Transmission

Pitchfork Preview Night @ Millennium Park

2008-07-17T21:11:56Z

Didn't get your act together to make it to this years Pitchfork? Don't want to fork over the cash for another summer hipster fest? Tonight's latest installment in the Music Without Borders series at Millennium Park should be enough to whet that indie appetite for awhile.

While it may be a bit of a stretch for a "world music concert series", the Pitchfork Music Festival Preview night, which goes up in just a few hours, features four acts who will all be at the festival as well, but are giving us just a little sprinkle for taste in this free preview. Taking the stage tonight will be the the indie band from space, Fleet Foxes, representing Elephant 6's international/ polka constituent, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, a "Gypsy brass band" found in Boban Markovic, and Thrill Jockey's own Extra Golden.
It's a wonderful day outside, get out and enjoy the free rock.

Pitchfork Music Festival Preview Night
Music Without Borders Concert Series
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
TONIGHT, 6:30
w/ Fleet Foxes, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Boban Markovic, and Extra Golden.
**FREE**

Revolution of the Heart

2008-07-17T18:09:57Z

How would you define the word prolific? How does five albums in six years sound? London musician Ed Harcourt has done just that, and his fifth, The Beautiful Lie, may just be his best yet. Recorded on an eight-track in his grandmother's house in Sussex, on a piano made for her back in 1917, with the drums set up out in the hallway, this album echoes with warmth and maturity. At the age of 30, Ed is finally coming to terms with life and love, and as with most people, he does not always like what he sees. He has questions like, will you love me when I’m old, and why are good friends so hard to find? Yet, the honesty in his voice and the beauty of his music leaves the listener believing that all of this is more than just a beautiful lie.

[MP3] Ed Harcourt - The Beautiful Lie

Shifting from piano driven pop to heart breaking ballads to stadium anthems, Ed Harcourt has crafted a brilliant album, and you catch him live tomorrow night (July 18th) at Schubas with Jeff Klein. The show statrts at 10:30pm, and it is 21+. Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 at the door.

Pitchfork Music Festival 2008 Preview

2008-07-17T04:02:27Z

Friday, July 18

Mission of Burma / 6pm (C)
Mission of Burma have a difficult legacy to live up to. The anthemic bombast of early tunes like "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" would eventually earn them the reputation of being American punk rock titans and godfathers of the '80s indie-rock movement. Nonetheless, Burma had their share of artier inclinations. While their 1982 album Vs. lacked some of the overt hookiness of Burma's earlier material, it revealed the group was expanding its sonic palette to cover more moody and experimental material. Still, when the band launched into high gear, they played with an unbridled fervor that at times suspensefully teetered on the edge of collapse. Considering that Vs. is the only full-length the band recorded during its initial run in the early ‘80s, its candidacy for Friday night is pretty much a no-brainer. Since Mission of Burma reunited in 2002, reports of their live performances describe them as being about as flatteningly loud and ferocious as one could hope for.
-Graham Sanford

Sebadoh / 7:15pm (C)
It's always interesting when the side project overshadows the original band, and regardless of how you feel about Dinosaur Jr, it's hard to argue that Lou Barlow's Sebadoh hasn't managed to eclipse his original band in both popularity and influence. Pitchfork has Barlow and original collaborator Eric Gaffney reunited to perform the band's landmark fourth album Bubble and Scrape, an effort which spawned a million lo-fi imitators since its release in 1993. Flannel shirts and high-waisted jeans optional.
-Nilay Patel

Public Enemy / 8:30pm (A)
It's easy to forget how hard Public Enemy used to be now that Flava Flav is some kind of cartoon pimp, but the pioneering hip hop group was responsible for bringing political consciousness to mainstream rap, and DJ Terminator X elevated scratching to an entirely new level. The 'fork has booked the boys for a straight-through performance of It 1988's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, and while you already know "Don't Believe The Hype," chances are you'll be familiar with every other track as well — every hip hop artist since has been ripping them off.
-Nilay Patel

Saturday, July 19

Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar / 12:30pm (B)
A left-field choice for the festival that seems to be without precedent for Pitchfork or any other western news media source, the choice of Yugoslavian master of the flugelhorn Boban Markovic and his 20-year old co-band-leader son Marko are strong bets to win over a few stray Beirut fans who showed up early. With a lively, worldly, and multiple-award winning brass section, the band should have everyone fired up immediately, no matter what part of the set their audience shows up for. Get a sneak peak at the band's fist-pumpingly good anthems Thursday night at the Pritzker Pavilion with Extra Golden, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and Fleet Foxes.
-Dan Morgridge

A Hawk and a Hacksaw / 1:25pm (B)
Dig this: Balkan is the new black. This year, Pitchfork gets into the current trend of gypsy- and klezmer-influenced bands, including Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar (a bit more authentic than the others on the bill) and A Hawk and a Hacksaw. Featuring violinist Heather Trost and former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, the Albuquerque-based group will be especially interesting to watch, particularly just how they pull off such lush, emotional music with so few people (assuming they perform as a duo, per usual, of course).
-Kara Luger

Jay Reatard / 1:30pm (A)
If the name Jay Reatard rings any bells with you, chances are good that you've spent some amount of time perusing (or living) the Goner Records catalog. The Memphis-based label has prided themselves for years — decades! — on promoting and revering all blends and flavors of real honest-to-hell rock and roll, with none of the sickening rock-and-roll-never-forgets wedding dancefloor safety-valves, and Jay was one of their original poster-children. He has fronted the Reatards, the Final Solutions, the Lost Sounds, Angry Angles, Terror Visions, and others. Now, Jay returns to his own name, sounding like a person who lives in a perpetual state of rock readiness. His output ranges from anthemic sing-along blasters to detached post-punk (he's no more afraid of keyboards or tricky changes than he is a fist to the face) to tracks that resemble the hardier side of glam — Bowie/Ronson, Slade, that lot. Daniel DiMaggio of Home Blitz has recently followed a similar path of open-faced rock and roll devotion, and received near-immediate (and warranted) recognition for his work. Here's hoping Pitchfork will help Jay catch up for lost time — this man deserves the rock and roll life if anyone does.
-Chris Sienko

