FREAK HAPPENING: saki's new monthly comedy show!

Creative Control is dead and gone. 

MEET FREAK HAPPENING!

For some, you know that something is happening, but what is it that is happening? 

Freaks. Freaks are happening all around us. Take a look around. Yeah, that guy over there, he's a freak. That beautiful baby, she's totally freaking out. 

In a world gone mad, find shelter in the spiritual arms of Goodrich Gevaart and Nicholas Rouley, for they are your humor shamans and they will guide you towards silly enlightenment. Laugh not because you want to, but because, hey, it's going to be very funny, you freak-a-deek.

"It's all in the mind, you know?" - George Harrison

Featured freaks include:
Bill Cruz
Chad Briggs
Candy Lawrence
Trey Brown
Kenny DeForest
Goodrich Gevaart & Nicholas Rouley

Standup comedy, sketch comedy, and assorted other cultural detritus come together on the final Friday of every month starting this Friday, August 30th at 7:30pm.

Disappears "Era" Pitchfork 7.3

Kranky's latest offering from Chicago's Disappears on LP/CD entitled Era received a 7.3 review on Pitchfork today.  Check out what those big brains had to say -

"...it all starts to come together on Era: the post-punk propulsion, the protracted kraut rhythms born out of the negative spaces of no-wave, the macabre baritone croons. It’s been done before, but now it’s being done like Disappears."

"Era swirls around its centerpiece, the nine-and-a-half minute 'Ultra'. It's the song Disappears have been angling toward their career. If Swans ever decided to replace their bolo ties with skinny ties, they might’ve written something like it. After the departure of Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, Noah Leger lends a new energy to the band. He lays back in the pocket right with bassist Damon Carruesco for a rhythm section that sounds like it’s trying to be the extroverted kid but can’t stop sulking in the corner. So often Era sounds like an indictment of dance music with an industrial bent, a Ciroc martini served with a black beetle crawling around the rim."

"Era showcases all the work Disappears have done cutting and splicing and regathering their sound together to regain their identity. It’s still lurking in the shadows, but finally, it's there."

Who wants some new John Bellows wax!?

You do, I hope. You SHOULD.

We just got copies of John Bellows long-awaited return to full length vinyl, Fast Hits AND copies of the 'Traveller's Song' 7" on purdy yellow vinyl!

Come snag these up quick, folks. You really need more John Bellows in your life.

White Mystery playing Riot Fest, Telepathic still available and still awesome!

Everyone's favorite Chicagingers, White Mystery are playing Riot Fest on September 15th! They'll be joined over the course of the weekend by about 2 billion other bands, among them Maps and Atlases, Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr, and some dudes calling themselves The Replacements. Head over there for a good time!

In other news, White Mystery's latest LP, Telepathic is still very much available for your greedy little hands to grip, so do that. Grip it!

saki newsletter 8/27/13!

Hey folks, how were you weeks? Each and every one of you, let's go. Spill the beans! We had a nice and easy one with not much going on the shop but you're typical hanging out in a record store stuff. We also had a blast at The Burlington's 6-year anniversary party on Saturday. We hope plenty of you made it out for that!

This week we're pretty much drowning in anticipation for the premiere of FREAK HAPPENING on Friday night! Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart are picking up where our old pal, Joe McAdam left off with Creative Control. They'll be hosting a comedy/freak show on the last Friday of every month here at saki. Their run kicks off this month with a full-on sketch and stand up comedy bonanza that you do not want to miss. We don't want to give too much away, but there will be a lazer light show and probably some not-so-tasteful nudes. Maybe don't bring the kids to this one, but DO B Your Own B. Comedy is always more fun that way...

Next week we have the opening reception for our September artist, Keith Herzik. Keith has some really incredible gonzo-ed screen prints and show posters that we're excited to exhibit at saki! Blue Ribbon Glee Club will be performing. It's going to be awesome! As always, snacks and some drinks provided by saki, but definitely feel free to B Your B to this as well! 

After that we've got an in-store with STNNNG, another Off The Record party (with guest TBA) and yet another Once In A Lifetime event at Lincoln Hall. September is looking food, y'all! Come hang with us.

Upcoming events:

Friday, August 30th @ 7:30pm

Freak Happening with Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart!

Friday, September 6th @ 6pm

Opening reception of 'Threw My Hands Outta My Head' screen prints by Keith Herzik with musical guest, the Blue Ribbon Glee Club!

Saturday, September 14th @ 4pm

In-store with STNNNG!

Sunday, September 15th @ 12pm

Off The Record - September! More info soon!

Monday, September 16th, 8pm @ Lincoln Hall

saki and Everything Is Terrible present Once In A Lifetime with Liza Treyger, Megan Gailey and Stephanie Hasz heckling Death of a Cheerleader!

New Releases:

Don't forget about the weekly new release sale! This week you can pick up Bill Callahan, Disappears and Weiss/Cameron/Hill's Drumgasm for 20% off!

Belle and Sebastian - Third Eye Centre (deluxe and regular CDs AND LPs!)

