william a. rice

Young Man

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:53:39 +0000

Young Man
Dream on dreamers. Gaze on gazers. It’s time for a some serious relaxing in the shade. Collect your thoughts and find yourself a in a rhythmic blast of harmonies, guitar and light drum beats. Colin Caulfield a.k.a. Young Man is a fellow Chicagoan who’s star-dusted vocal harmonies will have you floating along side him within seconds of hearing them. Forget your troubles for awhile and just let the seconds pass.
Young Man is no stranger to the stage as he’s been touring and creating music under indie label Frenchkiss Records for about a year now. The 2011 Lollapalooza Festival will be welcoming Young Man to lineup. Check out the EP release of ‘Boy’ on sound cloud in its entirety and see if it’s for you. After sitting down and enjoying it I’m convinced that this is the perfect way to keep seeing music while relaxing at the same time. Bring some friends and smile on one another as the guitars remind you of a better place.

Beats Antique

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:51:42 +0000

Beats Antique
If Beats Antique were a recipe for delicious music, this is basically what I would tell you: Combine 1 cup Executioners, 2 tablespoons The Glitch Mob, 1 1/2 cup of diced Tinariwen, 2 tablespoons Blues Traveler, 1 cup of shredded Thievery Corporation, and a handful of Antibalos. Season with Middle Eastern hashish for some experience.
This group puts a whole new world spin on “wiling out.” Snapping off sounds with traditional Middle Eastern twang and bum rushing it with looped electronic samples, this group makes me want to take acid in the bathtub while watching Disney’s Aladdin. And whatttttt? Zoe Jakes moving that body with her belly dancing to the point that it’s hard to tell where the sound is coming from. Did she just make her stomach roll out a snare rush? She might have just made my top five list of sexiest woman in the span of me writing this, and it’s not just because of the body art that’s so rad she got featured in Ink Magazine. Seriously, look at that girl move.
With a stage show not to miss and sounds that will make you dizzy and foreign, I encourage everyone to find me in the crowd. Hopefully I won’t be the only who brought my own Hookah. This band will get you moving in ways that you may have never even thought possible, and not in the Elaine from Seinfeld sort of way. Hypnotic drum patterns, exotic instruments, electro samples, and a hot woman belly dancing. By the end of this set, you’ll be sweating and engaged and wanting more. Just don’t drive while indulging.

Ruby Jane

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:50:19 +0000

Ruby Jane
As someone not even old enough to legally buy a pack of smokes, this young country protege creates her own smoke with a bow and a fiddle. Her sound is the familiar American bluegrass, but her lyrics present a deeper knowledgeable mind. An old soul in a young girls body, this rising star has already played with some of the greatest country musicians around. I mean come on, this girl has already played the Grand Ole Opry. As I type this, I’m sitting at home chewing on a piece of straw, drinking lemonade and complaining that “it’s hottah then a dickins,” and she made me this way, if only temporarily.
Her words are wise and meaningful. Her voice is entrancing. Her guitar and fiddle playing is clean and precise, but her voice… her voice. It’s melodic, engaging, and developed in her own way. Not in a freakish Jackie Evancho sort of way because it actually fits. The performance will be a roller coaster ride from electric to acoustic, from hushed whispers to thunderous roars, and it’s all designed to take the audience for a ride. She’ll grab you, make you “Stick Around” and make you “Feel Like Home” – all while you wish you brought that glass of lemonade because she will most definitely leave you “hottah than a dickens”. And holy crap, just try to keep up with her once she starts playing Minor Swing.

Black Cards

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:47:25 +0000

Black Cards
If relationship experts wanted to prove that opposites really do attract, Pete Wentz and Beb Rexha should be studied for pseudo-scientific purposes. The paring of the bass playing lyricist who eclipsed his own Fall Out Boy fame by “accidentally” baring his genitals on the Internet and marrying Ashlee Simpson (the haters can say what they want, but that’s pretty punk rock) with a five octave vocal range woman who easily gets comparisons to Stefani resulted in the creation of the musical smorgasbord that is Black Cards.
According to the source of all knowledge on the Internet, Black Cards is an experimental electropop band, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. Equal parts Jamaican roots reggae, pop licks, live drumming, some electro production and Rexha’s sensuous, scintillating vocals, Black Cards is more a combination of throwback European alt rock (think Cocteau Twins) and No Doubt. The sound is unique and removed from Fall Out Boy as is sonically possible. Did we mention yet that Bebe Rexha is smokin’ hot? If you don’t fall in love with this girl as soon as you see her, you will as soon as she opens her mouth.

