Results tagged “free”

We never thought we'd be writing this sentence, but The Black Heart Procession's "Rats" sees the brooding, creepily atmospheric band ... getting funky? O.K., maybe funky is too strong a word, but the staccato guitars of the chorus play against the gentle surge of the drums to create a milieu that at least encourages finger-tapping, if not an adventurous toe-tap or three. We keep finding ourselves migrating toward their latest, Six, to slowly allow ourselves to sink and submit to its dark charms. They've always been hard to label -- are they goth, indie, sludge, Leonard Cohen swagga? -- and this album's thirteen songs will do nothing to clarify the band's intent enough to slot them into one niche or another. And frankly, we wouldn't want that.

CIFF is over but a rich cinematic harvest has only just begun. Feast your eyes:

More than just a tattoo artist, Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins is widely regarded as the forefather of modern tattooing and lesser recognized as one of America's most influential folk artists. Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry is the first documentary of its kind, exploring the roots of tattooing and the life of one its most prominent figures. Interviews with Collins' peers and successors as well as archival photos and footage paint a portrait of a fiercely independent free-thinker who used the body as his canvas for sharing his art with the world.

Buzz has been heavy around 25 year old songstress Victoria Hesketh a.k.a. Little Boots, and while we've bemoaned the fact that her album has yet to be released Stateside, we're extremely excited that she's playing The Empty Bottle this Thursday. We've said she writes tunes that are electro-pop gems set to steam up clubs and compel rollerskate divas to rub up all over skinny tied boys, and that enough would get us into the club to see her.

Ah yes, the loyal Chicagoist readers. Perhaps we don't let you know how much you mean to us as often as we should, but your devotion - reading our site on a national holiday, no less! - will be rewarded, for now you are the only ones who will be reminded to reserve your tickets tomorrow for the free events at Symphony Center on October 17.

Again, the weather sucks today. So when the band names Electric Tickle Machine and SUNBEARS! dropped our way this afternoon we had to toss in some songs and give 'em a listen. And who if they ain't a 180 from the scene outside our window! Hell, we started playing them and daisies suddenly sprouted outta our water bottle! The tunes are all horns and sunshine and psychedelic smiles that on a bright day would be downright borderline creepy, but on a day like today their strangeness is a welcome rescue from the clouds and soggy concrete surrounding us.

Ah Pelican ... remember when they were at the forefront of that whole "skinny indie dudes playing tooth rattling stoner metal" movement? Well, now there are a zillion of those bands out there, but we still think the Chicago four-piece is one o0ff the ones that do it best. Their new disc What We All Come To Need doesn't come out until later this fall, but we just got this taster of what to expect.

Monotonix puts on one of the most wildly entertaining stage shows we've seen in recent years, with band member literally setting each other on fire and trying to make off with each other's instruments ... mid-song. They just released this taste from the debut full-length Where Were You When It Happened?, out September 8. It's a bit of a departure from their previous material in that it, um, actually seems somewhat thoughtfully constructed! Instead of a whirlwind of instruments threating to consume each other what we get instead is a pretty nnifty groove and the startling realization that lead vocalist Ami Shalev can actually sing!

We gave you our own history of local band Mr. Russia a while ago. And we enjoyed their debut they dropped waaaaay back ... earlier this year. Well, you certainly can't call them lazy (or stingy) because they've already released a follow up Training For The Gameshow Host EP (for free)! The new EP is populated by a darker and slightly more skewed vibe, and while the debut was no light affair, the group seems more menacing here. But it shows a band branching out from its more rudimentary inclinations. The EP also houses a wicked cover of Radiohead's "The National Anthem." Download your own free copy before the band comes back to it's sensed.

Mark Hoppus just released a remix of Peter Bjorn & John's "Nothing To Worry About" he produced with the help of ex-Chicagoan Chris Holmes.

Whack-ass weather be damned, it's summer, and Millennium Park is plowing ahead like we aren't in the middle of the lousiest warm season in twelve years. The gems continue Thursday evening with a free taping of "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!"

Hear ye, hear ye! The honorable Richard M. Daley has declared today Rush Hour Concerts Day in Chicago! All his subjects are required by law to submit to his will and attend the opening concert of the tenth Rush Hour season tonight!

We chose this new video for Tortoise's "Prepare Your Coffin" because its monochromatic hues perfectly mirror day's weather, but the band's driving music crossed with the editing of the imagery helps helps infuse this day with new life. We're hoping you feel the same and this will be enough to spark you up and power through the rest of the day.

We can't believe it's already here, but TOMORROW is our anniversary party at The Whistler! Grammar and The Interiors have been putting in long hours at the practice space to kick out some outstanding musical sets, and Chicagoist DJs Pocket Taco, SuperBird, and Tankboy have been diligently working at holding one headphone over their ears while simultaneously bobbing their heads. Prepare yourself for terrific music all night long.