Caribou / 2pm (C)
It's completely cool to play a recorder again. Caribou and I firmly believe this. Anyone else? Changing his name from Manitoba after a lawsuit too unnecessary to actually go through with, Daniel Snaith has been releasing his airy psychedelic worlds as Caribou since 2004. 2007's Andorra moved him beyond the niche world and is earning respect among a more widespread indie fan base. He earned an opening spot for math-rockers/ass-kickers, Battles, last fall with a live show that engulfs you with lights, videos, and of course, music. He moves beyond the expected show experience to deliver a spectacular performance that leaves you with absolutely no idea where you've just been and an uncontrollable desire to go back immediately.
-Emily Kaiser

Icy Demons / 2:20pm (B)
The terms "eclectic" and "uncategorizable" get lobbed about pretty frequently these days, but Icy Demons earn the distinction moreso than any other local band. A restless entity, their five-plus member roster is made up of musicians who each play in at least two other bands. The band's current line-up is heavy on percussion and keyboards, with plenty of instrument switching occurring throughout (sometimes in the span of a single tune). With their new album Miami Ice, Icy Demons juggle genres and strip stylistic gears in a brilliantly brilliant and elegant manner. Live, however, they're a much hungrier and more agitated beast. Since their around-town appearances are pretty infrequent, here's your chance to catch one of Chicago's best off-the-radar acts.
-Graham Sanford

Dizzee Rascal / 4pm (C)
Mix meaty beats and a East Ender mouth full of marbles and you got yourself a certain Dizzee Rascal. Backing up his latest album, the Mercury Prize-nominated Maths + English, Mr. Rascal has been wooing audiences since his (Mercury Prize-winning, bitches) 2003 Boy in Da Corner brought grime into college radio stations the world over. Check his single "Sirens" for his trademark mash of synth bleeps and gut-punch vox.
-Kara Luger

Vampire Weekend / 5pm (A)
Bringing a preppy sound to your indie rock channel is much-hyped Vampire Weekend. Not the goth band that their misnomer of a name might lead you to believe, this group is actually part of the more parent-friendly end of the festival’s lineup. Their self-titled debut LP met with mad air play (including many a rotation in Chicago bar jukeboxes) and a rush on tickets at their spring show at the Metro. Don’t fear though, this isn’t any kind of easy-going bubblegum pop music. Vampire Weekend’s songs are filled with excessively smart lyrics (some might say too smart…a song about commas? For real?), afro-pop melodies and are topped off with a little bit of that unfamiliar thing called happiness. It’s pretty darn upbeat stuff, and you just might like it, or at the very least get up and boogie.
-Anne Holub

Elf Power / 5:20pm (B)
Pitchfork will play host to three relatives of the Elephant 6 collective, Apples in Stereo, A Hawk and a Hacksaw and certainly the most musically buoyant of the bunch at the moment, Elf Power. What may be the only reason to love Athens, GA, these veterans have worked with members of the impressive collective for years such as Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum and Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes. Their 2008 release, In A Cave, is no stranger to the characteristic lo-fi sound and spacey lyrics. It oozes with a classicism that makes you want to simultaneously dance and cry, much like being confronted with Jack Nicholson's 1989 (not Dark Knight) Joker bombing your restaurant/city street to a Prince soundtrack. Elf Power is for lovers and children, except not at all.
-Emily Kaiser

Extra Golden / 6:25pm (B)
Extra Golden's origins trace back to Kenya, but their sound spans the globe. They have a unique history, having lost one of their original members to liver disease during the early stages of the band, a fact which actually spurred the remaining members to action to make sure their music was heard. Since then, they've released two fantastic releases on Thrill Jockey, and the band has developed a sound that incorporates many familiar textures and feels of rock and roll while retaining a distinctly international flavor. Their sophomore effort from 2007, Hera Ma Nono, made many top 10 lists for the year, and their live show consistently lives up to the promise of their recorded output, not to be missed.
-Daniel Melnick

The Hold Steady / 7pm (A)
With a powerhouse album released in 2006, Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady finally started to make their well-deserved named among the Pitchfork crowd. These crooners call Brooklyn home but rock with a force that is unmistakably southern, yet dominants anything the region could hope to put out. They're latest offering, Stay Positive, released only days ago on Vagrant, overflows with feeling as well as talent. "Sequestered in Memphis" slams with that classic piano jam we love the Hold Steady for, while darker tracks such as "Both Crosses" show a musical maturity in the new album. "Lord I'm Discouraged" transcends the sum of its parts and literally becomes the intense melancholy that is lead singer Craig Finn's acid-washed voice at it's best. There's also a few Northside/Southside references. Perhaps they've been spending more time in Chicago then they're letting on? At least we know they'll be here once, and you'll be sorrily mistaken if you're not there, too.
-Emily Kaiser

Jarvis Cocker / 8pm (C)
There are not many performers in the music industry who've spent as much time languishing in mediocrity as Jarvis Cocker before breaking big. From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, he led different versions of Pulp through lineup changes, red tape and indifference. In 1992, with a new lineup and new perspective, Pulp finally began to show signs of their forthcoming greatness. Over the next ten years, they'd release four revered albums and achieve stardom before going on indefinite hiatus. In 2006, Jarvis released a self-titled album that was clearly a step in a new direction. Jarvis showcased a more sedate and domestic side than Pulp while still keeping the wit. Now he returns to the Midwest for the first time in 12 years hopefully to make up for lost time (and maybe even preview some cuts from the Jarvis followup supposedly in progress).
-James Ziegenfus

Animal Collective / 9pm (A)
Avery Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakon are four of the weirdest pseudo-stars of the indie world. Constantly threading disparate howls, yelps, and, well, animalistic energies that veer from serene to spasm, the boys of Animal Collective find new nooks and crannies or caves and pits that you want to follow them into. Their latest, — the mildly new Water Curses EP — features a brief but promising tour through where the band could have gone with last year's excellent Strawberry Jam, and where they're heading to now with it under their belt.
-Dan Morgridge

Sunday, July 20

Mahjongg / 12:30pm (B)
With the arrival of their freshman album Kontpab this past February, Mahjongg moved beyond the punk-funk trappings of their prior output and steered their sound percussion-heavy West African territory. While a fair number of artists of opted for the Remain In Light move in the past year or so; but Mahjongg throw themselves into the groove with unmatched abandon. To top it all off, they wrap all this polyrhythmic ping-ponging around plenty of synth-punk bubble and throb in what makes for a brilliant tug-of-was between hot and cold. In its best moments, Mahjonng's music often verges on a deliriously unhinged energy that vaguely recalls the Butthole Surfers in their brain-scrambling heyday.
-Graham Sanford

