Turn It Up

Concert review: Pixies play 'Doolittle' at the Aragon

leisureblogs — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:09:20 -0600

The Pixies, an ahead-of-its-time band two decades ago, got its due on a wildly received 2004 reunion tour. Since then, the quartet hasn’t bothered to put out any new music and remains more popular than ever. On Thursday in the...

Album review: Rihanna, 'Rated R'

leisureblogs — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0600

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 4) “To those of you who think you can take it, we say welcome to the Mad House.” The opening monologue, intoned by a sinister sounding voice, sounds a little ridiculous, the introduction to a...

Top weekend show: John Fogerty at the Auditorium

leisureblogs — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0600

John Fogerty: The long-ago Creedence Clearwater Revival singer remains a vital force; his guitar playing has never been better and he continues to record and release credible solo albums. His latest, “The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again” (Verve), is primarily...

Album review: Adam Lambert, 'For Your Entertainment'

leisureblogs — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:58:41 -0600

Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4) At last, an “American Idol” finalist with a personality to match the pipes. That was the nearly universal take on Adam Lambert when he finished second last spring to the bland Kris Allen in...

Tonight's top show: Pixies at the Aragon

leisureblogs — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0600

Pixies: The quartet has been hitting the road on the lucrative reunion circuit for the last couple of years, with no interest at all in recording a new album. The attraction this time is a complete run-through its most popular...

Concert review: R. Kelly at the Auditorium

leisureblogs — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:45:07 -0600

R. Kelly in Chicago. (Tribune photo by Chris Sweda) In his first hometown concert after being acquitted last year on child-pornography charges, R. Kelly was in a hurry to move on. Before a capacity audience Tuesday in the first of...

Tonight's top show: R. Kelly at the Auditorium

leisureblogs — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0600

R. Kelly: The most dominant singer and producer in R&B is about to release his first album since being acquitted last year of child-pornography charges. Who knows what he might say or do, but he’s rarely boring, Tuesday-Wednesday at the...

Tonight's top show: Devendra Banhart at the Vic

leisureblogs — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0600

Devendra Banhart: The “freak-folk” singer specializes in laid-back, in-the-moment, cross-cultural flow, as liable to reference Latin American music as he is British folk or West Coast psychedelia. His latest, “What Will We Be” (Warner), is pretty relaxed, but he’s far...

Ezra Furman takes personal music to new level: A custom album for each fan

leisureblogs — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:18:32 -0600

Ezra Furman performs at Lollapalooza 2009. RedEye photo by Elizabeth Myers Ezra Furman takes his music personally. He doesn’t want to just write songs, he wants to change lives, and in the process have his life changed as well.Which is...

Album review: Kid Sister, 'Ultraviolet'

leisureblogs — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:21:01 -0600

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 4) Melisa Young, a self-described “dork” from the south suburbs of Chicago, has arrived. For years she was working in department stores while her younger brother, Josh "J2K" Young of Flosstradamus, was making a name...