December 6: Portugal. The Man, Bob Moses, & Beach Bunny
December 8: Jack White, Wet Leg, & Starcrawler
December 9: The 1975
The biggest party of the year comes to the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom December 6-9 thanks to our friends Byline Bank and Heineken. Secure your tickets now by using the presale code “BYLINE”.
Abraham Lincoln said it best:
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Abraham Lincoln
Today is National Voter Registration Day. According to U.S. Census data from 2020, as many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. Every year, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register. National Voter Registration Day wants to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.
If you aren’t registered, here is a good resource to get you started. Do you need to update your voter registration? Are you informed about when your next election is? Your local races? State races?
Today begins a new chapter in finding your voice in this country.
The Smashing Pumpkins have announced their new album Atum (pronounced “autumn”), a 33-song rock opera in three acts that’s billed as the sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/Machine of God. The new song “Beguiled” was first heard on Q101 when Brian, Ali, & Justin debuted it this morning.
Each act of Atum will be released every 11 weeks, with Act 1 leading off on November 15; Act 2 will follow on January 31, with Act 3 finishing the collection on April 21.
The Smashing Pumpkins as we know them would not be a band without the Metro. A trio of scrappy, Chicago-based underdogs were playing in a Polish bar in the city when Metro owner Joe Shanahan first saw them. Impressed by the talent of Billy Corgan, D’Arcy Wretzky, and James Iha, Shanahan agreed to book the Pumpkins as long as they found a real drummer, which they did in Jimmy Chamberlain.
The band’s first of 38 performances at the Metro was on October 5, 1988. This doubled as the first show with Jimmy Chamberlain on drums.
In 1993, weeks after releasing Siamese Dream, the band once again took the stage at Chicago’s most iconic venue for a concert that has gone down in history as one of the Pumpkin’s best. Dressed in a long-sleeve Superman t-shirt, Corgan comes across like a superhero in front of his hometown crowd, a God of alt-rock that was at the apex of his powers. The August 14, 1993 version of ‘Mayonnaise’ may be the single greatest Pumpkins recording out there.
The Pumpkins would return home for a matinee show in 1996 to celebrate the success of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and then once more in 1998 to debut songs from their upcoming album Adore. At the end of the century, Corgan and company came back to the Metro for one of their angriest sets ever. For two hours, the band reconstructed some of their greatest hits and ripped through them with a layer of aggression that made them unrecognizable to those that fell in love with the Gish-era slackers.
After touring relentlessly in 2000, the band capped off their initial run by playing the United Center on November 29 and then playing their final show before breaking up on December 2 at the Metro. Billy Corgan would stop by for a pair of solo shows in 2004, but Clark Street was without their favorite band for a decade.
In 2010, three years after the Pumpkins reformed with new music and a new identity, they returned to the venue that made them. They would stop by once more in 2012.
September 20 marks the first time in 10 years that the Smashing Pumpkins will grace the Metro. This will be the band’s 39th performance at the Metro. The show will be broadcast live on Q101 starting at 8:00PM this evening for those that can’t get in to this monumental event.
Hurricane Fiona ripped through Puerto Rico leaving 36 inches of rain and leaving only 115,000 people with power out of 1.4 million customers. Only a third of people have access to clean water right now as well. The National Guard has about 450 people on the ground assisting citizens who were affected by Fiona on Sunday. Maximum sustained winds reached 100mph making it a Category 2 storm.
If you want to aid those hindered by the storm, Q101 stands by these local organizations that are on the ground in Puerto Rico.
Hispanic Federation: In 2017 in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, this group provided over 7.4 million pounds of food, water, medicine, and solar panels. They are dedicated to raising the voices of historically marginalized communities and supporting, training and accompanying local organizations that work for a more egalitarian society. More information can be found here.
Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico (The Puerto Rico Community Foundation): The Puerto Rico Community Foundation has been working for more than 35 years to increase access to renewable energy, drinking water, housing, education and economic development for the people it serves. More information can be found here.
PRxPR Relief and Rebuild Fund: The fund works with local organizations to address basic, economic, agricultural and energy needs in an effort to provide immediate and long-lasting relief to communities. They are committed to investing 100% of donations amongst the most critically affected communities, the Fund’s short and long-term humanitarian goals focus on food/agriculture, clean water and fuel/renewable energy initiatives. More information can be found here.
Barks of Hope: Barks of Hope is dedicated to improving the quality of life for animals on the island of Puerto Rico. They work tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate, transfer and re-home the animals in need. They also provide food and medical assistance to low-income families that are striving to provide care for their pets. Please donate at: barksofhope.org Paypal:Paypal.me: paypal.me/barksofhope Venmo:@barksofhope/ 201-966-1965 ATH Movil: 201-966-1965 Checks: POBox 1884 Rincon, PR 00677 linktr.ee/barksofhope
These announcers reacted accordingly and then some after a game-winning Hail Mary touchdown in an Appalachian State game. They’re great announcers, but could also fill in for the cheerleaders at this point. YESSIR! 20/10 on love for their team!