Blood Brothers - Crimes LP

Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island LP

Blood Brothers - Young Machetes LP

Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love LP

Disappears - Era CD and LP

Dodos - Carrier CD and LP

Flaamingos - S/T CD and LP

King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath The Moon CD, LP and cassette

Janet Weiss, Matt Cameron and Zach Hill - Drumgasm LP

Yo La Tengo - Ohm 3x12"

Weekly new release sale @ saki!

Each week saki will be offering a handful of new releases for 20% OFF! You can check the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or our newsletter, to find out which titles will be discounted. We'll choose 2-3 titles each week and they'll be discounted for their entire first week of release!

This week we're continuing the sale on Bill Callahan dub 12" and adding the new Disappears and Janet Weiss with Matt Cameron and Zach Hill for 20% off!

Bill Callahan - Expanding Dub 12"

2 dub versions of songs from Callahan's forthcoming "Dream River" album on Drag City. That's right.... dub versions of Bill Callahan songs! Seriously.

Janet Weiss, Matt Cameron and Zach Hill - Drumgasm LP

Janet Weiss (SLEATER-KINNEY, QUASI, WILD FLAG), Matt Cameron (SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM) and Zach Hill (HELLA, DEATH GRIPS) join forces to create "Drumgasm," a 2 song, 39 minute vinyl-only release of just what it sounds like - 3 drum kits, 3 drummers, some microphones and a reel of tape - that's it: one pure explosion of spontaneity.

Disappears - Era CD and LP

Insular and dark, their latest album sees the band further refining their love of dub, minimalism and repetition into their most original and stark (re: SUICIDE-esque) set yet, harkening back to the early 80s post punk period, when almost anything seemed possible with the classic 2 guitar line, bass and drums line up.

PITCHFORK 8.2 for Ty Segall's "Sleeper"

We-hey-hey-ell...check it.

Pitchfork.com has issued Drag City recording artist Ty Segall an 8.2 review for his new album (out on 08/20/13) entitled Sleeper on CD, LP, and the format of young America, the Cassette.

"Gone is the brazen, screaming Segall behind Slaughterhouse, Melted, and Twins. Even the relatively sedate Goodbye Bread, with its exploding heads and angry California commercials, featured a more intense Segall than the one who made Sleeper. 'When I was making [Sleeper], I couldn't have written a loud, heavy song if somebody had paid me to,' he said. Instead, he picked up his acoustic guitar and made something that owes less to Sabbath and more to Tyrannosaurus Rex-era Marc Bolan or early Bert Jansch.

So after all his shrieking, shredding, and psychedelic freakouts last year, Sleeper offers a welcome sonic respite. It's easily his most stripped down effort to date, full of elegantly simple, catchy, well-crafted songs.

But even when he's switching things up on Sleeper, the album never feels as scatterbrained as his previous work. Goodbye Bread opened with a sing-songy ballad and went straight into a shout. Twins featured psychedelia and garage pop. Melted had acoustic-driven catchiness and blown-out fuzz. Those albums could pull off a scattershot of styles with well-placed transitions, but Sleeper is something else. Everything here easily lives in the same universe-- 10 tracks of similarly hued songs, all of a piece. It's his most focused album, with every song's tone easily flowing into the next, and it's also one of his best.

No Best New Music with an 8.2 rating?  Did that guy have the day off at Pitchfork or something? 

WHAT. THE. HELL?!?!?!?!

My apologies to those who prefer blogs to be positive, happy, and an altogether re-rendering of the REM song "Shiny Happy People"....but since this is the neighborhood that I work in, drive through, and have a ton of close friends who live here....this is important.

As an automobile owner/driver, I typically wince whenever a cyclist is near my vehicle, if for nothing else, than fear of accidentally hitting them while in transit.  Call it a worst nightmare.  And sure, cyclists in Chicago, have (ahem) a long way to go in regards to following traffic rules that the rest of uf follow, but this takes the proverbial fucking cake - from dnainfo

LOGAN SQUARE — The cyclist who launched the Bike a Bee project to put beehives in community gardens was injured in Logan Square early Tuesday when a passenger in an SUV pulled alongside her, grabbed her messenger bag and pulled her down the road.

Jana Kinsman, 27, had been heading north on Kimball Avenue to check on a friend's cat in Albany Park just after midnight. As Kinsman passed Wrightwood Avenue, an SUV rushed her.

“A car pulled up really close next to me — this big maroon-purple Tahoe — and it was pushing me against the [parked] cars and I couldn’t do anything," Kinsman said. "I couldn’t brake or swerve. I was pinned between this moving car and this other car."

Someone reached from the rear passenger-side window, Kinsman said, and grabbed her messenger bag, which was slung across her back.

"I started screaming. I didn't know what else to do," said Kinsman, who said she's been cycling in Chicago for about six years. "I could hear them laughing like it was a game or something.”

After a few seconds, Kinsman's bike smacked into a parked car. The man lost his grip on Kinsman and she fell to the ground — hitting her hip hard before bouncing onto the left side of her body.

