Kyle Gilkeson

Motörhead

Concert Photos: Motörhead @ Congress Theater (Chicago, IL)

When seminal British metal band Motörhead comes to town, people still pay attention. Thirty-six years after forming, and with only one of its founding members still rocking (Lemmy), the band sold out a recent gig at the massive Congress Theater in Chicago. Its 20th studio album, The Wörld Is Yours, came out late last year, and though it’s not really breaking any new ground, it’s still as fun as ever. Contributing photographer Tracy Graham snapped these shots of the band that’s just far too metal for the effects of things like time and age.

Motörhead

In Tall Buildings

Concert Photos: In Tall Buildings @ Metro (Chicago, IL)

The solo project of NOMO multi-instrumentalist Erik Hall, pop-folk band In Tall Buildings played a hometown show recently at Metro in Chicago. Its most recent album, the self-titled In Tall Buildings, was released early last year on Whistler Records, and features layers of of dreamy bedroom pop, folk-guitar fingerpicking, and plenty of harmonizing. Contributing photographer Mandy Dempsey captured these images of the band.

In Tall Buildings

Hits & Misses

Behind the Counter: Hits and Misses (Toronto, Canada)

Each week, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.

If you’re into rare vinyl, punk music, and a truly diverse selection, Hits and Misses Records in Toronto, Canada is the place to be. Owner Peter Genest is a veteran of the record-store scene, having opened shops in Portland and Seattle in the ’90s before making the move up to Toronto. We spoke with Genest to see how the Canadian metropolis stacks up against his former Pacific Northwest haunts, and to find out which records the store has been spinning the most lately.

Which albums has your store sold the most over the past month?

Hands down, the OFF! box set
The first two Discharge LPs reissued on vinyl
The Forgetters: s/t double 7″
Urban Blight: Total War 7″ (local hardcore band)
The Cramps: Memphis Poseurs
The Parting Gifts: Strychnine Dandelion
White Wires: WW II
Cocksparrer: Shock Troops reissue
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Heart In Your Heartbreak 7″
Iron Lung: Life. Iron Lung. Death.

What are some of your favorite new records?

The Queers: Back To The Basement
Wheels On Fire: Liar Liar
Motörhead: The World Is Yours
OFF!: s/t box set
Protex: Strange Obsessions
Ceremony: Rohnert Park
Demon’s Claws: The Defrosting Of…
Nine Pound Hammer: Country Classics

Yann Tiersen

Concert Photos: Yann Tiersen @ Bottom Lounge (Chicago, IL)

Multi-instrumentalist / composer Yann Tiersen is currently in the midst of touring in support of Dust Lane, his new album that’s out now on Anti-. After finishing up in Los Angeles on March 11, Tiersen will take about a month off before playing another block of shows in his native country, France.

True to form, during his recent stop in Chicago at Bottom Lounge, Tiersen, backed by a full band, frequently swapped instruments, handling some vocal duties while playing everything from violin to keys to melodica. Check out ALARM contributing photographer David Summers‘ black-and-white captures below.

Yann Tiersen

Beans

Guest Spots: Beans on fiending for a good whodunit novel

Beans: End It AllBeans: End It All (Anticon, 2/15/11)

Beans: “Mellow You Out”

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You probably know longtime indie rapper and producer Beans from his work in Antipop Consortium, a hip-hop group that he formed in 1997 with High Priest, M. Sayyid, and Earl Blaize. You might also know him from his extensive list of collaborations with artists like Vernon Reid, Holy Fuck, and DJ Shadow. Or maybe it’s his recently released album, End It All, featuring contributions from the likes of Four Tet, Son Lux, Sam Fogarino of Interpol, and Tobacco, among others.

What you probably don’t know him from is your local book club. But maybe you should. Beans loves mystery novels.

Why I Love Mysteries and Crime Fiction
by Beans

ALARM, I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about reading how an author can depict someone getting cleverly murdered that really fascinates the shit out of me. Ask anyone who has ever toured with me, and they’ll probably say that I drink too much, but I’m also a voracious reader of mysteries and crime fiction.

The more gruesome and menacing, the merrier, I say. Bring it on! Personally, I don’t even remember how I got started reading mysteries. My father was the same way about reading, so I guess it runs in the family. As I was growing up, my dad used to read a book a night, but his genre of choice was science fiction. At the end of the day, I’d kill for a great whodunit.

In my reading taste, I tend to follow various authors and characters in a series that they’ve created. Currently, I’ve been reading Lee Child‘s ex-military, policeman-drifter Jack Reacher series. The series is both exciting and a constant page turner, as the character’s past is always catching up with him.