It was a wet spring evening in Chicago, one of many in the early months of the spring season. Chicago has extremely unpredictable weather, and gruesome winter months as well. It would be an understatement to say that April 5th was any exception. With even the gloomy weather in account, this did not stop the Swedish three piece, Miike Snow, and their endless amount of supporters from lining up in the rain for what was to be the second day in a sold out visit to Chicago’s Metro.
Some bands have a hard time filling a single venue, while others, as in the case of more recent showcase, sold out 2 back-to-back days of the Swedish group’s most recent and arguably most successful tour to date. With the up and coming group, Delorean starting out the night with a bang, the lineup was an obvious reason for the tours success. “Amazing”, “epic”, “visually spectacular” were just some of the responses to the group’s live show that left spectators wanting more. With multiple live instrumentations and the overall performance mixed with what seemed like an absurd amount of lighting, their live show had a unique feel that is rarely seen in, “smaller scale” venues and more so in arena style performances.
It began with the entrance of each individual band member in white artisan masks that showed anything but any sort of expression. The blank emotions on each of the band member’s faces started the show off with a theatrical bang. Heading up the rear was front man Andrew Wyatt, shoeless, and ready to get down to business, the musically talented singer/song writer/pianist/guitarist wasn’t going to settle for a mediocre show. Seeing him singing his heart filled lines into the microphone like it was the first time playing in front of a live audience was a refreshing change of pace compared to mass touring bands that lose interest and emotion after performing the same songs night after night.
With a talented drummer, and multi faceted dj, their night didn’t end with the end of the show at the Metro as they went on to play a late night DJ set at The Metro’s adjacent nightclub, Smart Bar. This gave the unfortunate Miike Snow fans that were unable to purchase tickets to the sold out show, as well as die hard fans, an epic encore to end the night on. Never leaving the fans feeling as if they didn’t get their moneys worth, yet still leaving them wanting more was the perfect combination for any music fan. Its fairly obvious to see why the group has formed such a strong bond between fan and performer, drawing the line much closer than you would think as they drew off energy from the crowd to fuel their seemingly never ending supply of vigor and the drive to create something musically unique.

Story by, Chris Hemstreet

For a list of shows, and touring schedule and a peek at their tunes, check out the artists MySpace’s:

Miike Snow: MySpace.com/MiikeSnow
Delorean: MySpace.com/DeloreanDanz

Electro Vs Dubstep

Just like the miracle of chocolate and peanut butter, Calvin and Hobbs, and Jack and Coke, there hasn’t been a better mashup of music like the announced, Electro Vs Dubstep show at the Portage Theater, in Chicago, IL.  Bringing together the best of both worlds, well known, electronic sing-a-long dabce tracks that have reached extraordinary levels of popularity in the past few years from artists such as, Chromeo, The Bloody Beetroots, Daft Punk, Girl Talk, and Boyz Noize amongst too many others to name.  The genre brings together fast paced music, with interesting melodies that make people want to dance.

On the other end of the spectrum you have the newer sensation that is dubstep.  Heavy hitting, large drop’s, and more wobble than you can handle.  The genre is picking up steam with artists such as, Benga, Rusko, Caspa, Excision and many others leading the pack at the forefront.  The popularity of the genre is becoming recognized by electronic music festivals all over the world, with Ultra and Coachella just among a few that has added dubstep artists to their lineup for 2010.

Saturday, March 6^th will be one show to remember, giving again the best of both worlds from local Chicago electronic scene DJ’s, such as, Midnight Conspiracy, Phaded, Nameloc, Solo, Broken Disco 1980, Action Adventure and Destruction, along with live visuals to finish off a night, full of what will surely be an intense array of dancing, drinking, partying, and being exposed to new music at this months 18+ showcase at the Portage Theater. There’s nothing left to say besides, don’t miss out on the opportunity to expose yourself to what truly moves the youth of today, a never ending array of diverse and different music.  See you on the dance floor.

Story by, Chris Hemstreet

Check out the artists playing at, Electro Vs Dubstep online:

Electro:

Midnight Conspiracy: http://www.myspace.com/midnightconspiracy

Broken Disco 1980: http://CustomVibes.com

Action Adventure: http://soundcloud.com/action-adventure

Destruction: http://www.myspace.com/thedjdestructionproject

Dubstep:

Phaded: http://www.myspace.com/sosophaded

Nameloc: http://www.myspace.com/namelocmusic

Solo: http://www.myspace.com/iscratchrecords

Find the event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=266525074648&ref=ts

Saturday, February 27^th, a day to be remembered for all of those who attended the last day of the Big Gigantic and Two Fresh’s Winter tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL.  With crowds constantly pouring in through the doors until it seemed like there was no room left for eager attendees, yet more kept coming.  A sea of happy faces mixed in with multi colored LED hula-hoop’s and the crowd bouncing like there was no tomorrow, it was easy to see how excited people were for the headliners.

With openers such as, The Malah, INDIGoSUN, J A S P E R, and GHETTO SEXUAL setting the stage for what was to come, the suspense and buildup were intense.  With the constant flow of music anywhere from jazzy/electro to dub step, all anyone seemed to want to do was dance and have a good time, and in this writers personal experience it succeeded.

What was to come was the much-anticipated moment of the night, Big Gigantic taking the stage, on lookers crowding to catch a glimpse of the duo, followed by an impressive array of lasers and lights to accompany the moment, it was impressive for both sight and sound.  The noise rattling hits of the drums, and the piercing saxophone made the experience one of a kind.  Its hard to find new, original musicianship in a world crowded with internet sensations, but this particular show was an excellent example of both.  With Two Fresh finishing up the night, followed by a collaboration from the two bands simultaneously, it was an exhilarating way to finish off a night of good music, with an excited group of people who refuse to just accept music that is thrown at them by popular culture.  This is a truly talented group of individuals who deserve to be heard.

Story By:  Chris Hemstreet

Check out the list of bands and their MySpace’s to hear more great music:

Big Gigantic: http://www.myspace.com/biggigantic

Two Fresh: http://www.myspace.com/twofreshbeats

The Malah: http://www.myspace.com/themalah

INDIGoSUN: http://www.myspace.com/underanindigosun

And a list of future events at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000472704412&ref=ts