Coming off the Grammy-winning success of her U.S. debut, Shine, Estelle Swaray is back with a new album, All of Me. Featuring “Fall In Love (Featuring Nas) and “Break My Heart (Featuring Rick Ross),” and her latest single, “Thank You,” All of Me is poised to be a strong follow-up to a successful breakout. All of Me drops on February 28.

Joining Estelle for this show are R&B crooner Luke James and soul singer Elle Varner.

The show starts at 9pm and is part of the BET Music Matters Tour!

Check out Estelle’s smoldering new video for her song “Thank You,”:

Strap those tennis rackets to your feet, grow a beard, and fire up the bobsled because the snow is here. Weather is definitely one of the many trials and tribulations of being a Chicago music venue, but hey, I guess that is what we signed up for by not having our venue in Arizona or something. A little bit of a snow never stopped us from rocking! A lot of snow, though, turns our venue into an indoor wiffleball field. But seriously, our weekend shows are on like winter parking spot wars.

Mr. Monch is back with a new album, “W.A.R. (We Are Renegades).” You can listen to it on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/user/realschmiel82/playlist/2v6OYvPlTfUHYKNx3f0ZAh

The album currently has a 86/100 on Metacritic, and was rated a perfect 5/5 on hiphopgame.com.

The show starts at 9pm and Mass Hysteria, Primeridian, and dj Intel+Score will support.

We are going to finish out this snowy weekend with a $1 show on Sunday. Les Animaux, Run and Punch, Something To Do, and Turbo Vamps! will be perfoming on this lovely winter evening. Here is a video of Run and Punch perfecting their punk/ska tunes at their tiny practice space: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gX_xUYPb0F4#!

We will be shoveling snow on Monday and Tuesday.

But then, on Wednesday, we are having a Dirtroom show with A Light Sleeper, Fotosputnik, Cross Record, and Dinosaur Party.

Some things worth noting:

• We have some new shows going on sale this Saturday, including Black Taxi on 2/7, Passing Thoughts (formerly Terminal Bliss), Coldcock Jones & The Shithawks cut a live record on 2/19, St. Bagu on 3/6, Gag Order on 3/13, Nneka on 3/21, and Katchafire on 3/31.

• The Soul Summit is having their Two Year Anniversary Party here on Saturday, 1/21. DJs Dave Mata, Duke Grip and Sloppy White will be spinning their favorite soul jams, as well as guest DJs Meaty Ogre and Dreas. There will be Sam Adams and Tito’s Vodka specials all night.

That’s all I got for today. Stay warm!

Dan

Our New Year’s Eve show – with Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, DeRobert and the Half-Truths, and The Soul Summit DJs – is sold out.

If you got tickets while the getting was good, congrats! We’ll see you on Saturday night. Doors open and show starts at 9pm, with the Soul Summit DJs. Our friends at Heineken are bringing you complimentary Newcastle Brown Ale, Amstel Light, and Heineken on draft. We will also have assorted complimentary well drinks, including Tito’s Vodka, Jim Beam Whiskey, Sailor Jerry Rum, Giro Tequila, and Bellow’s Gin.

We couldn’t be more excited for this show! It’s going to be a great cap on a fun year for Double Door, full of plenty of highlights. Here are some of our favorite bands who graced the stage this year:

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Sat. 4/2

These guys rolled through here in April and the show had such a buzz, even Mayor Emanuel came to check it out. It was a riot. The sold-out crowd danced their butts off, and even invited legendary Blues Saxman Eddie onstage:

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr – Thur. 8/4/11

We had a really great Lollapalooza preparty lineup this year, including the quirky yet tuneful Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. They all wore matching t-shirts that read “Your Logo Here,” a cheeky reference to their excellent album, “It’s a Corporate World.” One of the highlights of the show was easily their upbeat cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love.”:

Portugal. The Man – Fri. 8/5/11

We also hosted a few official Lollapalooza after-parties, including one of 2011′st most talked-about bands, Portual. The Man. Armed with psychedelic tunes and an equally trippy light show, P.TM put on a great show, and, as an added bonus, were all-around great guys to work with. We’re glad that their stolen gear/van story had a happy ending.

