:: Eagles of Death Metal ::

:: with The Giraffes ::

:: Bluebird Theater :: June 6 :: 

By Jeffrey V. Smith 

Little Richard should be proud. And, since that’s the goal of the Eagles of Death Metal, they should be too. If anyone does justice to the spirit of rock and roll and its original wild-man architect, it is Jesse ‘The Devil’ Hughes and his band.

Forget that the act’s latest CD has topped the sales charts, is getting great press, its music is being used in commercials and film, or that it has joined acts like The Strokes and Foo Fighters on big-venue tours and are invited to play festivals in the U.S. and Europe. 

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:: The Streets :: Fox Theatre :: June 14 :: 

By Sean Foran

The British rapper Mike Skinner (a.k.a. ‘The Streets’) sounds calm, settling in while his personal driver cruises through London to pick up a friend from work at Marks and Spencer.

Long before music became a lucrative vocation, Skinner was employed by the same department store in his hometown of Birmingham and even wage-slaved at a local Burger King. “I never spit in anyone’s food. I never took it out on the customers. I did steal from the tills, though,” he laughed, and I imagined a shifty smile lighting up the mug that’s looming large on billboards across Chicago courtesy of a Reebok shoe endorsement.    

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:: Eels :: Fox Theatre :: June 7 :: 

By Timothy Dwenger 

“God damn right, it’s a beautiful day,” sings Mark Oliver Everett, a.k.a. “E,” on “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues.” The song, released during the summer of 2000, was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Road Trip, and exposed E and his band, Eels, to a much broader audience than any of his previous releases. Though a lyric this optimistic is a little out of character for E, the song showcases his signature brand of melodic and moody down-tempo rock music. 

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:: Mon Frere :: The Cellar :: June 4 :: 

By Monica Banks

Don’t let the fam-friendly name fool you. While the band takes the name Mon Frere, which is the French translation of ‘my brother,’ they also take rock to a new level of death-pop.

“It’s Mon Frere in the most Americanized way,” said guitarist Kyle Swisher in an interview with The Marquee.

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:: Sonic Youth ::

:: Gothic Theatre :: June 27 :: 

By Jonathan Keller 

Sonic Youth is one of those rare bands that nearly everyone has heard of, but very few really know. Having been together for 25 years, the band is legendary in the underground rock scene and rock steady pioneers for having been part of New York City’s clangorous early-1980s No Wave movement.  

Despite sporadic commercial success, they still carry a certain amount of anonymity, particularly among young kids. With their latest album set for release on June 13 and a summer tour to follow, which includes seven supporting dates for Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth is following the formula that has kept them going for so long — making honest albums and bringing that music to the live stage.

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:: Mason Jennings :: with moe. and Unmphrey’s McGee ::

:: Red Rocks Amphitheatre :: June 3 ::

:: Gothic Theatre :: July 7 :: 

By Molly Chappell 

Mason Jennings’ is the epitome of an open book. With music that is delightfully honest the young man can’t help but wear his heart on his sleeve. His music exposes his deep connection to his spirituality, love, and pain.

But for Jennings, there’s no other way to present his music. “It hasn’t really been hard (to be exposed), because I couldn’t imagine it any other way. When I try to be something else it’s more difficult,” Jennings said in a recent interview with The Marquee. “I am interested in the experience of life, not its meaning.”

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:: Rogue Wave ::

:: Larimer Lounge :: June 28 :: 

 By Timothy Dwenger

The San Francisco Bay Area in the ’90s was the hotbed for technology associated with Al Gore’s proudest invention, the internet. With the advent of the internet and the meteoric rise in its use and importance to our culture, came thousands of people and companies looking to make their fortunes.  Companies were being started by 21-year-old kids and it seemed like anyone who could type could get a job as a web developer. It was a time of great opportunity for many, but for Zach Rogue, the frontman and primary songwriter for Rogue Wave, it was what happened as the technology boom was winding down that changed his life.  

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:: The Earl Brothers ::

:: Swing Station :: June 23 ::

::  Swallow Hill :: June 24 ::

:: The Rail :: June 25 ::

:: Southern Sun :: June 26 :: 

By Kathy Foster-Patton 

The Earl Brothers, a four-piece string band from Northern California, have been classified as “hillbilly gothic” for the dark subjects that their bluegrass music addresses. The truth of the matter is, their raw and all-original songs make them just plain happy.

Guitarist and singer/songwriter John McKelvy took time out from preparing for a busy summer touring season to speak with The Marquee about The Earl Brothers, the influences on their music, and how they got together.

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Has myspace.com become so popular that it’s endangered of becoming obsolete?

Think about this for a second. A few years ago, people didn’t even know what myspace was (understandable, since it didn’t become myspace as we know it until 2003). Since January of this year alone, the site has quadrupled its membership, now totaling in the neighborhood of 40 million users according to a recent story in Business Week.

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Public Enemy release ‘the most important’ hip-hop album of the year in response to Katrina

Public Enemy featuring Paris

Rebirth of a Nation

Guerrilla Funk Recordings

3.5 out of 5

There’s no denying the fact that over the ages disasters of all kinds have motivated those of an artistic bent to make some astounding art and music in response. In many ways, for good or bad, our entire history is documented through the eyes of those who are inspired, or in some cases enraged enough by an event to create a lasting emotional footnote. That’s the case with Rebirth of a Nation, the new album spearheaded by rap ambassadors Public Enemy and political activist/rapper Paris.

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