Big Black Bird

Cole's , 5/31

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:58:50 -0500

Join us for a night of quiet-ish rock from the Bird. Bart is going a wedding, so we will be sans drums. Let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into without him keeping the beat!

FB Event

Cole’s is at 2338 Milwaukee and is a great bar!

9:30 - Big Black Bird
http://bigblackbird.bandcamp.com/

10:00 - Coed Pageant
http://coedpageant.bandcamp.com/

10:45 - The Elements of Style
http://theelementsofstyle.bandcamp.com/

11:30 - Jet W. Lee
http://jetwlee.bandcamp.com/

Boston Bad Boys

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:43:18 -0500

Boston Bad Boys

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:44:25 -0500

4/13 SHOW CANCELLED!!!

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:37:47 -0500

No joke, Greenville Tavern let us know they are closed after about 2 months of operations. Tough business. We have a show at Cole’s in May, so stay tuned.

In the hitting too close to home department, the Onion documents a bands rapid ascent. Someone please reblog this.

Free Show with Sequoia!

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:06:00 -0500

We are happy to announce the christening of The Greenville Tavern, a new venue in the former Darkroom space. We’re sharing the bill with Chicago stalwart rockers Sequoia.

Saturday, 4/13 2013

NO COVER(!) and great food & drink. Set times TBA

Greenville Tavern

2210 W Chicago Ave

Thanks, Beck. Let’s do this shit.

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:11:12 -0500

Thanks, Beck. Let’s do this shit.

Pseudo Slang are a hip-hop duo from Chicago by way of Buffalo,...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:47:00 -0600

Pseudo Slang are a hip-hop duo from Chicago by way of Buffalo, NY. They are also good friends of the band. Check out their sit down as part of a Chicago hip-hop series in Splash Magazine. The accompanying article is in German, but the vid is pure Slang.

The man behind the cam is legendary German Arvid Vu. Interestingly enough, Arvid spent just a few months in the U.S., but his work has been twice featured on Chicagoist!

We have merch!!! Come by Ultra Lounge on Saturday night and you...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:13:44 -0600

We have merch!!! Come by Ultra Lounge on Saturday night and you could be the first one to own a BBB Tee! $15 for a shirt and a CD. Also, if you can’t make it to the show (and have a doctor’s note), put an order in and we’ll send you one.

We go on at 9:45.

SUPER SATURDAY!: We’ll be playing at Ultra Lounge with some other great bands on the Saturday...

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:18:00 -0600

SUPER SATURDAY!: We’ll be playing at Ultra Lounge with some other great bands on the Saturday before the Super Bowl (2/2). Come by if you wanna wanna hear some major tunes or talk about new crockpot recipes for the big game. We go on at 9:45.

FB Event

Stoplight Jones

Jet W. Lee

Vultures Are Lovebirds

Show of hands; who has seen the Chicago Walking Guy around town...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 09:06:14 -0600

Show of hands; who has seen the Chicago Walking Guy around town before? Mysterious? Check. Disturbed? Maybe! Dapper as hell? You bet!

Here is a one minute “walkumentary”.

I REALLY wish this guy would come to our show on February 2nd. Details coming soon!

Kendrick Lamar provides a portal to another world here; the one...

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:35:00 -0600

Kendrick Lamar provides a portal to another world here; the one that exists at the intersection of headphones, brains, and beer. good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lamar’s 2012 official debut, abounds with airy beats and rhymes, but his anxieties are always lurking around the edges. Isn’t that perfect for our times?

Photo

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:52:18 -0600

Our friend Arvid Vu made this video with us in the Spring. The...

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 10:03:22 -0600

Our friend Arvid Vu made this video with us in the Spring. The guy is amazingly talented, has great equipment and most importantly, is a pleasure to work with. We would like to make a new video with him every month. Unfortunately for us, he lives all the way over in Germany. The good news is that he will be back in Chicago sometime in 2013 and he will be looking for artists to work with. Please let us know if you are interested and we can put you in contact.

Lemon Party!

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:30:45 -0600

The Lemon Tree is available for download and free streaming at these locations. A friend of ours recently shared that he listens to the record while training for bike races in the Arizona hills. “Time Capsule” gets him going right out of the gate. What is your favorite song on the album? We’d love to hear some more anecdotes!

Chris Ott & the Confidants - Cave City

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:31:00 -0600

We at Big Black Bird listen to a lot of tunes. When you listen to a lot of tunes, you tend to like some, love some, and dismiss quite a few as unmemorable. This new feature will focus on the former two categories. Thus, we will only be discussing recordings we actually like. Go to Pitchfork if you want to discover new 1-star material. This entry takes on the new album from veteran Chicago rockers Chris Ott & The Confidants.

Full Disclosure: Half of Big Black Bird is a current or one-time Confidant. Having played with Chris on many occasions, I expected an earthy mix of country-tinged rock with a few nods to pop and blues. Those elements are certainly present (check out the crowd-pleasing “The Sun, the Moon, and Stars”) but the eclectic mix hints that Ott has many sides that I am not familiar but want to get to know better. “Everlasting Prize” is a heady opening track that establishes Ott’s rock credentials and puts his deep voice in the spotlight. “Time Machine Gun” further showcases Ott’s vocals and evokes The National at their moody best. We also get our first playful use of samples. This sense of humor is evident on later standouts “Do It” and “Soviet Lovemate”. The musicians on the album exhibit a chemistry that you can tell has been developed over years of co-music making. Makes sense; Chris collaborated on this album with his brother, Nashville recording artist Carey Ott.

We covered this song at a show once a couple years back and then...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:18:48 -0600

We covered this song at a show once a couple years back and then realized that the timing is pretty much impossible. Sometimes the boys from Athens couldn’t even pull it off live!

The Wampanoags were there for the first one. The Mayans said...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:56:00 -0600

The Wampanoags were there for the first one. The Mayans said that this is the last one. Come give thanks with Big Black Bird and friends.

Ultra Lounge 2169 North Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60647 8 pm $8

with Vanarays, Elephant in the Room, Romantic Rebel

The Tomahawk Train is gonna keep on rolling!

BIG BLACK SATURDAY!!!

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 09:32:00 -0500

We’ll be playing at Ultra Lounge with some other great bands on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/24). Come by if you haven’t had your fill of Bird.

Ultra Lounge 2169 North Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL 60647

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Martyrs’! Our agenda for this week is to fire up the...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:30:53 -0500

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Martyrs’! Our agenda for this week is to fire up the home studio and begin laying down the demos for what will eventually become our next album!

10/18 at Martyrs'

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:04:45 -0500

10/18 at Martyrs':

We are so psyched to be playing Thursday, 10/18 at Martyrs’! Big Black Bird goes on at 10.