EXCITING NEWS!

Yesterday I received some incredibly exciting news....I'm officially a blogger for Q101! I couldn't be more stoked to be able to share my music experiences with the Local 101 fans and Chicago community. I will still continue to post on here but you can be the coolest person ever and also check out my posts when they're up on Q101.com! My next show that I'll be posting about is happening in 2 days and is a show I'm really looking forward to: DISCLOSURE AT THE ARAGON! I am also super excited because Sam Smith is here (and no one knew!) which I'm pretty sure means that he is going to be at their gig at the Mid tonight and hopefully at the Aragon on Friday. If he doesn't end up being there for my show but is performing at the show tonight, I'll be extremely disappointed. Even though I'm seeing him in September, the song Latch just isn't the same without both artists! Regardless, this show is bound to be a good time and I can't wait to experience my first Lolla after show at my favorite venue ever. Stayed tuned and leave a comment if you're a Disclosure fan or if you're going to the show! :)

Heartless Bastards at Durty Nellies. 7/14

Let me first start off this post by saying that this is the first show I've been to in my area that is actually worth blogging about and I couldn't be happier that it was a Heartless Bastards show. This band is absolutely INCREDIBLE live! Seriously, they're a tight band and you can tell they've been doing this a long time. I first heard them on WXRT 2 years ago, when their most recent album Arrow was released. The song that I heard was Parted Ways and I was floored at how powerful singer Erika Wennerstrom's voice was, I haven't heard anything like it in my life! I immediately researched them and found out that they were discovered in Ohio (they're from Cincinnati) when a demo was given to the Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney. He passed it along and they ended up being signed to Fat Possum records in 2004, such a cool story! I had been wanting to see them for a few years but school always interfered so I didn't get the chance but I finally saw them live and it was well worth the wait. The show was in my hometown too, which is crazy considering where I live and the lack of decent venues that are here. For those unfamiliar with Durty Nellie's, it's a bar/restaurant that has pretty good food and live music most weekend/weekday nights. It's definitely worth checking out if you're ever in the area and the Metra station is literally 2 steps out the door, so it's also convenient if you live in the city. Heartless Bastards ended up playing around 10:30 after the two opening acts, which by that time everyone was ready to see the main act. Anyways, the band consists of Erika the guitarist/singer, Jesse Ebaugh on bass, Dave Colvin on drums and Mark Nathan on guitar. They're all extremely talented and I have never heard drumming or guitar playing like that in my life! Erika was really nice and they genuinely looked so happy to be playing music with each other. They mainly played songs off of Arrow and every single song they played was even better than the previous.  They are reminiscent of the Black Keys (which contradicted what I said in my last post about them haha) and have such great energy on stage. I enjoy bands that don't require any kind of production to make themselves sound/look better than they are, so this band is perfect for someone that just enjoys great music.  I would definitely be seeing them again and hope they come back to the Chicago area soon!

Gotta Have Rock N Roll (Video from YouTube) 

Here's an incredible studio performance of Parted Ways 

My favorite concert experience so far.... attention, Local 101!

This post will be focusing on the best concert experience I've seen so far, which took a lot of thought! I've gotten to see some pretty incredible performers over the years so this was definitely a challenge. I'd have to say that my favorite concert experience I've had was when I saw Wild Belle at the Metro last October. Since I've previously posted on this show, I won't be posting pictures/videos but I'll be focusing on the show itself including the venue. I happened to discover Wild Belle while browsing my Facebook feed last summer. I follow Nylon magazine and they posted about this new band that were on the verge of becoming well-known. I love discovering new music, so naturally I checked them out. After hearing "Keep You", I was sold! I can't even describe their sound, it's that unique. The genre it's most similar too though is reggae, but it's so much better.They're from Barrington, which is really cool because it's local. Another interesting aspect about them is that the incredible vocalist (Natalie) and the equally incredible sax player (Elliot) are siblings. So many instruments are used in their music, including tambourine, keyboards, kalimbas, the list goes on! I absolutely love it when a group has a wide variety of sounds in their music. I had been wanting to see them live for the longest time since discovering them so when I found out they would be playing the Metro, I made the decision to come home from school that weekend. I had never been to the Metro before so also that contributed to the experience. I've been to all the main venues in the Chicago area, but this venue is at the top of my favorites list. It has such a history and so many great performers have played there! The concert itself was phenomenal and I loved that it wasn't anything fancy, just a group of talented musicians playing great songs. Natalie has such a unique voice, I haven't heard anything like it. They played songs from their debut album, Isles, as well as a few others. I love every song on the album, but a few of my favorites are "Shine" and "Twisted". I also like an older song called "Mrs. Franklin". I found a video of Natalie performing it acoustically and it's unbelievable how good her voice is! The opening act was a band called Saint Rich and they also put on a great show. All of the band members looked really young but it turns out they're in their mid-20's! I can't wait until Wild Belle go on tour again and put out a new record. If you like music you can groove to, check out this band and I promise that you won't be disappointed!

It's concert season!

I haven't been very up-to-date on my posts recently, BUT I have a lot of incredible shows lined up for this summer and can't wait to post about them! I'm seeing the Heartless Bastards at Dirty Nellie's on July 14th, Disclosure at the Aragon Ballroom on August 1st and Sam Smith on September 22nd at the Riv. I'm excited about all of these shows, but I'm particularly stoked to see Disclosure. They've achieved massive success due to the highly popular song "Latch" (which features Sam Smith). I've also checked out their other songs and can say that I'll be getting out my dancin' shoes for this show! If you like good dance music, this is the group to check out.  British singer-songwriter Sam Smith has gained a huge following from his song "Stay with Me" and his debut album In the Lonely Hour has climbed the charts since it's release. He's only 22 years old and has the voice of an angel! The band Heartless Bastards are from Cincinnati, super cool and have been compared to the Black Keys. I personally don't think that they sound like them but listen to the song "Parted Ways" and let me know if you think they do! I'm really surprised they're playing in my area, considering good bands rarely come to Palatine so this show should have a pretty good turnout. If anyone is going to any of these shows or attending other shows this summer, feel free to leave a comment in the comment box!