CULTS at the Metro Saturday

CULTS is back in Chicago performing at the Metro Saturday, November 23 as a part of their Static tour. Be sure to catch them while they're in town as they do not disappoint live with their love lorn lyrics and reverb-infused dance lines. To purchase tickets, click here. In the mean time, check out the video for "High Road" from Static below!

Interview with Lauren McClusky Founder of Nelarusky

Nelarusky | Pre-Lollapalooza Party - Benefitting Special Olympics Illinois with Imagine Dragons, Icona Pop, Brick + Mortar, and Kellen & Me at Metro 7/31/13


 1. How did you get started doing this organization? You are pretty young, who helped you. What/Who were your influences? 

When I was a Junior in High school, I had friends in a band called "The Days" that really wanted to play a benefit concert in the city. They approached my friend and I about it, and we began brainstorming ideas. Because of an existing relationship with Joe Shanahan at Metro, we were fortunate to have it as our venue! We chose Special Olympics as I have grown up volunteering at events and getting to know the people involved. What started as an event showcasing high school and college bands turned into a Lollapalooza pre-show! We are now in our seventh year! My influences have been my father (Jeff McClusky), Joe Shanahan and Stacey Marquardt at Metro (as well as many other staff members there!), Huston Powell and Aly Ehlinger at C3, and so many others that have made this event possible. 

2. How do you pick out the bands to play our events? Is it music you listen too, and just want them involved?

In the beginning, most of the bands were friends that I wanted people to hear. As the event has grown, it has been a combination of music that I like and bands that are on the Lolla lineup and who are interested in the cause! 

3. I hear McDonalds had it out for you, but you pulled through, and changed the name, did that effect your outlook on things at all? 

The McDonald's story ended well, since we settled on a name change and a generous sponsorship. I was getting a little nervous throughout the process to be honest, but it all worked out in the end! 

4. What has been your favorite performance thus far, and did the band do anything in particular? 

That's definitely hard to say when acts like Flosstradamus, Cold War Kids, and Alabama Shakes have taken the stage at Nelarusky. However... in the first and second year, the bands "The Days" and "TeamOne" did a collaboration. The Days had an alternative folk-y sound, and TeamOne was a hip hop act, so the combination of sounds was really neat AND it ended up being a ton of friends on stage together... the energy was awesome! 

5. What are your goals for Nelarusky in the future events? 

It's definitely hard to say because of course I want to raise more money each year! We have now raised $135,000 over the past six years, and our goal continues to increase. I would also love to see Nelarusky expand to other cities in the future! 

 

6. Is their anything that most people don't know about Nelarusky that you want them to know?

Most people probably don't know that the event is entirely run by a group of young entrepreneurs. Plus, we wouldn't be able to have Nelarusky if it weren't for our sponsors! This year we have Scion, Audiotree, Next Door State Farm, and many more! We also still have VIP tickets and other exclusives on our fundraising campaign - www.pledgemusic.com/projects/nelarusky 

7. Stic-of-the-Week is a fashion/music blog, what is your sense of fashion? What are some of your go-to stores in Chicago?

FREE PEOPLE! 

Get VIP tickets here.

Against Me - Metro

Photo by: Tracy Graham

Photo by: Tracy Graham

Photo by: Tracy Graham

Against Me! Is a band capable of galvanizing crowds like a swift musical kick in the ass, but you have to know what you're getting yourself into. There is no gray area with Against Me! You either love them or you hate fun. If you just so happen to enjoy getting yelled at in verse and chorus--while guitars, bass and drums rattle your brain--you'll be an Against Me! fan for life.

The entire venue was filled with a raw emotion and energy that lead singer Tom Gabel best describes in "Thrash Unreal" when he growls, "If she wants to dance and drink all night, well there's no one that can stop her. She's going til the house lights come up or her stomach spills onto the floor. This night is gonna end when we're damn well ready for it to be over. Worked all week long now the music is playing on our time. Yeah we do what we do to get by, and then we need a release." Everyone in the band--but especially Gabel--performs with such reckless abandon that it verges on self-mutilation. You'd think that energy levels like that wouldn't be sustainable, but Gabel and company played non-stop through what seemed like their entire catalog in less than an hour. The masses were already satisfied, but the show was only half over.

