On stage, Fishbone performs like an aged fighter backed into a corner and down on points. At the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Friday night, the band reinforced their reputation as uncompromising musical pioneers and thick-headed stalwarts even as bar-band doom stares them in the face.
After years of self-imposed exile from music-making, Jeff Mangum and his underground-rock group Neutral Milk Hotel have seen cult-like audiences grow in their absence — one that sees the group as indie-rock messiahs. Their concert in Madison on Saturday night was a second coming that proved miracles really do happen.
Let’s face facts. When most people think of the Twin Cities, images of blizzard-like conditions and bitter, breathless cold crystallize in their minds as fast as a Minnesota quick-freeze.
Rock legend Elton John gave a Vegas-honed performance Thursday night in Madison that paraded some of the greatest pop-rock songs of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s in front of America’s Dairyland. And this without any assists from Cirque du Soleil.
Like the hobbled hero from some Hollywood movie, a clearly ailing Levon Helm rallied his strength during Tuesday night’s performance to give those who gathered at a downtown Milwaukee casino an enthralling lesson in American roots music.
Long stuck in the shadow of the metal titans Queens of the Stone Age, the Eagles of Death Metal have so primed their swaggering, rock ‘n’ roll engine that no one will mistake them for a hot-rod side project again. Their recent concert in Madison, Wis., demonstrates their groove-oriented tunes can shake hips as well as preconceptions.
Besides indie-rock hipsters, there was something else that filled Chicago’s Metro on Monday night for TV on the Radio’s sold-out concert: Doubt.
When Tom Petty crooned about all the milestones achieved by a one-hit wonder in his early ’90s single, “Into The Great Wide Open,” he probably didn’t think “rock the Super Bowl” would ever be one of the must-have markers on the road to rock ‘n’ roll greatness. During Super Bowl XLII, Petty will be doing just that. Continue reading
Canadian heavy-rockers Black Mountain obviously know well the lessons doled out by ’70s rock legends like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. But while the group’s latest album clearly pays tribute to their musical forefathers, their new songs make plain the band has learned from them more than just how to recreate the past. Continue reading
Looking to cash in your iTunes gift card from the holidays? Soundbytes’ David Hyland has recommendations where to spend it. Continue reading
Before we cross over into 2008, Soundbytes’ David Hyland has gazed into his crystal ball and is ready to divulge some musical predictions of what we can expect in the year to come. Continue reading
Once hailed as the Swedish saviors of rock ‘n’ roll, the Hives have hired rock and pop’s most lustrous names to propel their new disc, “The Black And White Album,” back to the top of the charts. If the new album isn’t quite a hail mary, it’s certainly a collection that underscores the group’s commitment to recapture their past glories. Continue reading
When Robert Plant breaks out his tight bellbottoms to share the stage again with the reformed Led Zeppelin next month, it won’t just be 30 years of rock ‘n’ roll legends that he’ll be potentially trampling underfoot. He’s also risking the fortunes of his new album, a disc poised to finally fulfill his long-cherished dream of a creative life away from Zeppelin. Continue reading
Ever the road warrior, Arlo Guthrie proves every night through his live shows that he’s folk music’s most dedicated ambassador and still a favorite son of the Woodstock nation. His recent concert in Madison, Wis., however, aimed to inspire young converts as much as it reaffirmed faith for his older fans. Continue reading
If you read classic-rock god Eric Clapton’s new autobiography, “Clapton: The Autobiography,” it won’t take you 238 pages to realize why he’s a guitar player and not a writer. Continue reading
Canadian indie-rock combo Stars bowled over many in the hipster nation with their last album. The band’s latest disc builds on this success, demonstrating an expanded musical vision, and comes tantalizingly close to making good on their name. Continue reading
After two albums apart, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are back together again for the Boss’ newest record, “Magic.” The disc emphasizes the factors that likely feed Springsteen’s own conflicted feelings about his much-loved backup group and have sparked their periods of estrangement. Continue reading
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