Is it possible to be a visionary that primarily revisits vintage sound? In the seven years since M83’s first, self-titled record, Anthony Gonzalez, the chief (and for the most part, sole) member of the French electronic-shoegazer outfit has built a monument of sweeping, massive achievement; 2003’s remarkable, pulsing “Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts” was, in a shocking way, bested by his next record, 2005’s “Before the Dawn Heals Us”—they’re big, over-the-top records, glamorous and loud and imperfect in all the right ways. (A beautiful work of ambient, mostly instrumental pieces followed, a collection Gonzalez told me he basically considered leftovers, called “Digital Shades: Volume One.”) “Saturdays = Youth,” M83’s recent record, released in April, sees Gonzalez embracing more traditional pop-song structure while basically attempting to musically adapt John Hughes movies. The hooks are huge, the synths don’t shy away, the 1980s won’t be forgotten anytime soon. There may not be a more exciting musician working today. (Tom Lynch)
November 21 at Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake, (312)929-2022, at 8pm.
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.
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.
