Now that I’ve had a couple days to let them sink in, I’m convinced the two Pearl Jam shows I saw this week, Sunday and Monday at United Center, were two of the best I’ve seen the band play. 

Quite simply, the quintet appeared to have something to prove, that under no circumstance were they resting on laurels and phoning it in. I’ve seen Pearl Jam several times before—including one show at United Center in 1998 in which I sat front row—and it’s incredible, and surprising, to see Eddie Vedder as energetic as ever. He’s not climbing the rafters or leaping into the crowd anymore—save that for psycho David Yow—but his voice is as powerful as ever. Read the rest of this entry »

Vanessa Upson, a California native who moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University, hasn’t been performing as Violetness for very long. In fact, her first show was just a few weeks ago. But her entire life has been full of music and influences that have all led to where she is today. A year after graduating in 2007, Upson came back to Chicago to work with production company Cassette Company. “That’s where it all came together, where I found something that stuck with me,” says Upson. She remembers thinking, “This is exactly the sound I’m looking for and exactly the way I wanted to have people hear me.”

That music so far, in her few recorded songs, is primarily based around Upson’s delicate vocals, drums—including floor tom hits and snare rolls—and other percussive sounds, handclaps, shakers and bells. “I wanted it to be kind of tribal,” says Upson, “and I wanted to have a dark feel to it.” Read the rest of this entry »

Radley, the friendly cat who for years roamed inside the Empty Bottle, has passed on. We just got this press release from the venue.

Dearly Beloved, 

I write to you today to eulogize our friend, confidant, and favorite feline Radley.  Today this 25th day of August at 2:32 pm,  Radley finally succumbed to the ills of the hard rockin lifestyle he lived.  

For these last 16 years, you could find Radley roaming the friendly confines of the Empty Bottle.  Slinking across the bar to catch a sip of your beverage, or cuddling with you on the couch.  He never judged you when you drank, and was always there to lend a furry shoulder.  You were never alone when Radley was around.  Many a drummer have been reminded that they were playing in Radleys house.  

To the bands that returned him home when found hiding in their van, to the concerned customers who carried him home when he roamed the streets.  To the loving family members who cared for him over the years, to his medical team that helped ease his pain.  The cat with the mouse tattoo in his ear was truly our friend.  

Today is truly a sad day in Empty Bottle history.  

Radley has outlasted his brothers and sisters Scout, Boo, Gem, Finch, Atticus, and Bob.   

Donations should be made to the American Liver Foundation  312-377-9030. 

Feel free to pass this on. 

Sincerely, 

Bruce Finkelman and The Empty Bottle Family

Claire Stahlecker’s music is similar to a breezy romantic comedy, one that’s pleasant enough to take in for an hour and a half, and not a piece that will torture you for days afterward. The Chicago singer-songwriter, still unsigned, makes a convincing blend of pop and folk; her songs stir with the honesty and emotional wisdom of a late-night troubadour, but she’s also not afraid of writing a hummable hook. On Friday at Martyrs, Stahlecker releases her first EP, titled “A Little Piece of Heaven,” and it seems like this is just the beginning for the young artist.

“The only thing that really motivated me to practice was to learn some of my favorite artists’ songs,” she says of the time she was learning to play. “I had been writing for a long time too. When I was a kid I used to write songs without an instrument, just lyrics. It’s weird to think about now. I never thought it would be a career.” Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

Colette returns to Chicago for her monthly residency after dropping her latest music video for “Think You Want It.” Don’t miss this appearance because the celebrated OM songstress will be performing live, supported by band members from Home & Garden and Angelhouse. Despite their respective rock, ambient and hip-hop backgrounds, expect the ensemble to deliver the impeccable, vocal-laden house music at which Colette excels. She will DJ after the live show, and will be joined by Superjane cohort, Lady D, who is always a hit behind the decks. (John  Alex Colon)

August 29 at Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, (773)549-0203, 10pm.

RECOMMENDED

Producing the debut EP for MGMT certainly helps with street cred, but the Molinari brothers are much more than studio prowess. A hilarious and energetic blend of disco, electro and funk are at play in their efforts, and the fun is quite infectious. The Rebellion throws down on keyboards, programmed drums and, of course, a French horn, and this tour pairs them with Database, a similar, but more electronica-influenced duo from Brazil. Having remixed Fat Boy Slim and a slew of other high-profile dance acts, they have dominated festival appearances with their blend of electro, disco and house music. There’s little question you’ll end up on the dancefloor at this budget-friendly show. (John Alex Colon)

September 2 at Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago, 9pm.

