Next week, Joe Bryl’s Braziliance party at Sonotheque celebrates its three-year anniversary and also serves as a (somewhat) going-away shindig for the club’s co-owner. “This will be my last involvement with Braziliance,” Bryl says. “We’ve been lucky enough to bring a lot of Brazil’s talent here.” Bryl says he will remain as co-owner of the club along with Donnie Madia and Terry Alexander, and is still involved in the daytime activities, but his role will be much more limited while he focuses on a new project at the Charleston, located at 2076 North Hoyne. “The musical climate at Charleston will be more intimate. I’ll be collaborating with some DJs as well as record collectors. We’re preserving the historic space while adding a new sound system, but it’s basically going to be a bar.” Bryl will serve as Charleston’s manager and music director and his decision to focus on the new bar—not necessarily known for its music programming—was to be able to work in a more intimate setting and play material that doesn’t fit into Sonotheque’s “dance aesthetic.” Bryl says that Charleston’s owner, Jeremy Lewin, whom he’s known for years, first approached Bryl about the possibility a few months ago. Citing his passion for historic bars, Bryl says, “Old bars are still in existence, but they’re getting rarer and rarer just because of the way culture is evolving, or devolving.” Bryl says he’ll continue with his normal booking duties at Sonotheque as well—alongside Empty Bottle’s Pete Toalson—so no official “replacement” will be appointed. Bryl also says that an offer has been made to purchase Sonotheque but as of now nothing has progressed further.

Admission to Braziliance at Sonetheque on November 5 is free before 10pm, and $5 after.

It’s fall, the time of homecoming season, and in that vein the stage is set for the reunion of The Ghost. A Chicago band by way of San Francisco, which didn’t come into its own until the members transplanted to the Windy City—Brian Moss, guitars and vocals, and Randall Bleichner, drums, have since moved back to the Bay Area after the band called it quits. “I think most of us identified more as being a Chicago band,” explains Moss. Bliechner concurs, adding, “I consider us very lucky to be part of the scene when we were. It was a perfect storm of right place, right time, fueled by tons of Old Style.”

The Ghost hit the scene for almost five years before the breakup in 2004, its career cut short for myriad reasons usual to most bands. “A difference in aspirations, tension from excessive touring and exhaustion,” says Moss. In that time The Ghost released two full-length albums, the debut being “This is a Hospital,” recorded by Steve Albini. The recent re-release of this album by California’s Solidarity Records prompted the band to reunite for a few shows. “It just seemed like a fun idea, and what better time to do it then when our record gets re-released,” exclaims Bleichner. “We did one show in San Francisco in August,” says Moss. After the Chicago reunion, the band will play the largely popular No Idea Records Fest in Gainesville, Florida. “No one really cares outside of Chicago, the Bay and a few spots here or there,” jokingly explains Bliechner. Read the rest of this entry »

When three of the four members of the now-defunct punk band Night of the Hunter began writing songs that were a little more melodic than discordant and a little less aggressive than the angry, growling sound that they had been accustomed to, it was only fitting that the new songs deserved a new name. Radar Eyes is the product of that progression. That is not to say, though, that Radar Eyes has completely lost that edge. Just when one might conclude that the band’s style has gone completely the way of Joy Division or The Cure, the listener is given small reminders of the punk origins of the band through little bursts of screaming near the end of one song or a swell of heavily distorted guitar in another. Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

Alison Sudol, as A Fine Frenzy, creates a penetrating brand of unabashed pop rock that’s difficult to ignore. Her 2007 debut, “One Cell in the Sea,” was the work of a still-learning singer-songwriter pianist, but featured moments stronger than others as Sudol navigated the waters. (In an interview around the record’s release Sudol told me that she “trips. I say silly things, I sometimes get tongue-tied. I get starstruck. I wouldn’t want to get good at being cool,” which immediately made me crush on her.) The new record from A Fine Frenzy, called “Bomb in a Birdcage” (Virgin), shows a more confident songwriter and performer in Sudol, as she weaves her way through melancholy choruses like “You go on and I’ll be happier,” on “Happier,” with incredible soul. It’s not all soft whispering, however, as alt-rock tracks like “Blown Away” and “Electric Twist” move with a smooth grace. If she was just a little less overproduced and had a little more dirt on her sound, Sudol could be amazing, but what are we to expect while she’s still on Virgin. (Tom Lynch)

A Fine Frenzy plays November 4 at Park West, 322 W. Armitage, (773)929-5959, at 7:30pm.

