Our (fairly) regular roundup of Music & Arts related news from Chicago-based web media, featuring thoughts and insight from some of the city’s most dedicated writers.
- A Day at the Record Stores with CHIRP
Chicago online radio station CHIRP is focused on the power that independent music has to transform our lives. CHIRP fills the airwaves with music selections crafted by local DJs and advocates for an emphasis on more underground music, highly local-focused, and frequently undiscovered. Discovering new music can occur through the airwaves or in the record store; If you’re an avid record collector, there’s no better feeling than locating that one record you’ve been searching for, and the first time you place the needle on the edge of the album, hearing that crisp sound emanate from the speakers.
So what happens when you merge the sponsorship of Chicago online radio darling CHIRP with the pursuit of discovering your favorite new records, and locating old favorites? At what event can you spend hours sifting through records at a discounted fee, like a thrifty treasure hunt dotted across our city? That would be the 2nd Annual CHIRP Record Crawl, happening this Saturday — a magical day devoted to scouring boundless record shelves, searching for that prized album to complement your collection at six notable Chicago record stores.
Start your day at one of two locales, where you’ll pick up your Record Crawler badge. Badges can be picked up at Le Café or Atomix, depending on where you’d like to begin the route. Not only will these six record store locations offer you a plethora of recorded gems, but you’ll also gain access to CHIRP Record Crawler-only discounts. The Crawl will be held for seven hours, with specified hour-long time slots for each record store and a break for lunch, giving you plenty of time to browse through the extensive collective record ensemble afforded to you.
Wondering how to participate? Simply email RSVP@chirpradio.org by 6pm on Friday, Oct. 19 in order to gain a much-coveted spot, as spaces are limited. See below for the day’s schedule, in two versions depending on where you choose to begin the journey, with both routes crossing paths at a BYOB gathering at saki. If you’re a record-collecting, vinyl-loving, turntable-spinning music fan, this is one event you’re not going to want to skip.
North to South Route:
10-11am – Badge check-in at Le Cafe
11am-noon – Laurie’s Planet of Sound
noon-1pm – Dave’s Records
1-3pm – Travel time and lunch (Curried and Bridgeport Pasty food trucks)
3-4pm – Logan Hardware
4-5pm – Reckless
5-6pm – PermanentSouth to North Route:
10-11am – Badge check-in at Atomix
11am-noon – Permanent Records
noon-1pm – Reckless on Milwaukee
1-2pm – Logan Hardware
2-4pm – Travel time and lunch
4-5pm – Dave’s Records
5-6pm – Laurie’s Planet of Sound
- Tell All Your Friends About Chad Valley
Last year I flipped for Chad Valley‘s Equatorial Ultravox EP. Its dreamy Balearic pop was fresh, crisp and ethereal yet also made for dancing. Now Hugo Manuel is returning with a full-length under the Chad Valley moniker. Young Hunger builds on Equatorial Ultravox by flooding ears with synths, complex beats and a slew of layered vocals. And it doesn’t hurt to have similarly-minded guests like Active Child, Glasser, El Perro del Mar and Twin Shadow scattered through the album. (The latter’s “I Owe You This” is especially delightful.) On stage, Manuel’s voice shines. It’s easy to hear how someone would think there’s some studio trickery/manipulation going on, but his voice carries as smoothly in person as on the record.
Chad Valley headlines Schubas on Saturday, the 20th. Chicago’s Mister Lies opens at 10PM. The show is 21+ and $10. Schubas is at the corner of Belmont & Southport.
- Preview: Circa Survive at The Vic, 10/20
For years, it’s sounded as though experimental, prog-rock Pennsylvanians Circa Survive have been searching for something. Anxious guitar melodies slice through songs like a machete cutting into a forested unknown. Anthony Green’s vocals call to mind feelings of discontent, wonder and uneasiness and the band’s rhythms possess the endurance and strength that has carried their career through a eight year journey. So it’s no surprise their newest album Violent Waves‘ cover art features a caricature-sized ship sailing across a cloudy and ominous globe surrounded by the depths of space.
It’s still not clear if Circa Survive has found what they’re looking for but with the release of Violent Waves it’s clear they’ve reached creative transcendence in the most literal sense. Tired of the music industry rat race, the band cut the chord on record label or producer ties with this new album, recording, producing and releasing the it all on their own (and with a tempting $5 price tag).
Even with a long history of success behind them, a bit of their frustration with the industry and life itself comes off on Violent Waves. Sounds crash down with more intensity that on albums past and singer Anthony Green has traded a mellow yet driven tone for one with more sarcasm and bitterness. While this might not be the group’s most solid effort to date, this records sees the five piece trying more new things than ever. Jaunty tunes with an acoustic core like “Phantasmagoria” proceed slightly jazzy electric tracks as found on “Think of Me When They Sound.”
What Circa Surive might be best known for is their ability to bring their complex songs to life, doing them justice in a live setting. They’ll be doing just that this Saturday, Oct. 20, at The Vic Theater. Tickets to this show are sold out but those who managed to pick one up in time are in for a true treat. The show begins at 7 p.m.
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