BY TER STAFF
Summer has come and gone but that doesn’t mean you have to put your live music fix on hold, as the Windy City will host a number of amazing concerts this fall.
From Elton John’s farewell tour, to the awesome due of Sting & Shaggy and of course a massive stadium show with Ed Sheeran, there are plenty of concerts that you won’t want to miss in October.
Check out our list of the 14 can’t miss concerts in Chicago this month!
BY TER STAFF
Wisconsin welcomed another new venue on Thursday night. After Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum opened its doors earlier in the month, 80 miles west, Madison, WI welcomed a brand new venue of its own with the grand opening of The Sylvee.
Just blocks away from Madison’s historic state capitol building, The Sylvee kicked things off with the soulful Colorado natives, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, for an especially memorable and sold-out evening. Located at 25 S. Livingston Street, The Sylvee is a beautiful 2,500 capacity general admission venue, and it couldn’t have invited a better act to get things started.
Opening with their track ‘Shoe Boot’, from their new album Tearing at the Seams, Rateliff and company delivered a great 20-song setlist that ended with an encore performance of ‘Hey Mama’ and ‘I’ll Be Damed’, although the Madison crowd was perhaps most engaged during the entertaining performance of the Night Sweats’ hit 2017 single, ‘S.O.B.’.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and get your tickets for Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ upcoming shows here.
BY TER STAFF
Giving new life to the timeless soul music of decades past, everyone’s favorite, Leon Bridges, brought his headlining tour to Milwaukee’s lakeside BMO Harris Pavilion on Sunday night. Performing in support of his sophomore LP, Good Thing, Bridges kept the crowd in awe from start to finish, delivering cuts from his new album as well as singles and fan favorites from his 2015 debut.
Bridges brought the numbers out on Sunday, and that packed audience says a lot given that last night’s performance was at an outdoor amphitheater on Lake Michigan in the Wisconsin fall. Nothing was stopping Bridges fans from enjoying a great show.
And although the crowd was chilly, the tracks were fire. The Texas native kicked off his set with his 2018 song, ‘If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)’, and with his dancing and soulful vocals on display from the concert’s first moments, the vibes felt good as well. Tracks like ‘Better Man’ and ‘Bad Bad News’ soon followed, as Bridges continued to hop throughout his discography for the rest of the set.
What stood out most from last night’s concert was the more upbeat mood throughout the performance. With a voice like Bridges you can stand at the microphone the entire night and still give a memorable set, but with his new tour, his dancing and stage presence was a few steps above his last Milwaukee performance years ago. While still drawing influences from blues legends of the ’50s and ’60s, the 2018 Leon Bridges has a little Usher in his game as well. But it’s still his amazing voice that steals the show!
As he continues to grow as a live performer, we already can’t wait to see what Leon Bridges may have in store for tours to come.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of Leon Bridges’ tour here.
BY TER STAFF
As controversy and speculation brews over the announcement of the next Super Bowl half-time show headliner, the man who kept us dancing throughout his own half-time performance this year, invaded Milwaukee’s brand new Fiserv Forum on Friday night. That man of course being pop superstar Justin Timberlake, the Tennessee native’s Man of the Woods Tour showed us why JT is truly a “man of the people”.
Although there are too many to count, we have our list of the five reasons that Justin Timberlake set the standard for all future pop concerts to come, for the city’s brand new arena. Only the third concert ever at the $524 million dollar Fiserv Forum, Timberlake’s headlining tour was full of hits, laser lights, dance routines and more, creating for a memorable night and a one-of-a-kind experience.
BY TER STAFF
In support of his new critically acclaimed album, God’s Favorite Customer, American singer/songwriter Josh Tillman (known to many as Father John Misty) brought his headlining 2018 tour to Milwaukee’s beautiful Pabst Theater.
Performing for a sold out crowd, Father John Misty was all music and little talk on Thursday night, singing a number of cuts from his latest LP, as well as his Grammy nominated 2017 album, Pure Comedy and more. Originally recording under his J. Tillman moniker, the Maryland native has consistently released albums for the past 15-years (four as FJM), so Tillman had plenty of songs to choose from for his roughly 20-track set.
Following a opening performance from his Sub Pop labelmate, King Tuff, it was soon time for Father John Misty to step on stage for the packed general admission crowd.
And despite touring in support of God’s Favorite Customer, Father John kicked off Thursday night’s set with his 2012 song, ‘Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sing’, from his first Father John Misty LP, Fear Fun. But his Milwaukee fans didn’t fear fun last evening, because despite Tillman’s often cynical and sarcastic demeanor, the entire theater was set to enjoy a memorable night.
Lucky for the crowd, Tillman delivered. Not only did Misty perform the majority of his new album, but he also performed the majority of singles and fan favorites from Pure Comedy. From start to finish, the crowd was in awe watching FJM perform. Despite having a complicated and cynical relationship (if you can even call it that) with religion, Tillman has a god-like presence on stage.
While tackling topics like religion and politics through his songs, what’s most interesting about Tillman’s take is his especially unique perspective on music and the above topics. Growing up in an Evangelical Christian household, Tillman was not allowed to listen to secular music until he was 17. This very religious and sheltered upbringing shaped Tillman and his music, and as an artist he is perhaps better for it.
Stand out performances from Thursday include ‘Ballad of a Dying Man’, ‘Mr. Tillman’, ‘Pure Comedy’ and his closing performance with ‘I Love You, Honeybear’, but highlights from the evening certainly were not few and far between.
Fans came to have a good night and Mr. Tillman made it happen.
Check out our photos from last night’s sold out performance below and get your tickets for the remaining date of Father John Misty’s tour here.
Continue reading Photos: Father John Misty Blesses the Stage at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater
BY TER STAFF
Milwaukee was treated to a very rare and special performance on Wednesday night as Wilco frontman, Jeff Tweedy, kicked off his North American solo tour at the city’s beautiful Pabst Theater.
Delivering a very intimate acoustic performance, in support of his debut solo album Together At Last, Tweedy reflected on his massive career with stripped down renditions of tracks from Wilco, Uncle Tupelo (his alt-country group from ’87-’94) and side projects from throughout the years.
As fans began to find their seats, the evening began with an opening performance from guitarist and Jeff Tweedy-collaborator, Jame Elkington. In addition to his work with Chicago’s “Eleventh Dream Day”, Elkington (like Tweedy) also released his first solo album in 2017 with Wintres Woma. And while the majority in attendance weren’t completely familiar with the English-born artist’s music, his sound perfectly complemented Tweedy’s and set the mood for the rest of the night.
With the mood set and anticipation levels high, Jeff Tweedy stepped on stage to greet his Wisconsin fans. The singer/songwriter’s local fans weren’t the only ones to fill the seats either, as the Belleville, IL native had fans who made the 90-mile drive from the Windy City, evidenced by the crowd’s reaction to Tweedy’s performance of Wilco’s 1999 track, ‘Via Chicago’ to help kick off the set.
Through Tweedy’s roughly 20-track set, the Grammy-award winning musician put on intimate performances from his three-decade-long catalog. Dating back as far as his time with Uncle Tupelo with tracks like ‘New Madrid’ and ‘Acuff-Rose’ and spanning as recent as 2017 with his new song ‘Bombs Away’, the show had a little bit of everything while also focusing on Wilco’s best records, the band that made Tweedy a household name in alt-rock.
Whether your favorite song of the night was Tweedy’s solo version of Wilco’s hit single ‘Jesus, Etc.’ or one of the many songs Tweedy recorded for Together At Last, the night was full of highlights to choose from.
