Ok, so the title has nothing to do with nothing - I’m just miffed that it felt like the beginning of Fall today in Chicago and we’re still in the month of August. How unfair. If you’re in Chicago, I have two events coming up.

This Saturday I’ll be playing the store opening of Aritzia from 2-6pm in Water Tower Place. If you’re not familiar with the store, they are “a fashion forward women’s clothing retailer and artists and DJs [Aritzia has worked with] in the past include Chromeo, Kid Sister, Team Canada, The Block Party, Samantha Ronson, Hercules and Love Affair, Lilly Allen, and The Black Kids.” Joining me this weekend and next to help celebrate will be A-Cup, Autobot, He Say She Say, Treasure Fingers and E-Six & Roan.

In a few weeks is the next installment of House Divas at Crobar, Chicago! These nights have been going so unbelievably well, I really encourage you to come out to the event on September 13th. I have some tickets to give away, so if you want to come and don’t want to pay a cover, email dani@danideahl.com with your name, address and number of tickets wanted. They’ll be in the mail

And now on to the music! I have more to put up tomorrow, but I’m a little tired (I know, weak) so I figured I would just post one tonight. This one popped up in the inbox today from Nael in Switzerland. He admitted in the email that he’s a bit new to all this, and in fact, his myspace profile only lists this one song. Despite his apparent freshness, he managed to put together this fun track in collaboration with The Cryptonites. I don’t enjoy that there’s no break from the vocal (carries through straight over breakdowns), making it verge on feeling repetitive even though it clocks in at only about 3:30, but it’s a solid tune despite the shortcoming. I mean, shit, it’s way better than my first track ever was (bitter?). Somehow I don’t think it’s beginner’s luck and I can’t wait to see what Nael sends over in the future.

Nael: Losing Control
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Lollapalooza is finally over and Chicago is getting back to normal…dammit. IMO, this year’s collective Lolla experience was not as standout as last year’s, but there were some moments to speak of. Friday’s memorable performance for me was from Louis XIV, though of course Radiohead was exceptional as well. There were complaints that Radiohead’s performance was overly mellow (such a contrast from last year’s headliner show of Daft Punk) which I could certainly see, though I don’t think anyone was expecting a thrash reprise of Fake Plastic Trees.

Day 2 proved to have some unexpected twists. My set was at noon on Perry’s stage, and I rushed to arrive early (hoping that maybe, I could start ten or fifteen minutes early). When I arrived, I spotted a familiar face already up on stage - Perry Farrell was doing a sound check, score (photo op)! I was very happy with the way I played that day and had a packed tent by the time I was done, impressive given that I was opening the tent that day and had a crowd of…no one when I started. The big hits of the day, no surprise here, were the Pilotpriest remix of M.I.A.’s “Boyz” and the Crookers remix of Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Nite.” Afterwards we caught MGMT (not as good as expected), Booka Shade (better than expected), and then headed back to the DJ stage to catch Perry’s set with the rumored special guest in tow. After a quick hi to Clayton Hauck and DJ Alena, we found out the special guest was none other than Slash. What a f***ing performance. To make the moment even more surreal, I turned around and found Mark Ronson, Samantha Ronson and Lindsay Lohan walking towards me. Samantha popped on stage for a surprise guest set which was frankly the worst thing I had heard since the last wedding I went to. I heard her set at the afterparty that night was better, but what she played at Lolla was mixed poorly, had no flow and was utterly unoriginal.

The pickup for me that evening was surprisingly, DJ AM. I have truly never seen another DJ perform as quickly, flawlessly and creatively as he did, and, no less, with tracks from the likes of Laidback Luke and Soulwax. I interviewed him afterwards for URB.com (interview up in a few days), and he couldn’t have been nicer. We chatted about the scenes overseas, his favorite artists and the discrepancy between what he has to play versus what he loves to play. I encourage you to visit URB.com this week to check it out.