That cute, adorable kid that went viral for his take on how amazing corn is, now has a song to go with his infamous rant. Here’s the original video of him describing his love for corn, followed up by his future hit single, “It’s Corn A Big Lump Of Knobs.” Ladies and gentlemen, I give you , the CEO of corn.
Original corn rant-
And here’s the new song!
A guy took this woman on a first date. Everything went fine, they chatted, and they laughed. But in the end, she decided that she didn’t want to see him again. He was pretty upset, then sent her an invoice for for their date! Jerk! This is why people hate dating.
Hot Fuss, the debut album from The Killers, absolutely crushed it when it came on the scene in 2004.
Could you imagine seeing the band play one of their signature songs — two years before any of that ever happened?
It’s a little odd to see the band so unpolished — and to see the crowd be all “mehhh” — but pretty cool that they got see the birth of a alternative rock anthem.
Post Malone took a serious fall at his show in St. Louis. A hole in the extended stage tripped him up- hard. Several people did run to his aid, and he was out of commission for a few minutes. He posted later that next time he’s back, he will play a two hour show to make up for the few songs that he missed. After a quick visit to the hospital, Malone got some pain meds and is all good!
A conversation about Amazon and Walmart quickly turned to discussing sex toys on-air between these two newscasters. Apparently, Walmart does NOT sell them online. This makes the company worth less than Amazon, according to this guy, who has a “friend in the warehouse.” That’s how he has all of this information about sex toys… not because he bought some! Jeez!
Some serious bonding happened on the pink line this weekend. A crew of concert-goers had an Oasis singalong to wind down from the show. See?! Public transportation isn’t so bad!
Live Nation is now offering a Club Pass that will get into you into every show that the Aragon Ballroom has to offer for the rest of the year! For a low price, you can pick from two different passes, a $79 dollar pass for a specific club, OR get one for $299 and be able to go to any Live Nation club. Road trip! Think of all of the shows that you could see at the Aragon before the year’s end. Young The Giant are performing on Thursday October 27th, and Thursday November 17th is Maneskin! Link below!
https://clubpass.livenation.com/
Doctors in Dublin recently found 55 batteries inside of a woman’s body. She complained of pain in her stomach, then an X-ray revealed what was actually going on. Thankfully, none of the batteries were obstructing her gastrointestinal tract. Doctors hoped that they would just “come out” on their own, but eventually they had to go in for surgery. All have been removed and she is recovered.
According to this gentleman, getting a speeding ticket from a camera is like ‘being robbed.” This is how many times he’s gotten one of those. There’s also a surprise at the end.
Hour 1
Hour 2
Hour 3
Hour 4
961 days ago, Riot Fest announced My Chemical Romance was coming to Douglass Park.
The followers of The Black Parade waited 2 years, 7 months, and 18 days for Gerard Way & company to bring their band of misfit toys to Chicago’s premier music festival, and the end result was nothing short of exquisite. MCR ripped through 17 songs and played 2 encores in a performance that fans have been waiting for for approximately 83,030,400 seconds.
The band closed with a surprise second encore, the song “Cancer”, which was not written on the setlist.
Drop your MCR memories on our Facebook page!
Brian has a keyword that you can text to 312-591-8300 that could get you into the Metro on Tuesday, September 20.
More info on ‘An Evening With The Smashing Pumpkins’ can be found here.
The game worn jersey from Michael Jordan in the 1998 Game 1 final was expected to go for $3-$5 million in Thursday’s auction. The jersey ended up selling for $10.091 million, breaking a record for most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia of all time. It surpassed the jersey that Maradona wore in the “Hand of God” game that went for over $9 million. Typical Michael, always breaking records!
As a certified expert in Bands At the Bottom of the Poster, I feel it is my duty to assist you in your decision-making as you plot out your Riot Fest schedule this week. Astute minds will remember that I did the same for Lollapalooza, and if you followed that guide, you likely had the best weekend of your life.
Friday:
Sincere Engineer: Roots Stage (12:15-12:45)
Sincere Engineer might be my favorite Chicago band going today. Orland Park native Deanna Belos has an unmistakable voice that ripped through me when the band released their 2017 debut album, “Rhombithian”, and I’ve been hooked ever since. If you plan on being at the park all day on Friday, start your day off with these Chicago locals who have shared the stage with the likes of The Front Bottoms, Smoking Popes, and Alkaline Trio.
Hot Mulligan: Radicals Stage (2:30-3:15)
Hot Mulligan are not lacking charisma or talent, they are merely lacking a time machine. No band is suffering from being in the wrong place at the wrong time more than they are. Had the Lansing, Michigan natives emerged in the same class as Taking Back Sunday or Thursday, they would be met with the same undying admiration as those bands. Instead, they’ve cut their teeth in DIY rooms across the country en route to becoming emo’s newest “it” band. They hold the honor of having my 2020 Album of the Year. Their release, aptly titled “you’ll be fine”, came out days before the world shut down and singer Nathan Sanville’s blood-curling screams kept me company throughout the rest of the year. These boys are on the rise and I can’t recommend stopping by the Radicals Stage enough to check them out.
