UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART

UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART | 2320 WEST CHICAGO AVENUE | WWW.UIMA-CHICAGO.COM

I have lived in Chicago in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood for the larger portion of a year now, and have been meaning to check out this gallery. Being my first time I did not know what to expect: size, artists, etc. To my delight, it was an intimate size with two collections. To the left is a rotating collection. The current collection is called ‘Retrospective’ by Mykola Zhuravel & is running until April 15, 2012. To the right is a room of identical size that is their permanent collection with donated pieces by Ukrainian artists. I enjoyed both of the collections that hosted pieces all over the spectrum of Modern Art, which happens to be my favorite, and I will definitely be returning as soon as the next collection comes mid April. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

MYKOLA ZHURAVEL – Retrospective

Gifts For The Son

Fragment of Beehive

Bathing of the Son

PERMANENT COLLECTION PIECES (just a few of my favorites)

Kinetic Construction (Artist: Koknstantin Milonadis)

Steel

Ukrainian Witch (Artist: Mykola Butovjch)

(Artist: Mychajlo Urban)

Ballet of the Rectangle (Artist: Michael J. Kuczer)

OBERHOFER – POND RECAP

Last night I went to see two bands that I am not all that familiar with, and had such a great time!

POND| This is an Aussie group… pretty awesome. The lead singer is like watching a Mick Jaggar / Jim Morrison trainwreck in the making, which ultimately makes for a raw performance that is both entertaining and captivating. There were these hard core 70’s undertones that made the jamming sound familiar and delicious. I was never quite sure what they were going to do next. I think what really grabbed me in their corner was their closing set song, “Eye Pattern Blindness”. Between the electric blue lighting that set the stage for a mellow jam session, to the riffs that never let you know if the song was over… because each time I thought it was ending, it hadn’t. It just grew into a better song. I give these guys two thumbs up. Super glad I was able to catch their Chicago show!

 

OBERHOFER | Although not super familiar with these guys, I have known who they are and a little bit about them for over a year. I find that the talent that they have is really amazing and that they are definitely going to be selling tickets along their tour without a problem. Lead vocals were great. Guitar & xylophone were great. Energy was great. You could feel that they had passion in the music that they were portraying to the audience. I did get to snap some video of these guys as they closed out their set with “o0O0o0O0o”.

 

DON’T THINK…

In my opinion, the Chemical Brothers are one of the best electronic duo’s of all time. They have massaged my ears with mind blowing tracks for as long as I can remember. In 2010 I was lucky enough to see them perform live at the North Coast Music Festival in Chicago. It may have been the best show I have ever seen. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen SO many good shows… but this one had be trapped in a mind warp for the entire duration of the show. I think I danced around and stared at the stage with a massive smile on my face for no less than 90 minutes. Their pulsating beats and captivating visuals had me in this trance that can only be described as… love.

Today, (March 26, 2012) marks a new day of awesome in the world of the Chemical Brothers. They released their video “DON’T THINK”. It was filmed at the Fuji Rock Concert and directed by Adam Smith. It takes you into this crazy world of psychedelic madness. This is what they (the site) had to say about it:

“You blink awake and find yourself halfway up the side of a Japanese mountain. It’s night time, right at the sticky middle point of summer. You’re in an opening in a darkened wood surrounded by, say, 50,000 other revelers, each of them frenzied; delirious from an all-encompassing psychedelia that seems to be emanating from a stage somewhere in the near distance.

Above you, lights swoop and strafe across armies of marching toy robots and galloping deconstructed horses; paint balls explode in front of borderline psychotic clowns. You’re in the thick of it, consumed by the spectacle, absorbed into the crowd, surrendering to the noise and the visuals. Stunned by the jaw-dropping intensity of what you’re witnessing, just one thought flashes through your febrile mind.
DON’T THINK. LET IT FLOW.”

In case you were wondering, YES, I had to purchase this DVD today and it should arrive at my house sometime next week. It is going to take so many gatherings to the next level of weird. We are definitely going to be GETTING IN THERE to this one. Don’t Think… Let it Flow.

