Live Entertainment Blog

In promotion of their new studio album “The Stand Ins,” the increasingly popular and dark-thinking indie band Okkervil River (name taken from a Russian short story) is set tour a large part of the European continent according to the Okkervil River Website. Fans in the USA have only one more chance to see them on American soil before they land in Copenhagen on 10/27. They are scheduled to play one more show tonight at the Metro in Chicago, Illinois before they gear up to take their sound elsewhere. If you’ve never heard their unique juxtaposition of pop music and often downright depressing lyrics, tonight will be your last chance for months to come.

The Dodos are indie-rock America’s new favorite band. Here’s why: they maintain the elements of “indie” (Okkervil River, Wilco, Wolf Parade-esque vocals, neo-folk guitar) while throwing in a bit of tribalism any modern day self-professed hippie attending the Phish reunion would appreciate. This three-man band combines innovative percussion with guitar into a beautiful blend of simple music that rings true of Autumn.  Their songs typically run about five minutes long but switch tempos and genres about four times from start to finish, but your foot or hands or head will be knocking and nodding the whole time.The Dodos will make you want to sit snuggle close by a camp fire on a brisk night and tap your cocoa mugs together as the leaves fall from the trees to crackle in the fire. You will want to run through the forest (donned in flannel), to grab sticks, not for the fire, but to start a gigantic drum circle that will echo into the night as your hair tangles into dreadlocks. Dont believe me? Listen for yourself here.

Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist, and Deakin make up the vanguard of musicians known as Animal Collective. These are not their real names of course- Avey Tare comes from the tearing apart of Davey Portner, Geologist is for the headlight Brian Weitz wears during the shows, Panda Bear comes from the first drawings Noah Lennox created for the first set of songs he wrote, and Deakin is a combination of Conrad Deacon, a pen name Josh Dibb used when writing to other band members. The Animal Collective Sound is difficult to describe. Their genres span from psychedelic folk to electronic to noise rock- and they take those genres far into the realms of the experimental. An Animal Collective show is not to miss. Their lighting alone gives Daft Punk a run for their money and their music is like something you have never heard before. Check them out for yourself.

The Grateful Dead were known for their improvisational shows thus making every one unique in its own right. Fans all over the world still trade bootlegs from these shows that have spanned over thirty years. Although the original Grateful Dead  is no longer around, you can still hear the next best thing. The Dark Star Orchestra chooses one of their performances and caters their style to the vocals, guitar, and setlist of the show on the given day and era of the band’s history. The DSO does cover Grateful Dead songs, however, this is not to say they don’t maintain the improv tradition set in motion by The Grateful Dead- the DSO throws in a little of their own. Check out more information here.

With their Danish fusion of psychobilly, rockbilly, and punk rock, the Horrorpops are sweeping audiences off their feet and into neatly laid graves on their Kiss,Kiss, Kill,Kill Tour. Halloween is just around the corner, so why not buy Horrorpops tickets today?  If you’re just dying to know more about the Horrorpops, click here.

Barack Obama has his very own fans, thats for certain. It just so happens that many of his fans have fans of their own. The Dead have teamed up to lead their thousands of Deadhead fans young and old to join them in on the cause in playing a charity concert in their very own San Francisco, CA. Also doing a charity concert is My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James playing an acoustic set at Schubas Tavern in Chicago, IL for $100 a ticket. Havent been paying attention to politics? Wondering what all the fuss is about? Find out more about Barack Obama here.

My Morning Jacket has been steadily chugging from the west to the mid-west along their fall tour in the United States with their last stop coming up in Chicago on October 9 & 10 before they head off to Europe for a brief tour. My Morning Jacket will then return back by way of New York City to play a New Year’s Eve show at Madison Square Garden. I cannot even imagine how unbelievable that show will be. My hat is tipped to the promoter who thought of this one. Now I am going to say something a bit controversial…

My Morning Jacket is the next thing to Radiohead.

Yes, a lot of bands have strived for the comparison from Panic at the Disco to Coldplay, to all those other bands releasing albums at fan-picked prices and those who attempt to cover songs off Kid A, seriously, who wouldnt want to be Radiohead? But you cant just BE Radiohead, that’s silly. Although Panic at the Disco thinks otherwise. In their interview with NME they were quoted as saying, “Emo is bullshit. We want to be the new Radiohead.” Now a band who yearns to fill the colossal footsteps Radiohead has left must change their original genre of music as well as change their own style consistently from record to record. The music must fill the atmosphere, the music must have depth and substance, it must be experimental, it must be creative and, well, good. Panic at the Disco will never be compared to Radiohead by anyone except themselves. They are bad. So bad. My Morning Jacket is akin to Radiohead by means of their echoing vocals, atmoshperic isntrusmentals, and where the have come from their humble southern rock beginnings. I am not trying to say they are exactly like Radiohead, but if Radiohead were suddenly kidnapped by aliens and some band had to take their place in order to save the world, it would be My Morning Jacket.

With 14 set concerts in the US, make sure you get your Michael Buble tickets. Be in the audience for this up and rising music star. Michael Buble tickets for the October 1st show at the 1st Mariner Arena are on sale.

Michael Buble is going to make Fall your favorite season. A rough start has not stopped Michael from gaining more fans and momentum as a musician; more and more people are discovering and tuning into his music. Your chance to see this rising star in concert starts October 1, 2008 at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. There are 14 scheduled concerts that are spread throughout the US. The tour will most likely feature material from Michael Buble’s new album, “Call Me Irresponsible”. To get your Michael Buble tickets, vist vividseats.com today.

John Vesely, also know as Secondhand Serenade, has added another round of dates to the summer tour in support of his sophomore release, “A Twist In My Story”. Vesley, who’s performed as a solo artist since 2005 but added a full band for this trek, will wrap the first leg of his journey with an August 31 appearance at The Allentown Fair in Pennsylvania. Joining the singer on the bill for the show are Simple Plan and Metro Station. After a short break, the next round of shows kicks off September 13 at Thunder Mountain Amphitheatre in Loveland, Colo. Other destinations include Austin, Los Angeles, N.Y. and Kansas.