Times New Viking / 1pm (C)
Best known by some as the band that brought Tom Lax and his Siltbreeze label out of retirement, this ramshackle, crappier-than-thou-fi band from Columbus, Ohio share a sonic affiliation, if not a similar sound, with projects like Sic Alps and Home Blitz. All three bands play within standard rock forms, yet somehow manage to avoid any major comparisons with their musical influences (coincidentally, all three have seen their earliest recordings explode into Ebay fetish objects). While mention has been made of the Vikings' association with Mike Rep, thereby connecting them, six degrees style, to those other fidelity skanks Guided By Voices, TNV are comfier amidst comparisons to another, earlier Mike Rep collaboration, St. Louis' favorite sons the Screamin' Mee Mees, whose "Live From the Basement" 7-inch still shines as a beacon to all who would walk the path of willful scuzziness and intelligent abandon. Times New Viking's Dig Yourself LP will hopefully fill the same role for the next generation of high-octane trash-strutters.
-Chris Sienko

High Places / 1:25pm (B)
Oh the joys of indie pop. Formed in 2008, this boy/girl duo consisting of Rob Barber and Mary Pearson combine playfulness with tribal rhythms to pleasantly weird effect. High Places are Brooklyn-based artists who released their debut self-titled EP on Chicago's own Thrill Jockey in 2008. How they got noticed began with a Chicago connection. A familial relation with Pitchfork Media (Pearson's sister used to work there) led to a review of their self-titled debut EP by critic Mike Powell, sealing them as confirmed members of the indie universe. They blend Hawaiian music with Chinese pop and hardcore, which, strange as it sounds, is danceable, in a jumping around type of oddball fashion.
-Marla Seidell

Boris / 2pm (C)
A few years ago one of my friends saw Boris in Atlanta and wrote the next day, "It was like standing in front of a jet engine. My brain is complete jelly today." That was actually a rousing endorsement. Over the last sixteen years, the trio that emerged from Japan's hardcore scene has stayed out of genre niches by regularly altering their sound. They've played all sorts of metal and even released experimental albums, as well as notable collaborations with Merzbow and Sunn O))). Even though their latest, Smile, is more in line with drone metal, expect an eclectic set from Boris. Turning brains into jelly is just the beginning of what they have to offer. (Plus, they have tremendous equipment for the gearheads to gawk at.)
-James Ziegenfus

HEALTH / 2:20pm (B)
I will never forget the night, standing right in front of a small stage in a café in Dekalb, IL, my ears were brutally assaulted at the hands of the Los Angeles noise band HEALTH. You see my first experience with HEALTH was listening to a few tracks through the tiny speakers of my work computer at a low volume. I wasn't sure what to think and basically wrote them off and moved on. This was is until they opened for Crystal Castles one night in May. I moved close to the stage when I saw some one taping a keyboard to floor. There were electronics and pedals and cables everywhere. Anticipating the sound that all of this might make I moved a little closer to the left speaker, and suddenly the room exploded. This young band plays with so much energy it only amplifies their raw sonic output. The word of the night among the shocked concert goers was "primal". HEALTH released their self-titled debut album last September (Lovepump United), and in May they also put out a fantastic remix album (Lovepump United).
-Jason Behrends

The Apples in Stereo / 3pm (A)
You may not know it, but you probably know Apples in Stereo. Does their "Signal in the Sky" from the Let's Go! EP sounds familiar? That's because it appeared in the Powerpuff Girls movie, you stoner. Does guitarist/singer Robert Schneider look familiar? That's because he introduced the infamous shred-off between The Decemberists and Stephen Colbert. Check out their so-sunshiney, sugary-sweet indie pop as the Denver-based Apples make their Pitchfork debut.
-Kara Luger

King Khan & The Shrines / 3:15pm (B)
King Khan arrived in The States late last month for his first American tour already carrying with a reputation of putting on wild and dangerous performances. He has been noted for combining the erotic and the soulful, and the results are often chaotic. Forming in Germany in 1999, at the age of 22 Kahn started to gain a reputation for his understanding of soul music and his ability to perform. The band, a super bad 10 piece soul inferno which includes Chicago-born Ron Streeter, has been touring Europe with Kahn for the last eight years. Recently signed to Vice Records, the band released a greatest hits collection just last month, and will be tearing up stages across America through August 3rd.
-Jason Behrends

Les Savy Fav / 4pm (C)
Anyone who's seen Les Savy Fav probably doesn't need added incentive to see them again. The energetic Tim Harrington is one of the best frontmen of this era and the band he leads sounds far more dynamic on stage than on any record. Whether it's rolling out slip'n'slides, crawling underneath floorboards, cutting hair or kissing audience members, Harrington manages to be both entertaining and borderline insane at all times. While he provides the visuals, the band nullifies the awkwardly varying production levels on its albums by delivering a chunky post-punk rock sound that they can only seem to pull off live. Even non-fans should make a point to experience the inevitable spectacle.
-James Ziegenfus

The Dodos / 5pm (A)
Meric Long (vocals/guitar) and Logan Kroeber (drums) are two musicians from San Francisco who have been playing together since 2006. The remarkable thing is that it is just two men walking on stage to an acoustic guitar and a worn drum set, and they create the most electric, energetic, sound I have heard in years. With rhythmic strums, graceful vocal tones, and inventive drum play, The Dodos released their second album (first as The Dodos, formerly Dodo Bird) on March 18th via Frenchkiss Records.
-Jason Behrends

Occidental Brothers Dance Band International / 5:20pm (B)
OBDBI is one of the hidden gems of the Chicago music scene, representing an international conglomeration of first rate musicians playing some of the most joyous, danceable music around. Formed by local guitarist Nathaniel Broddock, the band also features Ghana natives Kofi Cromwell and Daniel "Rambo" Asamoah, and local jazz scene stalwarts Greg Ward and Josh Ramos. The band started out as a cover project, playing classic Ghanian highlife and Congolese rumba, but as time has gone on they've developed their own unique compositional voice and style. The result is an infectious mix of African grooves and blistering improvised passages that lives up to the band name's promise to get everybody dancing.
-Daniel Melnick

