A life is made up of time, some points more definitive than others; for Cobalt and the Hired Guns, opening for State Radio at the Metro on February 19th will certainly be an unforgettable set of moments.

To play on the same bill has been a long time dream of Chicago band, ‘Cobalt’, a bunch of guys passionate about music and environmentalism. Their upbeat songs and ebullient stage presence has given them the opportunity to tour and share the stage with other big names like Dashboard Confessional and I Fight Dragons.

State Radio, formed in 2002 by former member of Dispatch, Chad Stokes, plays anthemic Americana. A band also bent on using their musical influence to for societal betterment, State Radio has undoubtedly made a stamp on both the sound and mission of Cobalt and the Hired Guns.

Check out Cobalt and State Radio February 19th at the Metro. All Ages, tickets $21. Doors at 6pm and show at 7pm. – Erin Keane

You know you’re big time when… It seems like a set up to a punchline, but the truth as soon as Ok Go hit those treadmills they became “big time”. Their latest trick is a partnership with Gibson Guitars that has now found them playing on Fuel TV tomorrow night with their ultra-customized Gibson guitars. Ok Go will be performing song from their latest album Of The Blue Colour of the Sky with their new equipment that have been modified with interactive laser systems that respond to the playing of the strings, which then project abstract images that are graphic interpretations of the music. The group collaborated with artist Moritz Waldemeyer and Fendi to create these incredibly elegant and wholly unique instruments. The instruments will make their TV debut on Fuel TV’s “The Daily Habit” tomorrow night (Feb. 18th) at 8:00pm.

It happens all the time, right? You walk into to your local bar and pounding drums, swirling organs, and measured guitar. You turn to look at the stage there you see a man in a peach dress were a sort of headdress make out of flowers and banging on sheet metal. Well, it is only happened to if you had walked during a performance by the Chicago legends ONO like I did last night at The Whistler. ONO has been perfecting their wild performance art since 1980, and completely wowed the crowd. Lead singer Travis merged the presence of Saul Williams, the darkness of Mike Patton, and the fashion of Courtney Love. His is a frightening crooner that often breaks to the darker side of things.

Following ONO was the psychedelic furry or Moonrises. This band was a sonic explosion and they played with passion and plenty of feedback. They combine elements of popular acts like Wolfmother or The Black Keys, but adds a fierce darkness to their sound.

The night was incredible, but I had to leave before the gentler Lesser Birds of Paradise took the Stage. Coach House Sounds had done it again, combined inventive music with live literary reading and created an atmosphere charged with creativity.

You can catch ONO and witness the madness in person on Feb 26th @ The Woodlawn Collaborative with Suckling Pigs and Anemrosetone.

Today Jade Tree Records and The Bottom Lounge announced the official reunion of Cap’n Jazz. On June 15th, Jade Tree will be reissuing the bands album Analphabetapolothology. The double LP will be packaged in a deluxe gatefold album jacket with plenty of bonus material not included with the original CD release, including never before seen photos, show fliers, and new liner notes by Tim Kinsella. This may not come as a surprise to those who managed to catch the surprise live set the band played last month, but the band is planning an official reunion show on July 17th at The Bottom Lounge. Cap’n Jazz is frequently recognized as one of the most influential bands every to grace Chicago’s indie scene even though they only had one official release in the seven years they were together. Since their split bands like Joan of Arc and The Promise Ring have formed, and flourished. This is truly a reunion not to be missed.

Fake Fictions played their final show on November 20th, and then went into the studio to record their final four tracks. You can see why the arrival this their final ep, Magic Infinity, is bittersweet. Recorded at Glamour Studios Logan Square with Gerard Barreto and Seth Vanek, these four tracks further exemplify the cleaner sound the band had been perfecting. These tracks guide the band even further into realm of ‘70’s rock and way from the surf-basement pop they had been playing a few years back. However, it is very much present in a track like “(Step Into The) Brite Lite”. This is a wonderfully farewell from a band that has always been drastically underrated.

You can download Magic Infinity for free through the Fake Fiction’s website.

Punk Rock is so much more enjoyable when four beautiful women deliver it. Riot grrrl perfected, The Cathy Santonies are just one example of a scene that is about to come into the spotlight. Mojo Santoni, Jane Danger, Radio Santoni, and Kaylee Preston these girls have the energy and fire to masterfully pull of the fast paced sound.

The Cathy Santonies will be playing tonight (Feb. 15th) at Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap and at Liars Club on March 5th.

Recorded awhile back, the Daytrotter session with Yea Big & Kid Static has finally been posted. The energetic duo recorded three tracks during the session, the Mae-shi version of “Run To The Facts”, “Middle America” from The Future’s Looking Grim, their classic closing song, a cover of “Thank You for Being a Friend” (Golden Girl’s Theme). It’s an interesting selection of tracks. “Middle America” is a great song, but not the most well known track from the latest album, and there hilarious closing track is entertaining, but not really representative of the work in general. Regardless, I am glad to see Yea Big & Kid Static finally getting some buzz and on a larger scale.

Soft Speaker has a new ep coming out this month. The ep, Stranger in the Alps features five new songs and you can now stream two of the tracks,”Marble Mask” and “Tennyson Tea” here.

Soft Speaker will be celebrating the release of ep on February 26th at Darkroom with Yukon Blonde and Moxie Motive.

Like a tortured replica of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Syllable Section present a warped and damaged brand of pop. Their debut album, Linear Views, sounds like a demonic, drug induced, ‘60’s pop binge played in reverse, or perhaps a traditional pop tune cut-up, taped back together, and then looped. What ever it is, this psychedelic mess, the listener is taken on a journey that changes them and they are never really the same.

Vocalist Mathew Marquardt makes Kevin Barnes look sane as he places his falsetto whine on tracks about “Normalcy”, loneliness, mood changes, and other craziness. You will feel like you have heard pieces of this before, but never be able to zero in on melody or rhythm. There is beauty in these tracks, but it is being repeatedly strangled to death. The Syllable Section is both traumatic and enjoyable.

Nothing says “I Love You” like a mixtape, and yesterday Flosstradamus offered their love up to the world. Check out the crew’s Valentine’s Day Mix. Flosstradamus will be spinning tonight (Feb. 12th) at Lincoln Hall for their annual FlosstrPROMus. The event starts at 10:30pm.

Taken from their debut record Ooh La La, coming out Feb. 16th, Ornery Little Darling are not shy about their songs or their intentions and "Run From The Gun" is a perfect example of that attitude. They have entered this video in the Rock the Roxy SXSW video contest. The video was made by Endless Eye Films, ishootrockstars.com, Rubbish Films, and EP Theater.

The new video from Kidz In The Hall for the track “Jukebox” premiered yesterday on MTV. The video was directed by BBGun. The track appears on their forthcoming album Land of Make Believe which will be released on March 9th via Duck Down Records.