images: Sarah McLachlan. Electric Six ( top ) ; Low vs. Diamond ( above ) .Serving as a much-needed history lesson, Sarah McLachlan unveils her first retrospective 20 years after she debuted with the album Touch. Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan shows how many like Dido and Jem have been influenced by McLachlan's artistry. Grammy-winning material such as Building a Mystery and the teary-eyed I Will Remember You fit perfectly among favorites like Vox, Sweet Surrender and Fallen. The track listing was hand-picked by McLachlan herself. Sadly, her duets with Cyndi Lauper and Emmylou Harris—as well as material from the holiday collection, Wintersong—have been passed here. In conjunction with her hits package, the Lilith Fair founder has made a video for one of the two new tracks, U Want Me 2. There is also a double-disc limited edition of Closer with additional songs such as Mercy and Push.
Fifteen years after its release, the Legacy Edition of McLachlan's triple-platinum breakthough, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, is also out now. This re-issue has the original album with the classics Possession, Ice Cream and Hold On, the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy DVD and the demos for this project dubbed Freedom Sessions.
McLachlan's collaboration with Delerium, Silence, is being remixed yet again. DJ Tiesto and Airscape provided the definitive trance versions of song; then in 2004 Above & Beyond and Filterheadz added their touches to the anthem. Now this beloved number is being revamped once more courtesy of the Niels Van Gogh vs. Thomas Gold mixes.
Fellow Canadian crooner k.d. lang returns to the Windy City with a date at The Chicago Theatre, 165 N. State, Friday, Oct. 17. The Grammy-winning out songbird's latest is the self-produced Watershed. Here, the intimate collection shows a mature lang aging gracefully as she still delivers those oft melancholy titles like I Dream of Spring, Sunday and Shadow and the Frame. Watershed marks lang's first album of new material since 2000's Invincible Summer.
Acoustic duo Coyote Grace is on tour now with Melissa Ferrick. Consisting of trans artist Joe Stevens on guitar and vocals, along with Ingrid Elizabeth on upright bass and sharing vocal duties, Coyote Grace has performed in Chicago at the Alt Q Festival and will be gracing the stage at Schuba's, 3159 N. Southport, twice Saturday, Oct. 25. Earlier this year the pair released the live keepsake The Harvey Tour before a proper sophomore studio outing comes out hopefully by year's end. Coyote Grace has opened for the likes of The Indigo Girls and has been featured on NPR's This Way Out.
Lollapalooza features a lot of testosterone-driven acts like Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails. Welsh newcomer Duffy offered a much-needed dose of girl power as she made her Chicago debut at the summer festival. The blonde behind the retro-flavored soul numbers like Mercy and Warwick Avenue will be at The Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine, Monday, Oct. 20. Although she was the runner-up on the Welsh American Idol-like program Wawffactor, Duffy rebounds by having her first album, Rockferry, hit the top 10 stateside and become a wild success abroad.
Just like one cannot take the sophomoric humor out of Electric Six, one cannot take these guys out of the gay bar. With plenty of laughs ensuing, the sextet's forthcoming fifth album, Flashy, features Gay Bar Pt. 2, a sequel to the Detroit outfit's signature campy hit. Due out Oct. 21 via Metropolis Records, Flashy also contains innuendos galore a la Bloodhound Gang on Formula 409 and the tongue twister We Were Witchy White Women. Also known for Danger! Danger! High Voltage and a remake of Queen's Radio Ga Ga, Electric Six will rock the house at the Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, Thursday, Oct. 23 with Chicago's very own Local H.
Fresh off of opening for Ariel Pink, Chairlift is embarking on a series of live dates with Yeasayer. A stop is scheduled at Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake, Tuesday, Oct. 28 before commencing the European leg of the tour. This trio is not just another bunch of indie Brooklynites with an '80s influence. Formed in 2006, these Boulder natives come across as a love child of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and lo-fi outfits Mono in VCF or Pacific UV, with a touch of Feist. The song Bruises can be heard in an iPod Nano commercial. Chairlift's full-length debut, Does You Inspire You, is due out this fall on Kanine Records.
As is the case with Heart, Jackson Browne and Van Halen, The Foo Fighters are the latest musicians to have their work used by the McCain campaign without the artists' consent. The Foo Fighters issued the following statement: 'It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. … 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it … used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.'
On Sunday, Sept. 28, Low vs. Diamond was the first band to perform at The House of Blues for the MySpace Tour. Sharing the bill with Mates of State, Plastic Little and headliner Santogold, the California-based quintet got the night going with a certain fervor with the opener, Don't Forget Sister. Low vs. Diamond's set was a homecoming for Chicago native drummer Howie Diamond. Also highlighting the show were Heart Attack and the melodic Wasted from the quintet's solid self-titled debut. In the spirit of rocking alternative favorites My Bloody Valentine, Muse and Mew, Low vs. Diamond proved its potential and that this is a crossover band waiting to happen. Now, where's that perfect licensing opportunity or highly visible live gig?