Jeff Rosenstock: Radicals Stage (4:00-5:00)
Truly, I just wanted to write this blog to talk about Jeff Rosenstock on Q101’s platform. The DIY-God was my Artist of the Decade in the 2010’s. No one churned out high-quality work the way Rosenstock did, whether it was with his ska-punk outlaws Bomb the Music Industry, his critically-acclaimed solo work, or his output composing Cartoon Network’s ‘Craig of the Creek’. The 2010’s belonged to Jeff Rosenstock, at least in my world.
I’ve been consuming bands at an unhealthy rate ever since I hatched 23 years ago, and no one that has come across my radar is more authentic than Rosenstock. He could’ve been the Billie Joe Armstrong of the millennial generation had he not chosen to forgo anything that wasn’t ruthlessly independent. His 2016 album, “WORRY.”, accomplished a rare artistic feet by being absolutely perfect. I could offer no notes nor feedback. I wouldn’t change a thing.
If you are going to discover one artist at Riot Fest this year, I hope it’s Jeff Rosenstock.
Saturday:
Mannequin Pussy: Radicals Stage (12:30-1:15)
Look, it is really hard to root for a band named Mannequin Pussy. I don’t want that t-shirt, I don’t want that bumper sticker, and I don’t want that in my Internet search history. I power through, though, because Mannequin Pussy is really good. These Philly punks had a ton of buzz before the world shut down two years ago, but luckily for us they used that time at home to continue writing rippers.
The high point of their discography comes with the song, “Drunk II”, which I think is an absolute masterpiece. Lead singer Marisa Dabice laments about how she’s often told that she’s so strong, before daring to ask, “but what if I don’t want to be?”
This is a band with a bright future ahead of them. They’re a band worth getting to Riot Fest early for.
Movements: Rise Stage (4:00-4:45)
I’ve developed an obsession with Movements. This hardcore-adjacent four-piece caught my attention at the end of last year and ever since then they have been a fixture in my headphones. Each song sounds like a therapy session from someone trying to move past their old ways. This is a band who sings about growth in the midst of rapid personal and professional change. There is a rawness to this band that has helped them carve out a special place in my heart. They are this weird amalgamation of Citizen, La Dispute, and The Story So Far. If that means nothing to you, just know that that means they are really good.
I have not been blessed with the opportunity to see Movements live yet, so I am anxious to cross them off my list at Riot Fest this year. They could steal the entire weekend.
The Menzingers: Rise Stage (5:15-6:15)
The Menzingers are my favorite “why isn’t this band bigger?” band. Every time I hear a song from these Ben Franklin-loving boys, I am simply stunned that they are not playing areas. While their best work came in 2017 with their nearly-perfect record “After the Party”, for this year’s Riot Fest they will be running through 2012’s “On the Impossible Past”, which is impossibly great.
The Menzingers are all about big hooks, loud guitars, and loving Philadelphia. Two-out-of-the-three ain’t bad. If you have a thing for waitresses at diners or perpetually being down on your luck, these guys are for you. They are the living embodiment of Lucky Strike cigarettes. I love them to death and I look forward to seeing them rip in front of so many people at Riot Fest.
The Front Bottoms: Radicals Stage (6:15-7:15)
The Front Bottoms are my favorite band of all-time. I mean, I guess The Smiths are tied with them, but I am like a teenage girl seeing Harry Styles when The Front Bottoms roll into town. I think they are the greatest thing ever. I think 2013’s “Talon of the Hawk” is one of the greatest albums ever recorded. I have no notes on The Front Bottoms; the way they exist is truly perfect.
I’ve seen my boys numerous times, notably in a small record store in Fort Wayne, Indiana and in big rooms in Chicago. I’ve never seen them play a festival before, though. The good news is that it’s The Front Bottoms, and there’s no situation that they won’t thrive in.
There’s people that will pretend to not like The Front Bottoms. Those people are wrong. I think you are trying way too hard if you cannot get down with New Jersey’s finest. Please spot me for a firm handshake during The Front Bottoms set. I’d be more than happy to shake hands and slap babies there.
Sunday:
Mom Jeans: Rise Stage (2:00-2:30)
Sunday is loaded with heavy-hitters towards the end of the night, but Mom Jeans are worth arriving early for. As someone who began attending college in 2017, I cannot explain to you the stranglehold that their album “Best Buds” had on art school underachievers. If you were dating a man who “wasn’t like the other guys” in this time period, he was BUMPING Mom Jeans in his dorm room.
I may or may not have been one of these men.
Now seasoned emo stalwarts, they are going to bring great vibes to the festival on its final day. These are the perfect guys to start your day with before you end the night with Jimmy, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Nine Inch Nails.
xoxo,
-CTP
