Music - Dec. 28, 2009
Gig roundup: The Rave doesn't break for the holiday
While a lot of venues go underground between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when they come back alive for the big countdown, The Rave -- while it might slow down -- doesn't stop.
Tags: The Rave, Rusted Root, Jude Kinnear, The Unheard Of, Mister Action, Circle A, Big Head Todd, Benny Benassi, Cactus Club, Shank, Miramar Theatre, La Dispute, Native, Sleep Serapis Sleep, Jon the Savage, The Championship, The Naima, Pat McCurdy, Philip Gate

Music - Aug. 11, 2009
Mix tape: August 2009
Here are some lightning-fast looks at some of the many, many new CDs landing in shops in August and early September ...
Tags: Andy Chase, Brookville, Trash Can Sinatras, Shank, Garibaldi, A.A. Bondy, ILAD, VP Records, 17 North Parade, Joe Gibbs, Niney the Observer

Music - July 27, 2009
Gig roundup: Polkafinger plays the apolkalypse
You don't have to remember Milwaukee's legendary punk band The Haskels to head over to Shank Hall to see Polkafinger and The Blackholes Power Polka Machine, at 9 p.m. Friday. Although Polkafinger's Richard LaValliere was the singer and bassist for The Haskells and later the equally fine Oil Tasters, you don't need any of that background to enjoy the Brooklyn trio's punk rock polka.
Tags: Polkafinger, The Blackholes, Mark Shurilla, Oil Tasters, The Haskels, Shank, The Rave, Miramar, Cactus Club, Riverside, Pabst Theater, CKY, Warped Tour, All Time Low, Marcus Amphitheater, Crosby, Up and Under, Lonely H, Ground Zero, Midwest Beat, Duck on

Music - May 4, 2009
Gig roundup: The Sounds preview new CD at Rave
Every now and again a record strikes a chord with those of us in the editorial office here and we rock it all day long until we could sing it forward and backward. One such CD was "Dying to Say This to You," the 2006 effort by Sweden's The Sounds. So, when we got a link to hear "Crossing the Rubicon," the third disc by The Sounds -- who play Saturday, May 9 at The Rave -- we were excited.
Tags: The Sounds, Crossing the Rubicon, The Rave, Shank, Nickel Creek, Sara Watkins, Cactus Club, Bobby Conn, Turner Hall, Mogwai, Cursive, Spyro Gyra, Jazz on the Vine

Music - April 12, 2009
Gig roundup: Wakeling going strong after 30 years
Thirty years from "Stand Down Margaret," Birmingham, England's Dave Wakeling is still fronting a band called The English Beat, albeit one populated entirely with different members. And, he says, he's still having fun.
Tags: Dave Wakeling, The English Beat, Dub Trio, John Scofield, Shank, Turner Hall, Miramar, Mad Planet, Cactus Club, Sleepyime Gorilla Museum, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Tim Barry, EOTO, Parlor Mob, Pezzettino, Extra Golden, Wilco, Pabst Theater, Cannibal Cor