This video apparently came out back in July, yet somehow I had no idea that it existed. Bad blogger.

Anyway, another album that merits Honorable Mention for my favorites of 2009 is Wheat’s White Ink, Black Ink. Buy it here.

If you couldn’t tell by the silence around here the last week, I’ve been taking a bit of a break from the blog for the holidays. I plan on getting back into the swing of things next week, but for now I figured I may as well get around to doing my “Best of 2009″ list. However, since my “Best of the Decade” list was such a time-consuming endeavor, I’m gonna keep this one simple.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite 12 albums of the year, with absolutely no discussion whatsoever, and in no particular order. Why 12? Because I’d hate to leave any of these albums off the list.

Oh, and if this list looks at all familiar, you may be remembering my mid-2009 list. Guess this means that the second half of 2009 kinda underwhelmed me. If you look at everything on that list that didn’t end up making this list, those album would essentially be my “Honorable Mention” albums.

Finally, if I had to pick an overall #1, odds are I’d pick The Century of Self. Welcome back, fellas.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Century of Self
The Antlers, Hospice
The Deep Vibration, Veracruz
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Seven-Mile Island
The Jet Age, in “Love”
Kid, You’ll Move Mountains, Loomings
My Latest Novel, Deaths and Entrances
The Rest, Everything All At Once
Sean Walsh and the National Reserve, Homesick
Tereu Tereu, All That Keeps Us Together
The Twilight Sad, Forget The Night Ahead
We Were Promised Jetpacks, These Four Walls

So here we are. It only took me a month to unveil my top 50 albums of the decade. And by “only” I mean – what the hell is my problem?

In case you missed it, the first part of the list (##31-50) is here, the second (##21-30) is here, and the third (##11-20) is here.

Let’s get this over with, shall we?

