Bilal
  • Marc Baptiste
  • Bilal

As is my wont, before I regale you with highlights from this week’s Soundboard writeups, I’m going to rattle off some other worthwhile shows that nobody managed to cover. Fuck a Thursday, but on Friday you’ve got your pick of weirdo Australian rockers Blank Realm at the Burlington, charmingly bedraggled Portland garage band the Woolen Men at Permanent Records, and Juicy J of the Three 6 Mafia with A$AP Ferg at Metro.

What’s on Saturday? Well, gritty Chicago street-rap duo L.E.P. Bogus Boys perform at Reggie’s Rock Club, and charismatic young old-school soul band JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound play a release party at Mayne Stage for their new Bloodshot album, Howl.

On Sunday you could check out the eclectic Co-Prosperity Sphere concert that Gossip Wolf mentioned, with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening, punk bands Distract and Warrior Tribes, and live electro from Hunter & Josh. Or you could get snazzed up and attend “The (Best) Prom You Never Had” at the Empty Bottle, which features Girl Group Chicago, Bobby Conn & the Pretty Flowers, and the Chances Dances DJs. And if that sounds too wholesome for you, I recommend the Butchershop Quartet at Township, playing their notorious rock-band arrangement of Stravinksy’s The Rite of Spring to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the piece’s premiere. There probably won’t be a riot this time, but you never know.

Actually, I take back that rude thing I said before about Thursday. That’s the night of my Chicago Craft Beer Week event at the Lincoln Park Binny’s with beer manager Adam Vavrick. We’re going to pair beers and songs! It’s going to be ridiculous, and you should come.

And now on to the Soundboard picks:

Philip Montoro has been an editorial employee of the Reader since 1996 and its music editor since 2004. Pieces he has edited have appeared in Da Capo’s annual Best Music Writing anthologies in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. He shared two Lisagor Awards in 2019 for a story on gospel pioneer Lou Della Evans-Reid and another in 2021 for Leor Galil's history of Neo, and he’s also split three national awards from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia: one for multimedia in 2019 for his work on the TRiiBE collaboration the Block Beat, and two (in 2020 and 2022) for editing the music writing of Reader staffer Leor Galil. Philip has played scrap metal in Lozenge, drummed with the Disasters, the Afflictions, and Brilliant Pebbles, and sung for the White Outs. He wrote the column Beer and Metal from 2012 till 2015, and hopes to do so again one day. You can also follow him on Twitter.