Ghostface Killah & Raekwon / 6:25pm (B)
At the dawn of the Wu-Tang dynasty, when each of the initial participants started ripping out their own solo records, Ghostface (then Ghostface Killah) and Raekwon (the Chef) established themselves as having the albums that you had to check out first…after you, y'know, checked out Method Man, Old Dirty Bastard, and the GZA. Lacking attention-getting novelties like dope, insanity, or being the head when the group "forms like Voltron," Ghost and Rae had to depend instead of tight, inventive, fluid raps and unique flows (Ghostface's urgent, high-voiced machine gun vs. Raekwon's deeper, duskier noir narratives), as well as solid word-of-mouth from hip-hop fanatics, who know skills when they hear 'em. Looking back now, time's been kinder to the catalogs of these two than just about anyone in the original stable, save perhaps for the GZA. Expect nothing less than sweat, intensity, hand-raising and skills…from the artists, that is. What the crowd will do during this is anybody's guess.
-Chris Sienko

Spiritualized / 7pm (A)
UK psychedelic/experimental Spiritualized counts over twenty-six years of music history under its belt. Members have come and gone as often as the many looks of Madonna, yet front man Jason Pierce remains the steady driving force. Hailing from Rugby, England, the vocalist/guitarist formed the band back in 1990 out the ashes of Spacemen 3, ensuing controversy over the band's breakup. In 1999 Pierce completely stripped the band, hiring brand new members. It's this type of risk taking and unwillingness to compromise that typifies the music of Spiritualized, which has continued to evolve over the years. The band's trademark spacey minimalism is present in Songs in A & E, the band's sixth album, yet the heavy layers of gospel and blues exhibit a new depth of emotion. It took Pierce two years to finish the album, during which time he was hospitalized for double pneumonia. It's not called Songs in A & E for nothing, as A &E is a reference to the UK terminology for ER (accident and emergency), where Pierce spent considerable time on the verge of death. So yeah, if you want to hear what back-to-life music sounds like, go see this band.
-Marla Seidell

Dinosaur Jr. / 8pm (C)
J Mascis is a rock god! I have contended for many many years that he is the greatest guitar player of all time. You may or may not agree, but the fact remains that no other musician take a pop melody and insert a roaring yet majestic guitar solo quite like J. Forming in 1984, Dinosaur Jr. release three studio album before the departure of bass player (and Sebadoh frontman) Lou Barlow. J continued on as Dinosaur Jr. releasing four more albums between 1991 and 1997. In 2005, the original line-up finally reunited and they haven't looked back since. Last year, the band released their first studio album in over ten years, Beyond, and the sound is just as fresh and raw as it was back in '84. It is well documented that the live performance of Dinosaur Jr. are some of the most sonically impressive and loudest shows around. Just to witness the stacks of amps and microphones the J plays in front of is worth the price of admission.
-Jason Behrends

Cut Copy / 8:25pm (B)
While last year's laughingly bad sound problems caused many to flee the Balance Stage early, the final, late, aggro set from the Klaxons put a nail gun to the coffin and let it rip. So it would be unfair to say that Cut Copy have bid shoes to fill — rather, they could do nearly anything they wanted to and top last year's Sunday finale with ease. Yet, the men of Melbourne have proven to be a dance-floor inducing live show even for kids standing around at a rock concert, and thusly do they deserve the honor of finishing off the night for those who want to head home when the dancing stops. With great hipster limb movement power comes great responsibility, so expect the band to push only the best of their classic material while they milk the cohesion and energy of their astounding In Ghost Colors.
-Dan Morgridge

Spoon / 9pm (A)
With the release last summer of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon confused many a tongue-tied radio deejay and delighted most critics who raved about the latest efforts of this Austin, TX-based indie group. Classified as some sort of “gentleman punk” or a lo-fi indie romp, Spoon defied conventions once again with their latest work. At only 36 minutes, Ga Ga... is a whirlwind trip through lyrical mazes, production dubs and crafted percussion — but in a good way. As an album that has been labeled “a grower” and “one to be revisited” by the critics, I wonder how well it’ll go off live on Sunday night. I’m not entirely sure why this Texas-bred group seems to have so much trouble getting their energy level up when playing summer festivals, but after watching them play a steamy Lolla set and an equally hot and lazy Pitchfork performance over the past couple years, you got the feeling they just didn’t have their hearts in it — maybe a headliner slot is what they craved (and finally received). As it is, my fingers are crossed that Britt and the boys are out there somewhere, taking it easy, getting hydrated, and maybe getting a neck rub, because if the weather holds out with this hazy, hot and humid business, I’m not sure that they’re going to make it through the weekend. And hey, it's not the first time you'll hear it, but take a chance on a winner of an encore, boys, and give the fans a little something from the past and play “Chicago at Night” (after all, it will be Chicago…at night).
-Anne Holub

Pitchfork Festival Schedule 2008, Union Park, Chicago, IL

Friday, July 18 (in conjunction with All Tomorrow's Parties/Don't Look Back):
6:00 - Mission of Burma performing Vs. (C)
7:15 - Sebadoh performing Bubble and Scrape (C)
8:30 - Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (A)

Saturday, July 19:
12:30 - Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar (B)
1:00 - Titus Andronicus (C)
1:25 - A Hawk and a Hacksaw (B)
1:30 - Jay Reatard (A)
2:00 - Caribou (C)
2:20 - Icy Demons (B)
3:00 - Fleet Foxes (A)
3:15 - Fuck Buttons (B)
4:00 - Dizzee Rascal (C)
4:15 - The Ruby Suns (B)
5:00 - Vampire Weekend (A)
5:20 - Elf Power (B)
6:00 - !!! (C)
6:25 - Extra Golden (B)
7:00 - The Hold Steady (A)
7:30 - Atlas Sound (B)
8:00 - Jarvis Cocker (C)
8:25 - No Age (B)
9:00 - Animal Collective (A)

Sunday, July 20:
12:30 - Mahjongg (B)
1:00 - Times New Viking (C)
1:25 - High Places (B)
1:30 - Dirty Projectors (A)
2:00 - Boris (C)
2:20 - HEALTH (B)
3:00 - The Apples in Stereo (A)
3:15 - King Khan & the Shrines (B)
4:00 - Les Savy Fav (C)
5:00 - The Dodos (A)
5:20 - Occidental Brothers Dance Band International (B)
6:00 - M. Ward (C)
6:25 - Ghostface Killah & Raekwon (B)
7:00 - Spiritualized (A)
7:30 - Bon Iver (B)
8:00 - Dinosaur Jr. (C)
8:25 - Cut Copy (B)
9:00 - Spoon (A)

Key:
(A) - Aluminum Stage
(B) - Balance Stage
(C) - Connector Stage

(For a full map, click here.)

