The End of the Beginning
This is a brand new decade. It can’t be any newer. The one that ended yesterday seemed to go at a traumatically brisk pace. The 1990s seemed to exist way longer
Brendan Hilliard
2009
I felt like Lewis and Clark traveling in a sedan caravan. I suppose what I remember most about my first excursion this year was that endless stretch of Ohio that bleeds into Pennsylvania
Higher and Higher
I’ve been to shows, but not THAT show. Sure, I could expound forever on the trope of a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show being likened to a religious
These Projectors Need Cleaning
Dirty Projectors at Bottom Lounge, Friday, November 13, 2009 Dirty Projectors’s Friday night show at Bottom Lounge was a definite contrast to the other two bands we’ve seen in
A Tale of Two Rock Shows
The Mountain Goats, Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Metro The Mountain Goats played to a mostly packed crowd at Metro last Thursday. John Darnielle and the lineup consisting of bassist Peter Hughes and
Tad Kubler: The obviate media Interview
Interview by Brendan Hilliard Editorial Assistance by John Nagle obviate spoke to The Hold Steady’s Tad Kubler last week just as the band was about to play their first-ever Alaskan tour
The Gaslight Anthem @ Double Door 8/8/09
Out in a sea of Gaslight Anthem fans – especially those at the Double Door Saturday evening – there’s a meshing of two very distinct types of music fans. In one
Portrait of the Author as a 10-year-old
After years of searching, I’ve found the Holy Grail of my personal writings. It’s the ‘Goosebumps’ Journal I wrote in from 1996-1997. I initially thought it was
Buses, Trains and Automobiles
I’m always out of town now. I’m constantly documenting where I’m going and what I’m doing when I’m out of town, but never
Around The World In Three Days (Spread Apart by Three Weeks)
I get asked often “Why do you keep going to Hold Steady shows?” After thirty-two of them since October of 2006 – I can tell you it has a lot to
Jason Anderson: The obviate media Interview
Very few musicians can match the pure joy that emanates from Jason Anderson. If you are unfamiliar, you probably should watch this video before you read the following interview. The prolific (and incredibly
Dinosaur Jr. at Otto's - DeKalb, IL 4/11/09
Dinosaur Jr.’s choice to play DeKalb, Illinois, a town 65 miles west of Chicago was a weird one. Then again, Dinosaur Jr. is a weird band. In 2005, the capricious ‘