Promotion group Elevate Chicago has been hosting a series of weekly Thursday night showcases at shabby-chic nightspot Victor Hotel, bringing in a pumping sound system and booking a wide assortment of DJs and live acts. This Thursday, Elevate has booked a headliner sure to engender plenty of nostalgia for your old raver days: Leeds-based electronica outfit Utah Saints. Along with its contemporaries The KLF and Underworld, Utah Saints made a name for themselves mixing rock and electronic sampling to help pioneer the “stadium house” movement of the early 1990s. The group has sold ten million records to date, recorded with major popular artists such as REM’s Michael Stipe and performed with mega-stadium tours, including with U2. Chicago’s RJ Pickens, a favorite at Vision Nightlcub, opens along with multi-genred DJ and trusted electronic-music blogger Local Hero. There’s really no better way to start the weekend early than with two rooms of quality sound, half-priced sushi, drink specials and no cover. (Elly Rifkin)
March 19 at Victor Hotel, 311 N. Sangamon, (312)733-6900.
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.
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.
