Pitchfork Music Festival AGAIN announced MORE additions to their already stellar line-up.  Beirut, MC DOOM, Frightened Rabbit, DJ/Rupture, Lindstrøm, Mae Shi, Ponytail, and Chicago's own Dianogah make up the latest installment. Those snarky bastards seem hell bent on putting on an all-killer-no-filler festival July 17-19 at Union Park. And if you're still not convinced you want to spend 3 days in the oppressive Midwest summer heat because your favorite band hasn't been listed yet, sit tight, this latest announcement concluded with this gem, "Plus: There are still many more bands to come. " Tickets for the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival are on sale now. By Andrew Kahn  \  comments

On Tuesday, Ben Folds released Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! that features the University of Chicago a cappella group Voices in Your Head on the track "Magic" (from the album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner). The album features 14 groups from universities and colleges across the country.

Folds picked from over 250 student group videos submitted to YouTube as auditions to make what's essentially a greatest hits compilation. Makeshift studios, made up of just six area microphones that Folds lugged with him around the country, were set up in dorm lounges, lecture halls, campus television studios, living rooms and even a Synagogue to record the tracks.

For a guy that recorded a spoken word album with Bill Shatner, I guess recording an album with college a cappella groups should come as no surprise. Thankfully, Captain Kirk does not make an appearance on this album. By Andrew Kahn  \  comments

The mid 90's punk band 88 Fingers Louie announced their first (and only) show August 15 at the Bottom Lounge.  Having not played together in over a decade the band had this to say about its one-off reunion:

"Having been completely blown away over the level of support the band has received over the years (these last few being particularly insane), we, like our mentors the Blues Brothers, are putting the band back together for one long-awaited reunion show. We are pleased to announce that we will be playing August 15th in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge.
Information about when the show will go on sale will be announced soon so pay attention-you do not want to sleep on this truly special evening. Regretfully, Joe Principe cannot take part in this reunion as Rise Against is his main focus these days, but he has given this reunion his blessing. Filling in his shoes will be Bassmaster General John Contreras."

According to the band's MySpace site, the lineup will be Denis Buckley, Dan Precision, John Carroll, and the afore mentioned John Contreras with the  possibility of a  guest appearance.

By Andrew Kahn  \  2 comments

Andrew Bird and Poi Dog Pondering are among the Chicago musicians slated to perform at the Austin City Limits Festival. Also performing are Sonic Youth who kick off their summer tour in Chicago on June 28. The three day event is set for October 2 - 4 at Zilker Park in Austin, TX. Headlining are festival main stage staples Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys and current RollingStone coverboys Kings of Leon. The latter two can also be caught headlining this year's Lollapalooza. The rest of the line-up is available here, it's really a shame Daniel Johnston is getting such a low billing in the Devil Town.

So if you can't make it to Lollapalooza but want to catch a bunch of the same acts, head down to Austin this fall.

Early bird tickets have sold out, but regular three-day passes for $185 are on sale now.

By Andrew Kahn  \  comments

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Local prog-jam road warriors Umphrey’s McGee recently released their album Mantis, hired a new Lighting Director (Jefferson Waful, formerly moe.’s LD) and upgraded their stage design with the new Martin MAC III Profile™ lighting fixture.  Supported by Lighting Crew Chief Wade Wilby, they are some of the first artists to utilize this cutting edge technology.  The folks from Martin went straight to the source to offer a detailed profile of what Umphrey’s is creating visually at each show.

Additional shots from Umphrey's light show from the Morris Center for Performing Arts, South Bend, IN, April 18, 2009.
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[caption id="attachment_325" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="PHOTO BY ANDY KAHN"][/caption] By Andrew Kahn  \  comments

Billy Corgan responded to questions and concerns regarding the recently announced planned subscription service that he hopes will change the way albums and music are created and purchased.  In recent interviews, the Pumpkins’ front man has hinted at developing an alternative model for getting media and songs into the hands of fans.  Corgan explained his goals for the 12 week paid service:

"The goal is to create a working model that is not profit motivated but rather information and access motivated. In exchange for a fixed resource base fans will be let inside in an unprecedented way to the creative process of preparing to make the next SP album while also inspiring an inter-active dialogue that will help shape the work. Because of the open window, further efforts will be made to provide content so that anyone participating can more readily follow the arc over the 12 weeks, with unprecedented access to lyrical and musical content."

Here are some details regarding the subscription model:

• $40 for 12 weeks. A minimum of 5 updates from the studio per week, so that's 60 updates for $40.
• Updates would be posted in a less-than-24-hour consistency. For instance, if something happened on Monday, it would be posted no later than Tuesday
• Each update would be a minimum of 5 minutes in length. That would mean subscribers would receive at least 25 minutes of unique audio/video material per week, and at least 5 hours over the course of the 12 weeks
• There is a possibility of live streaming video content in addition to what has been presented above.
• The updates will ultimately be part of a substantial "art film."

Information regarding upcoming studio subscription model [Smashingpumpkins.com] By Andrew Kahn  \  comments

The popular Taste of Randolph Street summertime extravaganza announced the top acts for the three-day event.

Philly based Dr. Dog will take the stage to close out the performances on Friday June 19.  Tinted Windows, the eclectic quartet featuring former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson, Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick will play Saturday, June 20. The festival will be capped off Sunday, June 21 with a set from Brooklyn based The Hold Steady.  Many more acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

The event is free but has a suggested donation of $10, which benefits the West Loop Community Organization. By Andrew Kahn  \  2 comments