AUGUST MUSIC
events | music | film

Previews by Dave Chamberlain, except where noted.

[ * = recommended ]

1
Grant Park Orchestra
Verdi’s : "La Traviata." Also, Aug 3.
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

Puccini with Punch
Ravinia

2
Sir Thomas Allen, Martin Martineau
Ravinia

3
Woodstock Mozart Festival
121 Van Buren, Woodstock, (815)338-5300

Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Claudio Bohorquez
Ravinia

4
Blue Oyster Cult
Skyline Stage, Navy Pier

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
"Tristan and Isolde," Act II.
Ravinia

Grant Park Orchestra
"In Time of War." Through Aug 5.
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

JazzFest 2001
Through Aug 5.
South Shore Cultural Center

5
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
"Bravo Barenboim!"
Ravinia

6
Andreas Scholl, Europa Galante
Ravinia

7
Black Family, Kathy Mattea
Ravinia

8
Grant Park Orchestra
"Rites of Spring." Also Aug 10.
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

*Los Lobos, Julieta Venegas
The various virtues of Los Lobos have been sung extensively, but even die-hard fans of the Wolf don’t likely have a copy of the band’s first record, "Del Este De Los Angeles (Just Another Band From East L.A.)." Fortunately, Hollywood Records just re-issued the twenty-plus-year-old record, and it is a critical glimpse of the band as what they were when they first started out: a Mexican folk band that played more backyard parties in the barrio than by-the-book concerts. Putting a charge into Latin music’s traditional folk forms, like the manic-paced son jarocho, jumpy bolero and highly expressive guajira, "Del Este De Los Angeles" proves Los Lobos to be equally at home with its roots as it is with roots rock.
Ravinia

Yes
Performing with a 50-piece orchestra.
Arie Crown

9
Christopher O’Riley, Pablo Ziegler
Ravinia

10
Tony Bennett
Maybe it’s just that the rest of the great singers are dead, but Tony Bennett is starting to grow on me. Lacking the exquisite "velvet fog" of Mel Tormé (whose turn with George Shearing a few years back still ranks as one of the great nights at Ravinia), the delivery of Frank Sinatra, the whimsy of Dean Martin and the class of a Vic Damone or a Bobby Darin, Bennett has skated along on much loved versions of his signature tunes like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." As his contemporaries have kicked off, Bennett built a youth following doing old-fashioned concerts at Radio City Music Hall, and though I wouldn’t pay for one of his albums—if they’re not all dead, he should really be trying to score some of Sinatra’s old arrangers because his tend to be horrible—in a live setting like Ravinia he’s perfect, especially for a spot on the lawn. (Elaine Richardson)
Ravinia

Girls’ Night Out
Featuring Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Jamie O’Neil, Carolyn Dawn Johnson.
United Center

11
Tony Bennett
See Aug 10.
Ravinia

Grant Park Orchestra
Shaham Plays John Williams.
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

Inca Son
Ramsey Auditorium, Fermilab, Kirk Road at Pine Street, Batavia, (630)840-ARTS

Rick Springfield
Skyline Stage, Navy Pier

12
Erich Kunzel
"Swing Time."
Ravinia

13
Alicia de Larrocha
Ravinia

14
George Benson, Nnenna Freelon
Ravinia

15
Duo Piano Concert: Lisitsa and Kuznetsoff
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

Simply Symphony
Ravinia

16
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
"Verdi’s Requiem." Also Aug 18.
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

The Four Tops, The Temptations
Ravinia

17
Cheap Trick
Skyline Stage, Navy Pier

Grant Park Orchestra
"Inca Son."
Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park

Bruce Hornsby
Ravinia

18
Barenaked Ladies, Proclaimers, Sarah Horner
Tweeter Center

Come as You Are Gospel Music Fest
63rd Street Beach

John Mellencamp, Wallflowers
Tweeter Center

Peter, Paul and Mary
Ravinia

19
Boston Pops Orchestra
Ravinia

20
East Meets Jazz
Ravinia

21
Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris
Ravinia

22
Zubin and Zuckerman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Ravinia

24
Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd
Ravinia

25
Dances for Life
Skyline Stage, Navy Pier

Dearborn Street Music Festival
Dearborn and Polk.

Great Big Sea
Featuring Natalie MacMaster, Michael McDermott.
Ravinia

*Etta James
An R & B singer of the first water, Etta James has seen her stock skyrocket in recent years thanks to the "discovery" of her 40-year-old "At Last," which has now been overplayed in numerous films and TV commercials. But, at 63, James not only boasts an amazing career that has spanned five decades, but a wonderful repertoire of songs that range from the populist, violin-soaked ballads like "At Last" (recorded in 1961 for Chess Records), to bluesy, gospel infused wonders like "Something’s Got a Hold on Me," to the Aretha Franklineqsue "Tell Mama." Over the years James’ voice has coarsened, making live versions of her songs not quite as smooth as the originals, but it’s a fascinating contrast. And with a stage presence that runs from sassy to raunchy, it’s always a hell of a show. (Elaine Richardson)
House of Blues

Viva Chicago Latin Music Festival
Also Aug 26.
Grant Park.

26
Erykah Badu
Arie Crown

Erich Kunzel: Canadian Brass
Ravinia

27
Patti LuPone
Ravinia

30
23rd Annual Chicago Jazz Festival
Through Sep 3.
Grant Park

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