Tonight was just further evidence that Jeff Tweedy is a jack of all trades and a man of many talents. He’s best known for being the frontman of Wilco but he’s kept his career fresh with side projects like Loose Fur, Golden Smog, Tweedy (with his son, Spencer) and even with his fictional band “Land Ho!” during his cameo on NBC’s Parks and Recreation.
While some artists find what works and stick to it from album to album and tour to tour until the venues get smaller and fans stop showing up, Tweedy keeps his fans coming back by switching things up in every way possible, but with basic staples like a guitar and great live music staying consistent.
If you’re a fan of Jeff Tweedy, Wilco or simply a fan of good music, do yourself a favor and catch Tweedy on his new fall tour.
Check out our photos from Tweedy’s North American tour opener below.
Continue reading Jeff Tweedy Kicks Off Fall Solo Tour at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater
BY DAN GARCIA
Since replacing the RCA Dome in 2008, Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium has hosted a number of great concerts since breaking ground. While Kenny Chesney held an informal monopoly on concerts for the venue’s first eight years, One Direction and U2 have also delivered memorable shows at Lucas Oil for their Indiana fans. Concerts at the stadium are rare and reserved for the biggest names in music.
Saturday night was no exception to this trend as Taylor Swift delivered arguably the best concert in the stadium’s decade-long history. As part of her critically acclaimed Reputation Tour, the 10-time Grammy winner not only broke domestic records with her new tour but now also holds the attendance record for Indy’s downtown stadium, with her thirteenth ever performance in the city (13 of course being Swift’s lucky number).
Numbers don’t lie either, because Saturday night’s performance was deserving of the massive number of fans who passed through the turnstiles to watch music’s biggest pop-star perform. From the tour’s grand set design to the delicately organized set list, you can call it what you want but the performance was beyond comparable.
And if Taylor Swift wasn’t already a big enough name to fill the concert’s marquee, Swift brought along Charli XCX and MTV’s VMA Artist of the Year, Camila Cabello, along for the ride.
Up first for the night, as fans began to fill the $720 million dollar stadium and find their seats, English singer/songwriter Charli XCX put on a 7-song performance to reward fans for showing up on-time. The set was short but sweet, as practically every song the 26-year-old singer performed was a hit. Opening up with 2014’s ‘Boom Clap’ (from the movie “The Fault In Our Stars”), hits like ‘I Love It’, ‘Break The Rules’ and ‘Fancy’ kept the crowd moving.
Up next to the stage was an artist who will be headlining stadiums of her own in no time. Despite years of experience from her time with Fifth Harmony, the newly solo Camila Cabello has hit the ground running after announcing her departure from the pop group, which has since announced an indefinite hiatus in pursuit of solo careers.
In just about a year’s time, Cabello delivered the song of the summer with her breakout single ‘Havanna’, released her self-titled debut album and recently took home MTV’s Video Music Awards for Video and Artist of the Year. While pop stars typically grind for years before experiencing massive success, Cabello’s notoriety with Fifth Harmony and addictive tracks have helped her grow at an unprecedented speed.
The sky’s the limit for the ‘Never Be The Same’ singer and Saturday night was evidence of just that. Performing the majority of tracks from her 2018 debut, Cabello’s vocals and talented displays of dancing are what stood out the most, all making for an A-list pop-star.
While tracks like ‘Never Be The Same’ and ‘Havana’ (which opened and closed her set) of course had the crowd singing along, B-sides like ‘She Loves Control’ and ‘Inside Out’ were personal favorites. As an opener, her current show is perhaps better suited for a smaller stage, but Camila still delivered a great performance and is more than capable of entertaining huge live audiences.
Following Cabello’s performance, crew finished setting the stage for the night’s headliner and promotional videos displayed for fans to pass time and speed up the lulls between sets. Although these were just small touches on the tour, the videos put Taylor’s personality and her relationship with her fans on display.
