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Music, Music Feature Oct 22, 2020
If enough of us celebrate Independent Venue Week, we might have one next year too

To complement IVW's live programming, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.
- By Jamie Ludwig
- Tags: Music Feature, Independent Venue Week, Chicago Independent Venue League, CIVL, National Independent Venue Association, NIVA, Billy Helmkamp, Sleeping Village, Robyn Mineko Williams & Artists, Sen Morimoto, Califone, Lincoln Hall, Audiotree, livestream, COVID-19, CARES Act, pandemic, Ricky Rat, Reggies', Afro Fusion, Promontory, NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, Aragon, Blue Note, Carol's Pub, Empty Bottle, Exit, Green Mill, Hungry Brain, Lounge Ax, Medusa's, Metro, Mutiny, Palm Tavern, Rosa's Lounge, Taste, Taylor Street Tap, La Mere Vipere, O'Banion's, Oz

Music, In Rotation Apr 28, 2020
Video
Huntsmen bassist Marc Stranger-Najjar on a spoken-word poet with a beautiful brain

Plus: Musician and producer Sanford Parker on what it’d sound like if acid started a band, Reader associate editor Jamie Ludwig on a visual history of the first psych band, and more
- By Jamie Ludwig
- Tags: In Rotation, 13th Floor Elevators, 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History, Acid Bath, Anthology Editions, Bryn Jones, Buried at Sea, Chicago Metal Factory, CIVL, CMF, CMF Metal Sundays, coronavirus, Corrections House, COVID-19, Exit, Eye Mind, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple, George Duke, granular synthesis, Huntsmen, It Is What It Is, Kate Tempest, Marc Stranger-Najjar, Mind Melt Video, Mind Melt Video Magazine, Minsk, Mirrors for Psychic Warfare, Muslimgauze, Narcotic, National Independent Venue Association, Netherlands, NIVA, Paul Drummond, People’s Faces, relief, Roadburn Festival, Rodney Pawlak, Roky Erickson, Sanford Parker, The Book of Traps and Lessons, the Comet Is Coming, Thundercat, Tilburg, Weed Fest Chicago, Video

Music, Music Feature Apr 8, 2020
Video
The saga of Punkin’ Donuts

How a doughnut-shop parking lot became a confluence of Chicago youth subcultures—and what killed it off
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Punkin’ Donuts, Dunkin’ Donuts, punk, Belmont, Clark, the Alley, Wax Trax! Records, Medusa’s, Mark Thomas, Wild Chicago, Ben Hollis, John Davies, WTTW, Pat Denny, Punk Rock Park, Tuts, Target, Lakeview, BlitzLake Partners, Boystown, Marc Ruvolo, No Empathy, Johann’s Face, Alkaline Trio, Smoking Popes, 161 West, Dave Shelton, Frankie Knuckles, Warehouse, juice bar, Sean Duffy, Last Rites, Exit, Mark Stephens, Bud Sweet, Neo, Front 242, Family Plan, Jonas Lowrance, Fred Ingram, Val Scheinpflug, DJ Psycho-Bitch, Jim Nash, Bernie Hansen, 44th Ward, Aetna park, Gustav Roman, Lost Cause, the Avalon, Berlin, Cubby Bear, Metro, Adrian Padron, Adam Leavitt, Leroy Fields, Scary Larry, Gravetones, Dwayne Thomas, Woodfield Mall, Dr. Martens, Black Rose, Boy of London, New Town, Mike Quigley, Central Lakeview Merchants Association, Taboo Tabou, Architectural Revolution, 99th Floor, Mick Levine, Clark Martell, Chicago Area Skinheads, CASH, Romantic Violence, Maximum RocknRoll, Don De Grazia, American Skin, Scott Gravatt, Whitey Powers, Christian Picciolini, Life After Hate, Brian Czarnik, Oblivion, Bollweevils, Underdog, Harmless Records, Scott Thomson, Duane Powell, Congress Theater, Fireside Bowl, Green Day, Alternative Shopping District, Lincoln Towing, Elia Einhorn, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Tom Tunney, Video

Music, Concert Preview Jan 10, 2020
Recommended
New York R&B singer Samoht searches for pop music’s unknown paths
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Concert Preview, Samoht, Exit, Mxxn Wave, R&B, Reason, Promontory, New York, Recommended

Music, Gossip Wolf Mar 19, 2019
Video
Chicago riff machines Bible of the Devil celebrate 20 years with album seven

Plus: Local rapper Boys vs. Girls hosts “The Pride Takeover” at Gallery Cabaret, and Deep Breakfast combines ambient music with brunch at Sleeping Village.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Bible of the Devil, Feel It, Exit, (Love at) The Speed of Night, The Downtown Boogie, Boys vs. Girls, Gallery Cabaret, The Pride Takeover, Natalie Grace Alford, Fury, MC Foucault, Michael Hilger, Thin Hymns, Deep Breakfast, Sleeping Village, Mickey Neely, Bungalow, The Moonlighter, Cooper Crain, Von Drum, Danny Van Duerm, Jess Galli, Bitchin Bajas, Cave, Video

