CONCERT REVIEW: Twin Peaks, Slow Pulp & Dehd (Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee)

Twin Peaks, leading lights of the Chicago rock scene, easily justify the significant buzz surrounding their newest release with a loose, raucous set at the Turner Hall Ballroom.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Oozing Wound, Population Control, Sex Scenes & Kia Rap Princess (The Cactus Club, Milwaukee)

The second-annual Beet Street festivities extend well after dark with lively sets from a trio of local openers, all leading up to an intense outing from Chicago's Oozing Wound.

Read my full review here.

FEATURE: Oozing Wound Dish Out Halloween-Friendly Nihilism

October tends to be busy time for Chicago stoner thrash outfit Oozing Wound and, with a new album, a new drummer and an extensive tour in the mix, 2016 is no exception. 

Read the full piece here.

AUDIO/VIDEO: (ORB) - The Voodoo Inspector Session

Welcome to the first in a bi-monthly recording series, the Voodoo Inspector Sessions! You can download or stream the first installment, featuring the excellent Chicago/Milwaukee prog-pop duo (ORB)! Enjoy, and keep an eye on this space for further sessions!

UPDATE: Introducing the Voodoo Inspector Sessions

After a lot of planning and preparation, I'm excited to announce the launch of a brand new recording series coming your way through this very blog, the Voodoo Inspector Sessions! Every two months we'll be unveiling a fresh EP-length session, beginning with our debut outing from Milwaukee/Chicago prog-pop duo (ORB) on December 15th!

Recorded right here in Milwaukee at the amazing Lucky Cat art space, each release will be available as a free download, primarily via our Bandcamp page, and is accompanied by an original music video created with the help of insanely talented local multi-media artists Sam La Strapes and Matt Plain. Keep an eye on this space for more details and be sure to check back on the 15th to snag the first session!

CONCERT REVIEW: Oozing Wound, Platinum Boys, NO/NO & Bleach Athletixx (Linneman's Riverwest Inn, Milwaukee)

Chicago thrash metal outfit Oozing Wound brings the Halloween spirit to Linneman's Riverwest Inn, with a bit of assistance from a trio of well-selected local openers.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Stacian, Gel Set, Magic Key & Storm Chaser (The Cactus Club, Milwaukee)

Milwaukee's Stacian and Chicago's Gel Set join forces for a split 12" on Moniker Records, marking its release with this synth-heavy show at the Cactus Club.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Veruca Salt & Battleme (Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee)

The Veruca Salt reunion tour few thought would ever happen makes its way to Milwaukee, and is greeted with considerable enthusiasm by their die-hard fans.

Read my full review here.

ALBUM REVIEW: Space Raft - Space Raft

Buzzed-about locals Space Raft come out swinging with a confident, cohesive debut album, arriving May 10th on the recently revived Dusty Medical Records label.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Dogs in Ecstasy, Cave & Catacombz (Riverwest Public House, Milwaukee)

Dogs in Ecstasy, one of the best bands in the city, celebrates the release of their debut album, Dat Cruel God, with a little help from their equally talented friends.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Disappears, Weekend & Circles (The Cactus Club, Milwaukee)

Sans Steve Shelley, Chicago's Disappears brings a mature, focused set to the Cactus Club stage, drawing heavily on their new Kranky Records release Era.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Summerfest Day 10 & 11 (Summerfest, Milwaukee)

The final installment of the A.V. Club Milwaukee's Summerfest 2013 coverage, including my thoughts on legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy's flamboyant set from the fest's penultimate night.

Read the full review here.

GIVEAWAY: Enter to Win a Pair of Passes to Riot Fest 2013

Voodoo Inspector is psyched to be giving away a pair of passes to Riot Fest 2013, taking place September 13-15 at Chicago's scenic Humbolt Park! The festival, now in its eighth year, has only announced a portion of the final lineup, but already it offers plenty to see for fans of punk and alternative rock, including Blondie, Dinosaur Jr., Best Coast, Violent Femmes, Bob Mould, Rocket from the Crypt and many more!

