PETE BERWICK
The New
Album
and compelling way, and the band's songwriting maturity had obviously not yet
developed. But it still makes for an interesting look for die-hard fans re-discovering the early days of an enduring band
that helped define a genre and a decade.
"If any man deserves
the title of hardcore
troubadour, then it's
cowpunk pioneer
Pete Berwick."
3
– Carter Moss
MUSE
Live At Olympic Stadium
- Rootstime Magazine
ALBUM PHOTO BY
MICHELLE GADEIKAS
APPEARING IN JANUARY
FRIDAY JANUARY 3
FRIDAY JANUARY 24
7:00 PM
THE CARRIE DIARIES
WGN TV - THE CW NETWORK
PETE'S SONG "NUCLEAR BOY" FEATURED
9:30 PM
PHYLLIS' MUSICAL INN
1800 W. DIVISION
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
SUNDAY JANUARY 19
THURSDAY JANUARY 30
10:00 AM - NOON
THE LODGE
899 MAIN ST.
ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS
847-395-3373
(Warner Bros.)
British rockers Muse have always
staged a massive show, but with 60,000
ardent fans accompanying the experience
at one of Europe's largest stadiums, the
energy level is even more intense than a
typical arena visit in America. Available as
an audio download or CD/DVD set, Live
At Rome Olympic Stadium is indeed the
progressive revivalists' most monumental
outing to date and the trio sounds
absolutely larger than life on the soundtrack edition, from the opening charges of
"Supremacy" through the closing bombast
of "Starlight.” In between, the band deliv-
disgusted with yourself" with festive Latin
horn playing on "Rose-Coloured Glasses.”
The guitar-driven "No Time To Sweat"
concerns a contented family man who's
nevertheless bug-eyed over a hot-looking
woman he encounters. Walkley's vocals
are too precocious on the ballad
"Children,” but he makes the acousticbased "Silverdollar Pancakes" and "Hello
Eyelids" clever and engaging. The funky
"It's Alright" evokes Prince and Sly Stone;
"Lost My Way" has a dramatic 1970s hard
rock stomp; and Walkley closes this eclectic collection with the big, Bruce
Springsteen style rock of "A Toast.”
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- Terrence Flamm
ALEX CHILTON
Electricity By Candelight
(Bar None)
The story behind this recording is pretty
remarkable, as is some of its music. In
February of 1997, the late Alex Chilton,
lead vocalist, guitarist and leader of both
The Box Tops (in the '60s) and Big Star (in
the' 70s) was scheduled to do a couple of
electric shows with his solo band at New
York's Knitting Factory club. Between the
first and second show that night, the
8:00 PM
FITZGERALD'S
6615 ROOSEVELT ROAD
BERWYN, ILLINOIS
708-788-2118
Muse
Albums and updated live dates: www.peteberwick.net
ers several highlights from its latest experimental masterpiece The 2nd Law, like the
funky romp "Panic Station,” the electro
power ballad "Follow Me" and the trippy
momentum builder "Madness." The 13
track set list also features several nods to
Muse's highly influential past, including
"Knights Of Cydonia," "Supermassive
Black Hole" and "Uprising" in all their epic
glory, suggesting that bigger continues to
be better for one of this generation's most
defining rock acts.
– Andy Argyrakis
8
PT WALKLEY
Shoulders
(Self)
Singer-guitarist PT Walkley travels
across several genres while delivering
quirky tales and an offbeat philosophy on
his latest effort, Shoulders. His talky, mannered vocals are a good match for the
material, although he occasionally sounds
like he's going overboard with his singing
and his lyrics. Mostly though, Walkley is
entertaining while steadfastly playing by
his own rules.
Shoulders is the type of album where
Walkley follows the line, "It's all right to be
40 illinoisentertainer.com january 2014
venue lost power and announced the second show was cancelled. Most of the people got a refund and left disappointed, but
a handful of die-hard fans decided to stay
in the hopes that Chilton would come out
and chat. He did more than that, with an
acoustic guitar (and his drummer, who
played brushes on a snare drum), he did
an 18 song set ranging from country classics ("It's Raining In My Heart," "Lovesick
Blues") to American songbook tunes
("Someone To Watch Over Me,") to Jazz
standards ("The Girl From Ipanema"),
along with songs by The Beachboys, Joni
Mitchell and Loudin Wainwright III,
thrown in for good measure. Fortunately,
one of the fans had a battery operated cassette recorder and captured the entire
show, with a single mic. While the performance is both heartfelt and very personal, the just barely acceptable audio
quality makes for a rough listen, every
time. This is all about the historical significance of Chilton's musical legacy and the
fact that he was caught simply playing
songs he often listened to and loved. For
that alone, it is a worthwhile release.
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– Bruce Pilato