Blogs, Bleader May 23, 2018
A look back at a punk club doorman and his buffet of food offerings

Everybody on Wells Street knew Steve, and they knew how he liked his burritos.
- By Aimee Levitt
- Tags: Archive Dive, Music, Neighborhoods, Exit, Steve Silver, punks, punk club, Old Town, Lincoln Yards, Greg Beaubien

Blogs, Bleader Feb 7, 2018
Chicago footwork producers Boylan and Pranas drop a transcendent track to hype Boylan’s imminent birthday bash

Boylan and Pranas's "Pick It Up" samples the latest smash single from lightning-rod Chicago rapper Famous Dex.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Do This, Hip-Hop, Music, Nate Boylan, Boylan, Teklife, Erik Voit, Pranas, Mucho Culo, Exit, footwork, DJ Deeon, ghetto house, Jana Rush, Pick It Up, Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston, Elvis, Beyonce, Aretha, Famous Dex, Asap Rocky, No Jumper, Nothing Can Stop Me

Music, Music Feature Dec 6, 2017
Slideshow Video
The Third Coming of the Jesus Lizard

On the eve of their latest return home, the band talk about why they chose Chicago—and how they became its most beautiful noise-rock monsters.
- By Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Music Feature, Jesus Lizard, the Jesus Lizard, Metro, reunion, David Yow, Duane Denison, David Wm. Sims, Mac McNeilly, Blue, Shot, Down, Liar, Goat, Head, Pure, Inch, Touch and Go, Corey Rusk, Pitchfork Music Festival, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Primavera Sound, The Jesus Lizard Book, Fly on the Wall, 7 vs. 8, Puss, Nub, Seasick, Capitol Records, Steve Albini, Tar, John Conroy, Joe Shanahan, Lounge Ax, Julia Adams, Mike Greenlees, Rainbo Club, Humboldt Park, Leo’s Lunchroom, Jim Kimball, Tomahawk, Denison/Kimball Trio, John Forbes, Mount Shasta, Slint, King Kong, Exit, Brendan Murphy, Rapeman, Scratch Acid, Cargo Cult, Rey Washam, 86, Phantom 309, Quimby’s, Gary Held, mpty Bottle, Ken Vandermark, Edge of the Looking Glass, Martin Atkins, Bangkok Bangkok, Pegboy, Didjits, Rifle Sport, Flour, Dreamerz, Czar Bar, John Herndon, Casey Rice, Dan Koretsky, Doug McCombs, Stacy Sargent, Rick Rizzo, John Haggerty, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Billions Corporation, Kaleidoscope, Foodworks, John Brannon, Negative Approach, Michael Gerald, Killdozer, U.S. Maple, Slideshow, Video

Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Aug 29, 2017
Evanston new wavers the Front Lines exemplify the richness of the overlooked midwestern scene

Formed at Northwestern in 1979, the Front Lines played diverse and ambitious tunes—but they split after just a few years, done in by drummer turnover.
- By Steve Krakow
- Tags: The Secret History of Chicago Music, Front Lines, punk, new wave, Evanston, Northwestern University, Phil Rothman, Kier Strejcek, Steve Jarvis, Kevin Bowie, Bruce Gomez, Tuts, Misfits, O'Banion's, Exit, Carey Bell, Muddy Waters, Modern English, Bad Brains, Ritz, Practical Records, Where Do We Go From Here?, Capital Attraction, In This Universe, Cary Baker, Club Land, Friendly Fire, Wink Music Group, Ed Hoke, EQ, Crime Story, Gomez-Farr, Pandemonium

Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jun 20, 2017
Postpunk oddballs the Bonemen of Barumba played ‘barbecue music from hell’

Early-80s weirdos the Bonemen of Barumba attacked pigs' heads with axes onstage and shared a label with Big Black and the Dead Milkmen.
- By Steve Krakow
- Tags: The Secret History of Chicago Music, Bonemen of Barumba, Pop Group, Birthday Party, postpunk, Mark Panick, Jeff Jordie, Magnetic Dogs, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, 64th St. Wild Things, Tom Jonusaitis, Zorro DuPont, Club 950 Lucky Number, Fever Records, Big Black, Dead Milkmen, Tuts, Exit, Metro, Alien Sex Fiend, the Fall, the Cramps, Jello Biafra, John Peel, Steve Albini, Driving the Bats Thru Jerusalem, Hedden West, Iain Burgess, Sub Pop 7, Icons, Marty Busca, Tom “Scarecrow” McNamara, Sex Kittens, Spies Who Surf, Chac Mool, Black Friars Social Club, Razorhouse

Music, Gossip Wolf Sep 13, 2016
Beat Kitchen hosts a panel to confront sexual harassment in music