What PITCHFORK had to say:

http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16424-the-chemical-brothers-dont-think/

OBERHOFER – POND – YAWN – TOMORROW @ LINCOLN HALL

(photo from facebook page)

 So, I have never really won too much in my life, but within the past few years I have started winning concert tickets on the regular… and I can NOT complain about that! I would only suppose it is because if any venue in Chicago looks at people who sign up for contests, and run those names with people who buy a crap ton of tickets to their venue, they would find that mine accurately measure up to a lot. Must be my good ticket Karma or something. Either way, I will take it. This week I was fortunate enough to win a pair of tickets, courtesy of Do312, to see Oberhofer at Lincoln Hall.

I can’t say that I know a whole lot about this group, but I can say that I like their style. It makes me smile, and makes me move around with the clever use of whistling (I am insanely good at whistling), xylophone, and the other random instruments. They put forth this sound that is uplifting and original… I love it. It reminds me of something both a little old, and beachy, which will be perfect for a springtime show. The whole band is extremely talented. They may be a little too hipster for their own good, but lets’ be honest… so is half of Chicago. 😉

Here is a little preview of the talent and fun that I will experience tomorrow night.

Show starts at 8:00p | with 2 openers Pond & Yawn

POND is another group that looks amazing.  I have yet to know all that much about, but they look fucking awesome, so I can’t wait to get schooled by the live show!

YAWN is a Chicago group. Another first over here, but stoked to check out their stuff!

GHOSTHOUSE RECAP

Last night was not only my first experience at Cubby Bear (good sound and lights, lots of bathrooms and lots of space), but it was also my first experience seeing GHOSTHOUSE. While I may be partial since I know the keyboardist/producer/backup vocal guy, I did NOT know that he was in the band until after I fell in love with their disco funk beats.

As I have repeatedly said… “If Prince & Chromeo had a baby… it would be GHOSTHOUSE”. This statement was proved to the max last night. The guys had great energy, seemed to be having a lot of fun, and had the floor dancing to their beats. (which was a massive change from the opening act, that I cannot even remember their name) Their vocals sounded exactly like the album, and if there was not some “technical difficulties” early on, it would have made you think that it was just a recording. They did that good.

I am not going to sit here and stroke these guys to death, but I will say that they are one of my new favorite bands, and it is just that much better that they are from Chicago so I have the opportunity to see them on the reg. I recorded my favorite song of their’s “Private Dancer” for your viewing pleasure. Drink it up and try to see them live the next time they have a gig!

GHOSTHOUSE TONIGHT @ CUBBY BEAR

I am super excited about tonight’s show at Cubby Bear! Not only is it the launch of Goose Island 312 in cans, but it is my first opportunity to see GHOSTHOUSE. When trying to explain the style of music these guys produce I would have to make this statement… “If Prince and Chromeo had a baby… it would be GHOSTHOUSE”. With a funky synth-infused keyboard, and lyrics that can make an entire crowd horny, I think they do it just right. The music makes you want to move around and dance until your entire body is covered in sweat, and I think that is just the point that they are trying to achieve.

Something even better… they are giving you their album for free! Just follow this link… http://ghosthousechicago.bandcamp.com/

I am actually yet to see a show at the Cubby Bear, so this should be pretty fun. The venue holds about 800 people… of whom I all are excited as I am to get my 312 & dance on!

SHOW STARTS @ 8pm & is FREE with RSVP for all of you that are 21+. NO word on if the beer is free… but if it is a launch, I would really hope that it is!

I was so sad that I was unable to take video at Monday’s Fiona Apple show, but I am 100% positive that I will be able to get some good footage of these guys. Check back tomorrow to see the documentation. 🙂

FIONA SHOW RECAP

Last night’s show at Lincoln Hall was like no other that I have ever seen. Actually seeing an artist that I have loved for so long was almost surreal. The sheer energy and passion that she emits during a live performance is nothing short of amazing. It almost felt like she was putting every ounce of emotion into it and was bleeding the lyrics. I stood about 3 people back on the right side of the stage and had an amazing view. The only thing I wish I had better was the view when she was pounding on that piano, but she only did that during two songs, so I really wasn’t missing all that much.

