There’s less than a week left till Riot Fest, which is the last massive, multiday music blowout of the summertime—among other things. Even though festival season is (mercifully) wrapping up, there’s no shortage of great concerts to check out. Chief among them is Station to Station at Union Station; it’s an art party that artist Doug Aitken is hosting on a train crossing the country, and the Chicago stop includes performances by No Age, Theaster Gates & the Black Monks of Mississippi, and Thurston Moore and John Moloney.
Station to Station is, quite unfortunately, sold out, but there are plenty of other shows to see. Tonight Husker Du’s Grant Hart swings by Danny’s in support of his recent solo album, The Argument. On Tuesday Chvrches and XXYYXX kick off the first part of a two-night stand in town at Lincoln Hall, David Boykin plays the MCA, and Human Eye hits the Empty Bottle. Wednesday night Windhand performs at Cobra Lounge, and Youth Lagoon and Pure X play at Lincoln Hall.
Be sure to check out Soundboard for even more recommendations, and read what our writers have to say about Deerhunter and Chvrches after the jump.
Deerhunter’s shows aren’t as scandalous as they used to be, and according to Tal Rosenberg that’s not such a bad thing. That’s because going to see Deerhunter today means getting to see something that’s guaranteed to be great: “a tight, melodic indie-rock band playing their songs nearly flawlessly and with contagious gusto,” Rosenberg writes. “I’m excited to see how they interpret the shambling, garagey art-rock of their latest album, Monomania (4AD), for the stage.” Marnie Stern and Stagnant Pools open.
“For the past decade or so, the outer edges of the dance-music scene and the very center of the mainstream synth-pop galaxy have been on a fascinating slow-motion collision course powered by a feedback cycle of influence linking the underground and the overground—synth-pop artists can now leap from popularity on the hipster fringe to ubiquity in Gold Coast dance clubs with just the subtlest shift in their fortunes,” writes Miles Raymer. Scotland’s Chvrches have a ton of buzz behind them even though they’ve only released a couple EPs, and according to Raymer they could easily attain the kind of crossover success that Ellie Goulding and Icona Pop have achieved. “Chvrches’ upcoming debut album, The Bones of What You Believe (Glassnote), teased by the throbbing, hooky single ‘Gun,’ could be a hit if the wind blows right.” XXYYXX opens.