	#10: Future Clouds and Radar, Future Clouds and Radar (2007) The fact that I haven’t seen this album mentioned on any other Top Whatever list for the decade bothers the hell out of me, and, I assume, can only mean that people simply haven’t listened to it. Because, if they had, they’d know that Robert Harrison provided us with one of the most moving albums of the decade that also doubled as possibly the best pop (with a healthy dose of psychedelia) album of the past 10 years. If John Lennon were alive and making music today, it would sound a lot like Future Clouds and Radar.
	#9: Hey Rosetta!, Into Your Lungs (2008) I first discovered Hey Rosetta! via Battering Room Chris, who told me that if I liked The Frames, I’d like Hey Rosetta!. He couldn’t have been more right. Like The Frames, Hey Rosetta!’s music is epic – the songs build and build and build until they finally explode into a musical catharsis. In that sense, they also share a lot in common with the Arcade Fire and, more recently, Fanfarlo, yet for some reason can’t seem to get even a tenth of the attention of those – in my opinion – far less deserving bands. I can only hope that the band’s next album (its third), will bring the band the attention it sorely deserves.
	#8: Shearwater, Palo Santo (2006) I hadn’t listened to much of Shearwater’s music before this album came out, and to the extent I had, I’d always preferred the Will Sheff songs. So the first time I hit play to listen to the album, I wasn’t expecting much. Boy was I wrong. This album is absolutely stunning. I know they released a remastered version of the album in 2007, but I’m sticking with this version. Hell, I never even listened to the remastered version, because I simply do not believe that this album could be made any better.
	#7: Miracle Fortress, Five Roses (2007) Along with my #6 album, Five Roses was very much the soundtrack to my first six months or so living in Washington, D.C. in 2007. And I think that’s pretty appropriate. After 11 years living in New York, and after 8 years in the same job, I had uprooted my life to move to a new city to start a new business; it was all very surreal. So the dreaminess of the album fit my mood well. Guess that’s probably why I’ve been listening to it a lot recently, after moving yet again to Chicago.
	#6: Earlimart, Mentor Tormentor (2007) I’ve been a fan of Earlimart going back almost ten years now, but as much as I liked their earlier albums, I honestly had no idea that they had an album as good as Mentor Tormentor in them. A lot of it has to do with the expansion of Ariana Murray’s role in the band, including taking leading vocals on several songs and increasingly piano-driven nature of their songs. All in all, this might be the prettiest album on this list.
	#5: Low, The Great Destroyer (2005) I consider myself a fan of all of Low’s discography, but this is the only album of theirs that I truly love. The Great Destroyer found the band turning away (slightly) from its slow-core roots to deliver a guitar-rock album akin Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Yet what makes this album truly special is that it’s not just a guitar rock album — it manages to marry loud, distorted guitars with the band’s trademark musical deliberateness and patience. As a result, the album maintains all the weight an emotion of the band’s other work, but just does it in a much louder way.
	#4: Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) I’m not sure there’s much I can say about this album that hasn’t been said by every critic, blogger and even casual music fan over the last 7-8 years. It was both the band’s artistic peak as well as its breakthrough record; and it’s the last album from the band that I truly loved. For many years I was sure that this would easily be my favorite album of the decade, but, to be honest, after seeing the band upwards of 25-30 times this decade, I’ve grown sick to death of most of the songs and can barely bring myself to listen to this album anymore. But considering how much I used to love it, and for how big a role it played in my life this decade, I honor it with a placement as my #4 album.
	#3: The Antlers, In the Attic of the Universe (2007) The band’s fantastic 2009 release, Hospice, may be the album that "broke" The Antlers, but this was the EP that first turned me onto the band (thanks, again, to Chris), and it remains my favorite Antlers release to date. It’s pretty amazing listening to this album today – I knew at the time it came out that it was the statement of an incredible young musician, but couldn’t have guessed how quickly that talent would continue to blossom, or how soon the rest of the world would notice. It’s truly been a joy to see the band’s success over the last year, and I can’t wait to see how many albums they have on my Best of the 2010′s list.
	#2: The National, Boxer (2007) It’s kind of amazing how The National’s music grows on you, and digs into your head. When I first heard Boxer, I was pretty disappointed. It didn’t have the rock songs like "Mr. November" or "Abel", and, on first listen, the slower songs didn’t grab me as much as the slower songs on Alligator ("Daughters of the Soho Riots", etc.). But with repeated listenings, the songs started to take hold, and pretty soon I couldn’t get them out of my head. And soon enough it had surpassed Alligator as my favorite album by the band – easily. Oh, and on a completely different tpic, and I can’t hear "Mistaken For Strangers" without missing living in New York.
	#1: The Wrens, The Meadowlands (2003) I briefly considered putting Boxer as my #1 album of the decade, but on a 6-hour drive to Cleveland last month for Thanksgiving I listened to both albums back-to-back, and, by the time The Meadowlands had ended, I had no choice but to (a) move it to my #1 spot, and (b) listen to the album again. This album is everything I want from an album – beauty, emotion, musicianship and a healthy dose of flat-out rock and roll. There has not been a time in the seven years since this album came out that I didn’t feel better (even if I’d felt good in the first place) after listening to this album. And that, to me, is what great music is supposed to do.

This is usually where I mention the relative strengths of this week’s shows, as well as my personal picks for the week. But, err, it’s Christmas, and there ain’t crap goin’ on this week, aside from two Waco Brothers shows at Schubas next weekend (I’m hoping to be back in town for the Sunday show).

Aside from those, though… at least there’s always internet porn.

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Monday, December 21
Beat Kitchen: Pat McCurdy (holiday show)
Empty Bottle: Netherfriends, A Lull, Aktar Aktar
Martyr’s: Tin Lynott
Reggie’s Music Joint:  West 34
Schubas: The Singleman Affair, Jeff Harms, Mean Sea Level

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Tuesday, December 22
Beat Kitchen: Chicago Underground Comedy
Double Door:  Breakers Broken, City at Large, Ghosthouse, Coltrane Motion
Empty Bottle: Camera, Milk at Midnight, Bullets in Madison
Hideout: Sanctified Grumblers
Martyr’s: Cole DeGenova & the People’s Republic, Drama Junkies, The Yuletides
Reggie’s Music Joint: Mr. Blotto, Homegrown
Reggie’s Rock Club:  Hollywood Holt, Dave Coresh, Nick n Beans, Youngsta, more
Ronny’s: Bill Tucker, Bartleby, Cup’nString, Plan B
Schubas: Schubas Holiday Party ft. live band karaoke
Subterranean: The Downtown Struts, The Non-Believers,The Alright Alreadies