Let me state this plain/clear right now: IF YOU DID THIS, YOU'RE A DICK. If you think it's funny, YOU'RE A DICK. Seriously, c'mon Chicago. Do better. Be better.

A fundraiser page has been set up to help cover the costs of Jana's medical costs, etc. Please help out if you can!

Closing early tonight (Tues. 8/20)

Just a brief heads-up - saki will be closing early this evening (Tues. 8/20) at 7pm for a company party. Thanks for understanding, and we'll be back open tomorrow 12-8pm!

PiL's famous 1980 appearance on American Bandstand

During "Poptones" and "Careering," Lydon doesn't even pretend to lip sync, and if you were in the audience, you ended up on stage.

saki newsletter 8/20/13!

Oh boy, we hope some of you had the chance to join us this past week for our Once In A Lifetime movie night at Lincoln Hall with Everything Is Terrible, The Puterbaugh Sisters, Chad Briggs and Natalie Jose, or our awesome in-store with Comfort Food and Bode Radio on Saturday! A few of you may have even hung out with us last night for the filming of a very cool new music video for Owen's single 'Bad Blood' too! That was a really special experience for us. You can check out a few pics on our Facebook and Instagram, but we'll let you know when the full video is available too!

Not a lot going on in the shop this week, but we'll be here as always, slingin' the goods and helping you find what you need! We encourage everyone to come hang out with us on Saturday at The Burlington for their 6 year anniversary party. There will be sets from Bloodiest, David Vandervelde, Tight Phantomz, Pink Avalanche and more, including new songs from Mannequin Men and DJ sets all day!

The next big thing at the shop is the premiere of Freak Happening, our new comedy show (taking over the last Friday of the month slot from our dearly departed Creative Control)! Two of our favorite Chicago comics, and music fans, Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart, will be hosting and producing the show. We couldn't be more excited to see what they have in store for us. It will be a good time, GUARANTEED.

After that, we have the opening for our September artist, Keith Herzik and another Once In A Lifetime at Lincoln Hall! Check the events page on saki's Facebook for more info!

Just a reminder to everyone, saki is always looking for more used records! If you, or anyone you know, is looking to unload some vinyl in exchange for cash or store credit, give us a call!

Upcoming events:

Friday, August 30th @ 7:30pm
Freak Happening with Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart!

Friday, September 6th @ 6pm
Opening reception of 'Threw My Hands Outta My Head' screen prints by Keith Herzik!

Monday, September 16th @ 8pm
Once In A Lifetime at Lincoln Hall - 'Death of a Cheerleader'!

New releases @ saki 8/20/13:

Don't forget about the weekly new release sale! You can get No Age, Bill Callahan and Montibus Communitas for 20% off this week!

Aquarelle "August Undone" LP

Julianna Barwick "Nepenthe" LP/CD

Bill Callahan "Expanding Dub" 12" LP

Andrew Cedermark "Home Life" LP

Al Cisneros (of Om) "Ark Procession" 10"

Crocodiles "Crimes Of Passion" LP

Destruction Unit "Deep Trip" LP

Diana "Perpetual Surrender" LP

Eddie Gale "Black Rhythm Happening" LP (4 Men W/Beards re-issue)

Eddie Gale "Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music" LP (4 Men W/Beards re-issue)

M. Geddes Gengras "Collected Works Vol. 1" LP

Danny Paul Grody "Between Two Worlds" LP

Mountains "S/T" LP (re-issue)

No Age "An Object" LP/CD

Octopus Project "Fever Forms" LP

Porcelain Raft "Permanent Signal" LP

Rokk "I Want To Live High" LP

Scorched Earth Policy "Going Thru The Hole..." LP

Ty Segall "Sleeper" LP/CAS/CD

Shigeto "No Better Time Than Now" LP

Superchunk "I Hate Music" LP/CD/DELUXE LP

Telekinesis "S/T" LP (1st time on vinyl!!)

Their/They're/There "S/T" LP/CD

Urinials "Negative Capability" LP

Venom P. Stinger "86-91" CD

Venom P. Stinger "Meet My Friend Venom" LP

Venom P. Stinger "Waiting Room" LP (re-issue)

Venom P. Stinger "What's Yours Is Mine" LP (re-issue)

White Hills "So You Are..." LP

Zola Jesus "Versions" LP/CD (JG "Foetus" Thirlwell orchestrations)

New Releases @ saki 8/20!!!

