RECOMMENDED Bonobo is like a smokier, folksier version of Portishead sitting around a campfire playing exotic instruments. That description might make you want to flee, but don’t—the Brighton composer/producer/DJ is actually quite brilliant. His most recent album commissioned the unforgettable, trip-hop-leaning vocals of Bajkai, leading “Days To Come” to be named one of 2006’s best by BBC radio tastemaker Giles Peterson. Considering Bonobo’s warm and enveloping sound that’s equal parts ethnic and electronic, one could only imagine how he might sound on Sonotheque’s amazing setup—so hit up the show to see for yourself. (Jen Boyles)
Bonobo (DJ set) with resident Joe Bryl at Sonotheque, 1444 West Chicago, (312)226-7600 on February 29, 9pm-2am. $12.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Can’t-Miss Music Events (Fall Arts Preview 2023) This fall we get new albums and tours from iconic acts like Wilco and Kurt Elling, plus a Corrine Bailey Rae project inspired by Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank.
