Sweet 16 Press Links

Chicago Tribune by Greg Kot

The Weekend's Best Shows (Recommended)
Show of the Day: Carrot Top Records Sweet 16 Party
One of the city’s finest indie labels throws itself a birthday celebration with eight bands spread over two nights of music, including a reunion by avant-lounge pioneers the Coctails; guitar-monster Tara Key with her excellent trio, Antietam; and hardcore roots duo the Handsome Family, Friday-Saturday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $15; ticketweb.com.

Daily Herald (KatJonBand + Sweet 16)

As expected, a mature pulse of antiwar sentiment and relevant social concern courses throughout the diverse proceedings. Smart, sinewy, spiky and occasionally sonorous, "KatJonBand" is evidence that even while forging their own paths, sometimes punks should listen to their elders.-Jeff Pizek

KatJonBand performs with The Coctails, Antietam and The Bitter Tears as part of Carrot Top Records' Sweet 16 Party at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago. $15; proceeds benefit the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. (773) 227-4433.

Chicago Reader (Critic's Choice and Recommended)

Coctails, Antietam, KatJonBand, Bitter Tears
When: Fri., Sept. 26, 9 p.m.
Phone: 773-227-4433 or 866-468-3401
Price: $15

-There isn’t much new to say about Chicago’s beloved Coctails. Dressed in their trademark skinny suits, the quartet spent the late 80s and early 90s paying goofy, endearing tribute to every type of evening-out music, from jazz, exotica, and Rat Pack crooning to British Invasion pop. After the band’s 1995 farewell show at the Lounge Ax, John Upchurch, Barry Phipps, Mark Greenberg, and Archer Prewitt all went on to other things, but they’ve remained on call. Since their first reunion show in 2000—a joyous, generous, tightly executed set to bid the Lounge Ax adieu—they’ve been sporadically coming back together, as though at the flash of some indie Bat Signal, and each time they’ve created another were-you-there scene milestone. Today the Coctails headline the first night of Carrot Top Records’ Sweet 16 Party, one of the year’s best unsung festivals; former Chicagoans the Handsome Family headline tomorrow. Proceeds go to the Accelerated Cure Project, a multiple-sclerosis research organization. —Monica Kendrick

Chicago Sun-Times Blog by Jim DeRogatis

--Carrot Top Records, one of Chicago's least-hyped but most consistently excellent independent labels, celebrates its Sweet 16 birthday this weekend with two shows to benefit the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia. Friday's lineup includes the Coctails, Antietam, the katjonband (with Jon Langford Katerina Ex of the Ex) and the Bitter Tears, while Saturday's features the Handsome Family, Megan Reilly, Speck Mountain and Lys Guillorn. Both shows start at 9 p.m., and tickets are $15.00 per night via www.Ticketweb.com.

Time Out Chicago

--Low-key local indie label Carrot Top celebrates its 16th anniversary in style with a bevy of its favorite players. Idiosyncratic lounge act the Coctails reunite for a rare one-off, while indie mainstay Tara Key unleashes her inner guitar goddess with the revered trio Antietam. Longtime friends Jon Langford and Katherina Ex of—you guessed it—the Ex open as the KatJonBand following a set by the Bitter Tears. Profits from tonight's show will be donated to the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis.