Back in 2007, The Saps made a hilarious video for their track “Coup de Grace”.

I’ve had the good fortune to interact with a great deal of Chicago musicians in the last year, and I can honestly say that none have been nicer than Marky Hladdish. He is just one of the members of the four-piece band The Felix Culpa. Their latest album, Sever Your Roots, finds Marky and the boys in rare form. This is a full on assault of pure rock, and they truly hold nothing back. In fact, this double LP clocks in at over 66 minutes. The band has been together for the better part of ten years now, and this album is really a culmination of that history together. In fact the track “Because This Is How We Speak” talks directly to that history and all of the bands that no longer exist.

The Felix Culpa is celebrating the release of Sever Your Roots at Metro tonight, Jan. 23rd with Loyal Divide, Robbers, and Suns.

I was fortunate to be in attendance for the first of two shows with Brighton MA at Schubas last night. The night’s opening band, Flight, made the trip in from Madison and proceeded to win over the slowly building crowd. Lead by the intoxicating force and beauty of Jentri Colello, Fight gave out copies of their demo ep and is currently working on a full-length album. Blending the sultry nature of St. Vincent with the rockier side of Feist and a heavy dose of atmospherics, Flight was a pleasure to hear.

As the room filled to capacity, as the show was sold out, Elsinore took the stage. Coming from down state, the band brought a strong college following with them. Their sound was polished, but a little all over the board. With traces of Phoenix, Wolfmother, and even a Postal Service cover, the band is still searching for a true sound but still making radio ready pop in the process.

Finally, just after midnight Brighton MA took the stage and showed the crowd how it is done. This is a band that should be so much bigger than they are, and we are lucky they call Chicago home. Holding a clinic on alt-country, they played with precision and style and a maturity that is undeniable. Matthew Kerstein controlled the crowd, drank a beer, and sang with a passion and joy that transformed the songs from their full-length Amateur Lovers into something so much more.

The entire evening I was wearing my new set of EarLove earplugs. Created here in Chicago, these Hi-Fi earplugs surprisingly enhanced the sound of the while eliminated the background noise. This morning I report that my ears are not ringing as they would normally be post show.

You can catch Brighton MA again tonight at Schubas with Andrew Belle and Tacoma Narrows.

There is a thriving music scene here in Chicago that to many publications goes virtually unnoticed. However, on February 16th Mako Sica may begin to breakthrough. With Przemyslaw Krys Drazek on guitar and trumpet, Michael J. Kendrick on drums and Brent Fuscaldo on vocals, guitar, and various percussion, Mako Sika plays an experimental and free form psychedelic jazz and punk. They wholly embrace the freedom of sound and the power of exploration.

Dual Horizon is the bands debut album and it was recorded by Todd Rittmann (D. Rider) and Jim Zespy (Magnolia Electric Co.) at Logan Hardware. The session were recorded live and left untouched. The texture, the multi-layers, the echoing and searching is all their own. Side A of the album kicks off with the twenty track “I’toi”, a song named for a mythological Native American god who lives in a mountain cave and watches over the desert. The words Mako Sica come from a Sioux Lakota Native American term meaning, "land bad." This album is spiritual if you let it be, the form and nature is that free and ever-changing, but it is also an impressive display musical craftsmanship. You can preorder Dual Horizon here.

2009 was a tremendous year for rockers Janus, but they are already promising this year will be even better. They are starting it by hosting MTV2’s Headbangers Ball this Monday (1/25) at 2am. That’s right there is still such a thing as Headbangers Ball, and Janus is honored. This marks the start of their tour with Chevelle that will bring them back to Chicago on Feb. 20th to play the Riv.

It’s not surprising they are touring again they’ve been touring non-stop to promote their debut album, Red Right Return, since its release September 22, 2009 on REALID Records, through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group. The album’s explosive first single, “Eyesore,” is currently spinning on over 50 Rock radio stations nationwide, and is at#17 on the Active Rock charts.

You can catch a special acoustic show from Janus tomorrow (1/23) at Best Buy (1432 Butterfield Rd) at 2pm, and them see them perform at Cubby Bear.

Another band releasing an album this weekend at the Brighton MA show at Schubas is the downstate band Elsinore. Their new ep The Chemicals finds the band further perfect clean upbeat pop rock sound. Once you hear the ep’s title track you will be hooked.

Elsinore is playing at Schubas of Friday, Jan. 22nd with Flights and Brighton MA.

