Q101 The Alternative
Q101 (formerly on Chicago radio @ 101.1 FM) The Alternative - Chicago's New Rock Alternative - Everything Alternative - Chicago's Alternative - Gen X - Generation X
Q101 and Local 101 came back to The Montrose Room this last Friday night, and we brought 2 Chicago bands with us, Stoop Goodnoise, and Local H. The doors opened at 8pm, and by the time yours truly spoke to the crowd for a few minutes, you coul hear the glasses clinking and see the beer flowing mixing with the chatter of an audience waiting for the music to start.
Stoop Goodnoise opened the show with their eclectic mix of punk and solid rock guitar. These guys are no strangers to us, with their single from their self-titled release in 2010 “First Names” getting airplay on Local 101. Adrian, Luis, Bella, and David hammered their set out with cohesion, smiles, and an air that was contagious to those within earshot. I spoke with Adrian on and off throughout the evening, and they take a lot of pride in what they do, and they certainly should.
These boys are ones to keep an eye on, and should be listened to on a regular basis. You can take the opportunity to do so, with their freshly out in the wild album, “Crash Me, Cloud” that was dropped onto us January 28th, which you can cheerfully pick up here.
After a break, we find ourselves with Chicago music royalty, Local H.
Scott and Brian brought a 90 minute plus set to the ears of all in The Montrose Room, with a few songs from their catalog starting up a small pit to the left of the stage, and culminating in Scott Lucas taking to walk into the middle of the crowd, much to the delight of everyone there.
With 6, and soon to be 7 studio albums in their pocket, Local H runs strong and wild through the world of music, and energetic and positively electric live performances. Long sets, and live creativity is what the creators of songs like “Bound For The Floor”, and albums like “Pack Up The Cats”, and “As Good As Dead” are known for, and did not disappoint. Local H always brings such a good vibe with them, with a feel like you’re going to your buddy’s garage to see those guys that you know play for the neighborhood, yet their neighborhood is much bigger, and their presence can;t be contained in a garage. Keep your eyes peeled for their new album later this year “Hallelujah! I’m A Bum”.
After talking to members of both bands backstage, it’s good to see there’s still that love of the music, and legitimate gratefulness to the fans. We look forward to bringing you more shows like this, more memorable moments you can pass on to those that may not have made it, and more smiles like this from the fans, and the bands that we work with:
Thanks to Local H, Stoop Goodnoise, The Montrose Room, and the fans for making it another awesome Local 101 Show!!
Jim Ryan of ChicagoNow.com has a good review of this show HERE. Thanks for the plug Jim!
Q101′s first Local 101 show of the year was a great notch on our belts (and yours!)-a sold-out show! Thanks to all who turned out! For those who were turned away at the door (and there were quite a few unfortunately), we look forward to seeing you at the show there with Local H March 9! Don’t wait to get tickets at the door-Click HERE!
The Montrose Room is one of the best-kept secrets in town, though it won’t be for long: It’s wonderfully intimate and has a very exclusive feel. It’s a classy place enscounced in the Hotel Intercontinental in Rosemont. How ritzy is this place? Well, let’s put it this way: it was a strange scene to witness the intermingling of the Q101 crowd and the stone-faced security minions of the Minister Louis Farrakhan who was staying the night there before his group’s annual convention at the United Center Sunday. So striking was the contrast between the two factions dominating the premises Saturday night-Q101 and Farrakhan rockin’ the same scene? Really?- that the steely demeanor and red bow ties favored by the Nation of Islam devotees may be the new required wear for the Q101 staff at future shows!
The openers of the show, Chicago’s Hear You Me did a great job onstage with their own songs, and others like The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”. Thanks to the guys in Hear You Me (Tim, Mike, Stefan, Dave) for performing, and showing what they’ve got!
Next up was the evening’s main event, Lucky Boys Confusion!
These west suburban boys have been around for 15 years, and have left their mark on the landscape with a well-versed discography, and not to mention the “Songs From A Scene” concert series. They brought the crowd into a fervor with some of their hits like “Atari”, “Hey Driver”, and “Fred Astaire”. It was a great performance, with a set that lasted approximately 80 minutes, going through 15 songs from their library. Their show even featured a small, but surprisingly fierce pit.
We’re great fans of Lucky Boys Confusion, and we have a very long history with them. It’s always good to see them, hear them, and the way they can get a crowd worked up! Thanks to The Montrose Room, Hear You Me, and Lucky Boys Confusion for helping us bring YOU, the fans, Local 101 as it should be. Fun, exciting, and packed full of people having a great time!
At least one of these guys will be selling their free shirt on Ebay. Can you guess? (Bonus points if you guessed “the guy not wearing socks!” Nice work!)
Good Morning Matt,
The response to your question is HELL YEAH! I truly miss hearing Sherman and Tingle in the mornings and from time to time when I was out of school hearing Electra as well. They would always have interesting subject matter to talk about and I loved the music. I have been raised in the culture of rock ‘n roll and heavy metal and all that screams awesome. I feel that alternative has always had a place in my heart and I would love to see Q101.1 back on the radio. I believe that all people should be exposed to all different kinds of music and that even what might be posed as too controversial or too eclectic or even too unknown or uncomfortable like alternative should remain there as a means for people to try something new. As for us folks who love it already I’m sure there are other people that miss it – like 101,000 people that miss it and would like it on Facebook. However, I can never like it on Facebook because I destroyed it due to harassment and too many haters. So the big question is how can I the Facebook hater or anyone else that can’t use Facebook help to get Q101.1 up and running? What is an alternative (haha) way to be active in getting Q101.1 back on air?
Thanks so much for reading my long-winded spiel, XD
Sophia
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Hey Sophia!
Thanks for the email. Really cool. It’s awesome you care enough to think about this Q101 let alone compose an email.This is what the advertising world and broadcasting world doesnt understand. We’ve worked in it for 15+ years. It’s maddening.
The bottom line is, the Facebook mission is one piece of the puzzle. It’s one example for advertisers etc. We (Q101) have leverage and negotiating power if we can provide proof of performance from the audience. That means web traffic, facebook interaction, email club members, SMS subscribers, etc.
The old way that mattered was ratings. Ratings used to be king. When Q101 had Mancow, they had ratings. Then they learned ratings didnt matter, they actually needed SALES. The sales people went to 7-11 or Lowes and tried to sell Limp Bizkit and Mancow and they say HELL no. So Q101 dropped both…. and then sold.
So what else can you do? If everyone does these things regularly, we’ll be able to get on the radio and/or we won’t NEED to be on the radio.
You asked for it! lol….
These things seem so little, but it’s the little things that kill! If we master the little things above we have the power. When we’re in a board room with the media buyers for Taco Bell, we can show them how AWESOME the Q101 fans are with actual data. When we’re in a board room with CBS or Citadel, we can show them how Q101 will perform better for them than station X or station Y. They will be chomping at the bit to get Q101 because they will see what we ARE DOING without a radio signal is beating what THEY ARE doing WITH a radio signal.
This is how the fans win. Because once this occurs, the fans get the best of both worlds. The Q101 interactive and event world is really involved and connected, and the broadcast is back on a radio frequency. Another side effect is, once we master these things together, we won’t need a radio frequency. We’re working on a way to put a smart phone in every Q101 fan’s hand FREE. When that happens, you have Q101 in your car, at home, at work, etc….just like before.
Feel free to share this email with your friends. Mind if I post yours (without your email and last name on Q101.com so everyone can read both?)
Thanks Sophia!
Matt Partner Q101
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