Plus: Avant-weirdo local label No Index celebrates two new releases at the Hideout, and 606 Records books 24 hours of DJs to benefit Lumpen Radio.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Between Friends, Rape Victim Advocates, Our Music My Body, OurMusicMyBody, Beat Kitchen, Corin Tucker, Sleater-Kinney, Jes Skolnik, Britt Julious, Monica Trinidad, For the People Artists Collective, Beat Kitchen, panel, sexual harassment, Kate Grube, Kittyhawk, No Index, El Is a Sound of Joy, Sapropelic Pycnic, Spires That in the Sunset Rise, Michael Zerang, Hideout, Barn Duet, Wei Zhongle, Rob Jacobs, Phillip Sudderberg, Flak, Jake Lingan, ASMR, Upheaval, Good Willsmith, Max Allison, Mukqs, Ben Baker Billington, Mark Shippy, Daniel Wyche, 606 Records, Pilsen, 24x24, Big Once, Shazam Bangles, Boogie Munsters, Exit, Steve Silver, Lumpen Radio

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 25, 2014
Critics' Picks
Best Excuse to Get Painted Up Like a Neon Freak Show

Blacklight Blackout
- By Jay Gentile
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best of Chicago 2014, neon freak show, Blacklight Blackout, Exit, Critics' Picks

Music, Gossip Wolf Oct 9, 2013
Gossip Wolf: Oozing Wound discharges its first album

Plus: Teen Witch throws a sexy alien party, Oshwa preps a fancy single, and more
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Luca Cimarusti, Oozing Wound, Obituary, Motorhead, Bad Drugs, Unmanned Ship, Zath, Thrill Jockey, Retrash, John Hurt, Toupee, Running, the Body, seapunks, Teen Witch Fan Club, Area 69 party, Exit, Molly Soda, Claire Van Eijk, Yoko Homo, Juketastrophe, How to Dress Well, Teen Witch, Zain Curtis, Oshwa, Chamomile Crush, Conor Mackey

Best of Chicago, Music & Nightlife Jun 23, 2011
Best anything-goes club

Berlin voted best anything-goes club
- Tags: Music & Nightlife, Best anything-goes club, Readers' poll, Berlin, Evil Olive, Exit

Music, Music Sidebar Oct 7, 2010
Riot Fest

The city's expansive punk beatdown returns with a lineup that includes the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Articles of Faith, Circle Jerks, Propagandhi, Negative Approach, Bad Religion, Naked Raygun, the Zero Boys, the Bronx, and others.
- By Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Music Sidebar, Riot Fest, punk, ska, hardcore, Metro, Subterranean, Double Door, Congress Theater, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Articles of Faith, Circle Jerks, Busted at Oz, Cap'n Jazz, Propagandhi, Bad Religion, Corrosion of Conformity, pop-punk, Kylesa, House of Blues, Cobra Lounge, Exit, Bleeding Heart Bakery

Best of Chicago, Arts & Entertainment Jun 10, 2010
Readers' Poll
Best 4 AM bar
- Tags: Arts & Entertainment, Late Bar, Exit, Underground Wonder Bar, Readers' Poll

Blogs, Bleader Feb 27, 2009
2/27--Free Burlesque Show

Vaudezilla Productions presents a burlesque showcase at Exit
- By James Ewert
- Tags: Free Shit, Swag, Burlesque, Vaudzilla Productions, Exit

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To complement IVW's live programming, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.

Plus: Musician and producer Sanford Parker on what it’d sound like if acid started a band, Reader associate editor Jamie Ludwig on a visual history of the first psych band, and more

How a doughnut-shop parking lot became a confluence of Chicago youth subcultures—and what killed it off

Plus: Local rapper Boys vs. Girls hosts “The Pride Takeover” at Gallery Cabaret, and Deep Breakfast combines ambient music with brunch at Sleeping Village.

Everybody on Wells Street knew Steve, and they knew how he liked his burritos.

Boylan and Pranas's "Pick It Up" samples the latest smash single from lightning-rod Chicago rapper Famous Dex.

On the eve of their latest return home, the band talk about why they chose Chicago—and how they became its most beautiful noise-rock monsters.

Formed at Northwestern in 1979, the Front Lines played diverse and ambitious tunes—but they split after just a few years, done in by drummer turnover.

Early-80s weirdos the Bonemen of Barumba attacked pigs' heads with axes onstage and shared a label with Big Black and the Dead Milkmen.

Plus: Avant-weirdo local label No Index celebrates two new releases at the Hideout, and 606 Records books 24 hours of DJs to benefit Lumpen Radio.

Blacklight Blackout

Plus: Teen Witch throws a sexy alien party, Oshwa preps a fancy single, and more

Berlin voted best anything-goes club

The city's expansive punk beatdown returns with a lineup that includes the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Articles of Faith, Circle Jerks, Propagandhi, Negative Approach, Bad Religion, Naked Raygun, the Zero Boys, the Bronx, and others.

Vaudezilla Productions presents a burlesque showcase at Exit

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