review by Ali Weiss
photos by Karla Svatos
It was the perfect storm. First you’ve got charismatic soul outfit JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, easily one of Chicago’s top indie bands. And they’re just the opening act. For whom? How about two immensely popular underground hip hop / soul acts from the [...]
by Ali Weiss
photos by Karla Svatos
Local bands Elev8tor, ODE and The Grace Lincoln Project played the monthly KEXP Equalizer Chicago at darkroom on Friday. Headliners Elev8tor played a variety of their downtempo and breakbeat music, added a guest vocalist and threw in a cover of the Beastie Boys’ instrumental “Ricki’s Theme.”
For this re-cap, we [...]
Posted in Equalizer, KEXP |
by Michael Turner
photos by Laura Gray
Hey there, music fans! Can I call ya Joe? Gosh jeepers, that’d be grrreat! Let’s get started then! Skip, sparkle, wink. And so it was that on the eve of the vice presidential debate last Thursday, October 2nd Equalizer brought fourth upon this continent a new line-up. [...]
Posted in Equalizer, KEXP |
by Mike Turner
photos by Jeremy Farmer
So, now that you are all back safely from your respective political conventions are you ready to hear about an event that doesn’t involve tear gas, “free speech zones,” teen pregnancy the words “hope” or “change” or any funny hats? Well, I hope so because none of those things were [...]
Posted in Equalizer, KEXP |
The honeymoon is over kiddos and after a great birthday month it was back to business as usual for Equalizer and darkroom. To Equalizer business means putting on a killer live music showcase for KEXP once per month and not expecting spankings in return every time. This past Thursday August 7th KEXP, Equalizer, [...]
Posted in Equalizer, KEXP |
review by Mike Turner
photos by Jeremy Farmer
Hi folks, I’m going to keep this short since you all might be sick to death of hearing from us out here in Chicago by now. I don’t want to run the risk of over exposure after six days of extensive KEXP coverage from “The Great Midwest” (actually [...]
As we move perilously closer each day to the immanent KEXP live broadcast invasion of Chicago this month I am reminded more often just what a vital music town and indeed music community Chicago is right now. I can’t think of another city of this scale (and I have lived in quite a few [...]
photos by Laura Gray
Well, kids, they did it! Despite the player haters, the “media monkeys and the junket junkies with their plastic pantomime,” a few confusing dreams about David Bowie’s nipples in outer space and the occasional Debbie Downer, KEXP and Equalizer Chicago made it through an entire year in the Midwest. Even though [...]
review by Mike Turner
photos by Ryan Sweeney
Well, kids — another Equalizer has come and gone and last week was another rock and roll circus. There is only one month to go before reaching the official one-year mark of the Midwest’s finest independent music showcase and thinking back on all of them trying to pick [...]
review by Mike Turner
photos by Jeremy Farmer and Brent Kado
Darkroom, Ukrainian Village, Chicago, IL, Thursday, April 3rd, KEXP Equalizer, holy crap… did someone set off some kind of bomb that destroys everything that isn’t awesome? With the caliber of talent on hand last Thursday night, it sure seemed like it. Or maybe somebody [...]
