It’s a great few days for metal in Chicago as Mastodon, Converge, Kylesa, and Russian Circles each performs new material.
Fans of softer fare have great options as well as hip-hop producer Peanut Butter Wolf, chicha enthusiasts Chicha Libre, and post-jazz/jam guitarist Charlie Hunter hit town.Thursday, April 30
Mastodon, Kylesa @ Metro (Chicago)
Metal sweethearts Mastodon return to the Midwest with Crack the Skye, the group’s new album of epic accessibility and big psych-metal riffs. The band will be joined by atmospheric stoner metal quintet Kylesa, which also hails from Georgia and also sports a brand-new disc.
Peanut Butter Wolf @ Abbey Pub (Chicago)
Hip-hop producer and Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf hits town tonight with a chunk of his roster — James Pants, Dam-Funk, and Mayer Hawthorne — to mix music videos live. Pants is playing with his band Royal Zodiac, and Funk and Hawthorne are DJing.
Chicha Libre, Lamajamal @ Martyrs’ (Chicago)
Enthusiasts of the Peruvian chicha, Brooklyn’s Chicha Libre perform the style with surf guitar, Farfisa organs, and Moog synths. The group gets a great local opener in Lamajamal, a self-dubbed “Gypsy surf” quintet that emphasizes traditional Romani sounds much more than anything inspired by Dick Dale.
Friday, May 1
Russian Circles @ Bottom Lounge (Chicago)
Melodic metal instrumentalists Russian Circles debut new material during this two-week US tour, after which they will return to the studio to record a follow-up to 2008 album Station, due in October or November on Suicide Squeeze.
Converge @ Subterranean (Chicago)
In advance of its own anticipated recording session, mega-riffing hardcore outfit Converge plays two shows in Chicago this Friday and another on Sunday in celebration of the release of Burning Fight, a jam-packed book about 1990s hardcore.
Charlie Hunter Duo @ SPACE (Evanston)
Post-jazz/jam guitarist and Garage a Trois co-founder Charlie Hunter spends a night in Chicago’s prominent northern suburb in support of his most recent album, last year’s Baboon Strength. Propulsive drummer Simon Lott, of the Will Bernard Band, joins Hunter for this duo performance.