Story Of The Year, Relient K, The Academy Is, The Color Fred, Automatic Love Letter, Forever The Sickest Kids, Animo, Danger is My Middle Name, State and Madison, Charlotte Sometimes, Angels and Airwaves, and The Lifeline.

We will be also featuring columns and special surprises from all the Chicago area Warped Tour artists!

Get ready!

Treaty of Paris hopes to pack the venerable venue for this cause, which holds a personal meaning for the band. Founding member Phil Kosch recently lost his father to brain cancer after a long and difficult struggle. Kosch, who is also a well respected talent buyer for the Double Door in Chicago, wanted to use both talents for creating what in his mind is a perfect way to pay tribute to his father.

Kosch said about the experience, “I feel blessed, everyone has been really positive about what we are trying to do.”

Treaty of Paris has garnered fans and acclaim across the nation due to a heavy touring schedule and fan-friendly approach. Touring stints on Warped Tour and with other popular artists such as Motion City Soundtrack and Jack’s Mannequin have only solidified its stance as an emerging artist. Founded in 2005, the group quickly established a local following and the ability to headline marquee clubs in Chicago. Treaty of Paris has also been featured on radio station WKQX Chicago, Q-101.1.

Metro is located at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago. Doors open at 5:30pm and the show starts at 6pm. Tickets are only $10 and are available at Metro’s website. People of all ages are welcome.

Metro’s website:
http://www.metrochicago.com

Performers:
http://www.myspace.com/treatyofparis - Treaty of Paris
http://www.myspace.com/quietdrive - Quietdrive
http://www.myspace.com/companyofthieves - Company of Thieves
http://www.myspace.com/houseofheroes - House of Heroes
http://www.myspace.com/scottsweeneymusic - Scott Sweeney

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/us_nm/carlin_dc

My friend Jeff just sent me an instant message and it actually made me sad.

George Carlin has died.

Rest in Peace George. I have always been a fan of your humor. As a kid, my parents wouldn’t let me listen to your comedy. You had one of my favorite guest starring roles on the Simpsons. You uttered my favorite movie line ever from Jay and Silent Bob Stirke Back.

“I’ll take a shot in the mouth if it gets me halfway across the country!”

RIP George. You will be missed.

I was sitting at US Cellular Field when the storms came through, and although the sky was ominous it really didn’t seem all that bad from where I was sitting. I am sure those near the tornadoes would beg to differ. I hear more storms are on the way for today.

Read about out it here and here.

“We’re proud to be helping The Chartres Lodging Group strengthen its presence in the Chicago market – in this case, by updating a high-profile, East Ohio Street hotel with the coveted Doubletree ( http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/index.do  ) brand and its standard of excellence,” explained Tufano.  “Chartres benefits with an expanded renovated room inventory in the central Chicago visitor district, while Doubletree is able to present its loyal customers with a fantastic Chicago city center hotel location.  But the real winner may be Chicago and the traveling public who will have yet another attractive reason to stay in the Magnificent Mile area.”

The Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile ( http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/CHIMMDT-Doubletree-Hotel-Chicago-Magnificent-Mile-Illinois/index.do  ) will feature 500 redesigned guestrooms; 17,000 square feet of updated meeting and event space; a refreshed lobby and public spaces; a new signature, three-meal restaurant; an updated outdoor pool and view deck; and a street-facing Einstein’s Bagels store.  Renovation of the guestrooms has been completed, with the new lobby and public spaces to be unveiled by early summer, and the new restaurant to open in the fall.  The remodel will bring a distinctively urban residential feel to the Chicago hotel ( http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/CHIMMDT-Doubletree-Hotel-Chicago-Magnificent-Mile-Illinois/index.do  ) property in keeping with its Streeterville neighborhood equidistant to the Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, Millennium Park and McCormick Place.

“Doubletree has made a renewed commitment to grow its collection of upscale, full-service hotels in key city center locations around the world.  We are delighted to work with The Chartres Lodging Group and Kokua Hospitality to return to one of the most dynamic downtown locations in North America and welcome business and leisure travelers alike with what will become a great new Doubletree offering,” commented Dave Horton, Senior Vice President - Brand Management for Doubletree Hotels ( http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/index.do  ).  “This newest hotel agreement in downtown Chicago reinforces our pride in Doubletree being recognized by hotel owners and developers as a dynamic, credible and lucrative hotel brand for hoteliers around the world.”

ssweene1@gmail.com

Well, at least their MySpace hint and jokes to that. I don’t really consider them extreme, but they are Review Chicago’s Artist of the Week.

