Chicago rockers Bailiff are in the midst of a tour in support of their new album Red Balloon, but the busy locals stopped by Audiotree Live to provide us with some ear candy. “Little by Little” is a slow-burning track that leaves you moved and overwhelmed by feelings you never knew you had due to its drawn out, heartwrenching guitar riffs. Eagle-eye readers/viewers will notice that Mutts’ frontman Mike Maimone sat in on the keys for Bailiff during the session, which can be viewed in full here.

WHOOO! WEEKEND! HELL YEAH! Anyway, there’s just WAYYYY too much going on this weekend for me to jabber on about right now.

Let’s just dive in, shall we?

Continue Reading…

For those of you not keeping track, Chicago Mixtape – the weekly e-mail’d mix of great Chicago bands from Rock Proper’s Casey Meehan – has been an overwhelming success.

So much so, that the Chicago Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club, who’ve been providing athletic, educational and arts programs for more than 1,500 boys and girls since 1931, asked Chicago Mixtape to curate their annual carnival/concert on Sunday, July 10, at Paul Revere Park, located at 3900 N Rockwell Ave.

The end result is a benefit for Neighborhood Boys and Girl Club dubbed ULTRA-VIOLET PETTING ZOO, which features quite a few local buzz bands that have had their music dispersed across Chicago and more on those sweet weekly mixes.

The lineup includes red-headed gorilla fighters White Mystery, groovy bluers Bailiff, jagged indie rockers Jonny Rumble, rowdy noise makers We Repel Each Other and more.

Continue Reading…

Ahoy, there! May I be the first to wish you happy Street Festival season as it (un)officially kicks off this weekend with the always awesome Do Division Fest. And better yet. looks like the weather will indeed cooperate. But that’s no all that happenin’ this weekend. We’ll also preview White Mystery‘s stop at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bailiff‘s record release show at Lincoln Hall, Nobunny at a Chinese Restaurant and more. Can you dig it? Let’s go!

Continue Reading…

Chicago’s Bailiff garnered much attention in the past year or two with their desert blues guitar licks and tight Bonham-esque back beats, but with their debut full-length, Red Balloon, the muscular rock gets put on the back burner in favor of soulful melodies and punchy grooves. The result is an album that maintains its edge while not sounding aggressive. Instead of a pummeling guitar and drum attack, Bailiff stretch these new songs into layered journeys with contagious hooks.

Continue Reading…

Loyal Divide

OK — It’s the calm before the storm, people. There are only a few days before the Springtime monster known as South by Southwest Festival awakens and all hell breaks loose. Despite the madness to come, we’re proud to highlight a tiny portion of the excitement bubbling around the city this weekend. Our finest musical acts may be readying themselves for a full-on invasion of Austin, Texas, like the mighty Napoleon going to battle but first they must tread our stages once more.

We’ve got two SXSW send-off parties featuring the likes of Rabble Rabble, Chaperone, Radar Eyes and so much more at The Hideout and Scott Lucas and the Married Men and California Wives at the Bottom Lounge. We’ve also got Loyal Divide at the Beat Kitchen and a little band called Rodeo at the Empty Bottle. Let’s get it on…
Continue Reading…

Finally, the start of Chicago’s summer festival season is upon us as the Do-Division Street Fest kicks off tomorrow! Lets just hope the rain doesn’t spoil the fun.

What’s that? You’re one of those poor souls who works during the weekend? I feel for you, brother! Luckily, there are quite a few more awesome shows around town this weekend including CAVE at the Hideout, Yakuza at the Beat Kitchen, Toro y Moi at the Empty Bottle and much more!

Lets get to it, shall we?

Continue Reading…