Bebel Gilberto – Live at the Belly Up

Are the winter blues getting to you? Are you tired of snow? Is the Christmas season bringing you more stress than joy? Don’t worry, bossa nova legend Bebel Gilberto has a cure. It’s her new live EP – Live at the Belly Up.

Beginning with the lovely “Samba E Amor,” the album instantly relaxes you and brings to mind images of spending a warm night on a Brazilian beach with your lover. Thankfully, she has included her cover of Radiohead‘s “Creep,” which never fails to make my eyes misty.

“Momento,” the title track from one of her many fine albums, is dreamy and a bit mischievous as Ms. Gilberto and her guitarist play back and forth. “Bananeira” is even more playful as she gets the audience to clap and sing along with her before putting down some of her sexiest vocals.

She gets even friskier on her classic “So Nice,” which is about wishing for a lover even to just stroll with on any given day. The audience has fun with her, too. If your winter blues haven’t melted by now, they probably will during “Baby” – another one of her classics that belongs on every make-out mixtape.

You might want to save room on that mixtape for the closer, “Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo,” because it’s the type of song that can change the mood of an entire room to amorous in just a few chords.

Bebel Gilberto is a great performer, and this EP is a nice slice of her wonderful live shows. I think it’s impossible to be blue while listening to this. Get it and get out of your winter funk.

Keep your mind open.

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Top live shows of 2017: #’s 20 – 16

We’ve reached the top 20 live shows I saw this year. Read on to see who made the cut.

#20 – A Tribe Called Quest – Pitchfork Music Festival – Chicago, IL July 15th.

It was one of their first performances without Phife Dawg, and they paid him many great tributes during it. ATCQ also came to preach and teach, and Q-Tip was absolutely fierce on the mic. The whole crowd was with them the entire time.

#19 – Cut Copy – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 25th.

Cut Copy were easily the best band we saw on Day 2 of Mamby on the Beach. They played an energetic set that had the whole beach crowd jumping before it was even halfway done.

#18 – Will Clarke – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 24th.

Speaking of great Mamby sets, DJ Will Clarke‘s was our favorite DJ set by far. He seemed to be having a great time behind the decks and inspired me to dust off my digital turntables.

#17 – Nicolas Jaar – Pitchfork Music Festival – Chicago, IL July 16th.

We ended our Pitchfork experience with Nicolas Jaar, and it was a lovely, trippy way to end the festival. He created a neat soundscape that drifted and swirled around the crowd like a warm fog.

#16 – Derrick Carter – Pitchfork Music Festival – Chicago, IL July 16th.

If you need a boost to start your final day of a big music festival, go see Chicago house music DJ legend Derrick Carter. His set in the early hours of the last day of Pitchfork was outstanding. Everyone worked up an early sweat and enough energy to make it through the rest of the day. He put on a clinic.

Who’s in the top 15? Come back tomorrow to see.

Keep your mind open.

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Top live shows of 2017: #’s 25 – 21

Who cracked the top 25 of my live shows I saw this year? Read on!

#25 – Temples – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ March 11th.

Temples were the last band to play on the Desert Daze lineup at the VIVA PHX music festival. It was my first time seeing them in a small venue, and they nailed it. They sounded perfect and delivered a solid set that earned them many new fans.

#24 – The Damned – House of Blues – Chicago, IL April 23rd.

I’d wanted to see punk rock legends the Damned for a long while, and this show was pretty much what I’d hoped it would be. The crowd was a fun mix of punks, goths, and horror film fans, and moshing to “Neat Neat Neat” with the Damned only a few feet away was a delight.

#23 – Thundercat – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 25th.

I’d heard a lot of good things about Thundercat prior to seeing him live at this music festival, and he didn’t disappoint. He and his two-man backing band played a great jazz fusion set in the middle of a festival mostly devoted to electronic dance music. He’s an amazing bass player, and seeing him shred live makes you appreciate his skill even more.

#22 – Marian Hill – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 24th.

Speaking of Mamby on the Beach, Marian Hill were one of the best bands we saw there. They played a great set of sexy dance rock that might be the best new makeout music you need to hear.