The Retar Crew – Sun. 2/13/11, Sun. 8/21/11, and Thur. 12/22/11

The Retar Crew played a Valentine’s Day show and a Christmas show this year, and both shows were equally over-the-top and festive. The Retar Crew is one of our favorite local hip-hop/comedy/party acts, simply because their songs are so damn catchy, and most of them are about getting wasted, which is something everyone here at Double Door can relate to. Here they are at their Valentine’s Day show, dressed to the nines and spitting rhymes about “getting that bourbon in ya system”:

Biffy Clyro – Sat. 2/19/11 and Wed. 4/20/11

Biffy Clyro was one of our favorite UK bands that got lots of spins around the office. Even our somewhat jaded sound/production crew members were blown away, which is a hard feat to accomplish. From furious, thundering arena-rock anthems like “The Captain” and “Bubbles,” to the sensitive acoustic ballad, “Folding Stars,” Biffy brought a stadium-sized sound and show onto our 16×20 stage, and that deserves a high five.

JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Fri. 1/21/11, Fri. 3/18/11, Fri. 9/2/11, and Fri. 10/28/11

JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound are one of our favorite local bands, and are quickly creating a nice little buzz for themselves with their great new album, “Want More,” on Chicago’s own Bloodshot Records. They played their album release show here back in October, and they brought their signature showmanship and polish to the stage. Perhaps one of their most successful musical endeavors was their cover/reinvention of Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” JC’s outfit at this show was pretty bad-ass, too.

Butch Walker & The Black Widows – Thur. 10/13/11

Butch Walker typically plays larger rooms in Chicago, and through a series of tour re-routing circumstances and some good luck, we were able to host one of our favorite singer/songwriters working today in our humble home. And Butch did not disappoint – starting off the show with a few solo acoustic/piano numbers before transitioning seamlessly into full-band rock show glory, the sold-out crowd had their faces thoroughly rocked off as Butch and his band plowed through 2 hours of fan favorites and tracks from his new record, “The Spade.” Here he is, closing out his show with “Suckerpunch.”:

J. Roddy Walston & The Business – Sat. 3/12/11

Anyone who missed this show really missed out, including me. I was out of town, and I had coworkers who attended the show texting me things like, “J. Roddy is the new Little Richard,” and “Holy Shit! You F-ed up when you chose to see The Get Up Kids instead of this show!” Got it, guys. I messed up and it won’t happen again. People who were here said they witnessed one of the finest, most furious straight up rock n roll shows they had seen in recent memory, and that J. Roddy’s charisma was infectious. If anyone was lucky enough to catch their early Lollapalooza set when they rolled back through town (yes, I was at this show), they know why JRW&TB are one of the most exciting new bands that we’ve seen:

Ben Harper / Feist – Fri. 7/1/11 and Fri. 11/4/11

We were fortunate enough to host two excellent 93XRT “Live From Studio X” secret daytime shows, the first of which was with Ben Harpe, and the second with Feist. It was strange, good fun to see our room so packed (and to see people drinking so much) at 1 in the afternoon, and we hope to do it again sometime soon. Here is Feist performing her hit, “I Feel It All” at the Riv after gently rocking us during her afternoon set:

Trampled By Turtles – Sat. 4/23/11

Trampled By Turtles have been playing here pretty consistently for the year or two, and their shows are always full of PBR drinking, whiskey shooting bluegrass fans, and we love it. Their bluegrass mixes traditional, authentic, skillful instrumentation with wry, sometimes dark lyrics. They blew our doors down in April, but here they are from a previous November 2010 visit, performing their song “Victory”:

