June's Five Can't Miss Shows

(Tom Lynch)
1.
Intonation Music Festival
(Union Park)
The most eclectic of the handful of music extravaganzas this year, the Vice-curated Intonation Festival features headliners The Streets and Lady Sovereign (June 24), plus Bloc Party and Robert Pollard (June 25). The equal mix of rock acts and dance/hip-hop factions creates an all-over-the-map vibe, plus rare live appearances by 90 Day Men and Jon Brion make it well worth price of admission. (June 24-25)
2.
Radiohead
(Auditorium Theatre)
The only reason this isn't the number one show to see in June is because both dates sold out quicker than Jonny Greenwood's "Paranoid Android" solo. No new album as of yet, although frontman Thom Yorke releases his solo record, "The Eraser," this July. Expect lots of new material from the inventive British five-piece, plus samplings of old records. Early set list reports show the band's played various tracks off of "The Bends" and "OK Computer." No "Creep" though. (June 19-20)
3.
David Bazan
(Schubas)
While Pedro the Lion may have called it quits, it's really just the end of the band's name, as leader Bazan is Pedro the Lion anyway. A solo show might be where Bazan shows his songwriting talent best, with his low, somber voice backed only with a guitar instead of pounding drums and bass. (June 15)
4.
Cex
(Schubas)
Cex is often dubbed as IDM, but his work is far more diverse than that, as he mixes electronic elements with angry, forceful hip-hop and guitars. His latest, "Actual Fucking," is his best work in a while--much better than when he went through his bizarre Trent Reznor stage--and live, it's sure to be a treat. (June 24)
5.
Bruce Springsteen
(First Midwest Bank Amphitheater)
While The Boss' latest dive into classic folk music, "We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions," disappointed some and united others, the influential and inspiring musician is still a wonder to behold live, whether he's strumming an acoustic or tearing up a "Born to Run"-era Telecaster. (June 13)

June's Five Can't-Miss Shows
(Melissa Lane and Lorenzo de Jesus Martinez)

1. Madonna
(United Center)
For those who fell in love with her when she was all New York club scene, "Confessions on a Dancefloor" has been nothing short of a second honeymoon. She won't be playing all her old songs, but, as anyone who's heard the Stewart Price-produced oeuvre can tell you, the girl is back. (June 14,15,18,19)

2. Lords of the Underground: Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Q-Bert
(Metro)
This lineup reads likes a 10-year-old flyer and you can bet the gritty venue and the crowd this will bring out will seal the deal. (June 17)

3. DJ Pierre and Harrison Crump
(Daley Plaza)
With a little help from the machines they call Roland, disco didn't die, it evolved. Combining four/four drums and synth-tears, Crump and Pierre dug out quite the niche in the world of soul-influenced-evolved-disco-house. (June 26)

4. Z-Trip
(Metro)
Monsieur mash-up himself inducts Reverse into their fourth year. The Queens, New York native legendarily mixes his hip-hop with rock, soul, funk and top-shelf showmanship. What's more, he's flanked by Jean Grae, Pugslee Atomz, Dynamic Vibrations and DJs Intel & Pickel. (June 3)

5. Ed Rush, Optical
(Smart Bar)
For those who abandoned drum 'n' bass when it started hemorrhaging IQ points, this guy will make you born again. Smart, intricate snare patterns over some seriously sexy rolling bass gets you exactly where it got you back when the gettin' was good. (June 21)

June's Five Can't Miss Shows
(Dennis Polkow)

1. Gary Burton Quartet Revisited
(Ravinia)
Because this is jazz, where improvisation rules, this rare one-night-only reunion of the classic 1970s Gary Burton Quartet featuring Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow and Antonio Sanchez could just work in a refreshing way rare in other less spontaneous genres. (June 15)

2. Daniel Barenboim Farewell Concert
(Orchestra Hall)
Actually, this is the last of three consecutive one-night Barenboim "Farewell Concerts" made up of ninth symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner and Beethoven, respectively, but the other two end ambiguously, so what better way to say "so long" and mean it than by raising the roof with the massive choral "Ode to Joy" that crowns the Ninth of all ninths? (June 17)

3. A Tibetan Mozart Requiem
(Pritzker Pavilion)
This is the third major area performance of the Robert Levin completion of the unfinished Mozart "Requiem" during this 250th Mozart anniversary year, but the first one to include Tibetan Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery singing along with their unique throat-resonating style that produces overtones distinct enough to produce chords in a single voice. (June 23-24)

4. Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble
(Pritzker Pavilion)
This performance of the popular cellist and his ensemble of some of the finest musicians of the Middle East and Far East in repertoire of East and West and combinations of both is the centerpiece of the summer-long citywide "Silk Road Chicago: Chicago 2006" that inaugurates the Silk Road Ensemble's having chosen Chicago as the first city to enter into a yearlong partnership of special performances and events. (June 26)

5. Mahler Third Symphony
(Ravinia)
The Mahler Second Symphony was a highlight of James Conlon's first season last year as Ravinia music director, whetting our appetites for what he might do with the equally massive Mahler Third which with its aural and evocative portrayal of the wonders of nature in the summer is the ultimate summer music. (June 29)

(2006-05-23)

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