#21 – Goblin – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL October 25th.

This performance from Italian prog / horror rock masters Goblin had a criminally light attendance, but they didn’t care. As usual, being at a Goblin show is like being in a giallo film. The whole atmosphere is creeping and fascinating. They also played a nice tribute to the late George Romero. Shame on you if you missed this one.

Who cracks the top 20? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Top live shows of 2017: #’s 30 – 26

I’ve arrived at the end of my live music year for 2017. I saw over 60 performances this year, and the majority of them were a fun time. There were some that might’ve had lame crowds or that just didn’t thrill me, of course, but 2017 was good for live music. To save time (and my sanity and your patience), I’m counting the top 30 live shows I saw this year. Here are the first five.

#30 – A Place to Bury Strangers – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL May 11th.

I’ll see APTBS at any opportunity, and seeing this set where they opened for the Black Angels was a no-brainer for me. It was also the first time they played Thalia Hall, and they sounded great in there. I was lucky enough to chat with front man Oliver Ackermann before and after (along with the rest of the band – Dion Lunadon and Lia Braswell) the set, so that made the show extra special.

#29 – Joe Walsh – Scottrade Center – St. Louis, MO May 12th.

Joe Walsh had a fun time opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He joked with the sold-out crowd, played every hit you’d want to hear at one of his gigs, and had a huge, excellent backing band. He also showed that he could still shred on guitar, and his performance of “Take It to the Limit” brought my wife to tears.

#28 – Bebel Gilberto – City Winery – Chicago, IL December 20th.

The last show I saw this year turned out to be a delightful night with bossa nova legend Bebel Gilberto. It was a lovely set in an intimate venue. Everyone needs to see Ms. Gilberto at least once, and hear her often.

#27 – Bleached – House of Blues – Chicago, IL April 23rd.

If you’re in a band, I wish you could’ve seen Bleached with me twice within six months because you’d have seen a perfect example of how to step up your game. This show, which had them opening for the Damned, was the second time I’d seen them in that time period. The first was at a gig in Cleveland in October 2016. I thought they were good then, but this performance left me gobsmacked. They’d become tighter and stronger in just half a year. It had been at least a couple years since I saw so much improvement in one band.

#26 – Partner – Schuba’s – Chicago, IL January 22nd.

This was Partner‘s first gig in Chicago, and one of their first in the United States. Shame on you if you missed it, because they are now indie rock darlings and their debut album, In Search of Lost Time, is one of the best of 2017. This show was an absolute home run and wowed everyone there.

Stay tuned for #’s 25 – 21!

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Bebel Gilberto – Chicago, IL – December 20, 2017

Chicago’s City Winery is a wonderful intimate venue, and seeing a lively performer like Bebel Gilberto there is a treat that should never be missed. Thankfully, my wife and I got to attend her second performance there in as many nights, and Ms. Gilberto was in a playful mood.

Ms. Gilberto shimmied and shook all over the stage and worked through some of her bossa nova classics like “Aganju” and “So Nice,” stopping now and then to put on some more lip gloss or sample some of the venue’s white wine.

She was also a bit feisty, throwing in some political jokes like, “I’m glad this year is almost over, because that means we only have three more left…if you know what I mean.” Other highlights included her covers of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and Radiohead’s “Creep.” Her cover of “Creep” brings my wife and I to tears anytime we hear it, and I felt bad for the couple across from us who went out for a smoke break before she and her two-man band played it.

She had the crowd singing and even bouncing multiple times throughout the night, calling on us to help her sing rhythms and uplift each other. “Uplifting” is probably the best way I can describe her performance. It was a delightful way to end a year that has been rough for many we know and a shining way to start the winter solstice. More light comes to this half of the world as of yesterday, and I can’t help but think Bebel Gilberto had something to do with it.

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Vickie Starr for bringing me and my wife some Christmas cheer with press passes to this show.]

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Shopping announces 2018 North American tour dates.

