Happy Anniversary Blue Note! (And other awesome Wednesday goings ons)

Tonight is the free, outdoor of Montreal concert in CoMo that I will not be attending. There are not enough sadfaces in the world. Why did it have to be on a WEDNESDAY?! Why couldn't Columbia have been this awesome when I lived there?!

Okay, enough whining (besides, I'll be at the LCD Soundsystem show at Metro tonight anyway!). The show is a part of 9th Street Summerfest presented by The Blue Note who is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year! Congratulations Blue Note!

Plus it's Wednesday, so that means I'm DJing Sweet Treat @ Beauty Bar from 7-10 (well, 9:30 tonight since I have to take off early to cover LCD). Come by for a drink and a manicure before the show! (and maybe give me a ride to Metro?)

#kinchi

I had every intention of laying low and relaxing (and catching up on sleep) this weekend. But then Tankboy told me that he was shooting the pop-up Dead Weather show. So, Saturday night we found ourselves at Marquardt Trucking Company for this secret show put on by KIN, and it was awesome. I'm no superfan, but they put on a hell of a show and I was blown away by Allison Mosshart. I wasn't sure if she wanted to fuck the microphone or choke it to death. Oh, plus there was an open bar. Thanks, KIN.

Check out the rest of Tankboy's photos on Chicagoist. Also check out shots from our friends Brian Leli, Kirstie Shanley, and Lizz Kannenberg.

The Roaring Night

Tonight will be Roaring--and sweltering--at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park as The Besnard Lakes take the stage for the first night of this year's Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays series. The Montreal duo's atmospheric rock is sure to sound amazing on that incredible soundsystem. And with the open air and night's sky serving as tonight's venue, well, this is why I live here.

Temps nearing 90, free concerts in the park, and the infamous red sheet has made it's reemergence from the closet; As far as I'm concerned, it's officially summer.

Happy Birthday Gapers Block!

Tonight is Gapers Block's 7th Anniversary Party at Metro and there are bands! JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Blah Blah Blah, Hollows and Lasers + Fast + Shit will all lead us in celebration.

Tickets are 2-for-1 if you purchase in advance.

See you there!

The Dave Grohl Band

Tuesday's Them Crooked Vultures show was a little on the long side, two hours, but I'm totally satisfied watching Dave Grohl wail on the drums for two straight hours. Hey, remember that huge crush I had on him when I was like 16 and totally into The Colour and the Shape? Yeah.

And check out that photo Katie got! HOTTT!

My review, with more of Katie Hovland's photos, is here. Tankboy's review, with equally awesome photos, is here.

That's My JAM!

Ever wonder what makes me act like this? Here's your answer:

Sweet Treat Wednesdays @ Beauty Bar

My DJ partner Lisa (aka DJ White Lightnin') and I (DJ Shellster) scored a regular DJ gig at new kitch hotspot Beauty Bar! Every Wednesday from 7-10pm you can catch us playing "old classics, new indie favorites, and a good dose of not so guilty pleasures."

Stop by tonight to help us ring in our new residency on our inaugural night!!

(Photo courtesy of Ian Merritt from last year's Gapers Block Anniversary Concert)

Sometimes You Kick

As you've likely already noticed (especially if you've been anywhere near The Corner's jukebox lately), we're on a big INXS kick right now (and we're talking the Michael Hutchence version, not whatever that reality tv trainwreck was a few years ago). So I was thrilled to hear that Beck's Record Club (where Mr. Hansen and friends rerecord a classic album all in one day, without rehearsal) was recreating Kick. The new tracks are excellent. I cant wait for them to be available for download in some way, shape or form.

Tracks (and video!) are posted by the week, and here is one of my favorites so far, "Need You Tonight" with St. Vincent on vocals. And you thought Hutchence was sexy on that song... (Be sure to check out the new lyrics on "Mediate" too.)

Record Club: INXS "Need You Tonight" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

DJ Tankster

"I'm here for the DJing!"

If you missed our one-off Tankster Tuesday at Burlington this week, don't be sad. You can see me, DJ Shellster, team up with DJ Tankboy once again tonight at Old Oak Tap. Get ready for all INXS all night long...ok, maybe not all night, but a healthy dose!

Vote for us! Vote for us!

Lollapalooza is looking for a few good Chicago music blogs to help cover the artists playing the fest this summer. Here, I'll make it easy. Just cut and paste the links below into this page.

http://www.gapersblock.com/transmission/

http://chicagoist.com/

Hell, you can even vote for this blog if you want:
http://shellster129.blogspot.com/

Work Hard.

I can't say enough good things about the new Shout Out Louds album, WORK. And their live show at Lincoln Hall more than lived up to it, especially for a Monday night (I hate Monday shows, I need my beauty sleep).

Read. And look at pretty pictures.

Ratchet: Pushing Jazz Forward

Well, the feature that I've been toiling over for the past month went up on Gapers Block: Transmission last week. The piece explores the highs and lows of a free jazz series called Ratchet. Every Monday at the Skylark in Pilsen this group presents froward thinking creative music.

The article was funded in part by a Community News Matters grant from The Chicago Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Features supported by the grant are to be "locally oriented and primarily about underserved neighborhoods and issues that affect them." I never would have thought to take on this project without Gapers having been awarded that grant last year. It gave me the inspiration to dig deeper in myself and in the community and really dive into a subject matter that I was familiar with and thought should be shared.

I've already gotten tons of really great feedback. I'm really proud of the piece itself, but I'm also really glad that I was able to put a spotlight on the work this group is doing.

So what are you waiting for? Go read it!

It's Not You, It's Me

I've been absent from the blog for a while. It's not even that there wasn't anything going on, I was just super busy finishing up (and stressing out over) this feature I was writing for Gapers Block (which should go live on Thursday). Work has also kept me super busy the last couple of days, which is why I'm writing this on Wednesday instead of Monday (as if you cared).

I was so busy that I didn't even promote my own DJ gig with my partner Lisa White at Beauty Bar last Friday! In case you're wondering, it went great. A bunch of our friends showed up and people seemed to really like what we played. I hope to DJ there again soon (fingers crossed!)!


Here's the cliffs notes version of everything else I missed:

• LCD Soundsystem announced a show at Metro (which of course sold out right away)
• OK Go appeared on The Colbert Report, complete with Rube Goldberg machine and Colbert Choir
• We saw Free Energy @ Beauty Bar; Missed them at the Daytrotter Barnstormer
• I reviewed The Whigs' show @ Bottom Lounge
• Voxtrot call it quits :(
• Edible Audible Picnic returns this summer (despite worries that it may have fallen victim to city budget woes)
• The INXS phase is in full-swing.

The Max Wienberg Sev... Big Band?

Max Weinberg (yes, THAT Max Weinberg) is coming to SPACE in Evanston on June 21.

Yes, it's going to be Big Band, but it's MAX!