Aquarelle "August Undone" LP
Julianna Barwick "Nepenthe" LP/CD
Bill Callahan "Expanding Dub" 12" LP
Andrew Cedermark "Home Life" LP
Al Cisneros (of Om) "Ark Procession" 10"
Crocodiles "Crimes Of Passion" LP
Destruction Unit "Deep Trip" LP
Diana "Perpetual Surrender" LP
Fleetwood Mac "1969 - 1972" LP BOX SET
Eddie Gale "Black Rhythm Happening" LP (4 Men W/Beards re-issue)
Eddie Gale "Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music" LP (4 Men W/Beards re-issue)
M. Geddes Gengras "Collected Works Vol. 1" LP
Danny Paul Grody "Between Two Worlds" LP
Julia Holter "Loud City Song" LP
Mountains "S/T" LP (re-issue)
No Age "An Object" LP/CD
Octopus Project "Fever Forms" LP
Porcelain Raft "Permanent Signal" LP
Rokk "I Want To Live High" LP
Scorched Earth Policy "Going Thru The Hole..." LP
Ty Segall "Sleeper" LP/CAS/CD
Shigeto "No Better Time Than Now" LP
Superchunk "I Hate Music" LP/CD/DELUXE LP
Telekinesis "S/T" LP (1st time on vinyl!!)
Their/They're/There "S/T" LP/CD
Urinials "Negative Capability" LP
Venom P. Stinger "86-91" CD
Venom P. Stinger "Meet My Friend Venom" LP
Venom P. Stinger "Waiting Room" LP (re-issue)
Venom P. Stinger "What's Yours Is Mine" LP (re-issue)
White Hills "So You Are..." LP
Zola Jesus "Versions" LP/CD (JG "Foetus" Thirlwell orchestrations)

Weekly new release sale @ saki!

Each week saki will be offering a handful of new releases for 20% OFF! You can check the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or our newsletter, to find out which titles will be discounted. We'll choose 2-3 titles each week and they'll be discounted for their entire first week of release!

This week we're continuing the sale on Trouble In Mind's Montibus Communitas LP, and adding the new No Age record and Bill Callahan dub 12" for 20% off!

No Age - An Object CD and LP

On their 4th full-length the duo have their feet planted in fresh, fertile soil. The drummer/vocalist explodes from behind his kit, lands precussive blows w/ amplified contact mics, 4-string bass guitars, and prepared speakers, as well as traditional forms of lumber and metal. Meanwhile, guitarist Randy Randall corrals his previously lush, spastic, sprawling arrangements into taught, refined, rats' nests

Bill Callahan - Expanding Dub 12"

2 dub versions of songs from Callahan's forthcoming "Dream River" album on Drag City. That's right.... dub versions of Bill Callahan songs! Seriously.

Montibus Communitas - Hacia Aquellos Bosques de Inmensidad LP

Limited edition of 500 mixed color vinyl with download code! The 4 pieces recorded for Lima, Peru's psych/krautrock collective Montibus Communitas' TIM debut employs mostly acoustic instrumentation; acoustic guitars, violin, pan flute, bongos, cymbals and the human voice, leaving as little distance as possible from the sounds and their makers - the visceral connection of musician to instrument is unbound by the limitations of electrical current.

saki will close at 5pm TODAY (Sunday)!

Hey everyone, saki will be closing at 5pm today (8/18) to shoot a new music video for Owen!

Sorry for any inconvenience. We are ready for our closeup!

Comfort Food and Bode Radio playing saki TODAY at 5pm!

Comfort Food and Bode Radio are playing an in-store at saki TODAY at 5pm!

Both bands play dark, funked out, weird jazz. It's really, really good. According to the bands it could get weird, or it could not get weird. You'll have to come and find out!

Music Store Buys Hoarder House Collection of 250,000 Records

Apollo Music in Port Coquitlam, BC, outside Vancouver, were contacted last year about taking possession of the massive record collection that one of their ex-customers had left behind in his house when he passed away. What they found astounded and amazed them, and it is still a work in progress.

Sometimes stuff just gets away from you. Mock not lest ye be mocked.

If you know somebody who's dying to get rid of their great record collection, give us a call at saki!

Here's the Apollo Records blog where you can read more about it.

HT stonyroads.com

Upcoming Metro guest list spots!

Even more spots to give away! Just make a purchase (in-store purchases only) and request your show at checkout. Metro's got some good ones coming up. We have two pairs to give away for each of these unless otherwise noted!

9/10 Deerhunter spots have all been claimed!

9/13 Washed Out spots have all been claimed!

9/16 Savages Spots have been claimed!

9/20 Phosphorescent (only one pair left!)

9/26 Shovels and Rope

10/5 Gold Panda (only one pair left!)

10/18 CocoRosie (only one pair left!)

Upcoming Empty Bottle guest list spots!

We've got one pair (guest list spot with +1) for these upcoming shows at the Empty Bottle! All you have to do is purchase a full length CD or LP (in-store purchases only) and claim your spot!

8/20 - Survival, Heavy Times, Vamos!

8/31 Ty Segall, Axis:Sova, Running spots have been claimed!

9/10 - Human Eye, Shocked Minds

9/12 - Dirty Beaches

9/13 - Bare Mutants, Verma

9/14 - No Age, Joan of Arc spots have been claimed!

9/20 - Disappears, Weekend spots have been claimed!

9/21 - Pere Ubu

9/22 - Pop. 1280, Running

Upcoming Schubas/Lincoln Hall guest list spots!