SHOPPING ANNOUNCE 2018 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
IN SUPPORT OF THE OFFICIAL BODY

NEW ALBUM OUT JANUARY 19 ON FATCAT RECORDS

(photo credit: Matthew Williams)

“The Hype” is Shopping at its best: barbed invective set to a prickly, dancefloor-ready groove.” — Pitchfork

“one of Shopping’s loosest, funkiest songs to date. . . ‘The Hype’ is a great sign of things to come.” — NPR Music
Next month, Shopping are set to release their third full-length album, The Official Body, on January 19th via FatCat Records. The album sees Shopping — comprised of Rachel Aggs (guitar, vocals), Billy Easter (bass, vocals) and Andrew Milk (drums, vocals) — retaining their minimal dance-punk ethos while “amping up the party vibe.” Now they’ve announced they’ll bring the dance party on the road! In March, Shopping will head stateside for a North American tour taking them all across the US and Canada, including stops at both Savannah Stopoverand SXSW. The tour kicks off Thu. March 1st in Boston before heading down the east coast, across the southern states to the west coast, and back to the midwest. A full list of dates are below, with tickets on-sale now.

Watch Shopping’s “The Hype” Video –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnAm6AphanY

Shopping Tour Dates:
Thu. March 1 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott *
Fri. March 2 — Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre *
Sat. March 3 — Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel *
Sun. March 4 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
Tue. March 6 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
Wed. March 7 — Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *
Thu. March 8 — Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover *
Fri. March 9 — Atlanta, GA @ 529 *
Sat. March 10 — New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa *
Sun. March 11 — Houston, TX @ Walter’s *
Tue. March 13 – Thu. March 15 — Austin, TX @ SXSW
Fri. March 16 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace *
Sat. March 17 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge *
Sun. March 18 — San Diego, CA @ Whistle Stop *
Tue. March 20 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
Wed. March 21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Resident * #
Thu. March 22 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop #
Fri. March 23 — Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar #
Sat. March 24 — Seattle, WA @ Vera Project #
Tue. March 27 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed. March 28 — Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Thu. March 29 — Detroit, MI @ Delux Fluxx
Fri. March 30 — Toronto, ON @ Baby G
Sat. March 31 — Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz

* = w/ French Vanilla
# = w/ Lithics

Pre-order The Official Body:
via Bandcamp – http://bit.ly/2kZQL6Z
via iTunes – http://apple.co/2iBSknm
via FatCat Shop – http://bit.ly/2C3DGO8

Levitation 2018 first lineup announced.

The first wave of lineup announcements for Levitation Austin 2018 has been released, and (as usual) it’s great.

The festival is no longer being held at the Carson Creek Ranch, but rather at multiple venues in downtown Austin like Stubb’s BBQ, Empire, Barracuda, and more. You can buy tickets for the individual shows, which vary in price. They offered full weekend passes for all shows for $400.00 (quite a price jump from previous years), but they sold out in minutes. Screw you, ticket buying robots!

Regardless, the first lineup already has many great artists on it. Rishi Dhir of Elephant Stone will be performing solo and with a new venture he has called Mien. Dead Meadow, Thee Oh Sees, Slowdive, the Black Angels, Electric Wizard, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ministry, Chelsea Wolfe, Ty Segall, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Imarhan, the Men, and Al Lover are all stand-outs.

Don’t wait too long to get tickets. Tickets to individual shows at the 2016 festival sold out quick and many tickets went to scalpers who flipped them at outrageous prices. More announcements are due in the early part of 2018, and that will only cause tickets to sell faster.

Keep your mind open.

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Earthless announces March 2018 North American tour dates.

Clear up your calendar for March 2018, because stoner metal giants Earthless will be touring North America. They’re also bringing legendary psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo and psych-rockers Jjuujjuu with them. This is a great triple bill, so don’t miss it. I’m sure tickets will sell fast once they’re available. I plan to see them at their Chicago stop in late March 2018 at the Empty Bottle. I saw them there last year and it was a great show.

Keep your mind open.

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Partner announce tour dates for 2018.