I WANT TO SMASH THEM ALL. FEAR BREEDS IN HONEST MEN. Looking at the spray painted amps decorating the stage, you can almost hear Gabel screaming the lyrics to "White Crosses" and "High Pressure Low" at you with musical accompaniment that you WILL shake a fist to. It's that sort of positive anger that binds the band together and bonds them to the audience. They don't play non-stop with no breaks because they have somewhere to be, they do it to squeeze in as many angst-ridden anthems as possible before Chicago's curfew hammer drops on the all ages show.

Gabel might be the driving force behind the band, but Against Me! operates as a cohesive unit capable of inciting everything from straight to DVD sing-alongs and moshing that comes very close to being riotous. The audience is whipped into a fervor that convinces them that running full speed at a bunch of strangers in close quarters isn't just a good idea, it's a great one. And so there was moshing - lots of moshing. It got to the point where it was hard to tell if the floor was shaking because of Against Me!'s valiant attempt to make everyone in the audience deaf, or if it was because different generations of fans might have been a little too excited and/or drunk and were taking out their aggression on the venue. The point is, the floor of the Metro felt like Jello.

As one kid surfed through the crowd atop hands and heads of other audience members for the umpteenth time, Gabel made eye contact and sang what seemed like an entire verse just for him. That, right there, is why Against Me! will have fans for as long as they're playing shows. When the house lights finally did come up no one wanted it be over, but everyone was damn well ready because complete and total exhaustion had finally set in. As everyone congregated outside for the obligatory post-show cigarette, it was clear that this was the most satisfied any of us had been in a while.

Contributed editorial by Ben Dahl with pictures by Tracy Graham from Lost In Concert. 

Grimes & Lykke Li

Last night I was at the SOLD OUT show for Grimes and Lykke Li at Chicago's Metro. On a beautiful Monday May night in Chicago, you couldn't ask for any more. Grimes opened up for Lykke Li, this one lady act is nothing but impressive, how she takes control of the stage all by herself. She reminded me of a female Panda Bear (the band, not the animal). Her music reminds me of if you were to hang out at a night club in the later parts of the night, I can picture heads swaying as if you are almost in a trance.

Next up, Lykke Li, who has a incredible stage presence with her two drummers, back up singer, keys, bass and acoustic guitar playing. Dressed in a black leotard with tights and a sort of cape sort get up. Her newest album released in March "Wounded Rhymes," is a much darker album then the "Youth Novels." Don't get me wrong still incredibly danceable, just not as peppy as the first one. Her performance was much different then when I first saw her perform at Lolla two years ago. If you weren't able to make it to the Metro last night, don't get too sad, she will be back here for Lolla for her second time in August!

In Tall Buildings - performing in a not so tall building called "The Metro"

In Tall Buildings a band from right here in Chicago, I had a chance to check out on Saturday night at the Metro. This was the first time hearing the band, I was really impressed by their sound and performance. Their laid back soothing melodies are prodigious and bounce off the ear drums quite nicely.

Erik Hall's voice is so anomalous, it goes so well with the instrumentals. The song I enjoyed the most on the performance/album was "Good Fences."

Good news is they will be performing down in Austin for SXSW several times, then are coming back to Chicago with some more shows. You can check out all the dates here.


You can download the A-side "Warm Rock: here, go here.

Go here to see more pictures and to "Like" Stic.

025 In Tall Buildings from Kyle Obriot on Vimeo.

Robyn is here...

Let me bring you back to 1997, I was in 8th grade, had braces and loved a pop singer named Robyn. She is just as carefree as I remember and has made quite the come back, 13 years later. Last night I was able to catch her in the flesh at Metro Chicago, happy to say metal mouth free on my end. Seeing Robyn, made me feel like a kid again, her spunk and energy was just as I remember when I first heard her "Robyn is Here" album. Recently the pop star even made brief appearance on hit show, Gossip Girl. Robyn certainly is HERE and here to stay!

Stic readers, what do you feel about Robyn's come back?