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Wednesday, December 23
Abbey Pub: In Bound Kennedy, Sons of Mary
Beat Kitchen: Exmortus, Vektor, Diamond Plate, Deadnight, Centaurus
Bottom Lounge: Blah Blah Blah, Panic Pixel, The Memories
Double Door: Scott Sweeney, Kevin Prchal, Ron Robinson, Mia Leblon
Empty Bottle: Avagami Lord of the Yum-Yum, Sequioia, Percolator
Hideout: Immediate Sound Series ft. Drake/Bishop/Parker/Abrams
Lincoln Hall: Covers For Cover II
Martyr’s: Kick The Cat, The Renegades
Metro/SmartBar:  Frankie J, Ori Kawa, Greg K., The Fo.R. [FREE SHOW]
Reggie’s Music Joint: Tina Howell & The Fellas, The Primeridian, Fate of Five, Urbanized Music
Reggie’s Rock Club: Rough Cut, The Human Defect
Schubas: Puking Pearls, Louis & The Hunt, Jon Drake & The Shakes

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Thursday, December 24
24 straight hours, yo

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Friday, December 25
Aragon Ballroom: Montez de Durango, Larry Hernandez, Robert Tapia, more
Metro/SmartBar: DJ Joe Garrido, Holiday Tetris Tournament

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Saturday, December 26
Abbey Pub: Lockeroom Talk, Youth Dekay, Johnny Rev M, more
Beat Kitchen (6pm): Veil of Maya, Monsters, Elysion Fields, Small Town Murder
Beat Kitchen (10:30pm): The Heligoats, Caw! Caw!
Bottom Lounge: Mustard Plug, Flatfoot 56, Cheap Girls, Rule 22
Double Door: Gene Yaas, The Desperate Club, The Dirty Blue [FREE SHOW]
Empty Bottle: Unicycle Loves You, Pet Lions, We Will Eat Rats to Survive
Hideout: Platform 29
House of Blues (6:30pm): Stellar Road
Lincoln Hall: Emily Wells, Azita
Martyr’s: Cornmeal Acoustic Christmas
Metro: Lucky Boys Confusion, The Fold, The Action Blast, The Attraction
Metro/SmartBar: Colette, Brian Gardner, Brenda D
Reggie’s Rock Club: Macabre, Maggot Twat, Johnny Vomit, These Are They, more
Reggie’s Music Joint: Holiday of Horror, Macabre, Primitive Evolution
Schubas: The Waco Brothers, The Mediums
Subterranean: Mike Kinsella/Bob Nanna/Joe Trohman play the songs of Morrissey, Empires

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Sunday, December 27
Abbey Pub: Papa Jupiter, Jack in Space, The Human Defect, 6 Degrees of Separation
Beat Kitchen: Perseus Noble, Inkbat
Bottom Lounge: Deals Gone Bad, Tracer Bullet, The Blind Staggers
Empty Bottle: Love of Everything, The Drink Up, Honey, Tim Kinsella/Frank Rosaly Duo, Locks
Hideout: Dasboton, Sonoi
House of Blues: Rusted Root, Tom Fuller Band
Metro/SmartBar: bOY13 & eeks!, DJ Larissa, Toast
Reggie’s Music Joint: Scourge, Angry Hate Infestation, Hot for Preacher, Gonzo Violence
Ronny’s: The Kremlin, Sir Vixx/Khrusty, Ghetto Caviar
Schubas: The Waco Brothers, YellowHammers
Subterranean: Cochise Soulstar, Awdazcate, Elevation, Simon Sez & Polo

Note: I pulled the embedded video because there was no way to stop it from playing automatically. You can find it here.

Check out this hour-long video of Lifter Puller that Pitchfork is running as part of its One Week Only series.

I never got to see the band live (or, if I did, they were an opener that I simply wasn’t paying attention to), so this is a pretty nice little treat for a Friday afternoon.

Oh, and if you don’t know who Lifter Puller is, watch the first few seconds of the video and you’ll figure it out pretty quickly – it’s the old band of Craig Finn and Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady.

Not sure exactly how I did this, but I seem to have misplaced photos from several shows that I attended over the last few weeks.

And rather than bore you with mediocre photos of a bunch of bands most of my readers likely don’t care about (e.g., Ekoostik Hookah), I figured I would just post a few pictures from last week’s Sloan concert which, in my opinion at least, came out pretty well.

So, enjoy. That is all.