Carpooling for Carbon Offsets (and Rock)

2008-07-16T20:00:39Z

Often when a small band makes a plea for you to buy their merch at a show, they'll remark that all the cash they make from the t-shirts and CDs is going to go directly into their gas tank so they can continue on their tour. In the reality of nearly $5/gallon gas, it's a wonder that some small bands are able to go on tour at all.

The other side of that coin is when you're a bigger band, already headed out on tour, maybe in a bus or a two, you're going to make a pretty big carbon footprint as you motor around the country. Or, if you're a band that draws a lot of fans, or playing a gig (e.g. festival) that will draw a large audience, the very people who love you the most are going to leave the biggest carbon footprint. In light of that, at least a few artists heading to the Chicago area are trying to minimalize their impact on the environment.

In a fan newsletter out today, Andrew Bird (who'll play for free in Millennium Park Sept. 3) is requesting that fans help to reduce the show's carbon footprint by traveling to the show via footpower, bikes, or public transit.

[A new version of a video for Bird's song "Lull", featuring Chicago band Dianogah, from the Daytrotter Session is here.]

In a style true to their minimalist indie-rock moniker, Duluth, Minnesota group Low is using a portion of ticket presales for their Sept. 17th show at Epiphany Episcopal to pay for carbon offsets for their fall tour.

[A video for Low's song "Breaker" can be viewed here.]

Do you think about your carbon footprint when you head to a show? How about an out-of-town festival (or for that matter, a Chicago one)? Would you consider changing your travel plans (or buying carbon credits) based on the environmental impact?

Contest: Three Days of Pitchfork

2008-07-16T17:30:00Z

Don't have your tickets to the Pitchfork Music Festival yet? How's a three-day pass for free sound? We've got a pair to give away, courtesy of Boost Mobile -- just ~~email contests@gapersblock.com with the subject line "Pitchfork Booster" by 5pm today~~. We'll choose a winner at random from the entries received. Be sure to include your name, phone number and an address where the tickets can be overnighted to you if you win. UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Jen!

Mahjongg, HEALTH, others play Hideout Pfork after-parties this weekend

2008-07-15T23:36:05Z

Drums and wires: Mahjongg

The guys in the L.A.-based noise-rock outfit HEALTH haven’t exactly made things easy for anybody, least of all themselves. First there’s their choice of a Google-that-again name, and the fact that their debut album of last year threw the trend jockeys for a loop with all of its abrasive jolts, asymmetrical arrangements, and spectral vocals. Throwing another curveball into the mix, the band managed to somewhat placate pop-minded listeners when they recently released the follow-up HEALTH//DISCO -- a bubble-wrap remix affair in which artists like Crystal Castles, Acid Girls, and Drop The Lime gave the band’s debut a club-oriented workover.

HEALTH will be playing this Friday night at the Hideout. Better yet -- in an act of astute matchmaking for the evening’s billing, they’ll be appearing alongside Chicago’s own electro Afro-funk experimentalists Mahjongg. Both groups will be performing early on the Sunday schedule for Pfork Fest; but if you’d rather experience both groups in the more cozy and conducive confines of a club, Friday’s show makes for an ideal opportunity. Alex & the Drummer are also slated to play. Doors open at 10 PM and tickets are $10.

For Saturday night’s post-Pfork soiree, the Hideout will be hosting a special edition of their Saturday night dance party event. To celebrate being named “Best Dance Party” by the Chicago Reader, the Hideout’s throwing a big eight deejay pile-up of a throwdown. Scheduled to spin for the evening (in order of appearance) are: DJ Treetop Lover, the East of Edens Soul Express DJs, Gutterbutter DJ Logan Bay, Bald Eagle and Mother Hubbard of the Life During Wartime DJs, and Smashing Time DJs Mary Nisi and Carrie Weston. It all gets underway starting at 9 PM and admission is free.

For further details, see the Hideout’s website, and our own feature run-down of this year’s Pitchfork lineup.

[video]: HEALTH - live (via Pitchfork TV)
[video]: Mahjongg - "Teardrops"

Please Don't Call Them Cute...

2008-07-15T18:45:24Z

One look at Justin Schweim (bass), Bradley Hale (drums, vocals), Cacie Dalager (vocals, guitar), and Britty Hale (keyboard), and you may think you understand why this Minneapolis band is called Now, Now Every Children. However, don’t let their height or their baby faces fool you, they do pack a very potent punch. Bouncy keyboards and jangly guitars mesh with the Cacie’s soft yet powerful vocals. Yet what has brought them the most attention has been their silly and original videos that attempt to not only introduce themselves to their fans, but to also befriend their fans. Since February they have released two eps, and now are in the studio recording their debut full length.

[MP3] Now, Now Every Children - Everyone You Know

Check them out tomorrow night at Reggie’s Rock Club as they take a break from recording. They will be appearing with Section 4, Mother Electric, and You. The show starts at 8:00pm, and is 17+. Tickets are $5 adv $8 day of show.

Radio on the TV

2008-07-15T18:16:31Z

No, that's not a mistake -- I'm talking about vintage TV commercials for radio stations. Through the magic of YouTube, all sorts of embarrassingly bad commercials for stations of varying quality live on.

"If you haven't tried WXRT lately, give our rock a listen!"

"Q101. The Q stands for quality music."

You stay classy, WBMX.

The Loop presages the lip-syncing of the '80s.

The same actress returned a couple years later to lure people back.

This one from WMET is still pretty much in use today in one form or another.

Killing Me Quickly (with their song)

2008-07-11T16:00:39Z

Sic Alps killed me in just over 90 seconds - it didn't take much time at all. The 1:30 slice of perfection in question is "Bells (with Tremolo and Distortion)," off of their recent Description of the Harbor 12-inch (don't bother looking, it's long gone, unless you've got $75 and an Ebay username to spare) and it just nailed me - it's like a breath of air straight out of Lenny Kaye's record cellar, a lost psychedelic Nugget(s) lifted from obscurity, dusted off, and then killed and reborn anew, because it's not a cover, it's a new song with moves for moderns. The main lyric is pretty much one line: "I don't care 'bout what you say/meet me down on the lawn, lawn lawn," and that might not even be how it goes! The singer drawls the last word so exquisitely, it's hard to tell. Or care. (Youtube video here…count the visual music references/influences!)

