Untitled Document It’s somewhat misleading to say that Now It’s Time represents the return of Tarnation, the seminal Western-noir band that Paula Frazer fronted in the 1990s. Tarnation was never really a band so much as a concept, with Frazer the lineup’s only constant. Moreover, even though the San Francisco-based singer/songwriter has been recording under her […]
Music
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Still serious after all these years
Untitled Document The Search, Son Volt’s fifth album, doesn’t shy away from heavy subjects. Among its themes are stem-cell research, FBI wiretapping, global warming, gentrification, war profiteering, and methamphetamine addiction — not exactly a recipe for cheer and also no great surprise to anyone at all familiar with Jay Farrar, the band’s singer, songwriter, and […]
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Paint the town green
Untitled Document The Emerald Underground, Springfield’s only Celtic-fusion group (the band combines rock elements with traditional Irish tunes and instruments), is — no blarney here — the hardest-working band in town this weekend. Catch them at Robbie’s (4 Old State Capitol Plaza, 217-528-1901) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, then later that night at the Lime […]
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From side dish to main course
Untitled Document Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, possibly the hottest middle-aged people on the planet, are back with Back Numbers, an album that’s almost as pretty as they are. Grieving Luna fans can’t be blamed if the occasion seems bittersweet, however. It’s hard not to wonder whether the excellence of the new CD is a […]
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Spring cleaning
Untitled Document Spring is coming, bringing with it a rebirth of sorts on our entertainment scene. Now that the smoke has cleared from our taverns and obviously won’t be returning, people are making their way back to see live music, regardless of whether they can puff a cigarette in a bar. Could it be […]
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Walk on to Chicago
Untitled Document In 2006, readers of Illinois Times picked Micah Walk as the best musician in Springfield. Now the twentysomething singer/songwriter is moving to Chicago. Why in the world would he leave? “Why? I don’t know,” Walk says. “Some people think it’s crazy, but crazy can be all right.” With plans to “just hang […]
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Pure pop savage delight
Untitled Document The Internet giveth, and the Internet taketh away. Under these harsh new conditions, the buildup-to-backlash cycle is over in the blink of a blognerd’s eye. Consider the case of Lily Allen, the 21-year-old daughter of British actor/comedian Keith Allen. The younger Allen attained It Girl status by posting MP3s, cute pix, and orthographically […]
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The sounds of music
Untitled Document All blues fans and alt-country lovers should report at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, to the Alamo (115 N. Fifth St., 217-523-1455), where Clay McClinton will host the Illinois Central Blues Club Blue Monday jam. McClinton, son of legendary harmonica-playing bluesman Delbert McClinton, just released Son of a Gun, a Nashville-produced CD that […]
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The nerdiest of the indie nerds
Untitled Document Who’s the biggest nerd in indie rock? One thing’s for sure: The competition has never been more cutthroat. Could it be the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy, the dorkling king of musical-theater buffs? Or maybe it’s a two-way tie between those old standbys They Might Be Giants, they of the dorm-ripened drollery and liberal use […]
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Mardi Gras makes its mark
Untitled Document The valiant struggle to transform Springfield into an appealing place continues with a glorious 2007 celebration of Mardi Gras. The famed party has tickled me ever since I discovered that the reason for going crazy with gluttony and drunken revelry was the upcoming forced fast of Lent. How quaint. By now, I assume, […]
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Eleni Mandell’s timeless Miracle
Untitled Document Eleni Mandell might not be the best singer in the world, at least by American Idol criteria, but she’s got a voice to die for. More precisely, she has two killer voices: the singing kind and the writing kind. Both are exquisitely expressive, instantly recognizable, and so perfectly symbiotic that describing one necessitates describing […]
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A matter of timing
Untitled Document W hen it comes to zeitgeist, timing is all, and the so-called freak-folk scene, with which Noah Georgeson is perhaps unfairly associated, is due for a backlash. Already blogosphere wags are mocking Devendra Banhart’s dirty bare feet, the same feet they were kissing a year ago; how much longer before they sink their […]