Pics from day 2 – or is it just a continuation of day 1? – of this year’s Second City Never Sleeps benefit. I hope to write something a little more substantial tomorrow, but for now – after attending just over 14 of the benefit’s 24 hours – I’m kinda beat. I just hope I don’t dream about Morgan Freeman in a row boat.

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats

Nina Nastasia

The Blisters

The Second City Team (a/k/a the folks that stayed up for 24 hours)

A few pics now… hopefully more tomorrow, assuming I (a) wake up in time, and (b) motivate to get back down to Second City.

And by “motivate to get back down to Second City”, I mean skip all the other things I’m supposed to be doing tomorrow. Like looking for a job. And going to the gym. And incorporating a nonprofit music performance center in Virginia.

So… see you tomorrow, Second City!

If you’re not familiar with them, Circus Devils are the project of Bob Pollard (of Guided by Voices fame) and brothers Todd and Tim Tobias.

The band has released seven albums since 2001 (I suspect I own all seven, though I can’t remember the last time I listened to one), and is set to release album number 8, entitled Mother Skinny, in April 2010.

Here are a couple of advance tracks from the album:

Circus Devils, “Hard Art”
Circus Devils, “Bam Bam Bam”

Here’s a couple more videos from Guns n’ Roses’ current trek through Asia. (Specifically, these are from Seoul, South Korea.)

The first video is pretty great — it’s taken directly of the band’s huge jumbotron feed, so you’re basically getting true concert video footage.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, “Even Heroes Have To Die”

Awesome news — Ted Leo & The Pharmacists have announced a slew of spring tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, The Brutalist Bricks, including a March 13th stop at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago.

The album comes out on March 9th (via Matador), so theoretically we’ll all have at least a few days to familiarize ourselves with the new tunes before seeing them played live. You can pre-order the album here for 15% off ($10.20 for the CD, $15.30 for the LP).

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Spring Tour Dates
3/11: Cleveland, OH (Grog Shop)
3/12: Pontiac, MI (The Crofoot)
3/13: Chicago, IL (Bottom Lounge)
3/14: Madison, WI (High Noon Saloon)
3/15: Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
3/19: Seattle, WA (Neumo’s)
3/20: Portland, OR (Doug Fir Lounge [21+])
3/21: Portland, OR (Doug Fir Lounge (all ages matinee])
3/23: San Francisco, CA (Great American Music Hall)
3/27: Los Angeles, CA (Troubadour)
4/4: Atlanta, GA (The Masquerade)
4/5: Carrboro, NC (Cat’s Cradle)
4/7: Philadelphia, PA (First Unitarian Church)
4/8: Washington, DC (930 Club)
4/9: New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
4/10: Boston,  MA (Paradise)

Not a particularly big week for music here in Chicago, with the exception of the big Second City 24-hour festival and Andrew Bird’s 4-show stand at Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Well, maybe it’s not fair to say that it’s not a big week… I just don’t know the vast majority of the bands performing in town. Any recommendations?

My picks, such as they are, in bold.

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Monday, December 14
Beat Kitchen: Pat McCurdy
Empty Bottle: The Yolks, Tyler Jon Tyler, Sleepovers [FREE show]
Fourth Presbyterian Church: Andrew Bird
House of Blues: Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies, Janus
Martyr’s: Nathan Angelo, Micah Dalton, Claire Stahlecker
Reggie’s Music Joint:  cavepeople, Kasey’s Point
Ronny’s:  Public Hair (variety/comedy night), Percolator
Schubas:  The Cardboard Sangria Showcase ft. Darling, The Nothingheads, Bany and Hide

Andrew Bird: “Imitosis” (video)

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Tuesday, December 15
Beat Kitchen: Chicago Underground Comedy
Double Door: Bobby Long
Empty Bottle: My Were They, Chicago Stone Lightning Band, Hollows
Fourth Presbyterian Church: Andrew Bird
The Hideout:  Sanctified Grumblers
House of Blues: The Bravery, Manchester Orchestra, As Tall As Lions
Martyr’s: Seafarer, Brice Woodall, Mike Nicolai
Reggie’s Music Joint: Mr. Blotto
Schubas: Nico Vega, Inward Eye, Neon Trees
Second City (24 Hr. Holiday Show): Jeff Tweedy, Bonnie Prince Billy, Mountain Goats, Asssscat, more
The Vic: Raphael Saadiq [CANCELLED]

Jeff Tweedy: “The Thanks I Get” (live video)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: “You Are Lost” (live video)
Asssscat: “C***tear Rabbis” (live video)