RECOMMENDED

Tim Baker is a builder. Laying bricks of percussive, urgent rhythms, slathered with a mortar of acid, his Real Estate and Elephanthaus labels have been erecting his distinctive house and techno constructions for years. While it seems his recent work might’ve slowed down the BPMs and dug deeper into the basement, he never seems to lose the driving momentum of his earlier, harder-edged releases. And with tonight celebrating Elephanthaus’ twelve-year anniversary, longtime fans might hope to hear Mr. Baker’s musical journey include earlier favorites like the delightfully squiggly “Sugarcube,” along with just about every musical pit-stop along I-94, from his original home in Detroit to his decade-plus home here in Chicago. And just in time for Halloween, delightfully apocalyptic live industrial/techno hybrid Kill Memory Crash also performs, with drummer and DJ Gabe Palomo opening. Baker builds it, Kill Memory Crash burns it…sounds good to us! (Duke Shin)

October 29 at Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago, 9pm.

RECOMMENDED

There’s always something comfortably nostalgic and delightfully frivolous about Halloween—memories of jumping in piles of leaves, eating diabetic amounts of candy and, probably, when your mom makes you come home, taking your sugar buzz to the NES, Atari 2600 or Commodore 64. If that memory rings true for you, reunite yourself with your inner geek-child tonight at AI Lounge with famed New York chiptune artist Joshua “Bit Shifter” Davis. From experimental blips to industrial and drum ‘n’ bass flavored bangers, to saccharine unabashed pop tendencies, Bit Shifter is a dynamic live presence, pushing as much output from his custom setup featuring Nintendo Game Boys outfitted with homebrewed cartridges and perhaps the maximum emotional output capable from eight puny bits of power. Tonight also features a variety pack of audio treats with DJ sets from disco stalwart Onefiftyone, Mr. Automatic from Front 312 and subVariant resident Liz Revision, plus live visuals courtesy of Dreamdaze. (Duke Shin)

October 31 at AI Lounge, 358 W. Ontario, 9pm.

RECOMMENDED

The tongue-in-cheek DJ project formed by James Ford and Jas Shaw has become, quite simply, a monster, taking Simian Mobile Disco from Manchester back rooms to Lollapalooza’s stage, and leaving a pop-meets-funky-breaks discography in their wake. Several singles and a Fabric mix later, the duo returns to Chicago in support of their newest offering, “Temporary Pleasures,” an infectious blend of hip-house, disco and glitch-fueled breakbeats. A live performance in Metro should appease those miffed at a mere DJ set in Grant Park, but this visit brings SMD fans the best of both worlds with a DJ set in Smart Bar following the show. (John Alex Colon)

Simian Mobile Disco plays November 2 at Metro and Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, (773)549-0203.

RECOMMENDED

It would be difficult to imagine a more striking contrast than CSO music-director-designate Riccardo Muti’s performances of the Verdi “Requiem” last January and his rendition of Brahms’ “A German Requiem” last week.  With Verdi, Muti was in his element and the result was an experience as exciting as it was poignant and prayerful.  With Brahms, Muti was in way over his head and was unable to make sense of Brahms’ intentions, which were to offer comfort and conciliation. In Muti’s hands, the usually foolproof work which even amateur choral societies can usually bring off, fell decidedly flat. Not only was this the slowest and most turgid traversal of the work imaginable, but there was little by way of dynamic contrast, to say nothing of heart. This was a cold, cold, cold performance that showed us that decades of leading operas at La Scala is no guarantee that Muti will triumph just because the forces are expansive.   Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

There’s a balance in everything Thomas Koch aka DJ T. does musically; electronic yet soulful, playful yet twisted, elegantly refined but loose and fun…he knows what he does well, and makes no apologies to detractors and haters. Perhaps he’s too busy to address them as he’s pushing global sounds through his club brand Monza, releasing tracks through the venerable Get Physical label he started up alongside partners M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade, and, of course, DJing and producing his own tracks—which has occupied a greater percentage of his time, of late, with more releases in 2009 than any other year, including “The Inner Jukebox,” his full length follow-up to 2005’s “Boogie Playground.” While the album seems to denote a shift to more traditional house-centric fare, you can be sure to expect the danceable tech-funk and handclaps you’ve come to love over the years. Supporting tonight is local DJ Popstatic, who’ll likely focus his usually eclectic selections—just a touch—for the dance floor tonight, and Spy Bar’s Dino G. (Duke Shin)

October 30 at Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, (773)549-0203, at 10pm.

RECOMMENDED

Colette brings her inimitable style to this year’s Halloween bash at Smart Bar, which features special guest Jay-J, renowned producer, remixer and boss of Shifted Records. Colette’s North Side haunt offers a few tricks along with the treat of cheap cover for early arrivals: a costume contest and cash prizes. The focus, of course, is the dance floor, and Colette’s vocal-fused DJ and live performance skills never fail to get people moving. Jay-J’s soulful, lyric-driven approach to house music won him critical acclaim and is a welcome addition that is bound to keep the zombies, vampires and Bernie Madoffs dancing until dawn. (John Alex Colon)

October 31 at Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark, (773)549-0203, at 10pm.