.everlene.: Well hello!!

.everlene.: Well hello!!: Hi! Welcome to our new website/blog! It's pretty rough right now, but we'll be working pretty hard on it so it will look a lot better soo...

Light Foils

Mutts-Pray for Rain CD Review

Chicago's Mutts released their full-length debut, Pray for Rain, late in 2011, but the album still managed to get the attention of college radio and select blogs before the holidays. We are happy to weigh in on this amazing, if divisive, collection of songs as the year races to a close.

Pray for Rain opens with "Fool," and it is clear from the noisy intro and band leader Mike Maimone's Tom Waits-style growl that we are in for one hell of a ride. "Not Ready" and "D.O.B." continue the pattern: cigarette-stained vocals, barroom piano and heavy drums and bass rule the day.

"Save Us" slows things down a bit; a taste of honey in the whiskey-soaked proceedings. "Throwback" tosses in some fuzzed-out organ; "Truth" flirts with glam rock and power pop; "Done it Again" reminds listeners that Maimone also pounds the keys for fellow Chicagoans Bailiff; "Real Bright" has a Beatles Jones; "Jessy" has a weakness for blues, funk and soul; "Show of the Century" is 44 seconds of circus nightmare teasing for call-to-arms closer "Putting on a Show."

Pray for Rain, like the Mutts stage show, is not for everyone. The album is too thick and greasy for most pop fans. That said, if you like music with some grit and noise, the album flails and lurches with enough gonzo abandon to make one punch-drunk after listening.

Mutts play The Empty Bottle on Monday, Jan. 23.

Top 10 of '11

What's your top 10 of '11?

I'll be posting mine soon!!

Common Shiner Two Point "Oh" @ Double Door, Jan. 11

Chicago (by way of Grand Rapids) indie pop group Common Shiner will be previewing songs from their upcoming album, Before They Sold Out, Part Two, at Double Door on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 9PM.

The band is dubbing the evening "Two Point Oh" and promises full-band versions of some older acoustic tunes and additional material that they have never performed live.

Common Shiner will share the Double Door bill with Little Big Fat, Bobcat Williams, Michael Lux and the Bad Sons and Simpleton & City Folk. The entire evening of music will only set concertgoers back $1 and the show is 21+. Tickets are available here.

Wine From the Moon Presents @ The Hideout, Jan. 6

Wine From the Moon rings in the new year with a strong bill at The Hideout on Friday, Jan. 6!

The Chicago-based management company will host three top bands: Nature Show, Kory Quinn & the Comrades and Jonas Friddle and the Majority for the super reasonable price of $8.

Nature Show will be using the headlining gig as a release for their new CD, which features the stellar single "Escape Attempt." Direct support comes courtesy of Kory Quinn & the Comrades, who do protest music in the tradition of Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs and early Dylan. Openers Jonas Friddle and the Majority are similarly rootsy, if not as overtly political.

Purchase tickets here for this 9PM/21+ show.

Midwest Hype Celebrates Dayglow EP @ Schuba's, Jan. 5

After playing a rock solid set at this year's North Coast Music Festival, stakes are high for locals Midwest Hype.

The seven-piece rock/rap/reggae crew is putting the finishing touches on their new Dayglow EP, and will celebrate its anticipated release with a show at Schuba's Tavern on Thursday, Jan. 5. Advance ticket sales are going briskly, so buy tickets now before the show sells out. Tickets are $10, but for an additional five spot you can get a copy of Dayglow on CD. Kindred spirits Otis open the show.

Clip Art Announces January 2012 Residency @ Schuba's Tavern!

Starting on Monday, Jan. 9 2012, Clip Art will headline a weekly residency at Schuba's Tavern. Clip Art is led by Andy Rosenstein, who also plays keyboards in JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound.

Each week of the Monday night residency will feature unique Clip Art sets, special guests and some top local bands as support. Check out the schedule below and tune in to Radio One on WLUW for a Clip Art in-studio, Thursday Jan. 5 at 8:30 PM CST.

All shows are 8PM/$6/18+

1/9: Algebro + Any Kind
1/16: Dick Prall + Paper Thick Walls
1/23: Briar Rabbit + The Sometimes Family
1/30: Baby Teeth + Jennifer Hall

The Luck of Eden Hall-Metropolis

Chicago psych group (and Radio One favorite) The Luck of Eden Hall are giving us a sneak peek of their upcoming Butterfly Revolutions Vol. 2 with this video for the first single, "Metropolis."

The video uses footage from Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis to startling effect. Dig the expressionist images and haunting musical score, courtesy of TLOFH!

The Damn Choir @ The Burlington This Friday!

The Damn Choir will be direct support for Briar Rabbit at The Burlington this Friday, Dec. 16. The Grand Rapids-based group Crane Wives round out the bill.

The Burlington, which opened its doors in 2007, began as a bar/lounge but has been booking live bands as of late. This show will be 21+ with a suggested donation. Doors open at 8PM.

The Damn Choir will be releasing their sophomore album, You're My Secret Called Fire, in spring 2012.

The Buddies to Play Free Show @ Empty Bottle, 12/22!

Chicago/Nashville "stupor-group" The Buddies (ex-Welcome to Ashley/Pale Blue Dot) will bring their hard-drinking live show to Empty Bottle on Thursday, Dec. 22!

The band has a new CD called F*ck the Buddies, which recalls the heyday of pub rock (Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, et al) with healthy doses of rockabilly, Irish punk, southern rock, Stones boogie and Replacements swagger.

The show is FREE with RSVP (rsvp@emptybottle.com) and will feature support by local roots rockers The Dirty Pigeons.