You could feel the anticipation of fans heighten as Taylor Swift was set to deliver her biggest performance in Indianapolis yet. It wasn’t long ago when Swift sold out the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, just a half a mile northeast of Saturday’s concert, and fast forward three years later, Taylor Swift is still the biggest artist in the world, yet performing for an audience over three times the size of her sold-out Indy crowd in 2015. Where you’d expect diminishing returns, Swift continues to find ways to grow exponentially.
Then as Joan Jett’s 1981 track ‘Bad Reputation’ played throughout the stadium and set the theme for Swift’s performance, soundbites from reporters then supplemented a montage displayed on the stage’s giant 100+ foot screen. Comments like “she holds too many grudges” and “I felt like she was a little angry” serve as the fuel to the fire seconds before Swift steps on stage, keeping the singer motivated throughout her 53-date world tour.
Next, with echoes of past criticism filling the entire stadium, Swift was ready for a performance unlike any other that Indianapolis has seen. Fittingly, the video boards parted to the side and Swift then emerged to her Reputation single ‘….Ready For It?’, to which her Indiana fans emphatically answered “Yes”.
The concert’s opening moments are indicative of most of the night, as Taylor and her dancers move across the entire stage and it’s two catwalks while entertaining choreography and hit records keep fans on their feet. And while Swift checks all the boxes when it comes to the main components of a great stadium show, many smaller aspects of the tour serve as the cherry on top. Whether it’s the bracelets (which fans will remember from the 1989 World Tour) that light up the night or the Reputation Newspaper confetti that falls from the sky, the tour’s attention to detail is great.
With this go big or go home mentality, it’s no surprise that it takes nearly 100 semi trucks to move the tour from city to city, enough rigs to cause a traffic jam of their own.
After a strong start, with tracks new (‘Gorgeous’, ‘I Did Something Bad’) and old (‘Love Story’, ‘You Belong With Me’), the first big surprises for fans came during ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. During the bridge, as Taylor sings “I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me”, a giant king cobra rises to a height of 40 feet. With snakes serving as an informal mascot for Reputation Era Taylor, the Swifties in the audiences certainly loved massive prop.
A second “guest” (if you will) for the song came at the end of the bridge as the phone rang and actress Tiffany Haddish appeared on the video screen to sit in for Taylor for the tracks’ infamous line: “sorry the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Cause, she’s dead!”
Although the concert gets off to a great start from the very beginning, and ‘I Did Something Bad’ (her second track of the night) is a personal favorite among all the performances, the night’s momentum reaches a whole new level from ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ and beyond.
With strong tracks like ‘End Game’ and ‘King of My Heart’ following ‘LWYMMD’, Swift makes her first departure from the main stage via a floating platform while performing her current single, ‘Delicate’. As the track finishes, Taylor’s next stop is one of two B-stages. And it’s almost insulting to label them as such because although the stages dwarf in comparison to the main stage (her largest stage yet), they are both comparable to the size of her main stage on the 1989 Tour.
Despite selling out the biggest stadiums in the world, Swift covers as much real estate as she can in the venues, turning a huge production into an intimate show. There is literally no bad seat in the house for this one.
If you were closest to the stage-right B-stage though, you were in luck as this act of the concert is the best for many reasons. The first reason is that Swift kicks thing off with her mega-single ‘Shake It Off’ and she doesn’t do it alone either, as Camila Cabello and Charli XCX stick around to join in on the fun.
Next, Swift strips things down for an unforgettable acoustic portion of her set. Performing her Reputation track ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’ and her 2008 song ‘Forever & Always’ (a song performed special on the tour for her Indy fans), Swift slows things down and shares some special moments with the crowd.
After a few great performances, Swift then makes her way to the second of two B-stages for another huge single, ‘Blank Space’, as well as Reputation’s most risque record, ‘Dress’.
After her time at the B-stages, Swift floats on back to the main stage with a perfect mash-up of two tracks you would have never thought meshed so wonderfully, with 2016’s ‘Bad Blood’ and 2006 ‘Should’ve Said No’, a country record from Taylor’s self-titled debut. Although a decade and different genres separate these two tracks, it’s as if they were written and recorded as a pair.