The bad thing about Lincoln Hall is that they do not allow flash photography or video to be taken during any of their shows. Depending on the artist, this is enforced more strictly… last night was strict. The security that was standing right by me was not even all that impressed that I was taking pics like every other second to get good ones. Maybe he doesn’t understand the concept of motion photography, or maybe he was just not a Fiona fan. So needless to say, I didn’t get to take the video that I wanted, but I got some really good photos.

Her set was shorter than I thought it would be. But the songs that she did play were definitely good ones. Her new material was awesome, and only makes the anticipation for the new album to drop, that much more intense. All in all, the night was nothing less than I expected it to be… probably more. I saw one of my musical idols in an intimate venue with one of my best friends, all while enjoying delicious craft beer. I really could not have asked for a better night!

SET LIST:

“Fast As You Can”
“On The Bound”
“Paper Bag”
“Mistake”
“Anything We Want”
“Valentine”
“Sleep To Dream”
“Extraordinary Machine”
“Every Single Night”
“Carrion”
“Criminal”

Here are some additional reviews that I have read/enjoyed from the Chicago show.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/fiona-apple-kicks-off-tour-with-manic-chicago-show-20120319

http://www.windycityrock.net/

FIONA APPLE TONIGHT!!!

I have been waiting for this night for quite some time… well at least 7 years. I finally get to see one of my favorite artists, Fiona Apple perform live tonight. I remember when I was just a young gal and I was so excited to get her debut ‘TIDAL’ CD. It was one of the first ones that I had ever purchased and I still listen to it to this day. After ‘Extraordinary Machine’ , the industry has been missing something… and I am pretty sure it has been the skinny, angsty, blue eyed poet that is Ms. Apple. She has finally returned to us and bringing new material with her.

The Sold Out show tonight is at Lincoln Hall, which will be both intimate and amazing. With a venue that only holds approximately 500 people, I find it to be a wonderful way to bring herself back onto the scene. For many, the tickets were hard to get, yet I found that destiny sank in and I was lucky enough to get mine for face value without a problem. With only, 6 dates on this small tour, I would say that it was meant to be. I have found that I have not been this excited for a show in quite some time, being that normal artists regularly tour and don’t tend to disappear for almost a decade.

She did have a show this past week at SXSW, and so there is some video evidence of her return. I will follow that up tonight with some coverage of my own… new and old songs that need to be shared with the world. Welcome back Fiona, get in there, and we will see you tonight!

GRIMES SHOW RE-CAP

GRIMES (pic from google images)

So I went to the Grimes show on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. It is not my favorite venue, but it does have two things going for it. 1) It is about 5 blocks from my house 2) They really crank up the volume and make shit super loud in there where it can vibrate your soul, given the artist. I have seen her before, and had high expectations and I think that although, the show WAS really great, I was somewhat expecting it to have more relations to the previous show that I had seen at METRO. This time around she used way more vocals. When I saw her last, she did a lot more producing with vocals here and there, but there was a lot more just straight up musical sections.

I will hand it to her, she is what, 23 years old, and has a very magical and likable presence on stage. She never stopped moving although she was simultaneously doing about 7 things at once.  The crowd was really into it, and it was almost too hipster for it’s own good, but all in all a great time. (with the exception of the glorified garage band that was the opening act… not my style) If you didn’t get to catch this show, you can see her again as she will be playing at Pitchfork this summer. I highly recommend you try.

Here is a local write up about their thoughts on the show from Windy City Rock

http://www.windycityrock.net/2012/03/show-review-grimes-born-gold-at-empty.html

THIS WEEKS SHOW = GRIMES

So excited to see Grimes at Empty Bottle tomorrow (3/14/12). I was fortunate enough to see her last year when she was the opening act at Lykke Li at the METRO, and she was not only the perfect opening act for Lykke Li, but you could tell by her amazing production skills and mesmerizing persona that she was going to do fun things in the year to come. This time around, I get to see her produce/perform at Empty Bottle… which will be amazing. The venue is not only extremely intimate with capacity of only a few hundred, but they turn the sound up so loud in there it can completely consume you depending on your spot in the crowd. Now all I have to do is focus on getting a great spot to capture some awesome video to post, with it being a sold out show, this could be both interesting and fun! Here is some video from her performance last month in Seattle. Hoping to get some great video myself to share with everyone… but until then, this one is pretty darn good.