So if you missed St. Vincent's amazing show at The Metro last night - full review coming soon - you've got another chance to catch her in the windy city and it's FREE!

The Chicago Reader reports that the lovely Annie Clark AKA St. Vincent will play at Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park tonight beginning at 6:30 p.m. Local indie-pop-jam band Alla opens.

By Richard Giraldi   \  comments

It’s the weekend! Behold, more opportunities for eardrum shattering pleasure. Let’s do this…

Jenny Lewis

8:00 PM, Friday, 6/5 at Park West. $22.

Metronome Celebration!

Featuring the sweet sounds of Future Rock, John Vanderslice, Deals Gone Bad Powers, & Justin Townes Earle.

Noon - 10:00 PM, Saturday 6/6 & Sunday 6/7 at Milwaukee Avenue at Armitage. $5.

Telekinesis

With An Horse.

8:00 PM, Sunday, 6/7 at Schubas. $8.

St. Vincent

With Pattern Is Movement.

7:30 PM, Sunday, 6/7 at The Metro. $15. By Richard Giraldi   \  comments

Calling all Black-Metal and noise fans!

The Matchitehew Assembly is a two day, all-ages black-metal and noise festival that begins today, June 5, and runs through tomorrow, June 6.

The event description according to Matchitehew.com: "The performances will consist of everything from traditional black metal to noise; a collection of extreme elements that encompass the spectrum of dark sound."

A Chicago Reader Article reveals even more details:

The Matchitehew Assembly (Matchitehew is an Algonquin name meaning “he has an evil heart”) isn’t one day but two, Friday and Saturday at the Co-Prosperity Sphere. And thanks to Chambers, who came into it with a bit of experience booking friends’ bands, there’s plenty of experimental noise mixed in with the black metal. The nearly two dozen bands on the bill hail from all over—the midwest, Texas, California. The Hungarian band Marblebog anchors Friday’s bill; after Matchitehew, Kilmer is accompanying them to an invite-only gathering in the Rockies whose precise location is a secret.

Doors open at 4pm today with the music starting at 5pm until midnight. The assembly takes places at the Co-Prosperity Sphere located at 3219 S. Morgan. Tickets are $40 for a weekend pass or $25 for a day pass. Tickets are no longer available online, so if you wanna attend, get there early to guarantee admittance. Better hurry up! By Richard Giraldi   \  comments

We have a winner!

Attention Don Butterworth, you have won a free The National T-Shirt courtesy of LoudLoopPress.com and Insound!

Thanks for everyone who entered to make our first giveaway such as success!

If you didn't win, don't fret. We'll be offering plenty of more freebies in the future. In the meantime, keep your eyes on LoudLoopPress.com! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Catch The National July 18 at Chicago's Union Park as part of Pitchfork Music Festival 2009! For tickets, click here. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ By Richard Giraldi   \  comments

Local rock critic, sometimes bass player, and all around lover of pretzel bread Jessica Hopper has just released her first book, "The Girls' Guide to Rocking" through Workman Publishing.

More than a simple How-to, the book informs young ladies on picking out the right instrument, where to buy and not to buy said instrument, how to play music with friends and much much more. As a musician and, I assume, a lady herself, Ms. Hopper is more than aware of the ins and outs of the unique challenges girls face when starting a band, not to mention promoting, recording, and touring.

Don't take it from me, take it from Joan Jett. About the book, Jett said, "For anyone looking to dive in, this book is a great place to start." Pretty cool. Check out the infomercial as well. And ladies, start rocking:

The Girls' Guide to Rocking // Adventure from Alan Del Rio Ortiz on Vimeo.

By Ross Meyerson   \  1 comment

Hey everyone. You may have missed it, but we're teaming up with Insound and giving away a free The National T-shirt. To read the original post, click here.

To enter to contest, click here.

We're announcing the winner TOMORROW! So hurry up and enter! By Richard Giraldi   \  comments

Lollapalooza announced a new spin (sorry) to their annual Last Band Standing contest by making it a DJ remix competition pitting Chicago against the World.

The first stage of the contest takes place between June 3 and  June 25 when remixes of 10 minutes or less can be submitted in either the Chicago or the World category. On July 2, the top 25 from each group will be announced, and then the semifinal round will take place between July 6 and July 20. The Top two vote-getters from Chicago and the World categories will advance to the finals.

The final round will take place at the Double Door on August 5. The top four finalists will receive a Dell Studio 15 laptop loaded  with Ableton Live 8 for use at the finals. They will have from 8am to 4pm to a new remix on their new laptops to be performed and voted on at the club that night. The audience will vote on the runner-up while the grand prize winner will be chosen by an industry judging panel.

Those that enter are being encouraged to utilize MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and any other platforms to self promote and rack up votes.

Along with the laptop, the winner and runner-up will each receive $1,000, an artist pass and guest pass to the entire festival, an opening slot on Perry Ferrell's stage, promotion on the Lollapalooza.com and partner sites, and four nights at a hotel in Chicago.

Additional artists performing at the festival set for August 7-9 in Grant Park were also announced and include: Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Gringo Starr, KE$SHA, Esser, Neon Hitch, Dirty Sweet, Mike's Pawn Shop, April Smith, Band of Skulls, Diplo, DJ Mel, and Prophit. Tickets are on sale now. By Andrew Kahn   \  comments