Start your holiday off right with a pair of tickets to the F Yeah Tour in Chicago TOMORROW NIGHT!

The F Yeah Tour is a bunch of awesome musicians, comedians, and artist traveling in a 92 Bluebird bus around the country spreading fun and rock as they go. The lovely folks at the tour are letting us give away a pair of tickets, but you have to work fast in order to win.

We posted a bulletin on Myspace, so either go read the post if you’re already our friend (which you should be, right?) or friend us so you don’t loose out on cool prizes like this one. And if you aren’t the lucky winner, head out to the show anyways, because it should be total dance party awesome time (Imagine I said that last part in a cool robot voice, because I did). Below are the details for the show:

Thursday, July 3rd - Chicago, IL @ Stan Mansion
w/ Matt & Kim, Monotonix, Team Robespierre, Mannequin Men & Crystal Antlers
+ comedy by Nick Flanagan & Hannibal Buress
2408 N Kedzie
7:00pm / All Ages / $12

Good luck! And if you do head out to the show be on the lookout, I’ll be there reviewing the show (and dancing like crazy to Matt & Kim) and posting about it later right here on the Heave blog.

Can’t afford to buy a ticket and then drive to Tennessee? No worries, this year parts of Bonnaroo will be televised by Fuse TV.

Read more atYahoo! News.

Matt Pond PA kicked off their tour yesterday, and here are the rest of the dates. Note that he will be in Chicago on March 31st.

Mar 1 - Norfolk, VA - NorVa
Mar 3 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
Mar 4 - Charleston, SC - Map Room
Mar 5 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
Mar 6 - St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven
Mar 7 - South Everglades, FL - Langerado Music Festival
Mar 8 - Tampa, FL - New World Brewery
Mar 9 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
Mar 12 - St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill
Mar 13 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
Mar 14 - Norman, OK - The Opolis
Mar 16 - Phoenix, AZ - Brickhouse Theater
Mar 17 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
Mar 19 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
Mar 20 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Mar 22 - Vancovuer, BC - Richards on Richards
Mar 23 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
Mar 24 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
Mar 27 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
Mar 29 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
Mar 30 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
Mar 31 - Chicago, IL - Double Door

Apr 1 - Lansing, MI - Mac’s Place
Apr 2 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
Apr 4 - New York, NY - The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza
Apr 5 - Washington, DC - American University - The Tavern (AU Students Only)
Apr 6 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Apr 7 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
Apr 9 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre
Apr 14 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft
Apr 15 - Orlando, FL - The Social

Videos of Against Me!’s Thanksgiving acoustic show from the Metro in Chicago, Illinois have slowly been releasing over the past few weeks. Here is the newest.

The Hives exploded in sonic glory to a sold out crowd at the Metro here in Chicago Sunday night, and if you weren’t there, I pity you. If they aren’t all ready, they should be one of your favorite bands. Why you ask? Is it their incredibly catchy music that you can’t help but jump and dance to? Is it their live shows that are like a Molotov cocktail of sound doused in sweat? Is it their dapper stage appeal and charismatic good looks? Of course it’s all of the above that makes The Hives one of the best live acts that I’ve seen in my life, and I’ve spent a really good amount of time and money at live shows. I first saw The Hives back in the summer of 2004. The show was life changing in a way, and as I walked home that evening drenched in sweat and unable to hear, I knew that this band now held the key to my musical heart.

I felt just the same way last night, as the band powered through their set full of crowd favorites (”Main Offender,” “Hate to Say I Told You So”) and showcased new tracks from their upcoming release The Black and White Album, out November 13th. I know that many people don’t like to dance, they prefer the arms crossed head nod stance at a show, but before you attend a Hives show, know this. You are expected to dance, you are expected to clap and scream, and you are expected to devote the next few hours to your allegiance of The Hives, so unless your going to pogo up in the air with me, please stay home fair concert goers.

But I digress back to what really matters, and that is the music at hand. The Hives are loud fast punk infused rock ‘n’ roll music, and singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist is the perfect catalyst for their music to really make their shows pop. He is the quintessential front man, and all singers in all rock bands should be required to see him perform. He commands the stage with a force that will knock you off your feet, crawling over audience members, throwing his mic up in the air, and jumping into a high flying kicks at least once during every song. Pelle is the backbone of The Hives, demanding love and adoration from the audience and winning over even the most skeptical of critics with his witty banter, boyish good looks (phew, he is one fine looking fellow), and charismatic charm.

The Hives are fierce and abrasive, and they know that they are by far the best band in the world. Just ask them, and they will tell you this is true. And after last night, the fact that I still can’t hear because the ringing in my ears yet I can’t stop listening to their latest single “Tick Tick Boom” on repeat, just goes to show you that in fact The Hives are the best band in the world. It would be a crime not to see them live, so I order you to make it your quest in life to see this band before you die. Just make sure you bring your dancing shoes and be prepared to have your socks rocked by the best band ever, and that is the honest to god truth.