With the final stretch of her set nearing, Swift kept her fans engaged with more songs from her newest album, including ‘Getaway Car’, ‘New Year’s Day’ and ‘Call It What You Want’.
Then, to cap off an already memorable night, T-Swift ends the performance with two especially strong performances, one old and one new, but both showcasing her tough, confident and sometimes unforgiving frame of mind. The first being ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ and the second being ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’.
Fireworks filled the Indianapolis skyline for the set’s finale and smiles spread across the Lucas Oil Stadium. There was no need to beat traffic that night, because enjoying every last second of the night far outweighed getting home as fast as possible. In fact, we’re sure the ushers had trouble herding fans out the door, as Swifties grabbed their final selfies to remember the record setting night.
It’s almost to impossible to imagine how Taylor Swift could grow after her beloved 1989 World Tour invaded Indianapolis a few years ago, and yet Swift managed to exceed even the highest of expectations.
We’re not sure how Swift can top herself with her next world tour, but we certainly know better than to doubt her.
Setlist
…Ready For It?
I Did Something Bad
Gorgeous
Style
Love Story
You Belong With Me
Look What You Made Me Do
End Game
King of My Heart
Delicate
Shake It Off
Dancing With Our Hands Tied
Forever & Always
Blank Space
Dress
Bad Blood
Should’ve Said No
Don’t Blame Me
Long Live
New Year’s Day
Getaway Car
Call It What You Want
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
BY TER STAFF
Music fans in Chicago had their work cut out for them Saturday night, as many were forced to choose between The Breaks Music Festival at Toyota Park, headlined by the legendary Wu Tang Clan, or the headlining show from the rapper who got his rap name from an online Wu Tang Clan name generator, Childish Gambino. But if you ask us, those who made the right decision went with the latter, as Gambino (Donald Glover) likely put on his last show in Chicago, and it was a memorable one at that.
The night was one that Chicago will not soon forget for many reasons, so let’s just start with the first. “If you’re at this show, then you know this is the last Gambino tour ever,” Glover told the packed crowd at the United Center. Throughout his rising music career, Childish Gambino has put on a number of diverse and amazing performances in the Windy City, so if Saturday night was truly the last, you should not have missed out.
From his I AM DONALD Tour stop for 1,000 fans at Park West in 2011 where a young Glover performed a half stand-up half music show, to his tour with Chicago’s own, Chance The Rapper, before Chance started to receive national attention, and of course his rainy Lollapalooza performance in 2014, there are too many great Childish Gambino memories in the city to count. It’s very fitting that Glover will retire Childish Gambino’s history in Chicago with a headlining performance at the historic 20,000+ capacity United Center.
The performance was also one you shouldn’t have missed because it was Chicago’s first chance to hear tracks from Gambino’s critically acclaimed Awaken, My Love! LP, as well as new tracks from Childish Gambino’s last album (which has yet to be released). Glover even chose a new track (‘Algorythm’) to open up the set. Despite being a record that the majority of the crowd wasn’t familiar with, fans were feeling the vibes from the very start.
While many fans would have loved to hear songs from the first half of Gambino’s discography, ‘Freaks and Geeks’, ‘Bonfire’, ‘You See Me’ and ‘Heartbeat’ to name a few, Chicago was able to enjoy a number of tracks that they haven’t heard from the Georgia-native on a live stage.
Last night was also a special one, and unique from all tour stops to follow, because Glover dedicated his 2016 song ‘Riot’ to Mac Miller, who passed away on Friday. “He was the sweetest guy, this kid, he just loved music,” Glover told the crowd, while asking those with cellphones to not record. Before performing ‘Riot’, Glover continued, “I love you, Mac. And I just want to tell you guys I love you, and this song is for him.”