Tickets and festival passes are available for purchase here, but you can enter to win a free pair of passes, good for all three days, via the submission form below. All you have to do is 'like' Voodoo Inspector on Facebook, enter your name and email address, and you're in the running. The winner will be announced June 01. Good luck!

Enter to win a pair of passes to Riot Fest 2013 (Chicago, September 13-15)!

CONCERT REVIEW: Heavy Times, Teenage Moods, Micronics & Telecraft (Quarters Rock 'n' Roll Palace, Milwaukee)

Spring has finally sprung here in Milwaukee, which means more shows, better bands and, naturally, some serious drinking.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Technicolor Teeth, Energy Gown & Carbon Leak (Quarters Rock 'n' Roll Palace, Milwaukee)

There were plenty of shows vying for your attention this past weekend in Milwaukee, but this bill of Midwest psych-punk was too good to pass up.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound (Hotel Foster, Milwaukee)

Bloodshot Records artists JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound get off to a strong start in front of a sold-out crowd, but, bit by bit, wear out their welcome.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Bare Mutants, Moss Folk & Red Stuff (The Cactus Club, Milwaukee)

Like so many other things, live music tends to go into hibernation once winter sets in in earnest, but there's still some quality shows out there. You may just have to look a little closer to home.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Night Flight (Quarters Rock 'n' Roll Palace, Milwaukee)

I finally make it out to an installment of Night Flight, the monthly live electronic music showcase curated by local synth maestro Stacian. This month's event featured performances from two diverse Chicago acts, Ariisk and Casual Encounter.

Read my full review here.

CONCERT REVIEW: Bitchin' Bajas, Zath & Catacombz (Riverwest Public House, Milwaukee)

The nice thing about psychedelic music is that it provides so many avenues to explore, possessing a way of breaking down barriers between styles and modes of composition. Starting with psychedelia, you're only a step or two away from a whole range of sounds, from raga and gamelan to goth and metal. The sense of freedom and exploration it fosters is remarkable, and with out it, it's questionable that any of the bands playing here tonight would exist, even though that liberty takes them all to very different places.

Starting things off was Bitchin' Bajas a Chicago three piece who uses keys, synths and saxophone to slowly build insistent drones into reverberating masses of sound, gradually adding simple yet effective rhythms, partly via a laptop, that provide the shape and structure needed to stave off basic navel-gazing. The group shares a member, Cooper Crane, with Windy City psych staples Cave, who also make the most of similarly hypnotic tones, albeit as part of an altogether harder hitting whole.

Speaking of Cave, their bass player, Dan Browning, moonlights in Zath, whose lineup also features members of  Ga'an and Cacaw. Milwaukee has always been a hard-rock burg at heart, so it shouldn't be a shock to learn that the audience seemed to love every minute of Zath's pummeling, complex thrash. Though there's no shortage of head-banging riffage in their sound, it's fleshed out by a lot of intricate technical flourishes and ambitious, almost prog-y, elements that are actually quite challenging, assuming you can pick them out as they blaze by at bruising speed.

Local headliners Catacombz have recently added a few members, though, recently returned from a short tour, they're as tight as ever. The new members jive well, which is no surprise given that Catacombz has always felt more than the sum of its parts, born more of an adventurous approach than a specific group of people. Their set here featured a plethora of new material, which expands on their classic, krautrock-spiked psych with a new sense of swing and some treated vocals.

Though they all possess their own distinct styles, the common denominator between Bitchin' Baja's subdued experimentalism, Zath's crushing heaviness and Catacombz skillful navigation of the area in between, is that they're all outgrowths of psychedelia's mind-bending, boundary pushing ethos, the basic tenets of which (a varied sonic palette, repetition, unusual time signatures) can be taken in seemingly any direction, fast/slow, minimal/maximal, without losing their impact, and tonight was an ample, impressive demonstration of that flexibility.