A confession: When I was 14, I asked my cousin to burn me his copy of “Human Clay,” Creed’s multi-platinum breakout album. I remember his reply quite vividly: “Aw man, you don’t want that. Trust me.” Even in his early teens, an age when taste in music is understandably poor, “Human Clay” had left him gaunt, beaten, with no sign of life left in his eyes, as if Scott Stapp’s absurdly insipid songwriting had somehow left his soul forsaken. When Creed broke up in 2004, America began to heal—but now this bane of music has reunited and is readying a new album, “Tattered Shit” (ok, it’s actually called “Full Circle,” but “Tattered Shit” feels right). I’m wondering: who in the world is clamoring for a Creed reunion? This is not like, say, Journey, where nostalgia and irony have created an unusual but explainable demand for “Wheel in the Sky”—Creed is a nauseous nostalgia, totally beyond enjoying ironically, the musical equivalent of a Natural Light can filled with bile. I don’t know of anyone who wasn’t dismayed by Mark Tremont’s utterly derivative guitar work or disgusted, in general, by Stapp, who sings like he’s struggling through the worst bowel movement of his life, yet acts like his lyrics are on par with Paul’s epistles. I couldn’t think of a more despised, more unwelcome band to jump back onto the scene, until I saw the opening act—Hoobastank. Did people stop listening to music after 1999 or something? (Andy Seifert)

August 30 at First Midwestern Bank Amphitheater, 19100 South Ridgeland, Tinley Park, (708) 614-1616, 7:30pm.

RECOMMENDED

Even with only three mp3s floating around the Internet, Philly quintet Free Energy is starting to produce the sort of buzz usually reserved for bands with at least an EP in the bag. The hype, though, is pretty justified: these songs rule pretty hard, a trio of hook-heavy classic rock jams with blisteringly fun guitar work and choruses about cruising the town and the glory that comes with being young—basically everything Tinted Windows was supposed to be, but never came close to. Based on these tracks (including one eponymous five-minute opus that’s sure to become the band’s bar anthem), Free Energy’s upcoming record, “Stuck on Nothing,” produced by LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, will corner the market on hand claps, cowbells and danceable grooves. When you mix those ingredients (and don’t overdo it), it’s usually a pretty damn good time. (Andy Seifert)

September 2 at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, (773)525-2508, at 7pm. $10.

RECOMMENDED

Brooklyn all-girl rock trio Vivian Girls shot to popularity after a roughly recorded CD-R of its music was passed around town—within months, the band was playing with the likes of Sonic Youth and Jay Reatard, developing the reputation for putting on a kick-ass show. The band’s lo-fi debut record, self-titled and released last year by Mauled by Tigers/In the Red, was one of the best of 2008, ten pop-poundings that sounded like an adorable baby that the Shangri-Las and the Wipers puked up. (Pretty sure with multiple listens, tattoos will just start appearing on your body.) Fuzzy tones and vocal harmonies galore, Vivian Girls breathed life into indie rock once again. The band’s follow-up, the charmingly titled “Everything Goes Wrong,” hits shelves next week, and it’s all improvement. Sound is better, the songwriting tighter. It may lack the basement-show power of the first record, but it’s evidence that Vivian Girls is gonna be around for a while, and we’re lucky for it. At Pitchfork this year the trio sledgehammered the small stage with an energizing set. Indoors, it’s even better. (Tom Lynch)

Vivian Girls play August 30 at Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, (773)276-3600, at 9pm. $10.

Free barbecue and live music will be served up September 12 at Andersonville’s Simon’s Tavern in the first edition of the Simon Say’s Music Festival. Chris Anderson of Last Alley Productions, who regularly books music for Simon’s, approached owner Scott Martin with the idea of a music festival. “I’ve done music there for four years,” Anderson explains. “I think the only real music you get up there [in Andersonville] is once a year at the summer music festival, but they’re mostly cover bands…this is obviously original, independent rock music.” The all-day event will begin at 1pm with music from Bucky Halker. Six more bands will perform throughout the day, all inside the bar, the last of which will be Inchworm at 10pm. Anderson says he would ideally like to have the festival twice a year—one at the end of summer and another during the winter. “It’s Americana pop, a little bit of folk,” Anderson says. “It’s a small place so we don’t want something too heavy. We don’t want to bring in original music that’s going to drive people away. We want to keep the volume down so people can listen and have conversation.”