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The CHIRP Blog
Jason Crock writesJoin Us for Kristin Hersh at the Old Town School on May 16th
CHIRP welcomes Kristin Hersh to Old Town School of folk Music on Thursday, May 16. Hersh has released more than 20 records over her decade-spanning career, first as one of the frontwomen for Throwing Muses, then later with 50FOOTWAVE and as a highly regarded solo artist. Hersh has recently been releasing new songs each month via her website leading up to her next full-length album, Spark Meet Gasoline. The all-ages show begins at 8 PM with an opening solo set from oRSo. Visit oldtownschool.org for more info.
Craig Reptile: Your Sunday Sonic Sundowner writesCHIRP Radio Presents Telekinesis with Deep Sea Diver at Lincoln Hall on Wednesday May 15th
Not only is telekinesis the ability to move things with one's mind, it's also a mighty fine band out of Seattle, led by its lead singer and drummer, 26 year old Michael Benjamin Lerner. I had the pleasure of seeing he and his band a few years back at Beat Kitchen, and am definitely looking forward to this show.
His previous two records had many highlights, but the new album, Dormarion (Merge) is solid from end to end, characterized throughout by his high-pitched tenor that's wan but never wimpy. Check-out the power pop rock of the first two tracks, the atmospheric college radio rock of "Wires," the acoustic ballad "Symphony" and "Ghosts and Creatures," the first single. Although Lerner initially intended to record the entire album himself, it was recorded with Spoon drummer Jim Eno at his Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas (located on Dormarion Lane).
A great band to see live, on this tour the Telkinesis touring line-up will include Erik Walters of The Globes on guitar, Say Hi (To Your Mom)'s Eric Elbogen on bass and Rebecca Cole of Wild Flag and The Minders on keyboards. If you're looking for reference points, you can hear Shoes and Cheap Trick throughout, as well as some of Elbogen's Say Hi on "Dark To Light," The Mighty Lemon Drops on "Wires," The Knack and/or The Records on "Little Hill" and new wave group The Fixx, believe it or not, on "Ever True."
TIckets are $14.00 and can be purchased here.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Donovan Edition
Let’s pay tribute to the biggest star of the British folk rock movement, Donovan. Mr. Leitch started off in the thrall of Bob Dylan, but didn’t take too long to progress, both as a lyricist (for example, the great protest song “Universal Solider”) and composer (great pop songs like “Sunshine Superman” and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”). He may have been the victim of Dylan’s contempt, as shown in the documentary Don’t Look Back, but Donovan carved out a very impressive and varied career. And, as of four or five years ago, he showed Chicago he still had his charm, charisma and talent. He played a show at Park West that got raves, and I saw him promote his memoir at the old downtown Borders and he told stories and played short versions of nine of his songs. Whatta guy! In honor of Donovan’s birthday, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle, and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Kelsey Phillips writesJoin Us for CHIRP Night at the Whistler with Panoramic & True on Monday May 13th
It's almost the second Monday of the month again, which means CHIRP and friends will be sippin' cocktails to some great live tunes at The Whistler!
This time, local pop quartet Panoramic & True, along with their FULL STRING QUARTET (that's right), will be there to accompany your cocktails, as will folk act Henry Joseph. Panoramic & True, who dropped their LP Wonderlust this summer, have been compared to everyone from Andrew Bird to Arcade Fire, but you'll have to hear them live and decide for yourself.
As always, CHIRP DJ's will be playing after the sets, and we'll be raffling off some prizes as well. But with these bands and The Whistler's mind-blowing drinks, that's all you really need, right? Right. See you on Monday, May 13th at 9pm. As always the event is 21+ but HEY no cover.
Jason Crock writesCHIRP Welcomes METZ to Lincoln Hall this Sunday
CHIRP is pleased to welcome METZ to their show at Lincoln Hall on Sunday, May 12. The hard-hitting Toronto three-piece are still riding a wave of critical praise following their 2012 self-titled debut on Sub Pop records. The band’s racuous brand of rock and roll recalls some of the bands that helped put their label on the map (including Nirvana and Mudhoney), but their forceful live show is all about pushing air in the present--and it’s not one to be missed.
TV Ghost will open the 18-and-over show starting at 9 PM. Visit lincolnhallchicago.com for more info. And come say hello to our volunteers at the CHIRP table!