We hope you're all aware of our running promotion with Schubas and Lincoln Hall. As a refresher, if you purchase releases (in-store purchases only) from an artist who is playing an upcoming show at either venue, we can add you to the guest list (obviously, some exceptions apply)!

Here are some upcoming shows at both venues that we highly recommend!

Titus Andronicus 8/28 at Lincoln Hall
The Love Language 8/29 at Schubas
Pet Lions and Brother George 8/31 at Schubas
Austra 8/31 at Lincoln Hall
Pinback 9/3 at Lincoln Hall
Willis Earl Beal (record release show) 9/6 at Schubas
Lightning Dust 9/8 at Schubas
Youth Lagoon and Pure X 9/11 at Lincoln Hall
Porcelain Raft 9/12 at Schubas
No Age and Running 9/13 at Schubas (only one pair left!)
Jackson Scott 9/14 at Schubas
A Lull and Yawn 9/14 at Lincoln Hall
Dodos 9/19 at Lincoln Hall
Julia Holter 9/21 at Schubas
No Joy 9/24 at Schubas
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 9/24 at Lincoln Hall
Laura Veirs and Karl Blau 9/25 at Schubas
Screaming Females and Waxahatchee 9/25 at Lincoln Hall (sorry, guest list closed)
Foxygen 9/26 at Lincoln Hall
Cody Chesnutt 9/29 at Lincoln Hall
Hanni El Khatib and Bass Drum of Death 10/3 at Lincoln Hall
Why? 10/6 at Lincoln Hall
Blitzen Trapper 10/7 at Lincoln Hall
Neil Hamburger 10/9 at Schubas

Once in a Lifetime - Drew Peterson: Untouchable!

Once in a Lifetime, a comedy show/movie night at Lincoln Hall, presented by saki and Everything is Terrible, celebrates the horrifying world of Lifetime Original Movies. Each month, some of our favorite comedians will provide commentary over the screening of a made-for-Lifetime movie.

This month, Chad Briggs, Natalie Jose, and The Puterbaugh Sisters will be heckling the incredible Drew Peterson: Untouchable!! You guys, it's Rob Lowe as Drew Peterson. It's amazing. Check out this trailer that Everything Is Terrible made!

In addition to other food and drink specials, Lincoln Hall will be running a special on $3 white wine spritzers for all you cool moms out there!

Wednesday August 14th
Lincoln Hall
8pm
$5
18+

saki newsletter 8/13/13!

You guuuuuys, what a great weekend! We had an art opening for Kirstie Shanley, another saki U event with The Recyclery AND an awesome in-store/Epitonic saki Session with Meat Wave and Geronimo! 

Kirstie's photos are up until the end of the month. You should definitely come check them out. She takes live band photography to a whole other level! You can also pick up releases from any of the artists pictured in her photos for 20% off all this month! SALE! DEAL! YEAH!

saki U was a pleasure yet again. Fro from the Recyclery is an excellent teacher. He taught us things about our bikes that we didn't even know we could know and we all learned how to patch an inner tube! We'll let you know when we're having another saki U event, but in the meantime you should all go check out the Recyclery. Get a bike, take a class, just go hang out and marvel at the awesomeness of it!

Sunday's session with Meat Wave and Geronimo! was just a treat for us, personally. We love both of those bands and they did NOT disappoint. The Chicago Reader even came out to interview the bands and film their performances for their new Soundcheck series, so keep an eye out for that and on Epitonic for the full audio from the session!

Tomorrow (Wednesday), we have another Once In A Lifetime movie/comedy night at Lincoln Hall! We'd love to see each and every one of you there. We know that's a lot to ask, but it's for your own good! You'll get to see a terrible Lifetime movie where Rob Lowe overacts like a muh-fudger as he tries to channel Drew Peterson. It's awful! It's great! It's everything you've ever wanted in a Lifetime movie. To make it even better, we'll have our friends The Puterbaugh Sisters, Natalie Jose, and Chad Briggs along for color commentary throughout the film. We cannot wait to hear the Puterbaugh's improvised songs about Rob Lowe. We all know it's coming... Come on out! It's only $5 and Lincoln Hall is offering $3 white wine spritzers for all you cool moms out there!

Upcoming events:

Wednesday, August 14th @ 8pm

saki and Everything Is Terrible present Once In a Lifetime - Drew Peterson: Untouchable with commentary by The Puterbaugh Sisters, Natalie Jose and Chad Briggs!

Saturday, August 17th @ 5pm

In-store with Comfort Food and Bode Radio!

Friday, August 30th @ 7:30pm

The premiere of FREAK HAPPENING with Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart!

Friday, September 6th @ 6pm

Opening reception of Threw My Hands Outta My Head screen prints by Keith Herzik!

New releases @ saki 8/13/13:

Don't forget about the weekly new release sale! Get Lazy, Montibus Communitas and Secret Colours for 20% off this week!