I spent last Friday surrounded by aliens, coated in confetti, and with about 2,000 laser pointers, give or take a few. The Flaming Lips brought their explosive freak show to Chicago last Friday, and I decided to fully experience the concert and camp out all day for the sold out show. The following is a log of my day.

9:30 AM-Heading down on the red line to The Aragon to meet my concert buddy Amy. Man, it sure is early.

10:40 AM- Our stomachs get the best of us. Amy and I are sitting in the most amazing trashy diner. The booths are red glitter vinyl, and Amy was just served a hot beef sandwich. Life is pretty grand.

Noon- Bored. Amy decides she wants a new tattoo. We head to a shop down the street. She is one brazen and slightly crazy girl, and decides to get the robot off the cover of a Flaming Lips album. She tells me she wants to always remember the amazing night she will surely have.

1:15pm-In line. Karl (with a K), the head of security, is rocking a sweet mullet and mustache combination. He’s everything you would expect in a roadie type, covered in tattoos, drops the f-bomb a lot, and smells like booze and cigarettes. He’s a pretty nice guy though, and promises us that we will be the first people in the venue since our “crazy ass decided to get here so damn early.”

3:15 pm- Ed, our neighbor in line buddy, offers us nametags. Amy and I are now accepted into the concert line of friendship. Score.

3:45 pm- Ed and our other neighbors are all fans from The Flaming Lips message board. Some drove all the way from LA and San Francisco and are following the Lips on tour around the country. One couple is decked out in their own alien outfit and Santa suit. The girl in the alien outfit hands me a noisemaker and throws confetti on me. All is well in our little alley commune.

4:30 pm-The rain comes. It looks like a hobo camp, with fans crouched under garbage bags and four or five people huddled under umbrellas. I have two students from Kent State under my umbrella with me. They want to dance onstage tonight more than anything.

6:50 pm- Fans are cheering, confetti and balloons are being thrown around, and security is looking at us like we’ve lost our minds. Our line buddies from Kent State find the animal wrangler (the person that picks who dances onstage) and get a spot. We give our line buddies thumbs up on a job well done. A camera crew is interviewing the biggest Flaming Lips fans, and they pull Amy from the crowd to interview. Laser pointers are being handed out. Security guy Karl passes by and gives me a smile and pats me on the head, giving me the reassuring look of “I told you I’d get you in here first.” Thanks Karl. A spaceship descends, Wayne appears in a giant plastic bubble, confetti is launched, and green balloons float high above the audience. I don’t see one person around me that isn’t grinning from ear to ear. As The Lips launch into Race For The Prize, it’s clear why so many fans are devoted to this band. Their show is a true spectacle, a rock circus with streamers and lasers and giant spaceships. They give their fans just what they want, a few hours of pure joy and a vehicle to escape from the real world. The Flaming Lips remind me that this is what music is about. A lot of love, a lot of devotion, a lot of insanity, and a few thousand lasers.

Ah there’s nothing better than the live rock show experience. Crowds huddled together in sweaty smoke filled anticipation. Kids tapping their feet and quietly nodding to the pre-show music throbbing in between loud conversation. Overpriced beer you purchased at the bar, ordered sometimes in primitive sign language because of the loud music. And guess what? Attendance is up around the world. Whether it’s the intimate confines of the Empty Bottle or the commercial middle aged appeal of the United Center. The public has spoken and they want one thing, to rock and rock in person.
There are a few factors involved with the resurgence of concert attendance and they say this.
The Babyboom and Gen X folks have come into some money and they want to reclaim their youth. And lucky for bands like The Police and the Rolling Stones, fans of yesteryear still need that feeling they first got when getting high between the grooves of “Ghost In The Machine” and “Beggars Banquet.”

The Internet can also claim victory in this fight.
With the advent of sites like Myspace and YouTube, more and more listeners are becoming close personal friends with the artist. We need to see, we need to feel, we need to hear.
And if you had some extra scratch Grant Park was your destination to get to know your favorite bands better all with the comforts of the North Shore.
One could just look to this years Lollapalooza for evidence. A regular attendee may have noticed those posh all-inclusive tents. Those with the means could purchase a rock cabana for a mere $850.00. The once flannel wearing and clove smoking grunger could now sip Merlot, get a massage, and take a dump in a A/C’d Porta-Potty while enjoying the lulled out sounds of Amy Winehouse. Now that’s living!
Another thing, have you all noticed the amount of all ages and 18+ shows popping up around the fair city? Especially in venues you wouldn’t expect like Abbey Pub or Subterranean. The concert promoter knows.
Where else will the kiddies spend their hard earned allowance? Not on CD’s or iTunes, but on their new found rock friends on Myspace.

