Features Stories

Of Jambands, Twittered Reviews, and Suburbs: A Chat With Pitchfork’s Rob Mitchum

Even casual readers our site may notice the affection and attention we lavish on bands that dabble in improvisational rock. We do this because we unabashedly love these bands, though not at the expense of all other music. It seems, however, that fans of jambands can't get a break when it comes to respectability amongst...

What is a "Spotlight Show"?

The five shows we produced in The Barn 1.0 era were a bit like a laboratory experiment. Our commitment to our audience was to bring the experience of seeing music in the city to the burgeoning community of music fans in our neck of the woods. We plastered posters up all over town, sold tickets in...

One Foot In The Blues: The Barn's School Of Rock

Lets say youve got a ton of soul, a wealth of talent and a hell of a creative streak. You get off on loud guitars and the deep rumble of the bass. Your music is an extension of yourself, a vehicle of expression for joy, pain, melancholy, even anger. Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howlin...

The Beer Report, Volume One

Our change of venue does not come without for its fringe benefits. Brixie's is a straight up Beer Wonderland. With 30+ on draft and over 100 bottled varieties, there is sure to be something to satisfy any conniseur's pallatte.I wanted to take a moment to use some space here to showcase what is available and include...

Chicago Memories: Hat's Off To Rich Koz

Before digital cable television and the Internet, there was UHF. In addition to rounding out our entertainment options and being the inspiration for a highly underrated "Weird" Al Yankovic movie, the television channels that occupied the numbers north of 13 on our dials (yes, youngsters... some sets even had a separate physical dial for the UHF...

So What's Your Poison?

Is it 80's glam rockers Poison? Maybe you're more of a country fan and want to try your hand at a Rascal Flatts tune. Something obscure? Something popular? Slow? Fast? Unintelligible? Lucky for you, we've got them all...The Barn is proud to announce that The Hootenanners will be performing the role of musical jukebox...

I Did It My Way: 6 Wild Karaoke Stories Ripped From The Headlines

Browsing the New York times a couple weeks ago, I came across the following story -- Sinatra Song Often Strikes a Deadly Chord. Apparently, murder has become such a common result after a poor performance of "My Way" in the Philippines, that it warrants its own subcategory of crime: "My Way Killings". A closer read...

Ten Things You Probably Didn't Know About Bob Marley

As one of the most recognizable popular music icons and the first superstar from the third world, there are certain things that virtually every informed music fan knows about Bob Marley. We celebrate him as the rare individual who could represent the disadvantaged and downtrodden while still communicating a message of empowerment and positivity, wrapped...

Little Big Fat: A History

I'm sure most readers of the blog are familiar with Mr. Blotto, after all, they've been stalwarts of the Chicago scene for 15 years and the headliners of our gig. But, upon the announcement of The Barn's first event,some of you may be wondering: who, or what, is a Little Big Fat?Fortunately, I'm uniquely...

A Look Back: Days Of Blotto Passed

For many people, myself included, Mr. Blotto was the right band at the right time during the nineties. With copious amounts of free time, a relatively robust entertainment budget, and residence near the beating heart of Chicago's bar and club scene, we gravitated to Blotto to fulfill our insatiable desire for live music. They were,...