This obsession wasn't unexpected, though. The band already had their sights leveled on my temple with 2006's Teenage Alps cassette single on Animal Disguise. 10 minutes in a heaven that was equal parts dirgey psych-rock, Sabbath swagger, and black metal shred, with a few gently sprinkled piano tinkles at the end for good measure. That tape is long gone as well, but all of these heart-stoppers and more can be found on a recent 26-track odds-n-sods collection titled A Long Way Around to a Shortcut, also on Animal Disguise. The CD collects all the music from two 12-inches, two 7-inches, the aforementioned cassette, a compilation track, and an unreleased track. To use the verbiage of late-night TV, if you wanted to buy all these songs separately, you'd expect to pay $175 (thanks to fan "enthusiasm" on Ebay). Instead, you get a concise 60 minute program which travels backwards in time (starting material from November 2007 and working backwards to April 2006) from sunshiny '60s garage-psych into darker, more ramshackle alleys. The "Strawberry Guillotine" 7-inch, for example, betrays the bands roots among the Load Records shamble-rock shamen - think USA Is A Monster, Friends Forever, or Astoveboat, all distortion-y and cavern-y. Thing is, even their noisiest "experiment" tracks still sounds like the kind of sonic “Happenings” you might spy on the back-end of an early Red Crayola album. Similarly, their most unapologetically retro-sounding pieces still never travel into mimicry. The old sounds new, the new sounds old. Just like the Albert Ayler, whose style was always based in R&B and the blues, even while speeding into the future of jazz, Sic Alps create something that feels old, but keeps pushing the whole machine forward.

Sic Alps will be playing this Saturday at Enemy (1550 N. Milwaukee Ave, 3rd Floor) along with Wet Hair, Magic Missile, and Druids of Huge. Doors at 8 p.m., Start time 8:30 sharp due to volume laws. $5 suggested donation. The band will no doubt have copies of Long Way Around to a Shortcut for sale, as well as their forthcoming record on Siltbreeze, titled U.S. EZ, due for national release on Friday, July 15.

Bands You Missed, Vol. 2

2008-07-11T14:29:35Z

First Coat, 2003-2007

Hyde Park's First Coat was probably the most beloved of all the bands that came up during the University of Chicago's music renaissance early this decade, combining solid songwriting, experimental flourishes and the instantly-memorable voices of singers Conor Loughridge and Becky Stark to achieve pop-rock-folk perfection.

After starting out as the Shifty Men of Business and then Drexel, the band's lineup solidified for their first proper recording as First Coat in 2003 with Loughridge, Stark, guitarist Will Long, bass player Sean Mahan, and drummer Tom Gaulkin. (Fair warning: Long and Mahan, as well as eventual drummer Paul Brannon were all also in my band during this time, but let's face it, First Coat was infinitely better.) That record, Great Lakes Disorder, stands as the definitive document of this version of the band, with a folkier, rootsier sound that particularly comes to the forefront on Loughridge-penned tracks like Nobody Loves You and Lime, and a bluesier shift on Becky's contributions like Mermaid and Weatherman, which stands as one of the most popular songs in the band's repertoire.

Nestled within and between these relatively straightforward tracks, however, are hints at the more experimental direction First Coat would eventually take, and the record ends with the mild pop of "Money On You" devolving into the cinematic, ethereal opening of "Planets and Stars," which itself resolves into something else entirely — twice over.

With the departure of Stark for California and a new drummer in Paul Brannon, the newly all-male First Coat settled into Chicago's Semaphore Recording to produce 2006's Move Like Sparrows, released on Loud Devices. Fusing rock elements with Loughridge's newfound love of unconventional song structures and deeply personal lyrics, the album is just 8 tracks long, but manages to present itself as a complete whole, as somber tracks like "Drunk Online Shopping" merge seamlessly with the seemingly cheery Britpop of "Listen To Your Kids".

More disclosure: I shot a video for Artichoke, which is here:

After another year or so of shows, graduations and jobs and wanderlust took their toll, and the band dissolved.

There's much more to this story, of course — the band continuously played raucous live shows during its entire run, at venues from U of C basement parties to Martyrs'; and as with all the Hyde Park bands, the First Coat story is really the story of every band on the Mr. Hyde label, and of a moment of inspired creativity that captured an entire group of musicians. But that's all unimportant now — you missed it. What remains, however, are two records that are among the finest ever put out by anyone in Chicago.

(Oh, fine, one more disclosure: Will Long is in the Heaven Seventies with me, but we make dance music, not folk pop makeout songs. So there.)

-Nilay Patel

Breaking Circus, 1983-1988

Breaking Circus circa late 1987. (L-R: Todd Trainer, Steve Björklund, Flour, and fill-in guitarist Phil Harder.)

"Vital and vibrant." That's how Steve Björklund describes the Chicago punk rock scene of the early 1980s. "During that period, I saw the Ramones play twenty-five times," he tells me. "There was a different cool gig to go to 4 times a week, equally balanced between UK/Euro bands, touring US bands and local bands."

By the mid-'80s, however, that scene had begun to wane and unravel. Bands broke up and reconfigured, with a number of the community's key players and musicians started to work on new ideas and develop new sounds as a means of moving on and pushing the music forward into fresher terrain. The blast-furnace minimalism of local punk titans The Effigies still proved a formidable influence in the years that followed. But in taking stock of the expanded musical landscape, certain artists started to look beyond the limits of three-chord punk — particularly taking inspiration from the post-punk racket being made by the likes of UK outfits such as Gang of Four and The Three Johns.

Björklund, who started the band Breaking Circus with bassist Bruce Lange in 1983, was one such figure. Previously, he'd been the frontman for one of Chicago's premiere early-'80s punk outfits Strike Under; as well as having briefly passed through the ranks of the band Terminal Beach (which also featured future Naked Raygun and Pegboy guitarist Jon Haggerty). As he began working on new songs and material, he dubbed his new music project Breaking Circus, and — with he and Lange supported with the rhythmic backing of a Roland TR-606 drum machine — set about recording the band's first EP, The Very Long Fuse.

