Pink Martini, HEY EUGENE! (Heinz Records)

Pink Martini’s latest nears perfection, save one popular mistake.

Music Stories [ECLECTIC POP] Pink Martini has become a genre unto itself. Considering the now-12-piece outfit subtly informs its jazz-lounge confections with the aural traditions of four continents, it’s hard ... More

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 JAY HORTON

Norfolk & Western at Subterranean in Chicago, Nov. 15, 2006

Music Arriving less than a week after drummer Rachel Blumberg's former group, The Decemberists, sold out a cavernous hall north of the city, Blumberg's new vehicle, Norfolk & Western, attracted a respectable sampling of the indie faithful to Subterranean--a mid-sized, mis-named (rising three stories above street... More

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 by JAY HORTON

The Decemberists at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, Nov. 11, 2006

Music The Riviera Theatre has the look of an old movie house--one of those silent-era palaces designed to fantastical themes and lovingly restored. Specifically, the Riviera's glowing aqua-marine panels suggests an ornate, 19th-century submarine which seemed particularly appropriate last Saturday. Playing beneath C... More

Monday, November 13, 2006 by JAY HORTON

Long Gone

After six years and a whole lot of life, 44 Long's Brian Berg returns.

RIFF CITY After the glowing critical reception of debut album Collect Them All (among Greil Marcus' top 10 records of 1997) and the 1999 follow-up Inside the Horse's Head, the eclectic pop/roots/guitar rock of ... More

Wednesday, May 17, 2006 JAY HORTON

The Out Crowd Wednesday, Oct. 26

Matt Hollywood steps into the spotlight, post-Dig!.

Music Stories [PSYCH POP] As frontman for Portland's psych-pop outfit the Out Crowd, Matt Hollywood hasn't received much publicity, but his cherubic mug might be familiar to many. As a former member of the Brian Jo ... More

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 JAY HORTON

BC's American Saloon Outlaws, Legends and Lovers, aug. 17

Club sheds sci-fi veneer, goes where no hipster joint has gone before.

Night Avenger BC's American Saloon Outlaws, Legends and Lovers, aug. 17"I like rocking with the boot-scooting boogie." That's Tabbitha-but call her Tabotage. Loose black tank top, hair whimsically shorn, she's the ... More

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 JAY HORTON

FROM CROATIA WITH LOVE

Levon Levan feels the groove, baby.

Music Stories America long ago abandoned Levon Levan's brand of entertainment. Looking somewhat like a pudgier, swarthier, Thunderball-era Tom Jones, the Croatian-born entertainer clearly assembled his fashion and ... More

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 JAY HORTON

Live 365

Local musicophile goes to concerts every single day for a year and manages to keep his sanity.

Music Stories Local musicophile goes to concerts every single day for a year and manages to keep his sanity.Enjoy live music, do you? Out to the clubs every weekend? Sometimes, on the fourth beer, as theguitarist t ... More

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 JAY HORTON

Ameliorate

More voices mean a greater sound for Amelia's second release.

Music Stories "Jigsaw," the first track off Amelia's second album, After All, opens with the drop of a record needle--the hiss of old vinyl almost immediately subsumed by a bristling, confident guitar. It's a wonde ... More

Wednesday, May 5, 2004 JAY HORTON

Center Stage

There's no box for Audio Learning Center's sound, but there should be

Music Stories At first glance, Audio Learning Center appears to have little in common with its oblique namesake, the Belmont Learning Center. That center was built at ridiculous costs directly above a seismically c ... More

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 JAY HORTON