The Huffington Post, April 13, 2009 — Andy Warhol’s films raise the question of what exactly you’re supposed to do with them. Are they regular “films” meant to be seen in a movie theater? Or some other sort of art? Read my blog post at the Huffington Post or Underground Bee. Photo by Robert Loerzel
Category: Music
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
Interview with DJ Clark Weber
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Pioneer Press on September 4, 2008. Clark Weber has a million stories: He kicked the Monkees out of a radio station when they tore up some drapes. He saw Phil Spector carrying a .38 revolver. He had lunch with the Beatles. And an 8-year-old kid named Michael… Continue reading Interview with DJ Clark Weber
Record review: Evangelicals, ‘The Evening Descends’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s spring 2008 issue. Evangelicals The Evening Descends So Gone, the terrific 2006 debut album by Evangelicals, received little of the attention it deserved, perhaps because this oddball outfit from Norman, Oklahoma, did not fit easily into the any current indie-rock category. Evangelicals continue… Continue reading Record review: Evangelicals, ‘The Evening Descends’
Book review: ‘I Shot a Man in Reno’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s fall 2008 issue. I Shot a Man in Reno By Graeme Thomson (Continuum) A few years ago, the Mekons’ Jon Langford told me about his fascination with old-time folk and country songs about death. He lamented the dearth of death songs on today’s charts. “And… Continue reading Book review: ‘I Shot a Man in Reno’
A Conservatory, a Zoo, and 12,000 Corpses
Chicago Reader, May 15, 2008 — One day in the 1970s, when Pamela Bannos was a teenager, she was riding in the back of her father’s car as he turned off Lake Shore Drive onto LaSalle Street. Looking out the window, she noticed an old stone structure standing in Lincoln Park. Surrounded by a chain-link fence… Continue reading A Conservatory, a Zoo, and 12,000 Corpses
Record review: Portishead, ‘Third’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Pioneer Press on March 2, 2008. Portishead Third ***½ The two albums that Portishead released in 1994 and 1997 still sound otherworldly, no matter how many times we’ve heard then. After a long hiatus, the British trio has returned, sounding stranger than ever. As forlorn and heartbroken… Continue reading Record review: Portishead, ‘Third’
Baby Dee profile
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s Spring 2008 issue. Baby Dee talks about the old German folk tale of the Erlkönig as if it really happened to her—back when she was still a boy, growing up in Cleveland. The Erlkönig, a king with a beard and a flowing cloak,… Continue reading Baby Dee profile
Cat Power: 2008 concert review
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in The Daily Southtown on February 11, 2008. Cat Power, the singer also known as Chan Marshall, was once notorious for abandoning songs or entire concerts before she was halfway through finishing them. When she played at Chicago’s Vic Theatre two years ago, she gave an erratic performance,… Continue reading Cat Power: 2008 concert review