MUSIC

 » Faint, The - Having been disappointed by their latest album Fasciinatiion, which was released on Tuesday, LAS staff writer Bob Ladewig met up with Omaha's ruling dance-punk icons last weekend as the group kicked off a world tour that will carry them through the end of 2008, to see if the live show was still legit.

MUSIC

 » Bishop Allen: LIVE - You never really know what to expect at a summertime all-ages show in Chicago. You just don't. Bob Ladewig knows that shows often start late and usually end late, and he can also verify that they can on time and end early as well.

MUSIC

 » !!! - "We all bring something different and special to the band, but the one thing that has always attracted us is the groove or the funk, and that's always been the uniting force." Bob Ladewig interviews Nic Offer.

MUSIC

 » !!!: Live - Last week in Chicago, the indie/dance/funk/rock troupe with the weird name book-ended one hour and fifteen minutes of insanity with the title track from their latest album and a favorite from their 2001 debut.

PROFILES

 » 15 Minutes: Call Me Lightning - In our regularly recurring feature, LAS embarks on a series of quick interviews with people, but without the point of necessarily knowing anything deep about them. This time around Bob Ladewig chats up Nathan Lilley.

PROFILES

 » 15 Minutes: Bears - With 15M, LAS embarks on a series of quick interviews with people, but without necessarily knowing anything deep about them. This installment: Charlie McArthur of Bears.

PROFILES

 » 15 Minutes: John Vanderslice - With 15M, LAS embarks on a series of quick interviews with people, but without necessarily knowing anything deep about them. This installment: John Vanderslice.

PROFILES

 » 15 Minutes: The Extraordinaires - With 15M, LAS embarks on a series of quick interviews with people, but without necessarily knowing anything deep about them. This installment: Jay Purdy of the Extraordinaires.

PROFILES

 » 15 Minutes: Arms - With 15M, LAS embarks on a series of quick interviews with people, but without necessarily knowing anything deep about them. This installment: Todd Goldstein (aka Arms).

PROFILES

 » Eugene Mirman - "What I would ideally want is probably something no one would ideally put on. The audience would battle maybe. But not really. I'm actually sure it would work out fine." Stacey Hallal and Bob Ladewig talk about tours with Eugine Mirman.

MUSIC

 » Robbers On High Street - Stopping through Chicago on his band's third round of shows in support of their debut album, Robbers on High Street front man Ben Trokan took a few moments to chat with Bob Ladewig about touring, James Iha and, well, touring.

MUSIC

 » Q and Not U: LIVE - Having recently opened for Interpol on a short US Tour, the politically charged DC trio is working hard and changing up their usual routine, trying to appeal to a different crowd.

LIFE

 » Playing At Work - LAS staff writer Bob Ladewig extols on the wonders of his everyday life and the perks of being in the right place at the right time and being, in his words, a run-around sort of guy.

COLUMN

 » Forgotten Favorites - Reminiscing about his early hip-hop education, Bob Ladewig speaks the truth about Deltron 3030's eponymous album

MUSIC

 » Call Me Lightning - Two members of the most unusual addition to the Revelation Records roster sit down with Bob Ladewig to explain the dynamics of spending time together and spending time apart, being 19 and pissed at the world, and The Who.

MUSIC

 » John Vanderslice - A look back at LAS staff writer Bob Ladewig's 2004 interview with the San Francisco lo-fi guru, a conversation on the crowds of Japan, the disappointment of MK Ultra, and not wasting creative energy on recording other people's music.

MUSIC

 » Mates of State - A day after his birthday, LAS staff writer Bob Ladewig treated himself to some face time with Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel. Over the course of the conversation the topic swung from television and card games to musical hit lists and the pair's time in San Francisco.

MUSIC

 » Decemberists - "We're finally getting used to one another. We have a flow now, being on tour and getting used to our routine and duties," says Rachel Blumberg of her band's ever-tightening sound. LAS writer Bob Ladewig caught up with Blumberg and the band before last week's two-night stand in Chicago.

MUSIC

 » Decemberists - "When I start feeling the need for change I turn to my friends for recommendations, and that is how I stumbled upon the The Decemberists," writes LAS staffer Bob Ladewig of his recent obsession with the Portland band.

SPORTS

 » ComedySportz - ComedySportz Chicago has recently changed the format of its short-form improv shows and the new setup seems to be coming along quite nicely. Sure, there are a few kinks that still need some working out, but that is probably expected.

LITERATURE

 » Dirty Found #1 - Seeing photographs of people in compromising positions with their eyes blacked out by a censorship strip is a way of living out the voyeuristic urge that we're all hard-wired with, the dream of having the power of invisibility.