Walrus has been around for a while in one various incarnation or another. The core of the band has been gigging around and about Chicago since they were just sixteen. Offering a nice blend of male/female vocals, it is easy for those who haven’t listened to the band to make the assumption they are following the mold of another successful Chicago rock band, The Hush Sound. This is not the case.

The first thing that struck me when I heard Walrus years back is singer/songwriter Aaron Goldschmidt has an instant knack for finding a great melody. Think Motion City Soundtrack. Before the addition of Kate Grube on vocals and keyboard, you could tell, even at age 16, that this band will develop into something formidable. Add Kate’s outstanding vocals and harmonies and they have not disappointed. With the lineup and core staying unchanged for years, they have developed an outstanding chemistry that belies their age.

After recording demo after demo, the band finally selected a producer and recorded their debut record ‘20,000 Leagues’. Since this is not a CD review, I will not spend much time talking about it but I implore you to give it a listen. It is one of the finer debut records I have heard from such a young band. Although it doesn’t drift too far from their initial influences, you can hear the obvious talent from a band that should be relevant for years to come, if they don’t burn out before they get there.

The time they spent nurturing their sound has paid dividends. The band, which started by playing basements, has graduated to headlining mid-sized clubs, such as Sub-T, and sharing the stage with other greats bands at larger clubs such as Metro. A self booked summer tour also indicates that this band will not be sitting around Chicago for very long.

So, go check out Walrus. They are extreme.

Walrus’ MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/walrus3

Arriving at the Vic for the sold-out Kate Nash show, I had tremendous expectations. Her debut Cd, ‘House of Bricks’ has been in constant rotation since I received it from a friend in February, and I have been scouring the web trying to catch whatever videos I could find. Her CD displays a unique ability to find the hook, yet keep things stripped down and simple. Needless to say, this was one of my most highly anticipated concerts of the year.

I don’t think I like the Vic as a venue anymore. It just feels second rate compared to Metro and House of Blues. The sound mix was horrible. After sitting through an obnoxious opening act, Kate Nash finally stepped on stage, and from the first note I was highly disappointed. She opened with the song ‘Pumpkin Soup’, and her 4 piece backing band just obliterated the tempo. The song speed was shifty and inconsistent, which made her vocals sound rushed and, at some points, incomprehensible. I figured this might just be jitters, but every single song kept at this breakneck pace. Even her hit ‘Foundations’ was played too fast, and made the night almost unbearable.

The overwhelming hipster crowd didn’t help matters either. Only 50 percent of the crowd even seemed to care about what was going on. The rest were there apparently because it is hip to like Kate Nash.

The only time she shined was when they slowed down and played songs like ‘Birds’. Only at these moments was she able to really capture the audience and showcase her stellar singing voice. There were not enough of these moments however. I left feeling like I wasted $20.

By NEDRA PICKLER – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Call them Kool-Aid drinkers. Political romantics. Starry-eyed dreamers.

But as the marathon Democratic primary campaign nears an end, Barack Obama’s staff is on the verge of vindicating its belief that the eloquent black freshman senator from Illinois was a unique candidate who could win the Democratic nomination in one of the biggest upsets in presidential politics.

The band of Obama loyalists who imagined that could happen have stunned even themselves with their success against Hillary Rodham Clinton, who appeared to have wrapped up the nomination last year, before any votes were cast. Now, they face a new challenge with the impending nomination and campaign against Republican John McCain.

If they succeed, many team members could be helping run the country eight months from now. Presidents often appoint campaign advisers to top administration jobs.

The team was led by calm and focused campaign manager David Plouffe; their strategy was inspired by the candidate’s experience as a community organizer. They built a campaign designed to accomplish what other political sensations like Gary Hart and Howard Dean failed to do — turn the energy and excitement of the Obama phenomenon into long-term results.

“I think everyone knew realistically that he was starting as an underdog,” said longtime friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett. “But I don’t think he would have started down this path with a team that didn’t think he would win. It was going to be an uphill battle, but in the end I think we were all confident that it could be done and that he could do it.”