Skybox has been knocking around the local scene for a while, but we admit that we haven't really found ourselves gripped by anything we've heard out of them. There's certainly nothing wrong with their melting pot style -- it teeters back and forth between kitchen sink goofiness and splendid orchestral pop -- and plenty of folks can be found packing their shows, so we've always figured the disconnect was on our side and not really the band's fault. Hey, we can't feel a deep connection with every band, right?

Sub Pop has put up a nice little sampler available as a free download. While a lot of the tracks were already available for free through Amazon, this is the first time they've been bundled up all together and man, it makes a good argument that the label has regained its footing and sharpened its focus after its nearly disastrous post-Nirvana expansion.

MP3: I Was A King "Norman Bliek"

When Jason Frederick learned that one of the bands he had founded and then disbanded had reformed and were playing without telling him, we guess his feelings got a little hurt. It also provided the stimulus for him to kick off a new band under the moniker Cool Devices and storm Electrical Audio in Chicago to craft a protest album. While the disc was originally supposed to exorcise Frederick's "playful angst" towards his former bandmates, what ended up emerging was firestorm of '60s inflected fuzzed-out punk rock anthems centering on various themes besetting society today. In Frederick's words "...these songs are calling on all people, everywhere to give up ideologies that don't work."

We saw Coldplay on their tour last summer and have to admit that those earnest boys give good concert. They also seem like genuinely nice guys, despite Chris Martin's occasional case of overly earnest foot-in-mouth disease.

Robert Kenner's documentary Food, Inc. is a harsh look at how Americans get their food in the age of factory farms and the tacit approval of their techniques the USDA and FDA. Slow Food Chicago is sponsoring a free screening of the film at 600 N. Michigan this evening at 7 p.m.

It’s that time of year once again, when Ben and Jerry’s fans rejoice with free ice cream! Started in 1979 to celebrate the first anniversary of Ben and Jerry’s, Free Cone Day has been running for 31 years. Every year, scoop shops around the country give out free ice cream to all comers. Lines are often long, but the ice cream is always tastier when you don’t have to pay for it. Free cone day is today, and scoop shops will be open from noon to 8 PM. Patrons can have one scoop of any flavor left in the store.

The Format's Nate Ruess, Anathallo's Andrew Dost, and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff make up the core of new "super"-group fun., but we're told the auxiliary line-up fluctuates from show to show. We were just sent an MP3 of a jaunty tune off their forthcoming full length and just had to share it with you.

MP3: Holy Fuck "Jungle"

We'll admit we're still not exactly sure HOW the Heaven Seventies should be musically classified. Are they a dance-rock band? A disco-funk combo? Electro-gangsters? Remixers? DJs? All that and a bag of chips?

Trent Reznor just opened NIN/JA 2009, a site offering a free download of a mini-sampler of unreleased tracks from Nine Inch Nails and Lollapalooza headliner Jane's Addiction. Personally, we're super stoked to hear studio demo version of old Jane's faves like "Chip Away" and "Whores!" Get it.

Can't wait for the Mannequin Men's new disc to drop (hopefully in June)? Check out Shrimpss, a quieter electro-Westerberg-ian side project from Kevin Mannequin and friends.

The Damnwells are one of those bands with lots of hidden Chicago connections -- through both their original management and one member's eventual marriage -- and it's been quite a while since we've heard anything new from them. We've always enjoyed their poppy take on rustic Americana, and admit we thought they might have finally dissolved the band, so imagine how exciting the news was when we learned not only was there a new album on the way -- One Last Century -- that there were also releasing for free!

We gave you a sneak peek at the new album from New Pornagrapher A.C. Newman a few weeks ago, but you can hear the whole thing at The Empty Bottle this Saturday. There's a listening party there from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. and there is no cover. What's better than a free event with a great soundtrack? FREE BEER! Yup, RSVP ahead of time for an open bar of canned beers including PBR, Schlitz, and American Pale Ale.

We are not fetishists in any way, shape or form. And yet even we would be loathe to pass up the chance to fondle an actual Academy Award. (Note: we actually have; Ben Hecht's Oscar is in the collection of the Newberry Library). You'll have the chance to do it too: February 13-22 at at The Shops at North Bridge on Michigan Avenue, "Meet the Oscars, Chicago" will feature a display of Oscars. One of which you'll be able to hold. The free exhibit will include six statuettes to be given out during next year's ceremony as well as Clark Gable's Best Actor Oscar for It Happened One Night. Since 1982 the awards have been manufactured here in Chicago by R.S. Owens & Company.

Over the past few months we've seen OFFICE undergo some surprising changes that included personnel overhauls and a more adventurous sonic direction. They've played a handful of local shows over the past few months -- including another appearance at Lollapalooza -- but this month they are reemerging in force with a monthly residency at Schubas on Monday nights through the entire month of October. (O.K., we'll say it, Rocktober!) In following with the bands recent turns away from "business as usual" all of the shows this month with be absolutely free!