Megadeth’s Mustaine having last laugh
Dave Mustaine's career has been marked by more than its fair share of ignominy, injury and self-abuse, from his infamously unceremonious ouster from Metallica back in 1983 to numerous stints...
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Joe Henry a revelation at Old Town School
From his early days in the nascent alt-country field to unlikely collaborations with the divergent likes of Ornette Coleman and Madonna, Joe Henry's never been the kind of artist to...
Master storyteller Escovedo finds the right setting at Old Town
Some careers start in an obvious spot then continue to grow from there. Alejandro Escovedo, on the other hand, took a few decades to find a sound that fit him...
Johnny Jewel’s triple play full of grooves at Lincoln Hall
Not unlike the weather of his longtime home Portland, Oregon, Johnny Jewel's creative energy apparently never dries up. He's the driving force of no less than three acts -- Glass...
Robyn a blur of manic energy with a batch of fresh songs
Big-time pop stars sell millions of albums and chart countless hits. Swedish singer Robyn hasn't really done that. In an earlier, late '90s incarnation she was briefly a teen pop...
She & Him review: Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward fill Millennium Park with sweet nothings
One of the most remarkable aspects of She & Him is how unremarkable the project really is. Often when an actor (in this case the charming Zooey Deschanel) decides to...
LCD Soundsystem creates sublime mix
LCD Soundsystem makes it seem so easy. Most of the New York band's songs are built around just a couple of chords -- sometimes only one, or even none. The...
Rokia Traore is riveting at Old Town
Rokia Traore typically sings in her native Bamana, and sometimes in French. But 45 minutes into her sold-out show at the Old Town School of Folk Music Sunday, the Malian...
Chicagoan Hawking is at his best when he’s himself
It would be difficult to name a singer who admires other singers more than Chicagoan Ron Hawking. The veteran vocalist has devoted a large chunk of his career to paying...
The Songwriters at Chicago Theatre
Despite a shared debt to traditional country, folk and blues, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely and Guy Clark couldn't be more different as songwriters. Yet one thing the members...