I'M GOING TO SEE JANELLE MONÁE TONIGHT!

I was sooo bummed on Sunday night when I found out tickets to Janelle Monae's Monday show at Schubas were sold out. I had planned to go with my friend Lisa, but didn't think it would sell out! Especially since she was playing two nights! Well, I was wrong, and both nights were sold out. That's what I get for waiting. I was even more bummed last night after seeing these tweets:

"Holy crap people- if you can find a way into the Janelle Monae show at Schubas tomorrow, you need to do it. Wow."

"Janelle Monae just wrapped up her set. Fucking incredible. I am in complete awe of what a fantastic specticale this was."

And this: "Gotta reiterate - Janelle Monae at Schubas last night was BONKERS. James Brown + Gaga + a funk robot. "Tightrope" - http://bit.ly/aalJNx"

And then today? More tickets released! As of right NOW, they are still available for purchase. So what are you waiting for?!?!

Check out @lizzkannenberg's awesome photos from last night's show on Flickr!

You can only take so much...

Paste reports that there is a glimmer of hope for WOXY, but also says that the current staff is skeptical of signing back on even if there is a financial agreement reached that would revive the station. And who can blame them! They've ridden this roller coaster three times already and that would be exhausting for anyone. After a while you have to kind of lose hope that this will be the one will really stick.

And honestly, things wouldn't be the same over at WOXY without Shiv and Mike and the rest of the DJs. At this point I'd be more likely to follow Shiv where ever he ends up instead of listening to a "new" version of WOXY. So maybe, as much as it pains me to say it, maybe it's time to let sleeping dogs lie and let WOXY rest in peace.*

*That said, my fingers are still crossed that a real solution can be found.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like WOXY has bit the dust (again). This note appeared on their website this morning:

WOXY Listeners, Fans and Friends...

Due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding for WOXY's operations, we've been forced to suspend our live broadcasts as of March 23rd. We're continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive. For business inquiries, please contact Bryan Jay (bryan@woxy.com) or John at Future Sounds (john@futuresounds.com).

Thanks for your years of dedicated support.

- Mike, Shiv, Joe, Paige, Brian and Bryan Jay

I have no words. I have been listening to this station for years. I weathered the last economic roller coaster of death with them, and was thrilled when they made the move to Austin and became an internet only station. I have never found another indie station that appealed to my taste so much--as I said yesterday, and almost every day that I listened: "man, woxy is on fire today."

All I can do now is second Robert Duffy at Done Waiting:

Please, someone with money buy WOXY. Shiv and Joe and others moved their families from Cincinnati to Austin and things were just starting to get going – just look at this past week of amazing SXSW coverage.

Goddamn it.

Okay, I'm going to go cry now.

Downtown Sound

Guess where I'm going to be EVERY MONDAY NIGHT this summer...

Awesome Downtown Sound Line-up Revealed

(I'm vaguely starting to remember why I loved living in this city.)

Okay, now this is getting ridiculous...

First it was Wilco inspired sandwiches, now... Wilco (The Beer)? Lagunitas Brewing Company has a new brew they're calling "Wilco Tango Foxtrot," but apparently the name has nothing to do with the band. Suuuuuure. Read all about it over at Pitchfork.

Claychella

Look! We're famous!

Clayton Hauck is a pretty cool guy. Besides being a really great nightlife photographer, the guy gets to throw himself a day-long birthday party with the likes of Flosstradamus and The Hood Internet as DJs. In fact, there will be almost 30 local DJs and MCs playing throughout the day, including my very own DJ Tankboy at 3pm. Like I said before, this party spans the entire day beginning at noon going all the way til closing time. Did I mention it's free before 10pm?

So even if you're planning to spend Saturday celebrating the impending St. Patricks Day, start the day with some Guinness & Eggs w/ your buddies and then make your way to Lincoln Hall, because judging by last year's photobooth shots, there's tons of fun to be had.

Check out my preview for Gapers Block, which includes a full list of DJs scheduled to appear.

Openers Worth Getting There Early For

I was checking out the bands opening for OK Go next month at Metro since I'll be covering the show, and came upon The Booze out of Atlanta. Now, I'm always skeptical of a band with a cheesy name like "booze," but they've got some super jingley, sunny mod pop songs with a bit of bluesy grit that sound like they fell straight out of the late 60s or early 70s. In addition to opening for OK Go on 4/17, they're playing a couple of shows here in Chicago prior to that at smaller venues: first at Angels & Kings on the 2nd, and then at SubT on 4/3.

Also opening for OK Go that night are Earl Greyhound from New York. This group also has a throwback sound--a little dirtier than The Booze, a little harder, a little more earning of the "soul" label. Guitar solos? Check. You could say these guys fell out of the 70s a little later with bigger bell bottoms.

This is one time that it's worth getting there early for the openers--and we're talking early, this all-ages show starts at 7pm. Getcher tickets here.

It's TankBird Tuesday

It's not just Tuesday, it's TankBird Tuesday, which means Tankboy and Lizz--aka Super Bird--will DJ and a bunch of our friends will come to hang out while Danny slings the drinks. Plus, tonight they will be joined by DJ Pocket Taco for your aural pleasure.

Yes, this is turning into quite the monthly event.

You see, Lizz used to bartend on Tuesdays and would feed Tankboy shots of whiskey until he couldn't stand anymore--ok not really, okay maybe sometimes ;o)

But then Lizz got a real job at the same office as Tankboy and decided she didn't want to see him at night since she had to see him all day every day. But then she decided she could stand to see him once a month outside the office so they decided to pay homage to the old days and make a whole thing out of it and call it TankBird. The End.

Great story huh?! No? Okay, well then just come to The Burlington tonight. It's Tuesday. They have booze and music. The End.

Stuck On Free Energy

I saw this awesome band at Empty Bottle this weekend. They sound kinda like The Strokes. In fact, one day Tankboy was playing their album in the car and I asked him if it was the new Strokes album (since I knew they were working on one) and he said no, it's this new band I'm totally into, Free Energy.

Even though I wasnt feeling so hot, and our names werent on the list when we got there (thank goodness it wasn't sold out), the band totally made up for it and we had a great time. I even bought a t-shirt (that I've worn every day since, but that's beside the point).

Their debut album Stuck On Nothing was produced by none other than Mr. LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy. It's available today digitally, but if you want a physical copy you'll have to wait til May 4.

P.S. They'll be appearing on David Letterman on March 17.

(Photo by Lizz Kannenberg for Chicagoist)

Digging This Band

In between looking at red carpet pictures from last night's Academy Awards and Netflixing all those winning films you'd never heard of, check out this band One For The Team discovered by Chicagoist's Sarah Cobarrubias. Indie rock, powerpop, "catchy, feel-good indie pop"... they're all of the above. Catch 'em at Beat Kitchen this Wednesday.

More Black Keys Pleez!

I was so excited, it took me three times to actually read the content in this article. Bottom line, The Black Keys are releasing a new album. (Picked up from Pitchfork)

Ok Go Takes Another Swing At "This Too Shall Pass"

These guys never cease to amaze, for real.

Here with another how-the-eff-do-they-come-up-with-this-shit single-take music video, Ok Go:


(Oh hey look, an Ok Go YouTube video you can actually embed...)