Concert Photos Archives - Page 2 of 5

Concert Photos: Do Division Street Fest (Chicago, IL)

This past weekend, over 20 bands took to two stages on one of Chicago’s major thoroughfares, Division Street. The performances were part of the annual Do Division Street Fest & Sidewalk Sale. In addition to the music, local purveyors of food, drink, retail, and crafts offered a family-friendly crowd a wide variety of sustenance and shopping. Photographer Elizabeth Gilmore captured these images of A Place to Bury Strangers, Bonobo, Big Freedia & The Divas with Rusty Lazer, Javelin, and Dengue Fever over the course of the weekend.

A Place to Bury Strangers

Concert Photos: RJD2 @ The Mid (Chicago, IL)

Crates of vinyl, four turntables, multiple DJs, a packed house — it was like something out the distant ’90s. The recent “Mayhem at The Mid” event, featuring headliner RJD2, had no shortage of scratch talent; DJ Intel, Big Once, BRC, Avi Sic, and RM Joint all took a turn at the tables. An impressive light show set off the party atmosphere, and a big projection screen onstage allowed the audience an up-close look at the DJs’ technical abilities. Photographer Jon Shaft went backstage to capture these images.

Concert Photos: Kid Koala @ Abbey Pub (Chicago, IL)

Fresh off a residency at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, a new graphic novel (Space Cadet), and a new album with The Slew, Québec-based turntable king and visual artist Kid Koala is on tour in the USA and Canada. Though this show in Chicago was relatively standard (if you consider a koala suit, projections, shooting bubbles with water guns, and impeccable technique standard), Koala has something truly special planned for future audiences: The Space Cadet Headphone Tour. Attendees will sit in “space pods,” listening via headphones to a performance featuring seven turntables and a piano. Visuals from his graphic novel will accompany the music. Consider yourself warned, and check out these photos from Lauren Herrmann.

Concert Photos: Tune-Yards @ Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)

Hot on the heels of releasing her second full-length, Whokill, Merrill Garbus (better known as Tune-Yards) took to the stage at Lincoln Hall in Chicago to crank out a few jams in her signature, inspired, on-the-fly style. Garbus builds layers on stage by recording and looping drum and vocal patterns, creating diverse, avant-garde sounds that jump from classic doo-wop melodies to groove-heavy, jazz-influenced electronic pastiches. Photographer Elizabeth Gilmore was on hand for the performance.

Concert Photos: John Vanderslice / Damien Jurado @ Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)

The newest entry into John Vanderslice‘s deep and undeniably remarkable catalog is White Wilderness, and it’s a record like no other he’s made before. It comprises nine new songs captured live over three days in a unique collaboration with the Magik*Magik Orchestra, a collective of classically trained musicians in the Bay Area led by artistic director Minna Choi. Images below are from Vanderslice’s recent show with Damien Jurado at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Photography by Jon Shaft.

Concert Photos: The Kills @ The Vic (Chicago, IL)

The most recent album from The Kills, a bluesy rock duo composed of vocalist Allison Mossheart and guitarist Jamie Hince, is subject of a glowing Pop Addict review and received a coveted This Week’s Best Albums selection. That album, Blood Pressures, spans from straight-up rock ‘n’ roll riffing to more down-tempo balladry with ease. And now, the duo is on the road, playing its lauded tunes to audiences all across the country. Contributing photographer Lauren Herrmann captured these shots at a recent show at The Vic in Chicago.

Concert Photos: Foals @ Metro (Chicago, IL)

Oxford, England-based indie-rock quintet Foals, which described the sound on its most recent album, Total Life Forever, as “tropical prog,” just wrapped up a worldwide tour that spanned the better part of three months. The band made a stop at Metro in Chicago during the tour’s last leg. Contributing photographer Drew Reynolds was there to capture these moody shots, whose dichotomous qualities of grain and softness reflect the band’s ability to straddle gritty synth pop and more melodic, down-tempo folk.

Concert Photos: Battles @ Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)

With its first release since former loop maestro / singer Tyondai Braxton left the band last year, experimental-rock band Battles is pounding the pavement, touring its new material from Gloss Drop, out June 7 via Warp. Guest vocalists on the record include Yamantaka Eye (Boredoms), Matias Aguayo, Gary Numan, and Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead), and for this tour, the group found an interesting way to bring them along (see below). These shots, from photographer Wallo Villacorta, are from the band’s recent stop in Chicago at Lincoln Hall.

Concert Photos: Mogwai @ Metro (Chicago, IL)

It has been more than 15 years since Glaswegian post-rock quintet Mogwai formed, and since that time, its lineup and its sound have remained largely unaltered. Gradual, measured sonic evolution has been the key to longevity — not abrupt reinvention. On its most recent album, Hardcore Will Never Die, the band reprises its signature, crushing reverb, glimmering keyboard lines, and steady beats. Joining Mogwai in a recent performance in Chicago was Errors, a Scottish instrumental-rock band that’s signed to Mogwai’s own Rock Action Records. ALARM contributing photographer Drew Reynolds snapped these shots.

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

UK-based dubstep producer Rusko (real name: Chris Mercer) released his latest album, OMG, on Mad Decent one year ago Wednesday. Since then, he’s been working with some of the biggest names in the music business, including Rihanna and T.I.

Collaboration is turning out to be one of his calling cards; he’s worked with Switch, Diplo, Yo Majesty, and Wiley, and has remixed artists like Adele and A-Trak. In addition, Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors is featured on “Hold On,” a single from OMG. Despite his myriad connections, Rusko needed only his equipment (and some snazzy stage decoration) to wow the crowd in a recent jam-packed show at the Congress Theater in Chicago. ALARM staff member Kyle Gilkeson snapped these shots of the thousands-strong dance party.

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.

Concert Photos: Champagne Champagne @ Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)

Seattle hip-hop trio Champagne Champagne teamed with Portland, Oregon-based indie-rock band Starfucker in a recent show at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Champagne Champagne, composed of emcees Pearl Dragon and Sir Thomas Gray and multi-instrumentalist DJ Gajamagic (formerly of The Blood Brothers), stormed through a high-energy, punk-rap set culled largely from its self-titled album, released in 2009. Tracks like the twisted love song “Molly Ringwald” showcased the group’s unorthodox production and penchant for pop-culture allusion. ALARM staff member Kyle Gilkeson was there to capture the action.