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:44:10 +0000

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 is simultaneously the most ridiculous, awesome and insane name for a “band” ever. Here’s how it goes: Bloody Beetroots is the pseudonym of Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo. Bloody Beetroots DJ Set is Rifo with DJ Tommy Tea on effects. Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 is what happens when the two of them are joined on stage by drummer Jacopo Battaglia (a.k.a. Battle). Describing a BBDC77 (even abbreviated it’s long) performance as an event where all hell breaks loose is like describing a Chicago Winter as cold.

Performing in what is best described as Venom masks from Spider-Man (while frequently indulging in cancer sticks no less), Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 (we’re going to just go with Death Crew 77 from now on) defies convention when it comes to modern electronic music. The combination of synth beats and samples with vocals more frequently found in traditional, classic punk rock (The Sex Pistols, not that shit that passes for punk these days), Death Crew 77 is produced, smoothed and perfectly executed – without losing the grittiness that makes it so damn excellent. With video production quality that borders on Tarantino-esque, the live show is not to be missed, and something you should put in your Lolla lineup immediately.

Typhoon

will — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:42:01 +0000

If we merged the lyrical whimsy of Freelance Whales with early Arcade Fire, we may come up with something much in the vein of Oregon’s indie band Typhoon. With a dozen members in the band, it’s safe to guess they will be the biggest official ensemble on stage at Lollapalooza this year. They offer servings of indie rock harmony with depth, substance and a dash of hippie love. Like a sing-along ‘round a campfire, it’s hard to resist the urge to join in when they all sing in unison. Expect lyrics that sound like story-telling, percussion suited to march along to and a well woven mastery of strings, brass and bells. Collectively, their passionate music feels even larger than their head count. Intriguing and grand, all 12 branches of the Typhoon family tree will be filling the Lollapalooza BMI stage on Saturday, August 6th at 1:15 p.m.

Bear in Heaven at the Vic Theatre

will — Wed, 26 May 2010 06:07:52 +0000

Bear in Heaven wrapped up their 10-week tour in Chicago on Thursday at the Vic Theatre. The Brooklyn psychedelic rockers were making their second of at least three stops in Chicago this year as they will return for the Pitchfork Music Festival in July. The three lined the front of the stage and pumped out rolling beats that were accented by lead singer Jon Philpot’s vocals that sound so much better live than any recording I have heard. Philpot’s chilling screams were a great compliment to drummer Joe Stickney’s beats that really moved the show forward. Bear in Heaven was opening for Metric click here for those photos.

Bear in Heaven at the Vic Theatre by eight one seven photography May 2010

Metric at the Vic Theatre

will — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:43:51 +0000

Canadian rockers Metric came to the Vic Theatre in Chicago Thursday night to perform to a sold out all ages crowd. Throughout the night lead singer Emily Haines split time between banging notes on her synthesizer and marching around the stage leading the sweaty crowd in their dancing. At times her moves were robotic and anxious as she sang behind a mic stand before ripping it from the stand and exploring all sides of the stage. The band spent much of the night matching Haines’ excitement. Guitarist James Shaw took the show performing the occasional guitar solo that were so feverish it forced the crowd to slow their moves to take in the impressive notes. These were the only times the lower level of the Vic would slow their pace as the band belted out many of the tracks from their 2009 full length release Fantasies.

Metric at the Vic Theatre by eight one seven photography May 2010

Josh Ritter at The Vic Theatre

will — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:26:36 +0000

Josh Ritter

Vic Theatre

Chicago, Il.

May 15, 2010

Josh Ritter rolled through town with six giant light bulbs, four bandmates (The Royal City Band) and a lot of energy Saturday night to the Vic Theatre in Chicago. This was my first experience seeing him live after listening to his albums for several years now. I never would have guessed how much fun one of his shows would be. Ritter was joking with the crowd during many of the breaks between songs and during some of his songs. He rolled on the floor, jumped up and down, popped his collar and at one point he dropped to the ground to do a few pushups. His character and show were both very refreshing.

Josh Ritter at the Vic Theatre by eight one seven photography

Coheed and Cambria at the Congress Theater

will — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:58:08 +0000

Coheed and Cambria came to Chicago on the heels of releasing their 5th studio album but the album actually is a prequel to their first album. Yes, their albums are all conceptual and take on the form of a science fiction tale that is written and narrated by lead singer Claudio Sanchez using the lyrics of each album to tell another chapter of The Amory Wars. While all of that can be a bit daunting to try to take on as outsider looking in, one thing doesn’t fail – the band can put on one hell of a show! Sanchez spent much of the evening hidden by a full head of curly hair that hung in his face while singing. His hair flung around all night as he danced around the stage in a flash of lights. Many will try and label the band but the truth is they fall under many genres and even create their own but what it was for me was good old rock n roll played loud and fast with some wailing guitars and screaming fans.

Coheed and Cambria by eight one seven photography May 2010

Further reading….Opening act Torche’s van was broken in to and robbed of more than $10,000 in equipment was stolen and had to cancel the rest of their tour. Read more here.