Don’t worry, the payoff is consistent, and you’ll get up for more.

Go see them for a New Year’s Eve show at Reggie’s ($25-$30) before they kick off a U.K. tour. Then check back on their new EP landing around January 19th.

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New Year Bonus Round: Ian’s Party starts January 1st and ends on the 4th. All the bands mentioned here will be playing various venues around Logan Square. Even if you dive in with no direction, you’ll get a fistful of quality local music.

Four Men, One Woman, and a Bit of Meh: The 2014 Grammy Album of the Year Nominees

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One of these people may be winning Album of the Year again, and it isn't one of the dudes in helmets.

One of these people may be winning their own Album of the Year Grammy this year, and it isn’t one of the dudes in helmets.

Last year, I wrote a review of all five Grammy nominees for Album of the Year. This year, in the Addison Recorder’s never-ending endeavor to always stay culturally abreast, I’m doing it again. (I’m also doing it again because no one else is crazy enough to try this.)

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Thoughts from the Dugout: Rockin’ the Postseason

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Image of Kaufmann Stadium Rainout

Royals-Orioles was rained out last night. So here’s a filler column!

We’re three and two games into the respective League Championship Series, and already, it’s as if everything we expected (NLCS) and didn’t expect (ALCS) is happening. However, there are multiple things which I’m interested in writing about this year, so we’re expanding to another field I love – music. Specifically, rock music. Even more specifically, a completely arbitrary way to honor past acts with a designation which may or may not actually mean anything in the long run.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot was released last week, and it’s an interesting pool of candidates, bringing together a diverse and completely unrelated group of acts that may or may not actually have to do with rock itself. In order to fully analyze the ballot, I felt that the best way to do it was to look at their blurb on Wikipedia, listen to a song on YouTube, and then compare them with a player/manager from the four teams remaining in the postseason to which they (somewhat) relate. This is why I get my own column – sheer genius and ultra-spontaneous collaborations. Behold, my breakdown of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 ballot!

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“In The End”: A G-chat Review of Weezer’s Latest

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Weezer's latest album came out Oct. 7.

Weezer’s latest album came out Oct. 7. (image via)

Meryl and her friend Dennis live in different states but share a years-long love for Weezer. This week they listened to the new album released Oct. 7, and below is their unofficial Gmail chat review of “Everything Will Be Alright In The End.”

Dennis:  have you heard anything from the new Weezer album?
me:  i have not! I heard it’s good though. Have you heard it?
Dennis:  no.  I was a little disappointed in the last one.
me:  yeah… Checking to see if it’s on Spotify… (minute later)  IT IS.
Dennis: it’s on grooveshark too. I’ll listen with you!  ha.
me:  yay! okay fun!

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Rock and Roll Rising From the Mud: 10.5 Observations on Riot Fest

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1. Rock and roll is not dead…but it is very dirty.

Recently, Gene Simmons asserted that “rock is dead” – this article can be considered my dissent against that statement. Sales may be dropping, and manufactured pop, rap, and metal may continue to keep their footholds in the musical consciousness, but as long as artists reach the masses with passionate, high-energy performances full of unexpected surprises, rock and roll will never die. Riot Fest, celebrating its tenth anniversary in Chicago, is the ultimate case in point, as I witnessed on the one day of concerts I attended.

Saturday at Humboldt Park proved to be a beautiful day, albeit full of mud leftover from Friday’s rain.  I wore my old sneakers to the festival and immediately threw them out on my return home. Nobody emerged with clean shoes. None of us minded. For my part, I saw nine acts and change from noon to 10 pm, some of whom I was familiar with, some of whom I love, and none of whom did note for note recreations of their studio sound. It was an experience worth every penny.

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It’s Only a Reflektor: Arcade Fire Live in Concert

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Image of Arcade Fire Reflektor Tour

Arcade Fire grew to prominence as an indie-band, releasing the critically acclaimed Funeral in late 2004. Since then, they’ve released Neon Bible (2007), Grammy Award-winning The Suburbs (2010), and, most recently, the double album Reflektor (2013). This year, they’ve embarked upon a gargantuan arena tour, recently playing two nights at Chicago’s United Center on August 26th and 27th. Alex and I were lucky enough to find cheap tickets, and attended the concert in all of its stadium-esque glory.

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Hooked on “Awesome Mix Vol. 1”: Why the “Guardians of the Galaxy” Soundtrack Resonates

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They have come to bring us Blue Swede.

Thirty-five years ago, Americans believed a man could fly. Today, they believe a talking raccoon and an anthropomorphic tree can save the universe, and they can accomplish this while listening to songs that ruled the airwaves when Superman was in production.

Guardians of the Galaxy has already become one of 2014’s biggest blockbusters despite being based on Marvel characters almost no one was familiar with except hardcore comics fans. (FYI, a combination of terrific actors, a few stirring emotional moments, and a brilliantly funny script go a long way.) In my opinion, what is even more unexpected than the film’s success is that of its soundtrack. Awesome Mix Vol. 1, the mixtape Peter Quill/Star-Lord constantly listens to as he flies through space, is now in its second week at number one on the Billboard charts. It’s worth exploring both why this success is unusual and why this soundtrack in particular has struck such a chord with people.

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“The Voyager” Calls Jenny Lewis Fans Home

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Jenny Lewis, "The Voyager" (image via)

Jenny Lewis, “The Voyager” (image via)

Full disclosure: I love Jenny Lewis. She is my musical alter ego, and an indie rock goddess. Her lyrics are poetry and they say everything I could ever want to say but can’t.

Lewis writes about insecurity and falling in and out of love and the impermanence of everything, including and especially ourselves. At this time, I’d like to thank my junior year college roommate for constantly playing the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack because it contained “Portions For Foxes”; thus began my journey into the depths of Rilo Kiley, the now-defunct band Lewis co-fronted.

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