The resulting EP was released in 1985 on Gerard Cosloy's independent label, Homestead Records. As demonstrated on the college-radio favorite "(Knife In The) Marathon," Björklund was moving into slightly more melodic territory with some songs — branching out to write tunes that involved something akin to conventional rock-ish riffs and hooks. Still, other tracks evidenced the crafting of a sound that would soon be specifically associated with the Chicago underground scene &mdsah; a bulldozing and noisy "industrial" rock sound that was also being pioneered by Steve Albini and his band Big Black. (Björklund had, incidentally, known Albini very well at the time, and had even worked the soundboard for Big Black when the band toured the East Coast.)

By the time The Very Long Fuse was released, Bruce Lange had exited the picture, leaving Björklund as the group's only remaining non-mechanical member. When it came time to turn Breaking Circus into a viable, proper band, Björklund packed up and relocated to Minneapolis. There he eventually hooked up with drummer Todd Trainer and bassist Flour (aka Pete Conway), both of whom were then working as the rhythm section for the band Rifle Sport. With a full trio lineup in place, the Circus roared into peak creativity mode, touring and recording at every opportunity. They quickly recorded and released their debut full-length album Ice Machine in early 1987, and followed it up with the Smoker's Paradise EP by year's end. Both releases showed the band honing their sound -- tightening it up into a triple-time assault of serrated guitar gnaw and jackhammering rhythms. Lyrically, Björkland howled and muttered about the omnipresence of danger, trouble, psychic shocks and turbulence, at one point croaking something to the effect of feeling like "a piece of burned-black toast threaded on a rusty wire." All such bombast and bloodletting aside, the band also proved pleasingly adept at lateral stylistic moves — from the sinister swagger of Ice Machine's "Song Of The South" to the sardonic lounge-ish swing of "Shockhammer 13."

Despite having a couple of impressive new records and a fair amount of highly positive indie-press attention to their credit, Breaking Circus soon unraveled and ceased activity in 1988. Todd Trainer and Flour both continued to play in Rifle Sport — the latter eventually releasing solo albums on the Touch & Go label, while Trainer would later record under the moniker Brick Layer Cake and also man the drumkit in Shellac. Steve Björklund briefly played in a couple of other bands before eventually turning his attention to electronic music. He currently resides in Chicago.

Breaking Circus's discography was only printed once on its initial vinyl run on the Homestead label, and has yet to be reissued on CD.

-Graham Sanford

Tom Spacey, late '90s-2001

Tom Spacey was a five-piece spacerock act formed in the late '90s, with Cory Osborne on bass, Hammond organ, and vocals; Adam Thompson on guitars, vocals and piano; Daniel Cline on guitars; John Meseke on drums; and KC Saint John on synthesizer and theremin. They started out as The Gnomes, but it was immediately obvious to the group that the name needed to go. They wanted a name that evoked time and space. So why not...Tom Spacey? The name fit their sound well, and also brought to mind Pink Floyd, an obvious influence and touchstone for the band.

On their only recording, 1998's mars is eden, My Bloody Valentine came through loud and clear as an influence as well, with swirling guitars and built-up walls of sound forming aural landscapes for the listener to explore — this was definitely an album to listen to with headphones on. The first two songs, "silly things," "drone" and "the lost dutchman," flowed into each other on rafts of synth, theremin and guitar feedback. The interplay of echoes and ethereal vocals added to the sense of weightlessness and space the band strived for as well. It all combined for a very trippy experience, perfect for chilling out in a darkened room with the recreational drug or drink of your choice.

Not to say their live shows weren't any good. But they were different. In person, the wall of sound was at the forefront, occasionally drowning out Osborne's sometimes flat vocals, while the synth, theremin and oscillator battled it out with the feedback loops. But the band suffered from a lack of exposure and a relatively infrequent performance schedule. Tom Spacey managed to perform at the Metro and Double Door a couple times (helped by the fact that Saint John worked at the former while in the band), but never as a headliner. The band finally broke up in 2001 (ironic, no? Space, 2001? Never mind.)

While researching this piece, I discovered that Saint John, Thompson and Meseke have continued on together as American Cosmonaut, with guitarist/vocalist Jesse Evans and Lee E. They play more straightforward guitar-driven rock, and released a three-song EP in 2003.

-Andrew Huff

A Special Mux

To hear a sample of tracks from each of our three missed bands this week, head on over to Muxtape and stream our very first Bands You Missed Mux.

About the Authors:

Nilay Patel is a guitarist / producer in The Heaven Seventies, as a well as a video designer and writer. He previously wrote about Millimeters Mercury in a Bands You Missed feature.

Graham Sanford is a writer, editor, and former radio DJ who lives and works in Chicago. He's never been in a riot or ever owned a skateboard, but has sometimes had occasion to feel like a piece of burnt-black toast threaded on a rusty wire.

Andrew Huff works deep into the night at his West Ridge two-flat, writing and editing and playing with the cats. He spends more time online than is healthy; follow along at me3dia.com. He is the Editor and Publisher of Gapersblock.com.

Feel the Urge.

2008-07-11T13:57:40Z

Urge Overkill may have had some blows in the '90s when they pissed off a few people and then bombed when their stock was highest post-Pulp Fiction, but the missed potential doesn't erase the fact that for a few years they had the ingredients to be a highly successful American rock band and often delivered excellent results. Even nearly twenty years later tunes like "Ticket to LA" and "The Candidate" sound remarkably raw yet accessible, in a way that anyone who lived and loved alternative rock in the early 90s would know. But that was a long time ago that they took those blows. After a seven-year hiatus ending in 2004, Nash Kato and King are the centerpieces of an Urge Overkill perhaps not so bent on the things that led to their downfall a decade ago. Now they just rock out as veterans with a certain panache.

Chicago garage rock quartet Suffrajett has been rather quiet since their 2007 album Black Glitter. They'll open and hopefully showcase glimpses of what they've been up to since then. Lonesome Cougar also plays. Doors open Saturday at 8PM at Bottom Lounge and $20 gets you in for the rock'n'roll.

The Power of Three

2008-07-10T17:50:29Z

American Ghost Dance: These Are Powers

The hometown three-piece Pit Er Pat will be poking their heads up to play a headlining set at the Hideout this Sunday evening. No doubt that they'll be treating everyone to some selection from their forthcoming album High Time, which is due out on Thrill Jockey in October. Word has it that the band has (once again) been exploring new territory with the music lately, gravitating to a more guitar-oriented, dub-inflected sound. Here's your chance to get a preview dose.