JD McPherson – Fri. 8/19/11

This year, we hosted several Soul Summit Dance Parties. Some of these were free DJ nights, and other featured live music in addition to the Soul Summit DJs. The night that JD McPherson played was one of our favorites: Undeniably catchy rockabilly/soul/throwback rock n roll tunes, being enjoyed by an ecletic audience who looked like they were ready for Hill Valley High’s Enchantment Under The Sea Dance. Here is McPherson and his band playing their song “Country Boy,” with a smooth bass-solo lead-in from Jimmy Sutton:

Beardyman – Fri. 9/23/11

Beardyman is one of the UK’s strangest and most interesting human beatboxers / MCs / DJs. He is truly a one-man show, mashing up his human beatmaking noises with hip hop hooks and dubsteppy dance beats. The show slowly descended into a full-on free for all dance party, but before that happened, we were treated to some of Beardyman’s myriad talents:

The Foreign Exchange – Thur. 5/5/11 and Fri. 5/13/11

These guys are one of our favorite modern R&B bands, and they graciously agreed to stream their sold-out show this past spring. Here they are, grooving away, showing some love for deep dish pizza, Garrett’s Popcorn, and Harold’s Chicken (mild sauce on the wings, and a little on the side):

Overall, it’s been a great year for us, and hopefully it’s been a great year for you, too. Have a safe and happy new year!
We hope to see you at one of our shows in 2012.

Dan & Double Door
dan@doubledoor.com

The Retar Crew has established themselves online through diligence, alcoholism, and social networking.  They are back onstage at Double Door this thursday, December 22 for “A Very Retar Christmas Holiday Extravaganza Show”. The show will feature The Retar Crew playing fan favorites such as “Hung Like a Tuna Can Man,” “The Retar Anthem” and “Daddy Issues.”
The Crew is also going to be hosting “Very Retar Christmas photo booth” complete with Hipster Claus and his domestic partner, Ms Hipster Claus; Dj Sets from “3rd World Beats”; cameo instrumentals from Martyrs’ Residents, “The Booty Movement Coalition”; a set from Portage Park’s, Neph-hop; And of course a crazy and ridiculously awesome set from The Retar Crew.  Doors open at 8:30 and the fun begins at 9:00 pm. The show is free and definitely something a little different than the normal holiday party.

The Retar Crew consists of Chicago theater actor Jackson Doran, The Q Brothers, (Lollapalooza for six years, award winning Chicago playwrights and actors from Chicago Shakespeare’s “Funk It Up About Nothin’ and MTV’s “Scratch and Burn”) And New York actor and musician Postell Pringle (Playboy X in Grand Theft Auto 3, Rescue Me, The Good Thief).

Their promo video for the show pretty much speaks for itself:

Life is full of surprises, and nobody knows this better than Kathryn Calder. After years of performing with indie darlings Immaculate Machine, she found herself unexpectedly asked to record and tour with The New Pornographers and was almost immediately inducted as a full-fledged member of that group. In 2010 she released her first solo album, Are You My Mother?, which garnered glowing reviews and foreshadowed the vast array of sonic experimentation the songwriter was capable of exploring. Now, just one year after the release of her debut (which was dedicated to the memory of her late mother), Calder has returned with another full-length
record. Written and recorded in a relatively short amount of time, the appropriately titled Bright and Vivid is a masterfully refined piece of work that illustrates a maturation that can only come fromintense growth and change. Backed by a newly minted band consisting of Lane Arndt, Stefan Bozenich, and Marek Tyler, Kathryn also worked with friends & fans including Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats), Dean Tzenos (Odonis Odonis), Barry Mirochnick & Paul Rigby (Neko Case), Jesse Zubot, and Ford Pier.

