Here is the list of shows I went to this year. I really saw alot less than I usually do but they were all worth their 15-30$.
1) Earl Greyhound @ Schubas . I am still surprised they haven't gotten anywhere. They have a guitar player/singer that is a thin long haired Black Crowe type guy. They have a black female bass player/singer who dresses like Hendrix. They have a huge black drummer guy who also dresses like Hendrix. And they rock with the best sampling mix of all of classic rock. The best live rock experience I have seen that no one else has ever heard! I thought for sure they would be bigger than the White Stripes ASAP, but as of now, no dice. They must have terrible PR. I could make them more money. They are the real deal. 3 great young songwriters. The female bass player Kamara is from chi-town. I talked to her and the guitarist a bit. Cool. I'd love for them to move up to the Metro. I told them that. They cockily said they would. Cool.
2) TV on the Radio @ the Metro. One of the realest indie bands that got big right now. It took me like 2 months before I liked the first album I bought of their's (Cookie Mountain). But then it hit me like a pile of bricks. And live, they make their albums look like they are totally pop live because of how they re-write them. Their lead singer is probably the best male rock singer I have ever seen live. They all love it and it shows. Their iTunes live session shows it off.
3) Sufjan Stevens @ the Riviera. Well, about 20 musicians came out wearing butterfly wings. String section. Horn section. Drummer, bassist, guitarist, and keys. Sufjan plays either banjo, guitar, or piano. It was so orchestrated crazy that it felt like a religious experience. It's so peaceful. And he's really religious from what I hear. I looked around at some point because I realized all of the people there (from the whole age spectrum, mainly white) were just peaceful. And that alone made it "not rock-n-roll". Nobody was ready to fight. Just different. But as I have said before, Sufjan is the new "Simon & Garfunkel". No one has been writing this deep of folk music in a long time. And he does do electric.
4) Medeski, Martin, Wood, and Scofield @ Jazz Fest, Petrillo Bandshell . I love all of their albums. This group now has 2 albums, both of which are really good. "Out Louder" and " A Go Go". I took a class in jazz guitar with John Scofield teaching at one point. I had seen MMW 2 times by then. But this time, something was off. It just seemed more of a standard type of jazz. They are normally super progressive and funky. But it was Chicago's big time Jazz Fest. Something was up and they just played it safe. I was shocked but not totally disappointed. If a newbie heard them they would have known they were all good jazz players. But they wouldn't dance around like some dance-crazed hippy.
5) The Hives @ the Metro. The Hives. What can you say, the best Swedish punk/classic rock band ever! Self-proclaimed. And they rocked. You got your moneys worth in the show. They played like 25 of their songs in about an hour and were as "into it" as any theatrical rock band can. The guitar player kept blowing on his fingers during his playing as if to show his fingers are on fire and overheating. They are just funny as shit, and you have never seen anyone like this! Unless you have you should!
6) Ghostface Killah @ the Metro. As a long time Wu-Tang Clan fan it was nice to get offered free tickets to this show. Scion (the car brand) offered free tickets if you just signed up for their new hip hop streaming stations online. There are actually a lot of good indie music bands on their channels too. Anyways, Ghost hired a latin/funk/soul band ((The Rhythm Roots Allstars (now on tour with Ghost and Rakim)) to play his songs. Since most of his songs sample old school tunes (like say Al Green) it was really sweet to hear a live band play all that old school mixed with his hip hop. A lot of Ghost songs, plenty of Wu songs, and a tribute to ODB. He knew the Metro. Been there many times. Great show for nothing. There was b-boys breakin' in between acts too. Great show and for free!
That's it. I wish had seen more shows this year. I missed both Madlib and Prefuse 73 this weekend live. They both had great albums this year. I also regret not going to at least one Lollapallooza day. I usually make one of the days.