PARTNER Announce 2018 Touring Plans

Tour Dates:
(current 2017)
December 08 – El Club, Detroit MI*
December 09 – The Drake, Toronto ON*
December 10 – Le Belmont, Montreal QC*
December 11 – Great Scott, Allston MA*
December 14 – Elsewhere, Brooklyn NY*
December 15 – U Street Music Hall, Washington DC*
December 16 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia PA*

ANNOUNCING

2018
January 17 – The Slice, Lethbridge AB^
January 18 – Revival, Regina SK (Winterruption)^
January 19 – Amigos, Saskatoon SK (Winterruption)^
January 20 – The Rec Room, Edmonton AB^
January 21 – Big Winter Classic, Calgary AB^

January 25 – MOTR, Cincinnati OH
January 26 – Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
January 27 – Founders Brewery, Grand Rapids MI

February 02 – This Ain’t Hollywood, Hamilton ON

March 13 – 17 – SXSW, Austin TX

May 11 – Focus Wales, Wrexham UK
May 17-19 – The Great Escape, Brighton UK

*w/ Shamir ^w/ Duchess Says
**More dates to be announced soon

For any interview requests or phoners contact – mar@maronmusic.com

Ahead of their joint Canadian Prairie Winter tour, Partner team up with Montrealers Duchess Says to curate a Spotify Winter playlist to get you in the mood, shared by Exclaim here.

————————

RIYL – Weezer, AC/DC, The Breeders, Ween, Beavis & Butthead

Debut album In Search of Lost Time mixed by Grammy award winner Chris Shaw (Weezer, Public Enemy, Sum 41).

Partner is the “mature” effort of two best friends named Josée Caron and Lucy Niles. Borne of their bizarre and fortuitous friendship, Partner confidently harnesses the infinite power of Rock to explore a variety of niche yet strangely universal themes. Self described as post-classic-rock.

The two met while attending Mount Allison University in small town Sackville, New Brunswick, on Canada’s East Coast. The duo played in numerous Sackville bands together over their University years (Yellowteeth, The Mouthbreathers and the aptly named hardcore band Go Get Fucked). Around late 2014 the idea of Partner came to fruition.

Influenced by acts as varied as Melissa Etheridge, Ween, kd lang, and Prince, Partner delivers a refreshing and vital twist on a classic, prompting you to re-think what you thought was possible in Rock.

Partner relocated to Windsor ON at the beginning of 2016. After a freakishly productive year of writing, recording, and touring, Partner have released their debut to the world, titled In Search of Lost Time (September 08, 2017). Their enthusiastic and action-packed live set has led to them being named the “best new band in Canada” in the Globe and Mail.

Partner is genre-defying and terrifying: part musical act, part teenage diary, and 100% queer.

Partner Links
Website: http://www.partnerband.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/officiallypartners
Bandcamp: https://partnerband.bandcamp.com/
Record Label: http://youvechangedrecords.com/portfolio/partner/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/partner_band
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/partnerband

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork 2018 Music Festival tickets are already on pre-sale!

Get your tickets early for Pitchfork 2018. No lineup has been announced, but $150.00 for a three-day pass is a steal to any music festival, let alone one with such a diverse lineup.

Early Bird tickets available now!

3-Day Early Bird Ticket: $150 (vs. $175)
3-Day Early Bird +PLUS Ticket: $350 (vs. $375)

The Pitchfork Music Festival will return to Chicago’s Union Park next summer for its 13th year. The 2018 event will run from Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July 22.

For a limited time, enjoy discounted prices on both
3-Day GA and +PLUS passes. Don’t sleep on this HOLIDAY SALE and purchase your tickets TODAY before they are gone!

Additionally, as part of the holiday sale, single-day tickets will be available for $65. Once Early Bird tickets are are gone, three-day passes will be on sale for the regular price of $175. All pricing will increase after the holidays.

For more ticket info, and to stay tuned on new festival announcements, visit the Pitchfork Music Festival website. And follow @pitchforkfest on social media for the latest news, announcements, and exclusive content.

Keep your mind open.

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