The lead-off single, "Who Are You" is a dancey, marching pop-rock anthem with a colorful, trippy and playful kaleidescope treatment that fits the buoyant energy of the track perfectly:

You can also stream Kathryn’s new record on Spotify:

Kathryn Calder – Bright and Vivid

The show starts at 9pm and features opening acts K Serra, The Bears of Blue River, and Himilayan Bear. Click here for tickets: http://ticketf.ly/rsM6Sd

Pyyramids is a mysterious new project from OK Go’s Tim Nordwind and singer Drea Smith. Combining spooky atmospheres with lo-fi elements and lush electronic soundscapes, Pyyramids marries the mature vocals of Smith with Nordwind’s dancey, dreary song ideas and turns them into fully formed rainy day dance pop.

Their debut EP, Human Beings, was written after a series of email correspondences in which the artists found common musical ground in The Smiths and Joy Division. It’s available as a digital download via the band’s Soundcloud page, and features a free download of the moody lead-off track, That Ain’t Right: http://soundcloud.com/pyyramids/sets/human-beings


Human Beings by PYYRAMIDS

Mike Golden and Friends are a college student-discovering-his-inner-songwriter project, and their new record, Groceries, is available now for free download at mikegoldenandfriends.com. It’s a raw, throat-lacerating collection of rock tunes with a decidedly homemade feel. Drums crash and overdriven guitars buzz among fuzzed out blips and beeps. It all serves as a fitting backdrop to Golden’s howling, growling vocals on songs like “Down The River,” and alternately strumming catchy melodies with acoustic guitars and beer-bottle percussion. Check out the video for “Stay Here”:

The show is this Thursday, December 8th at 9pm, with On The Shoulders of Giants kicking things off. It’s going to be quite a show! 

FRIDAY: Chicago’s Moon Furies recently undertook a “100 Shows in 100 Days” Challenge. You may have seen them playing outside our club at the Six Corners intersection, in Wicker Park, or perhaps at a CTA station. It was a pretty cool undertaking and their ambition gets the thumbs up from us. Moon Furies describe themselves as a dance party band circa 1981, set in the outer rim of the Galaxy via 2111. You can stream their debut album, “Mercury” at their bandcamp page: http://moonfuries.bandcamp.com/

Joining the show are Perfect Kiss, Ghosthouse (fresh off last month’s great Double Door set), Eight Bit Tiger, and DJ Sam Padrul. We’re getting started at 8:30pm!

SATURDAY: Brooklyn’s Deadbeat Darling have been generating a bit of a buzz, and not because they are from NYC. They write hooky, dreamy indie rock gems. Case in point: Their single, “Promises.”:

Our pal Swizzle Steve is putting on the show, and has chosen an ecletic bill, including Batkave, The Mediocre Fight, Tiffany Thompson & Jenn Bostic, eh, and Faraz Chaudry. That’s a lot of bands, so we are starting early at 8pm.

SUNDAY: We love our metal arty, cerebral, and of course, really heavy, which is why we are excited to see Saviours perform here on 12/4. In October, the doomy/stoner/classic metal band did an interview that was featured on Google Music:

Also don’t forget to check out their super psychedelic video for their super psychedelic metal song, “Cavern of Mind”:

Joining them on the bill are Ramming Speed, Ramova, and D-Connect.

TUESDAY: We have locals Origin of Animal bringing their spaced out sound to the Dirtroom. Check out their song “Muddlesome,” recorded live here at Double Door earlier this year:

This Saturday, November 26, is going to be a big day for us and many other small businesses across the country – It is the 2nd annual Small Business Saturday. In an effort to encourage shoppers to buy local for the holidays, we are hosting The Urban Folk  Circuit. From noon to 5pm, dozens of local vendors and artisans will be set up throughout the club selling homemade gifts and products. Plus there will be acoustic sets byThe Wren & The Whistler, The Canoes, Cousin Dud, The Adaptations and Rachel Katzman-Farr. This is an all-ages event and it’s free to the public. SHOP LOCAL!  Here is a complete list of vendors (subject to change):

RSVP to Urban Folk Circuit’s Official Facebook Invite:
https://www.facebook.com/events/113983852039466/