Duke Shin

It’s quite possible to envision the collapse of a specialnewband who had been honored/saddled with the tag of "Justice’s Favorite New Band" on Pitchfork—all before the Stateside release of its debut album. Luckily for us, the trio of young Aussies in Midnight Juggernauts appears poised to capitalize from endorsements tossed down from on high. To approximate, its sound is like the little gray dudes from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" wanted to jam, and called in a favor to David "The Man Who Fell to Earth" Bowie to replace "Bohemian Rhapsody"-era Queen with ELO, then traveled just a few years into the future to grab Gary Numan’s moog stash. (Approximation works better if you are Richard Dreyfuss in 1970s prime.) But for all the sonic orchestrations, the resulting music is highly danceable. The band tours in support of its debut album "Dystopia," which was released to high praise last year, and will finally see the light of American day on May 27, courtesy of those crossover capitalists at Astralwerks. Joining the band tonight are its decidedly less-orchestrated New York-based tour-mates Shy Child, who adds a squelchy layer of dirt to its compositions. Special guest locals Hey Champ open up packing its indie-pop and electro-jam pendulum, and Life During Wartime DJs Bald Eagle and Mother Hubbard also spin.

Midnight Juggernauts, Shy Child and Hey Champ, with DJs Bald Eagle and Mother Hubbard at Double Door, 1572 North Milwaukee, (773)489-3160, on May 2, 9pm, $20. (2008-04-29)

Also by Duke Shin

Spin Control
Lorin Ashton, better known to the world as DJ/producer/remixer extraordinaire Bassnectar, is a road warrior. The love-him-or-hate-him cult favorite is on tour nearly 150 nights out of the year, bringing his bass-heavy amalgamation of party-breaks, hip-hop, high-energy showmanship and social consciousness across the country
(2008-04-15)

Tip of the Week
The boys at Bombay Beatbox are back again with the return of a favorite guest and the Chicago debut of a new one. The former is San Francisco’s Janaka Selekta, who weaves a darkly sensual musical fabric over Eastern influences and rolling breakbeats. The latter is global dub-loving collective Sub Swara
(2008-03-25)

Still Leaning, Still Bouncing
Dyment is working hard on piecing together enough tracks for a debut artist LP, with the end of the year set as a tentative goal. Having recently moved outside of London to cut down on distractions, Dyment will also be heading to L.A. to work with Dubsided label-mate superstar Dave Taylor (Switch, Solid Groove) before hitting Chicago en route to Miami’s Winter Music Conference
(2008-03-18)

Spin Control
Nearly thirty years after radio DJ Steve Dahl and his infamous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park heralded the demise of the disco era, a new virulent strain of the disco bug seems to be popping up around town. "I do have this fantasy where I ask Steve to host a giant outdoor party called ‘Disco Resurrection’ where he will publicly apologize and admit that he is actually a huge disco fan," says Samantha Roberts, better known in DJ circles as SR-71
(2008-02-26)

Spin Control
(2008-02-06)

A Farewell to Ohms
(2008-01-29)

Tip of the Week
(2008-01-08)

Tip of the Week
(2007-12-26)

May the Schwarz Be With You
(2007-12-04)

Tip of the Week
(2007-11-27)

The Outer Limits
(2007-09-18)

In Our House
(2007-08-07)

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