So come on people, get out from behind your Mac’s and back on the floor.

I recently saw the Cribs do a special pre-Lollapalooza show at the Empty Bottle and the crowd was ripe for it. Slam dancing, spilled beer, dejected stage invaders, hard to make out British slang. It was all there, and so was the spirit of community, of purpose.

So, after much debate about Lolla’s three-day madness, the consensus seems to be that Muse absolutely rocked everyone’s balls off, and Daft Punk put on a light show that made God sit up.

 It got me thinking…

“Hey, self!”

“Yes, subconscious?”

“What’s the best live music experience we’ve ever been to?”

Damn good question. I’ve thought about this before, and I’m always fluctuating about my choices. But, in general, I always stop on two shows that really left a crator on an impression.

1) The Mars Volta, Riveria Theatre, October 2003 : I know, I know, for some reason it’s both in fashion to hate on the Mars Volta, and out of fashion to recognize that they’ve put out three amazing, albiet pretentious, jazz-fusion-latin-rock-prog-punk-art-noise-masterpeices.

The show, if anything, was a microcosim of what makes people love and hate the band. First, everything was done to excess. The mics were turned up so that the vocals fought with the guitars. The lights were frenetic, to the point of utter confusion. There was a ten-minute feedback intro for nearly every song. And who could forget that 23-minute drum solo? The centerpeice, though, was lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala. He yelled at nearly everyone working at the Riv. He slammed the microphone down twice when he didn’t like how fans were reacting. More to the point, he swore at people in the audience who jeered. In short, he was a complete and utter dick.

And I loved it all. It was too racuous and angry and live-wire not to love. It reminded me of old videos of Mc5, smashing their instruments to shit and fighting with the audience. The current musical zeitgeist seems to value a certain lo-fi sentiment. That’s fine and all, but it was a thrill to see a band make everything bigger, louder, and ballsy-er.

2) Our Lady Peace, October 2000, The Vic : OLP is criminally underappreciated outside of Canada. If all you know of this band is the crap which makes radio, then go out and buy their 1999 album “Happiness is not a fish that you can catch” and see why lyrically it is the strongest album ever released in the 90s (my opinion, yes, but then again it is the only one that matters).

I won’t even bother trying to explain the balls-out bombast of the show, I’ll just relate one moment: Two-thirds through the show, in the middle of the song “One Man Army,” lead singer Raine Maida climbed up the speakers on the side of stage, climbed into the side balcony, hung a 10-foot Canadian flag from the wall, and stage-dove 12-feet into the crowd on the floor below. The crowd caught him, and surfed him back to the stage.

I was 16 years old at the time, and that scene is forever burned into my subconscious rock-iconography. 

What about you, Heave reader? Let’s get a long list of memories going here!   

In July of 2002, I attended Cornerstone Festival for the first time. There, at a late night stage, I watched a girl-fronted band called Mos Eisley blend sweet vocal harmonies over a solid guitar/keys foundation. Having no movie knowledge whatsoever, the Star Wars reference was lost on me, but the name stuck in my head because it was beautifully painted on their little touring school bus.

Well, the band now known as Eisley has grown up quite a bit.

The family - four siblings and a cousin: Chauntelle, Sherri, Weston, Stacy, and Garron DuPree - has a new album titled “Combinations” coming out on August 14^th, and is currently doing a special acoustic tour to promote. Last night, they played two shows at Schubas, and I caught the first (sold out) set. It was the first time I’ve seen chairs set across the little room, with capacity looking to be just over 100 happy fans.

While I’m not usually an enthusiast of acoustic versions of songs that originally have more sound, hearing the set was impressive, for multiple reasons.

First, it proved beyond a doubt that these people have raw talent. The opener “Come Clean” dropped out to a vocals only, 3-part soaring harmony at one point, and let me tell you, those DuPree girls can SING. You know how sometimes, you’ll mistake your mom for your sister on the phone? There’s some pretty sweet potential for that kind of thing when you apply it to song.

Secondly, it let me re-experience what Eisley can sound like, unproduced and filling up a room with tightly layered instrumentals. If I have any complaints about their last album, it’s that it seemed to lack a lot of the warmth that Eisley creates live. Maybe the producer was trying to cash in on the Coldplay-esque popularity surge, maybe they just got a little too technical…whatever it was, something was missing.

I’m hoping that the new album will feature what I heard last night.

And hey, I wanted to mention the opener, too. Wesley Jensen (with Tyler Faires) started the night, with catchy vocals and good melodies from a Rhodes and guitar, plus harmonica, accordion or mandolin when appropriate. When Jensen announced a guest vocalist, hopes went up – and weren’t disappointed. A young girl named Christie appeared from the merch table, and was classified as the “youngest of the traveling…Eisley sister clan.”

Everyone smiled. And waited for the DuPree talent to come pouring out.

Looking forward to the 14^th…