Chicago

Charles Bradley

Concert Photos: Charles Bradley & The Budos Band @ Subterranean (Chicago, IL)

Much has been made of Charles Bradley‘s sudden emergence in the limelight, after many years of performing a James Brown tribute act under the name Black Velvet. In this rare instance, the hype is matched by the music — and then some.

Bradley’s acclaimed new album, No Time For Dreaming, is out now on Daptone imprint Dunham. Earlier this year, the soul singer joined Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings on a US tour, then teamed with The Menahan Street Band for a few European dates, and he just completed a Midwest leg with The Budos Band. These shots, from photographer Tammi J. Myers, are from the recent, sold-out show at Subterranean in Chicago.

Charles Bradley

Disappears

Concert Photos: Disappears @ Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)

Chicago-based rock band Disappears played a hometown show at the Empty Bottle recently, performing material from its most recent release, Guider, out now on Kranky. Awash in heavy waves of reverb and distorted guitars, Disappears kept things characteristically minimal — no pomp, no circumstance, just pure, unadulterated fuzz-rock mania. Photographer Drew Reynolds captured these images, which, like the music, are simultaneously rich and stark.

Disappears

Freddie Gibbs

Concert Photos: Freddie Gibbs, Shad, Rita J @ Metro (Chicago, IL)

Gary, Indiana’s gangster-rap phenom Freddie Gibbs, Canadian indie rapper Shad, and Chicago-based ALARM favorite Rita J joined forces for a recent show at Metro in Chicago. The trio of hip-hop performances was part of the annual Tomorrow Never Knows festival hosted by Schubas, Lincoln Hall, and, as of this year, Metro. (See ALARM’s TNK coverage of Twin Shadow and The Helio Sequence.) And below, take a gander at the lovely shots that photographer Logan M. Futej captured images of all three lyrical luminaries.

Rita J

Pretty Lights & Major Lazer

Concert Photos: Pretty Lights & Major Lazer @ Congress Theater (Chicago, IL)

The palatial Congress Theater in Chicago knows how to throw a New Year’s Eve celebration. Last year, Girl Talk rang in 2010 to a packed house. This year, electronic heavyweights Pretty Lights and the Diplo / DJ Switch collaboration Major Lazer were called upon to soundtrack one of the night’s biggest parties. The DJs (and Lazer’s hype-man Skerrit Bwoy) kept things uptempo, blasting another sold-out crowd with deep bass, hip-hop beats, and turntable theatrics. Photographer Tracy Graham attended the show and captured these great photos.

Pretty Lights & Major Lazer

Ariel Pink

Concert Photos: Ariel Pink @ Metro

LA-based psych-pop artist Ariel Pink has been touring Europe and the USA for the past year in support of The Doldrums, the Paw Tracks debut album from his band, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Pink played at the Metro in Chicago recently, and contributing photographer Laura Gray captured these images.

Ariel Pink

DeVotchKa

Concert Photos: DeVotchKa @ Lincoln Hall

The indefatigable DeVotchKa, with its distinctive brand of Eastern European and Southwestern pop music, rolled through Chicago recently, playing a show at Lincoln Hall. The long-independent, critical foursome — Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King — was supported by Angus & Julia Stone and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir. The band’s most recent album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, was released on March 18, 2008 on Anti-.

DeVotchKa