This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Listen magazine’s summer 2011 issue. The concert hall was packed with thousands of young women. As they heard the music rising from the stage, they seemed to sigh in unison. Some of their faces turned pale. Some blushed, as if overcome with emotion. Their mouths twitched and… Continue reading Classical mania
Category: Music
Record review: Espers, ‘III’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s winter 2010 issue. Espers III A few years ago, just about any small-label act playing acoustic instruments was suddenly called “freak folk,” whether or not there was anything freaky about the music. Espers really lived up to the description, though, and the band… Continue reading Record review: Espers, ‘III’
Record review: Clogs, ‘The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s summer 2010 issue. Clogs The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton The human voice made only cameo appearances on the four previous records by composer Padma Newsome and his Clogs ensemble, but it’s at the center of their latest song cycle. Despite… Continue reading Record review: Clogs, ‘The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton’
Record review: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & the Cairo Gang, ‘The Wonder Show of the World’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s summer 2010 issue. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & the Cairo Gang The Wonder Show of the World Singer-songwriter Will Oldham is credited to Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & the Cairo Gang. Of course, Oldham settled on the Bonnie Billy moniker some years back, and while… Continue reading Record review: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & the Cairo Gang, ‘The Wonder Show of the World’
Record review: Oneida, ‘Preteen Weaponry’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s fall 2009 issue. Last year’s Preteen Weaponry came stickered with this bold announcement: “The first piece of Oneida’s much-anticipated ‘Thank Your Parents’ triptych of releases, which will lay bare the band’s colossal vision of a new age in music.” One assumes that they… Continue reading Record review: Oneida, ‘Preteen Weaponry’
Classical music in Chicago
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Listen magazine’s September-October 2009 issue. When poet Carl Sandburg called Chicago “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,” he easily could have added “Music Maker” to that list. The City of the Big Shoulders forged so many of the sounds that became popular American… Continue reading Classical music in Chicago
Record review: Wildbirds & Peacedrums, ‘The Snake’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s fall 2009 issue. Wildbirds & Peacedrums The Snake Vocals and percussion are the two sounds at the core of this duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ songs often consist of nothing more than Mariam Wallentin singing while her husband, Andreas Werliin, pounds… Continue reading Record review: Wildbirds & Peacedrums, ‘The Snake’
Rocking to Warhol films at the MCA
Adele: 2009 concert review
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in The Daily Southtown on January 20, 2009. The British invasion of pop music never really stopped after the Beatles set foot on these shores, but we seem to be in the midst of yet another musical attack from England. The invading troops this time are young ladies… Continue reading Adele: 2009 concert review
Nick Cave: 2008 concert review
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in The Daily Southtown on September 30, 2008. Performing Monday night at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre, Nick Cave repeatedly leaned into the crowd, pointing his finger and intoning his lyrics like some mad preacher. Cave, an Australian-born singer-songwriter with some 20 albums, is not the only rock musician who… Continue reading Nick Cave: 2008 concert review