Another great reason to catch the show, however, would be the self-described "ghost punk" trio These Are Powers, who'll be playing a supporting set on the billi. For the second summer in a row, These Are Powers are taking a summer off from their usual Brooklyn haunts to hiatus in Chicago. After last year's summer stint, they took Brenmar Someday drummer Bill Salas into their ranks before heading back to home base. Judging from their new Taro Tarot EP, Salas was the ideal candidate the position. Bassist Pat Noecker and guitarist Anna Barie have crafted a bewilderingly intense and inexplicable sound -- filled with spark-spewing noizoid fret-firings and harrowing caterwaul -- that made their freshman album Terrific Seasons one of the most impressive (if not slightly amazing) underground debuts of 2007.

All of this'll be happening at the Hideout this Sunday evening. Pit Er Pat are headlining, with These Are Powers playing just beforehand. Waterbabies opens. Admission is $10 and the doors open at 9 PM. 1354 W. Wabansia.

[video]: These Are Powers - "Chipping Ice" (video shoot)
[video]: These Are Powers - "You Come With Nothing" (live)

Free Hipster... I mean Hip Hop Mix!

2008-07-09T18:17:08Z

The term Hipster Rap or Hipster Hop has some how become an insult. When you look at Chicago acts like Lupe Fiasco, The Cool Kids, Kidz in the Hall, Hollywood Holt, Mic Terror, etc. you see extremely successful musicians with inventive beats. Regardless of the label, these acts are gaining fans and major recognition. An example of this is the recent announcement that the Kidz in the Hall track “The Blackout” (from May’s The In Crowd) will be featured on the soundtrack for EA Sports Madden NFL 2009. Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for Electronic Arts, said "we believe that this time next year, Kidz In The Hall will be true Hip-Hop superstars." So if rhyming about jeans, nail polish, cappuccino, skate boards, and Chuck Taylor’s will make you ‘Hip-Hop superstars’ then I say go for it! I suppose mentioning Mark Rippen in your songs doesn’t hurt either.

[LINK] Hipster Hop Presented By Ray Protégé (Link updated!)

Chicago’s DJ Ray Protégé has put together a mixtape that attempts to both chronicle this new movement and in a way remove the ‘ster’ from ‘hipster’. The mix is Chicago heavy, but is also feature The Knux, Donnis, Izza Kizza, and others. The purpose behind the track selection and various sound bites from the emcees themselves is to stress the point that whatever you want to call it it is still hip hop. In fact, as you listen through these tracks they really trace back to the golden era of hip hop and acts like Nice and Smooth, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Kid n’ Play, Das Efx, and so on. The beats are solid, the rhymes are fun, and the fans are responding.

Hipster Hop Presented By Ray Protégé Tracklist

1. Double O (Kidz In The Hall Speaks On Hipster Rapper Label)
2. Kidz In The Hall ft Donnis and Chip The Ripper: Mr. All of That Sh^T
3. Pac Div: Paper
4. Mic Terror: Hiooo (Produced By M$M)
5. The Cool Kids: Oscar
6. The Knux: Capuchino Remix
7. Mickey Factz ft N.E.R.D: Don't B Light
8. Wale: Artistic Integrity
9. Kid Cudi: Mastered (Produced By A-Trak)
10. The Cool Kids: Dinner Time
11. Kid Cudi: f Wale IS There Any Love
12. Mickey Factz: Addresses Hipster Label
13. Mickey Factz ft The Cool Kids: Rockin And Rolling
14. Izza Kizza ft Missy Elliot: Walking The Dog
15. Phone Call W/ Hollywood Holt
16. Hollywood Holt: Hollywood
17. Mic Terror ft Donnis: Owee
18. Mic Terror Talks about Hipster Label
19. Pac Div: Love it
20. Donnis: L.o.v.e. Boyfriend

Check out Ray Protégé’s other mixes and his various appearances over at his myspace page.

Symptoms may include: Dizziness, giddiness, muscle aches...

2008-07-09T03:17:04Z

The stateside interest in vintage psychedelic pop from deep Southeast Asia has been brewing for nearly a decade -- first thanks to the Cambodian Rocks series of compilations and all of the similar bootleg series that followed. Then up sprouted the Bay-area band Neung Phak and the Los Angeles sextet Dengue Fever. The latter was former band was founded after Ethan Holzman and his brother Zac made a trip to Cambodia and discovered the decades-old music that still predominated jukeboxes and airwaves throughout the country. After finding prize vocalist Chhom Nimol in the Little Phnom Phen district of L.A., Dengue Fever ideally rounded out it lineup and got to work building a repertoire of psych-tinged Khmeri cover tunes.

The band's 2005 sophomore LP, Escape From Dragon House, attracted a large amount of praise and media coverage -- resulting in a number of profiles and interviews on NPR, as well as landing them in the role of subjects for the documentary film Sleeping Through The Mekong. The recent release of the band's third album, Venus On Earth, has stirred up yet another wave of enthusiastic press. Admittedly, a few critics are bemoaning a few recent tweaks in the band's em-oh -- particularly their recent decision to start writing their own songs, and to perform some of those songs in English. Nonetheless, the band's music has hooked a big audience and they continue to sell out venues whenever they go on tour. This Friday night, they'll be making an appearance on the top of the bill at the Empty Bottle. The local pan-global, new wave WTFster outfit Brilliant Pebbles are slated to open for the evening. The show starts at 10 PM, and tickets are $14. 1035 N. Western Ave.

[video]: Dengue Fever – "Seeing Hands"
[video]: Dengue Fever – "Sni Bong"

Rock with Tortoise, get warm fuzzy feeling, 7/12

2008-07-09T00:34:55Z

Act quick, and get cheap $10 tickets to see world-renowned Thrill Jockey artists, indie rock innovators, post-rock experimentalists (and Chicago boys) Tortoise (read our review of their 2006 box set A Lazarus Taxon) at the Empty Bottle this Saturday, 7/12. The catch? Only a potential windfall for Stella Ackerman, the daughter of former Bottle employee (and member of Lustre King) Craig Ackerman, who has an undiagnosed blood disease. Proceeds from the (nearly sold out) show will go towards the Ackerman's medical bills and cancer research.

Tortoise plays the benefit show for Stella this Saturday, 7/12 with special guests Tight Phantomz and Disappears starting at 10pm. Tickets are $10 (limited number) and $15 after that. Questions? Ask the Empty Bottle, 773-276-3600.