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Wednesday, December 16
Abbey Pub: J Beck, Bread n’ Butta, Kill-A-Kat, V.I.R.U., more
Beat Kitchen: Sainthood Reps, All The Day Holiday, Thrillage
Bottom Lounge: Torch Singer, The Heat, Lights Over Bridgeport
Double Door: Future Ghosts, California Wives, Sissy Mena, Satellite 66 [FREE show]
Empty Bottle: David Daniell, Jeremy Lemos, Douglas McCombs & Steve Shelley, more
Fourth Presbyterian Church: Andrew Bird
The Hideout: Immediate Sound Series ft. Fred Anderson Trio
House of Blues: 30 Seconds to Mars, The Used
Lincoln Hall: Just Desserts ft. Annalyze, Keith MacKenzie, Team Bayside High, more
Martyr’s: Grody Hunt, Loaded, Brad Cole
Metro (SmartBar): Front of House, Rees Urban, Lil John
Reggie’s Music Joint: Blah Blah Blah, Shadows on a River, Gods Guns
Ronny’s: Facist Beauties, Misfit Toys, Shark Matter, Guh, Karlis Kandero
Schubas: Alexis Cole & Friends
Subterranean: Wells-Next-The-Sea, Verona Account, The Black Tape, Age of Animals

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Thursday, December 17
Abbey Pub: Unmuvabo, Mama Earth, Christopher LeMark, more
Beat Kitchen: Mortified Chicago, The Blue Ribbon Glee Club
Bottom Lounge: Sons of Fire, Church Key, Felon Love, In Ruines
Double Door: Echo Son, Made Avail, Arma, Along The Parallel
Empty Bottle: ARRIVER, Anatomy of Habit, Decapitado
Fourth Presbyterian Church: Andrew Bird
The Hideout (7pm & 10pm): The Hideout Players present Hideout Christmas Panto
House of Blues: Rise Against, Street Sweeper Social Club, AM Taxi
Lincoln Hall: Hey Champ, French Horn Rebellion, A&R
Martyr’s: Black Umbrella Brigade, Nate and His Kite, A Sample Life
Metro (SmartBar): Hulk, Jeekoos, Ruckus
Reggie’s Music Joint: Yeti vs. Yeti, Common Anomaly, Capt. Kneal and the Noisemakers, more
Reggie’s Rock Club:  The Handsome Devilz, Kid A
Ronny’s: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, Cinema Cinema, Marseilles, Left Brain Heart
Schubas: Raise High The Roof Beam, Gentleman Auction House, Old Stable Hands
Subterranean: The Bitter Tears, Begin by Gathering, The Columbines, Bully Pulpit

Raise High The Roof Beam: “Break My Heart In Two” (live video)

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Friday, December 18
Abbey Pub: The Ricol Band (the music of Carlos Santana)
Beat Kitchen: Musikanto, Death Ships, Curtis Evans
Bottom Lounge: The Glide, Makeshift Prodigy, theMDR, Professor Kliq
Double Door: Tortured Soul, Carla Prather, DJ Lady D
Empty Bottle: Mannequin Men, White Mystery, Blasted Diplomats, Village
The Hideout (7pm & 10pm): The Hideout Players present Hideout Christmas Panto
House of Blues:  Sister Hazel, Tony Lucca
House of Blues (back porch): Ross Bon & The Mighty Blue Kings Christmas show
Lincoln Hall: Motion City Soundtrack (playing “I Am The Movie”), Ultimate Fakebook
Martyr’s: Bumpus, Terrible Spaceship, Brent Pulse, more
Metro: Rise Against, The Bollweevils, Noise by Numbers [SOLD OUT]
Metro (SmartBar): Treasure Fingers, Only Children, Kid Color
Reggie’s Music Joint: Frank Catalano Band, Willy and the Willing, Big Sexxy, many more
Reggie’s Rock Club (6pm): Kill Hannah
Reggie’s Rock Club (10pm): Lockeroom Talk, Workout Music, Boomjuice
Ronny’s: The Chairs, Athens
Riviera Theatre: Robin Thicke, Ryan Leslie, Laura Izibor
Schubas: London Calling (Clash trib.), All Mods Conned (Jam trib.)
Subterranean: Dr. Manhattan, Truman & His Trophy, Or So It Goes, Animal City