Although their new EP will not be released until March 2nd, Pretty Good Dance Moves has released another track. “600 Days” features New York’s Heather Christian and is the first track from the EP. The track is slower and more sultry then their previous tracks, and Christian really adds that perfect amount of sexiness.

Pretty Good Dance Moves is playing an e.p. release show at Schubas in Chicago on Friday, March 12 with Harper Blynn.

Well, all of the votes have been tallied and the results are in… The Deli Chicago is proud to announce that their emerging artist for 2009 is I Fight Dragons! They not only won the hearts of our readers, but received several voters from our jury of experts. In 2009 we saw them release their debut EP, Cool is Just a Number, create an army of fans, and rock out on retro Nintendo controls.

In second play we have the electro-dance-rockers Hey Champ who recently put out their compilation album/mixtape Winner’s Circle. They made their biggest impact this year with their remix skills.

On third place band is Netherfriends who not only released their latest EP Calling You Out this year, but constantly toured the country.

We would like to thank our sponsors, the jury, all of the bands in the poll, and of course you the reader and voter.

BAND J W R TOT   1 I Fight Dragons 5 1 3 9 2 Hey Champ 6 1 0.042 7.042 3 Netherfriends 5   0.008 5.008 4 Pet Lions 5   0.006 5.006 5 The Smith Westerns 4 1 0.002 5.002 6 Skybox 5   0.001 5.001 7 King Sparrow 3   2 5 8 Treaty of Paris 3 1 0.091 4.091 9 Mazes 3 1 0.005 4.005 10 Makeshift Prodigy 3   1 4 11 Loyal Divide 2 1 0.066 3.066 12 Inkbat 3   0.036 3.036 13 Grammar 3   0.007 3.007   Raise High the Roof Beam 2 1 0.007 3.007 15 Mic Terror 3   0 3 16 Daniel Knox 1 1 0.107 2.107 17 Jerome Holloway 2   0.091 2.091 18 Hudson Branch 2   0.086 2.086 19 Kid You’ll Move Mountains 1 1 0.072 2.072 20 The Fold 2   0.047 2.047 21 Van Ghost 2   0.032 2.032 22 In Tall Buildings 2   0.002 2.002   Pool of Frogs 2   0.002 2.002 24 Mikkey Halsted 2   0 2 25 Panda Riot 1.5   0.022 1.522 26 Color Radio 1   0.034 1.034 27 YAWN 1   0.029 1.029 28 BBU 1   0.022 1.022 29 Joe Pug 1   0.005 1.005 30 Cave 1   0.001 1.001   Conductive Alliance 1   0.001 1.001 32 The Yearbooks 1   0 1 33 Mr. Bear 0.75   0.030 0.785

Legend: "J" = Jurors vote + Points from Open Contest – "W" = Writers vote  – "R" = Readers vote – TOT = Total votes
 

The build up for his debut album has been warranted for Andrew Belle really does have a magical voice.  The Ladder, is out February 23rd, but he is playing a release show for the album this Saturday (Jan.23rd) at Schubas. Belle splits time between Chicago and Nashville and that mixture of musical cultures is vibrantly demonstrated in his music. If you go and pre-order The Ladder here you will receive a live acoustic album for free. 

Inchworm has taken a bit of a hiatus from the show scene the last few months, but lucky for us, they’re back and ready to rock. More specifically, they’re ready to rock Schubas, Wednesday night, as part of Amplify’s New Music Series. The band plans to unveil the new material they’ve been working on over the past few months, in a glimpse at what will inevitably become the follow-up to their ’08 EP, Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.

Inchworm has also recently taken to Bandcamp.com, uploading their previous EPs to music’s newest publishing platform. Following suit to recent preferred methods of music purchasing, Bandcamp promotes a name-your-own-price doctrine, allowing customers to donate as much (or as little) as they see fit. Visit Inchworms’ catalog on bandcamp.

Tonight’s show at Schubas begins at 9pm, with openers Sissy Mena and fellow locals, Save the Clocktower. Sponsored by Amplify, Beer Nuts, and UR Chicago, the show is 21+ and tickets are $5 at schubas.com. – Neph Basedow

The Deli is sponsoring the upcoming two-night stay at Schubas with Brighton MA. We are excited to be working with such a great Chicago band. The other sponsor for the show is Coach House Sounds and they recently posted their live session with the band. Through out the week we will be featuring a different band playing at Schubas on Jan. 22nd and 23rd.