Matching Obama’s organizing background, the team has roots in conducting on-the-ground congressional campaigns across the country. Many top aides were groomed by former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt and former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle instead of by the Clinton wing of the party. Clinton’s team was built with Washington and New York operatives.

From its experience in congressional races, the Obama team understood firsthand the extent of Clinton fatigue in the heartland and the lesson of the 2006 midterm elections: America wants change.

Obama’s chief directive for hiring the more than 700 staff members who eventually came to work for him was: No Drama Allowed. Obama’s even demeanor is reflected in the advisers closest to him. While Clinton’s campaign divided into conflicting power centers whose emotional disputes leaked publicly, any fights in the Obama campaign were kept in the family.

Plouffe embodies Obama’s vision — a steady and unemotional number cruncher averse to the limelight, able to tune out noise and focus on the moves needed to reach the end game. Plouffe was the mastermind of Obama’s long-range campaign plan that looked beyond the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries that Clinton had predicted would deliver the nomination to her. He dispatched staff to states that Clinton’s campaign overlooked, particularly small caucus states where intensive organization produced wins that swelled Obama’s delegate lead.

A Gephardt guy, Plouffe had worked on campaigns that went broke, so he was notoriously cheap. Obama attracted a talented staff willing to work for much less than they could have made with Clinton. Plouffe carefully minded the bank account to preserve enough money to keep running after the wildly expensive Super Tuesday contests while Clinton’s campaign went broke. She had to lend it $11.4 million to stay afloat.

In the month after Super Tuesday, Obama won 11 straight contests and took a delegate lead that Clinton has not been able to erase.

That’s not to say Obama’s campaign plan worked flawlessly. The initial plan was to turn a win in Iowa into a win in New Hampshire that would make his nomination unstoppable, but Clinton defeated him in New Hampshire and the campaign dragged on for months.

Now the team must reunite the fractured party and introduce Obama to a whole new swath of voters as he takes on a well-known war hero with bipartisan appeal. The campaign is rapidly adding new people, like experienced communications strategist Anita Dunn, who is married to campaign general counsel Bob Bauer and recently joined Obama’s inner circle.

Obama’s other closest advisers:

_ David Axelrod, a former newspaper columnist who shares Obama’s talent with words, is the most experienced and visible political strategist. An idealist who exudes enthusiasm for his candidate, Axelrod helps buck Obama up on the road. Also from Chicago, he can play down-and-dirty politics with a Midwestern smile.

_ Jarrett, who has helped guide Obama’s entire political career, brings blunt assessments only a longtime friend can provide. Jarrett has known the Obamas since before they were married, when she hired Michelle to work for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Known to be cool under pressure, she stepped up her campaign role last fall when Obama was a distant second to Clinton. Bringing a fresh outsider perspective, she held staff accountable.

_ Pete Rouse, who has run Obama’s Senate office, is known for loyalty and a self-effacing manner. Rouse brings expert knowledge of Washington to a team based in Chicago. He protects Obama’s standing in the capital city and has brought in other D.C. operatives, particularly from the Daschle fold where he used to run things.

_ Robert Gibbs, who has been at Obama’s side since his Senate campaign, is communications director. A Southerner and tough fighter, Gibbs is a passionate defender and can channel the candidate’s thoughts. He’s also among a few who can frankly tell Obama what needs to improve.

_ Michelle Obama, the candidate’s wife, is his closest confidant. She often says, “I’m not his senior adviser, I’m his wife.” But she also talks about how dinner conversations about their family are what’s in his mind when he’s crafting policy. She’s the ultimate truth teller to the candidate; he calls her for feedback after debates. She has led the campaign’s outreach to female voters: As a lawyer and hospital executive, she provides evidence that Obama respects strong women even as he’s campaigning against one.

Another crucial adviser is Steve Hildebrand, who oversaw state-by-state efforts to run up Obama wins. Other key team members are finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker, finance director Julianna Smoot, policy director Heather Higginbottom, scheduling director Alyssa Mastromonaco, deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer, national press secretary Bill Burton, economics adviser Austan Goolsbee and foreign policy aides Anthony Lake and Susan Rice.