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Saturday, December 19
Abbey Pub: Mr. Blotto
Beat Kitchen (5:30pm): Chase Coy, Mark Rose, Jamestown Story, Lucas Carpenter
Beat Kitchen (10:30pm): Chia Pet, The House That Gloria Vanderbilt, Prizzy Prizzy Please
Bottom Lounge: The Methadones, The Wanton Looks, The Reaganomics, The Sky We Scrape
Double Door: The Detroit Cobras, The Dexter Romweber Duo, The Blacks, Lawrence Peters Outfit
Empty Bottle: Record Low, Bully In The Hallway, mr. Gnome
The Hideout: The Snow Angels
House of Blues: Sister Hazel
Lincoln Hall: Motion City Soundtrack (playing “Commit This To Memory”), Ultimate Fakebook
Martyr’s: Chicago Afrobeat Project, Get Up with the Get Downs, Bombay Beatbox
Metro: Kill Hannah, Hey Champ, 1997
Metro (SmartBar): Claude Vonstroke, Justin Long, Alena
Reggie’s Rock Club (5pm): William Beckett, Danny Stevens, The Graduate, Mathletes, Take Cover
Reggie’s Music Joint: John Condron & The Benefit
Reggie’s Rock Club (11pm): Aetiology, Freedom, Debello
Ronny’s: Ol’ Boy, Poverty Tax, El Fuego, Slow Gun Shogun, Garret Santora
Schubas: Reel Jem, Rego, Nathan Xander, The Fire at Endsville
Subterranean:  Matlock & Wes Restless, Black Collar, Swift, Billiedeeboodah, more

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Sunday, December 20
Abbey Pub: Under an Indigo Sun, Guests
Beat Kitchen (12pm): Jeanie B! and The Jelly Beans
Beat Kitchen (7pm): Gold Motel, Secret Colours, Destry
Empty Bottle: Joan of Arc, Male, My Empty Phantom, Victor Villarreal
The Hideout: Dasboton, Slick Conditions
Lincoln Hall: Motion City Soundtrack (playing “Even If It Kills Me”), Ultimate Fakebook
Metro: Lasers and Fast and Shit, Old Fake, Call Me Lightning, Driftless Pony Club
Reggie’s Music Joint: Odd Shaped Pieces, Plane, Chrash, more
Ronny’s: The Canoes, Hospital Garden, Dirtyswitch
Subterranean: Wiz Khalifa, Dave Coresh, Tha Basix, 1773, DJs Intel & Trentino

Joan of Arc: “Just Pack or Unpack” (live video)

Not sure why I’m just learning about this now, but Chicago’s Second City Theater is hosting an incredible 24-hour festival this week to benefit the Letters To Santa organization.

The Second City That Never Sleeps festival runs from Tuesday at 6pm until Wednesday at 6pm, and features a bunch of great musicians and comedians – all for the price of just $15. Tickets are sold at the door only and are good for the entire 24-hour event as long as their are still seats left. Oh, and the show is all ages.

Here’s the schedule:

Tues., 7pm: Jeff Tweedy
Tues., 10pm: Robbie Fulks
Wed., 12am: Upright Citien’s Brigade’s Matt Walsh & Horatio Sanz
Wed., 3am: Flashmob Marching Band
Wed., 6am: Bonnie Prince Billy
Wed., 7:30am: Baby Co
Wed., 12pm: Nina Nastasia
Wed., 2pm: The Mountain Goats
Wed., 4:30pm: The Blisters

Additionally, current resident Second City cast members will be playing throughout the event as well as alumni including TJ Jagodowski, Tami Sagher, Susan Messing, Joe Canale, Horatio Sanz and more…

Finally, if all that isn’t enough, they’re going to be raffling off a ton of great prizes throughout the event, including a private concert with Jeff Tweedy.

So, err, I wonder if I need to go get in line for this tomorrow.

The festival takes place at the Second City Chicago- ETC Theatre at 1608 N Wells St.

Alright, Axl… bring this back to the States. Soon.

BTW, the videos are generally pretty decent, but the folks in the audience feel the need to clap along to songs waaaay too much.

“Welcome to the Jungle” (live in Taipei, Fri. 12/11/09)

“December Rain” (live in Taipei, Fri. 12/11/09

“Paradise City” (live in Taipei, Fri. 12/11/09)