John Carpenter "The Fog OST" LP

Heaven "Telepathic Love" LP

Montibus Communitas "Hacia Aquellos Bosques de Inmensidad" LP

Moondoggies "Adios, I'm A Ghost" CD/LP

Nirvana "Nevermind" (180 gm re-issue)

Iggy Pop & Yoko Ono "Split 10""

Secret Colours "Peach" LP (deluxe/std. editions)

Washed Out "Paracosm" LP

Weekly new release sale @ saki!

Each week saki will be offering a handful of new releases for 20% OFF! You can check the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or our newsletter, to find out which titles will be discounted. We'll choose 2-3 titles each week and they'll be discounted for their entire first week of release!

This week we're continuing the sale on Lazy's amazing Obsession LP, and we're adding the new Trouble In Mind release from Montibus Communitas, and the long-awaited vinyl version of Secret Colours' Peach LP for 20% off!

Lazy - Obsession LP and cassette

An all-fronts punk assault from this art-fucked Kansas City troop. Kinetic, hook-filled rockers bristle w/ the frantic energy of Wire or the Buzzcocks while an experimental bent unifies their twisted anthems: chaotic guitar rusting, gnarled-out bass grooves, machine-gun drumming, desperate vocals. Ltd to 500 on LP and cassette!

Montibus Communitas - Hacia Aquellos Bosques de Inmensidad LP

Limited edition of 500 mixed color vinyl with download code! The 4 pieces recorded for Lima, Peru's psych/krautrock collective Montibus Communitas' TIM debut employs mostly acoustic instrumentation; acoustic guitars, violin, pan flute, bongos, cymbals and the human voice, leaving as little distance as possible from the sounds and their makers - the visceral connection of musician to instrument is unbound by the limitations of electrical current.

Secret Colours - Peach (standard and deluxe) LPs

Finally, a vinyl version of Secret Colours Peach, in both a standard and deluxe edition no less! "Peach morphs into a feedback drenched bliss-out that sounds like it could have come straight out of Manchester." - SPIN" 

New Releases @ saki 8/13!!!

John Carpenter "The Fog OST" LP
Heaven "Telepathic Love" LP
Montibus Communitas "Hacia Aquellos Bosques de Inmensidad" LP
Moondoggies "Adios, I'm A Ghost" CD/LP
Nirvana "Nevermind" (180 gm re-issue)
Iggy Pop & Yoko Ono "Split 10""
Secret Colours "Peach" LP (deluxe/std. editions)
Washed Out "Paracosm" LP

Epitonic saki Session with Meat Wave and Geronimo! TODAY at 5:30!

Meat Wave and Geronimo! are playing an Epitonic saki Session TODAY at 5:30! Two of our favorite badass Chicago bands in one place! Both sets will be recorded and available for FREE download from Epitonic.

We have some of the last copies of Cross Record's amazing 2012 LP Be Good!

Lay Flat, the label who released Cross Record's 2012 album, Be Good is now SOLD OUT of the LP!

We still have a couple copies on the shelves here at saki, so if you missed out on it, or you're just catching on to Cross Record's amazing music now that they're no long Chicagoans, come pick one up! You will not be disappointed.

We are all sold out now too!

Check out their FREE Epitonic saki Session if you're unfamiliar with the band!

Skillshare workshop with the Recyclery today at 1!

saki U, our ongoing series of skill sharing workshops, returns today at 1pm!

Froilan from the Recyclery Bicycle Collective in Rogers Park will be on hand to demonstrate how to fix flats, size a bike for one’s body type and an “ABC quick check,” as well as answer maintenance questions and provide other helpful tips!

 Finish your brunch and come on out!

mute angels

Hammock - Mute Angels from Alex Amoling on Vimeo.

Stunning video for the Hammock track "Mute Angels"

Remain in Light: Photography by Kirstie Shanley

Remain in Light photography by Kirstie Shanley

Opening Reception: Friday, August 9th. 6-9pm. Free.

Live music by Karaoke and Cinchel 

saki is thrilled to present Remain in Light photography by Kirstie Shanley on Friday, August 9th from 6-9pm!

The show will highlight Shanley’s signature concert photography. As the artist states it: 

David Byrne by Kirstie Shanley

Remain In Light will illuminate the sense of the experience of live music and all the emotions that entails, aiming to show the ties between us all so that life and light carry certain meaning. 

When we remain in light, we realize how incredible and unique each human being is and we attempt, even when it is a struggle, to make this world a better one. To remain in light is to live up to our full potential, whether we have a camera in front of our eyes or not.

Kirstie is a Chicago based photographer who has made a name for herself capturing some of music’s greatest acts such as St. Vincent, David Byrne, Low, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yo La Tengo, The Cure, Andrew Bird, Leonard Cohen, and many more. Her work has been featured on Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Gapers Block and Chicago Magazine, among others!

The opening will include live music from Karaoke, a Chicago artist who is working to induce a hypnagogic state in listeners through overladed synths and drifting Playstation soundtracks. There will also be music from Cinchel, a Chicago based musician working with guitar, effects and a laptop to create abstract ambient music that is both minimal and dense. 

