Multi-instrumentalist Matthew Houck is the driving force behind country-folk band Phosphorescent. The band’s most recent album, Here’s to Taking it Easy, is its fifth full-length and third on the Dead Oceans label, and to support it, Houck and company currently are in the midst of a two-month tour that culminates with a number of dates in Europe. Photographer Tammi J. Myers caught the band’s Chicago show at Lincoln Hall.
If you’ve ever been to a show by The World/Inferno Friendship Society, you know that the NY-based cabaret-punk band tends to pack the stage — in addition to packing the house. With a rotating roster of roughly 30 players, 10 of which generally perform live, The WIFS could feasibly hold its own intra-band softball game. Led by dapper vocalist Jack Terricloth, the collective stormed through a set of horn- and string-heavy punk-rock tunes in a recent stop at Reggies in Chicago. Photographer Mandy Dempsey captured these images of the show.
Last week, guitar-heavy, instrumental-rock band Explosions in the Sky took its slow-moving, hard-rocking show to the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York. Attendees got a glimpse of new material from the Austin-based band; its new album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence, 4/26/11), comes out in a mere two weeks. Photographer Gavin Thomas was on hand to capture the action.
Last fall, when experimental Balkan-pop quartet DeVotchKa played a show in Chicago, it was at Lincoln Hall in support of its 2008 release, A Mad and Faithful Telling. Since then, the band has released a new album, 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11), and embarked on a new tour, this time playing with Nashville seven-piece Kopecky Family Band in support. Photographer Wallo Villacorta caught the multi-instrumentalists at a recent stop at House of Blues in Chicago.
Australian experimental-rock band PVT (formerly Pivot) is comprised of brothers Laurence and Richard Pike and electronic artist Dave Miller. The trio’s latest album, Church With No Magic, was released last summer on Warp, and now the band is crisscrossing the US in an extensive tour with all-girl psych-rock quartet Warpaint. ALARM contributing photographer Elizabeth Gilmore attended the show and captured these shots of both bands under the glow of Chicago’s Lincoln Hall lights.
LA-based producer Baths, a.k.a. Will Wiesenfeld, released his debut album, Cerulean, last year on Anticon, and has been touring tirelessly ever since. His setup is simple, and his crew minimal: a laptop, an MPC, and himself. He doesn’t need much to make the magic happen; mountains of synth, heavy hip-hop beats, and fragile falsetto comprise his sound.
On paper, it sounds like what every other “producer” with a decent home-recording system is making. However, rather than merely aiming to impress with flashy tricks, Baths manages to make it sound fresh with palpable sincerity. Contributing photographer Drew Reynolds snapped these shots at a recent stop at Subterranean in Chicago.
After weathering a tumultuous 2010 in which it left its first major label, picked up a new drummer (Jay Weinberg, The E Street Band), and canceled an entire tour, Floridian punk band Against Me! is as strong as ever. It’s currently on tour in support of its last album, White Crosses, and is preparing material for a new release on indie label Fat Wreck Chords later this year. ALARM contributing photographer Elizabeth Gilmore snapped these shots of the band during its recent stop at the Congress Theater in Chicago.
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.
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.
Swedish synth-pop quartet Little Dragon performed at HMV’s Next Big Thing festival in London earlier this month, alongside other up-and-coming artists like dubstepper James Blake and the great, ALARM-endorsed Stateless. Little Dragon, led by vocalist Yukimi Nagano, has been making waves with its ’80s-throwback dream pop mixed with dub and African rhythms. ALARM contributing photographer Gavin Thomas captured these images of the band’s show in London, and he even managed to snap a few up-close-and-personal portraits backstage.
Australian rock band The Church formed in 1980, making its current US tour a 30th-anniversary celebration. The “Future Past Perfect” tour finds the quartet performing three full albums each night: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, and Starfish. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, you’ll probably recognize its biggest hit, “Under the Milky Way,” which cracked the US charts in the late ’80s. Photographer Drew Reynolds attended the show at Park West in Chicago and captured these great images of the band.
Begun as a solo project that highlighted guitarist Tosin Abasi‘s unmistakable shredding, Animals as Leaders released its debut album via Prosthetic Records in April of 2009, emitting progressive instrumentals with tasteful ambient and electronic undertones. The group, now a trio, currently is touring the country with Thursday and Underoath, and ALARM contributing photographer David Summers recently joined them on some Midwest dates to grab some shots — in Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit from February 9-12.
