Posts by Zach Johnson

For those of you longing for the bygone music eras of yesteryear and legends that have long sincepassed, each Tuesday we’ll take a trip down memory lane by spotlighting some classic performancesfrom the 60s/70s/80s/90s to help scratch your nostalgia itch. Today we’re paying tribute to the late great David Bowie, who would have celebrated his […]

Let’s face it, Mondays suck (especially the second week in January), which often makes it a perfect day to blast some punk/metal/industrial/etc. at an unreasonably high volume. We will have you covered on that front each Monday, as we showcase some prime performances from those delightfully visceral genres (and sub-genres) to help make your Mondays […]

After a 3-hour rain delay, the gates finally opened at 2:00 Sunday and the masses came pouring back into Douglas Park for one more day of Riot Fest Festivities. With The Cure scheduled to close the festival later that evening, Day 3 promised to be nothing short of legendary. Here’s a recap of Riot Fest’s […]

If Day 1 of Riot Fest left folks feeling a little too sun-drenched, Saturday proved to be the perfect antidote, with a persistent overcast practically all day, and even some light rain showers thrown into the mix during the early afternoon hours. But with temperatures hovering the upper 60s, all-in-all the conditions were near perfect […]

 A picture-perfect day with big blue skies and abundant sunshine greeted the masses who descended upon Douglas Park for the inaugural day of Riot Fest Friday. With a plethora of attractions ranging from carnival rides/games, a halfpipe, a boxing ring, and a free arcade (just to name a few), along with a stellar lineup of […]

When most people think of Chicago, salt is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. Wrigley Field, The Bean, the Willis (aka Sears) Tower, Lake Michigan (which is decidedly unsalty), sure. The gigantic Morton Salt complex next to the Kennedy Expressway? Not so much. But thanks to an ambitious renovation project, that aforementioned […]

Las Vegas is a fun town, world-renowned in its reputation for debauched entertainment, excess, and decadent/epic events that are often taken to the utmost extreme. They call it Sin City for a reason, which naturally made it the perfect host for the inaugural Sick New World Festival on May 13th, which took over the Las […]

Jack White announced a “surprise” show at the 400 capacity Empty Bottle just a couple of days before the main event Wednesday night.

It’s that special time of the year again when practically every Halloween party imaginable subjects us all to the cliché seasonal standards like “Monster Mash”, “Purple People Eater”, “Ghostbusters”, and of course the classic (but severely overplayed) “Thriller.” Here are some non cliche choices

Indeed, between the critically-acclaimed indie-rock of Snail Nail, along with hard-hitting experimental hip-hop courtesy of JPEGMAFIA, and of course crossover alternative hardcore heroes Turnstile heading up the top of the bill, Sunday night promised to be nothing short of epic for the thousands in attendance to witness the virtual smorgasbord of dopeness on display.  

The music world lost a legend of west-coast hip-hop on Wednesday, as Coolio sadly passed away from cardiac arrest on September 28th at the (too early) age of 59. Bursting onto the hip-hop scene in 1994 with his smash hit “Fantastic Voyage”, Coolio helped usher in a new era of west coast gangsta-rap that was […]

Crystal clear blue skies and a scorching sun greeted the masses for the third and final day of Riot Fest at Douglas Park Sunday afternoon (September 18th). After two action-packed days of the festival, which was characterized by a very emo-centric Friday and a very punk-rock-focused Saturday, the pressure was on Day 3 to live […]

If Day 1 of Riot Fest was unofficially emo-day, then Day 2 on September 17th, proved to be the perfect antidote, given it was effectively classic hardcore punk day. Indeed, with such legendary bands as Fear, 7 Seconds, and of course the mighty Misfits on tap (who were headlining Saturday night), Day 2 of Riot […]

A positively gorgeous Friday afternoon (9/16) greeted the masses for the first day of Riot Fest, as Douglas Park was once again transformed into a vibrant rock and roll playground full of carnival rides, eclectically beautiful people, and of course loads of bands that ran the full spectrum from new-school rap metal, to old-school punk, […]

Booking a two-night residency in Chicago at the same time Riot Fest is going on down the street might be considered a bold move for some punk bands. But when your band happens to be venerable psych-punk legends the Osees, such concerns really need not apply. Granted, it probably didn’t hurt that day 1 of Riot […]

They say all good things must come to an end, and sadly that also holds true for this year’s Lollapalooza festival, which once again transformed Chicago’s Grant Park into an epic entertainment mecca of great music and beautiful people in a way that only Lolla can. It had no doubt been a fun, action-packed first […]

If Day 2 of Lollapalooza was unofficially the pop/electronica-centric day of the music festival, then Day 3 (7/30) proved to be the perfect antidote, at least for this reviewer anyway. Yes, after a day that was decidedly lacking on the live instrumentation front (at least the back half of Friday anyway), your humble narrator was […]

There was a time, long ago, when Lollapalooza essentially represented the very antithesis of mainstream popular music. Or at least that was the case in its inaugural year anyway, way back in 1991 when it originally started as a modest touring event showcasing generally subversive alternative acts like Rollins Band, Butthole Surfers, (a very young) […]

Summer in Chicago is almost always (safe for 2020 anyway) a uniquely celebratory time of year. The vibrancy and energy in the air are palpable, so after our notoriously long winters and stubbornly chilly/damp springs, the masses head outside in droves to soak in the balmy weather and all the beauty and liveliness the city […]

The last time John Frusciante returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers after an extended, multi-year hiatus, the result was 1999’s Californication, an album that sounded both like a triumphant return to form and a compelling rebirth for the band at the time. That album not only revitalized the Chili’s sound and relevance but with […]