Early in their careers, coming up in the post-internet world around the same time, Miller and Glover both experienced criticism for their music being subjectively corny to some (as he told the crowd), and this was just one reason Glover relates to Mac on a wide scale.
Finally, the show was a special one not because of all the context surrounding it but just generally because it was a great performance. While we are sure Wu Tang kept the crowd on their feet, Donald Glover has put together a tour that he describes not as a concert but as church. The low lighting and artistic visuals throughout the night were a joy to watch and Glover’s dancing and energy were second to none.
And to complete an already amazing night, Glover treated fans with a four song encore of ‘Sober’, ‘3005’, ‘Sweatpants’ and of course his Grammy winning single ‘Redbone’, a perfect farewell to his loyal fans from the Second City.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of the This Is America Tour here.
Continue reading Childish Gambino Headlines Chicago’s United Center for Rapper’s Last Tour
BY TER STAFF
50 Cent delivered a very rare and special performance to the Chicago-area Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL last night. The rap legend and Power creator/actor brought a huge and diverse crowd to one of the Midwest’s most unique experiences. Whether you were dancing in the pavilion or lounging out and enjoying sounds on the lawn, if you were in attendance last night, you had a more than memorable night.
We hope you made it out to the special performance, but if you didn’t, we have our five reasons why you missed out below.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson rarely does shows in the country, in fact, 50 has only performed a few shows in the U.S. in the past few years. It’s been even longer than that since 50 Cent performed in the Chicago area, so when you have a chance to see him live, you have to jump on the opportunity. And although he doesn’t perform often, you wouldn’t have guessed it from last night’s performance. 50 brought a live band and performed a ton of his greatest hits, without issue. Practice may make perfect, but 50 Cent looked like he was in the middle of a tour with his great stage presence last night.
While also mixing in his brand new Tekashi 6ix9ine-assisted single ‘Get The Strap’, 50 Cent gave the fans what they wanted last night as Jackson performed the hits from start to finish. Opening with his 2007 track ‘Movin On Up’, 50 Cent kept the crowd entertained with tracks like ‘How We Do’, ‘What Up Gangsta’, ‘Many Men’, ’21 Questions’, ‘Window Shopper’ and of course his mega breakout track ‘In Da Club’, among others.
Although there was no opener for the night’s performance, 50 Cent didn’t travel to the Windy City solo as his G-Unit label-mates Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda joined him on-stage for the entire night. The two even contributed verses of their own for tracks like ‘On & On’, ‘Pimping’ and more.
The energy of last night was something special! A 50 Cent show in Highland Park may not sound like a perfect match, but the Chicago suburb’s festival consistently brings some of the best acts to the area, and the fit was amazing. The packed crowd was very diverse, proving that everyone loves 50 Cent’s music. From the moment the show started, the crowd was on their feet for the rest of the night.
50 Cent proudly reps South Jamaica, Queens but that didn’t stop the New York-native from showing love to Chicago. Sporting a Chicago White Sox cap, 50 Cent put a little touch of Chicago into his wardrobe. 50 Cent and Chicago clearly have love for each other, and we hope that he returns to the area again in the near future because last night was one that we won’t soon forget!
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of the Ravinia Festival here.
Continue reading 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Have Missed 50 Cent’s Ravinia Festival Performance
BY TER STAFF
Milwaukee celebrated a very special night on Tuesday, as the city’s brand new arena, the Fiserv Forum, kicked off its first ever concert, with The Killers and Milwaukee’s own, the Violent Femmes.
From the moment doors opened fans were in for a treat as The Killers delivered a casual acoustic set well before the show started. The first hundred or so fans enjoyed an intimate set before the Femmes and The Killers tested the foundation of the new arena. After an amazing performance, The Killers capped off the night with a special encore performance of the Milwaukee-set Laverne & Shirley Theme Song, joined by the Violent Femmes.
Check out our photos from last night’ performance below and peep The Killers’ remaining tour dates here.
The Early Registration 