Bob Gendron

The Bottle Rockets made most mainstream music seem out of touch with reality Friday at a sold-out Hideout. Rejecting the self-importance, extravagance and entitlement embraced by contemporary stars, the band...

What Pixar often accomplishes with visual animation, Andrew Bird did with sound Monday at the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Playing the first of a four-night, sold-out stand, the local multi-instrumentalist launched...

Charles Bradley sang like a man determined to heal society's troubles Friday at a sold-out Metro. The soul veteran issued stern warnings, posed challenging questions and begged for understanding during...

Fans needed a spreadsheet to keep track of the hit parade Elton John performed Saturday at a packed Allstate Arena. The English icon drew from four decades and paid particular...

"The world used to be silent," declared Savages singer Jehnny Beth. "Now it has too many voices." Beth and her focused mates took that mantra to heart Monday at a...

Not long ago, going to a Chicago street festival usually meant settling for '80s cover bands, greasy food and ordinary beverages. That was then. Paralleling the grass-roots evolution of the...

Not long ago, going to a Chicago street festival usually meant settling for '80s cover bands, greasy food and ordinary beverages. That was then. Paralleling the grass-roots evolution of the...

When in doubt, just begin chanting wordless pop refrains and your uncertainties might disappear. Of Monsters and Men implied such advice Wednesday at a sold-out Aragon during a 75-minute concert...

"I want to live all the time," sang Kurt Vile Tuesday at a sold-out Lincoln Hall, "in my fantasy infinity." The singer-guitarist got his wish for 90 minutes while constructing...