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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.
Proclaimed the Jackie Robinson of rock music, Living Colour not only opened the door for black musicians, it also succeeded in threatening the glam-metal establishment long before “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” A decade later, an interracial group like Sevendust is among metal’s most prominent outfits, having benefited from Living Colour’s example and their influence. Unfortunately, the band’s new album proves they are just as apt as their musical heroes to stumble. Continue reading
Still frequently compared to the fellow male-female rock duo, the White Stripes, Denmark’s the Raveonettes proved at their recent Minneapolis concert Tuesday that they rock as hard — and as loud — as Detroit’s finest. Continue reading
While the hip-hop mainstream is still artistically languishing — under the sway of homogenous artists that extol the same-old false glories of gross materialism and a thug’s life — genre-jumping artists like Atmosphere and Bubba Sparxxx have come out with two of the best rap albums this year. Continue reading
Staring down a much-publicized and terminal case of cancer, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon completed one last album before he passed away last week. Find out if what he wanted to say. Continue reading
Thirteen years after last recording together, Jane’s Addiction have released a new album, “Strays.” David let’s you know whether the Los Angeles-based, alternative rock legends have trumped their past achievements or they’re just cashing in. Continue reading
What does a band do when their last album was a classic? This week, Soundbytes reviews three groups who have had to find a way to succeed after success. Continue reading
Long regarded as exponents of edgy rock, Radiohead and former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus have released albums that try to reach mainstream listeners. Find out if they’ve succeeded. Continue reading
Although news reports say that hip-hop record sales aren’t what they used to be, there are rap artists releasing new albums that could compare to the best of hip-hop’s glory years. Continue reading
This week, Soundbytes fills listeners in on whether the new albums by the Jayhawks and Zwan break with the past or whether they’re still kicking around the same old ground. Continue reading
Alternative-rock supergroup Audioslave is in the midst of their first U.S. tour. Soundbytes has the info on whether they live up to the legend. Continue reading