Please join us Friday, August 9th from 6-9 pm for the opening of Remain in Light photography by Kirstie Shanley. Enjoy a great night of fine art and live music, with food and beverages provided by saki. This event is free and BYOB!

saki newsletter 8/6/13!

We'd like to thank everyone who came out for Lazy's Off The Record this past Friday, as well as Moniker Records, The Chicago Diner, and Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for making it all possible! The food was amazing and Lazy's set blew us away! You can check it out on Epitonic as an Epitonic saki Session after it's all mixed and mastered.

This weekend we've got a full docket with Kirstie Shanley's photography show opening on Friday, another saki U workshop with The Recyclery on Saturday, and an awesome all-local Epitonic saki Session with Meat Wave and Geronimo! on Sunday!

Kirstie's show, Remain in Light, is a collection of her amazing live music photography. Kirstie is a Chicago based photographer who has made a name for herself capturing some of music’s greatest acts such as St. Vincent, David Byrne, Low, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yo La Tengo, The Cure, Andrew Bird, Leonard Cohen, and many more. Her work has been featured on Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Gapers Block and Chicago Magazine, among others! The opening of Remain in Light will feature complimentary drinks and snacks, and a live set from ambient musician, Cinchel! Come on out on Friday from 6-9pm!

On Saturday, we're bringing back saki U! We started this little workshop series a few months back with a coffee tutorial from Gaslight and a basic bike maintenance lesson from The Recyclery. This time we're devoting the full event to The Recyclery for a more in-depth look at bike maintenance, tips and tricks! 

On Sunday, we're very excited to have two of our favorite Chicago bands, Geronimo! (who have been a favorite of ours for a while) and Meat Wave (one of our new-ish favorites) in for an Epitonic saki Session! If you like tour rock music, straight forward, loud and awesome - don't miss this one!

Upcoming events:

Friday, August 9th @ 6pm
Opening reception of Remain in Light: Photography by Kirstie Shanley!

Saturday, August 10th @ 1pm
saki U: a skillshare workshop with The Recyclery!

Sunday, August 11th @ 5:30pm
Epitonic saki Session with Meat Wave and Geronimo!

Wednesday, August 14th, 8pm @ Lincoln Hall
saki and Everything Is Terrible present Once In A Lifetime: The Drew Peterson Story!

Saturday, August 17th @ 5pm
In-store with Comfort Food and Bode Radio!

Friday, August 30th @ 7:30pm
Freak Happening with Nick Rouley and Goodrich Gevaart!

New releases:

Don't forget about the weekly new release sale!

Acquaintances "S/T" LP
Bare Mutants "The Affliction" LP/CD
Bird Nest Roys "Me Want Me Get Me Need Me Have Me Love" LP (re-issue)
Black Dice "Beaches and Canyons" LP (re-issue)
Blondes "Swisher" LP/CD
Charles Bradley "Soul Of America" DVD
The Clean "Vehicle" LP (re-issue)
Eric Copeland "Joke In The Hole" LP
Maurice Deebank "Inner Thought Zone" LP
Dumb Numbers "S/T" LP
Ensemble Economique "Fever Logic EP" 12"
Explosions In The Sky and David Wingo "Prince Avalanche OST" LP
Humanbeast "Venus Ejaculates Into The Banquet" LP/CD
Minks "Tides End" LP
Old Baby "Love Hangover" LP
Off! "Live @ 9:30 Club" LP
Running "Vaguely Ethnic" LP
sauce81 "All In Line" 12"
Stave "Reform" LP
The Sufis "Invention" LP
U-Ziq "Somerset Ave. Tracks" CD
Ultraista "Remixes" LP
V/A "Michigan Meltdown" LP
Ween "Live In Chicago" DVD
Kendl Winter and The Summer Gold "It Can Be Done!" LP

New Releases @ saki 8/6!!!

Acquaintances "S/T" LP
Bare Mutants "The Affliction" LP/CD
Bird Nest Roys "Me Want Me Get Me Need Me Have Me Love" LP (re-issue)
Black Dice "Beaches & Canyons" LP (re-issue)
Blondes "Swisher" LP/CD
Charles Bradley "Soul Of America" DVD
The Clean "Vehicle" LP (re-issue)
Eric Copeland "Joke In The Hole" LP
Maurice Deebank "Inner Thought Zone" LP
Dumb Numbers "S/T" LP
Ensemble Economique "Fever Logic EP" 12"
Explosions In The Sky & David Wingo "Prince Avalanche OST" LP
Humanbeast "Venus Ejaculates Into The Banquet" LP/CD
Minks "Tides End" LP
Old Baby "Love Hangover" LP
Off! "Live @ 9:30 Club" LP
Running "Vaguely Ethnic" LP
sauce81 "All In Line" 12"
Stave "Reform" LP
The Sufis "Invention" LP
U-Ziq "Somerset Ave. Tracks" CD
Ultraista "Remixes" LP
V/A "Michigan Meltdown" LP
Ween "Live In Chicago" DVD
Kendl Winter & The Summer Gold "It Can Be Done!" LP

Weekly new release sale @ saki

Each week saki will be offering a handful of new releases for 20% OFF! You can check the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or our newsletter, to find out which titles will be discounted. We'll choose 2-3 titles each week and they'll be discounted for their entire first week of release!

