The 30db / Van Ghost pairing was just one of the many inspired double (sometime triple & quadruple) bills that the Abbey Pub has been programming lately and certainly one of the most high profile, considering the national prominence of the artists involved, yet a strong sense of Chicago hung in the air all night.  [...]

This is a classic classic found at Joe Biden Fan Club.  You can also add a circle for things that you are going to kick root down.

The Muppets are back in theaters today.  Despite what is sure to be an all out media blitz, I’ll admit I just can’t get enough.  The simple fact is that Muppets are ridiculously appealing to fans of all ages and, from the beginning, Jim Henson’s creations have woven music into their very existence.  It’s no surprise [...]

Just a few nice, thoughtful, dare-I-say scholarly reads in this weeks linkafication: A must read from Chicago-based critic Rob Mitchum:  “On jambands, jamming and genres” And if you haven’t seen his mock writeup on Phish’s Super Ball IX “USA Storage Jam” vis-a-vis new psychedelic music, its good for a (provocative) chuckle DogGoneBlog tackles the Super [...]

No linkafication last week so we’ve got a super sized version today. Lifehacker takes a look at the Google Cloud Music platform… … while its sister publication posits how technology can make music videos relevant again

During the Phish Jukebox Summer Tour of 1998, the “Terrapin Station” debut got all the press, demonstrably connecting Phish to the looming presence and influence of the Grateful Dead.  But I argue that it was the bust-out of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” that got the more intense and personal reaction from fans.  For many Phish [...]

We’ve got Beastie Boys on our mind this week… From the AVClub:  170 Beastie References explained and the 23 minute Beastie Boy Megamix And from its sister publication, The Onion:  a Beastie Boys History InfoGraphic

At long last, we have updated our FAQ Page to reflect The Barn’s latest mission Prince: genius or madman? A guide to all the celebrity cameos in the Beastie’s new Fight For Your Right Revisited long form video. We lost Lynn Hauldren, the Empire Carpet Guy this week.  Here is a link to our trip [...]

We love this fairly scholarly article from NPR on how musicians get paid.  Morale of the story: go see live music (especially in clubs).

The week kicked off with Arcade Fire taking home the Album of the Year Grammy, followed shortly by the outraged public demanding to know… Who the f#%$k is Arcade Fire? At least this gave us all the opportunity to see what Tawny Kitaen is up to these days (hint:  not proofreading).