This week we've got the new Lazy, Bare Mutants, and Acquaintances LPs for 20% off!

Lazy - Obsession LP and cassette

An all-fronts punk assault from this art-fucked Kansas City troop. Kinetic, hook-filled rockers bristle w/ the frantic energy of Wire or the Buzzcocks while an experimental bent unifies their twisted anthems: chaotic guitar rusting, gnarled-out bass grooves, machine-gun drumming, desperate vocals. Ltd to 500 on LP and cassette!

 


Bare Mutants - The Affliction LP and CD

Debut album from band lead by Jered Gummere of THE PONYS, also featuring members of MANNEQUIN MEN and THE 1900s!

 






 Acquaintances - S/T LP

Holy supergroup! JUSTIN SINKOVICH (POISON ARROWS, ATOMBOMBPOCKETKNIFE, THUMBNAIL), CHRIS WILSON (TED LEO and THE PHARMACISTS), JERED GUMMERE (PONYS, BARE MUTANTS), PATRICK MORRIS (DON CABALLERO) and STEVE SCHMIDT (CHINO HORDE, THUMBNAIL) present their debut of tremolo'ed, reverby guitars and echo'ed out vocals wash over a top-notch rhythm section creating spaced-out garage influenced rock with a melodic sensibility.

Demdike Stare / Stave / Duane Pitre / DJ Karl Meier

As most of you already know, we're huge fans of Demdike Stare 'round these parts - their recent "Test Pressing" series on Modern Love is absolutely unmissable, and Miles Whittaker's solo releases from this year ("Faint Hearted" and "Unsecure") are equally incredible. If you, like us, gravitate towards Demdike Stare's brand of dark, brooding atmospherics and punishing machine rhythms, we highly recommend the new album by Stave, out on FSS this week.  Seven tracks of hypnotic, industrial-tinged electronics, chrome-plated and designed to pulverize and mesmerize in equal measure.

Demdike Stare + Stave will be performing alongside Duane Pitre + DJ Karl Meier this Saturday, 8/10 @ The Empty Bottle - hope to see you there!!!

LOFTUS / PITCHFORK 8.4 BEST NEW REISSUE

If there's a few things we know about here at CTD, it's Coedine, Red Red Meat, Rex, and, of course, Loftus.  We're excited to know that we're not the only ones who know of said incredible bands, and certainly, we're triple excited that Jealous Butcher's LP reissue of the Rex / Red Red Meat collaboration Loftus, received an 8.4 Best New Reissue on Pitchfork today.

"In 1995, the the Chicago-based band Red Red Meat and the Brooklyn-based band Rex concluded a tour and decided to record together. Red Red Meat was on the road behind their minor masterpiece Bunny Gets Paid, while Rex, a slowcore band that included drummer Doug Scharin, also of Codeine, was promoting their self-titled debut on Southern Records. The bands had some things in common: both could be very subtle and focused on details, letting space do a lot of work, and both were steeped in the history of American music and ready to bend the textures and songs of the past to their own, more postmodern, ends. The joint record was recorded by Chicago mainstay Bundy K. Brown and Red Red Meat sonic mastermind Brian Deck and the sessions were described as loose and improvisatory. The resulting record, Loftus, wouldn’t be released until 2000, by which time both original bands were no longer. To say that initial issue of the album didn’t get around would be an understatement. I know many serious fans of Red Red Meat and Califone (the Tim Rutili-led band band RRM transitioned into) who have never heard of it. It seemed somehow appropriate that this artifact, which sounded like something that been pulled out from underneath a rotting log, would fade away. But now it returns with this lovingly assembled vinyl/digital reissue. 

The album alternates proper songs with instrumental interludes that feel more like sketches but somehow, the patchy nature of the album as a whole works to its advantage…there are some fantastic songs mixed in with the drones and creaks, and the juxtaposition of the two is what really makes the record. 'Haywine' begins with one of the eeriest blues riffs I’ve heard, as single notes of palpable texture are bent into a gorgeously expressive shape, and the song that emerges from the fog, the voice processed to a half-dead gurgle, expresses a rare sense of downcast weariness. 'Stolen From a Rifle Clean Brothel' is a bracingly simple upbeat blues, just acoustic guitar, a bass, and a bit of cheesy organ, and has the dank tossed off-brilliance as the third side of Exile on Main Street, the sort of thing Royal Trux was also nailing around this time." 

And we think this guy gets a 10.0, fyi. Your captain's photo courtesy of Pat Graham/Modest Mouse.

Off The Record: a listening party for LAZY's 'Obsession' this Friday!

Moniker DJs, food from Chicago Diner and a Q and A with the band and Kriss Stress from Notes and Bolts! 

FREE • BYOB

Problem Areas

Oneohtrix Point Never : R Plus Seven : October 1st : Warp Records