Day 3 was another mess of great bands, from Nicole Atkins & the Sea to the Black Kids, and oh my god, Chromeo. Kanye’s set was expected, full of smoke, stage effects and an ego-ridden Kanye waxing philosophical about how he was comparable to legends such as Jimi Hendrix and oh, by the way, make sure to tell your unborn children about your amazing Kanye West concert experience. Gag me. No wonder NIN fans yelled “fuck Kanye” as we made our way over to the stage.

After all the excitement, sunburns and greasy food, I am exhausted. I am also spoiled, since my artist wristband pretty much let me go and do whatever the hell I wanted to on the Lolla grounds all weekend. I leave you with Biancardi’s very appropriate remix of “Killing In The Name” by Lollapalooza 2008 headliner Rage Against The Machine. (UPDATED WITH 320 VERSION).

Rage Against The Machine: Killing In The Name (Biancardi Mix)
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It’s the first weekend in August, which in Chicago means Lollapalooza weekend! Radiohead, CSS, Chromeo, Girl Talk, Uffie, Bloc Party, Cat Power, The Raconteurs, The Glamour, Brazilian Girls, Gnarls Barkley, The Ting Tings…and yours truly! That’s right, I’ll be playing Lollapalooza Saturday, August 2nd at noon on Perry’s Stage so if you plan on having a Lolla weekend, stop on by! It’s an honor to be asked to DJ at such a Chicago staple and I couldn’t be more excited. Additionally, check out my ongoing behind the scenes Lollapalooza blog on URB.com that will start on Friday, August 1st!

Almost as thrilling as Lollapalooza itself are the afterparties. Last year Debonair Social Club proved to be a destination for festival heads after the gates closed and it looks like this year is no different. If you’re looking for a way to party when the sun goes down this week, I would definitely head their way. Chris Holmes, Bloc Party, CSS and Junior Sanchez are just a few of the names gracing the DSC this week! I’ll definitely be there a couple of the nights (at least Sunday for sure!)

Oh how happy am I - friend Kill The Noise has a new remix out, in correspondence with his School’s Out Forever tour with buddy Treasure Fingers. Nadastrom’s remix of Estelle’s “American Boy” was brilliant, and KTN’s interpretation is as well, though in a different way. A little more lighthearted, this version has trailing synths, a poppy breakdown, nice sidechaining action, thumpy kickdrums…the list of why this is great could go on and on. I love that Kill The Noise has the capacity to create an array of sounds, from harder, more minimal tunes to solid melodic pieces like this remix. Always a winner from this one.

If you’re not aware of the tour the duo is currently on, check the flyer below…you might be able to catch one of the last few stops.

Estelle Feat. Kanye: American Boy (Kill The Noise Remix)
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I have five tickets to give away to the fantabulous (yes, I know, shoot me for saying that) show happening this Wednesday at Chicago’s Metro (above Smartbar). The lineup is ridiculous (or following the above trend, let’s say redonkulous) and features:

The best two will each get two tickets while a runner up will get one. For those of you who will be buying tickets, it’s $15 bucks. You can buy them night of, or at the store to the left of Metro. Oh, and here’s a nice plus, Metro is an 18+ venue.

$15, April 16th, show starts at 8pm, Metro is at 3730 N. Clark. See y’all there!

Boys Noize: Oh (A-Trak Remix)
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The Count & Sinden: Beeper (A-Trak Remix)
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Simian Mobile Disco: Hustler (A-Trak Remix)
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The Count & Sinden Feat. Kid Sister: Beeper
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SUBMISSIONS

www.crobar.com

As many of you know, I am starting a label called Calamity Jane which will be an imprint under the legendary Strictly Rhythm! We are having our official preview party tomorrow to let everyone hear what will be coming up from us, as well as get an overall idea of the sound we will be coming out with. If any of you are in Miami, we would love to see you there. Bonus, it’s a free event! Time to go see Fedde Le Grand…back….sometime?

10 bucks to get in, but well worth it. See you all there!
Debonair Social Club: www.debonairsocialclub.com | 1575 N. Milwaukee

The busiest Wednesday in Chicago is upon us! Elite Chicago’s Wednesdays at Ruby get 400+ every week - if you’re in Chicago come on out to hear the best electro jams - it’s free all night if you say “Dani” at the door!

Aw yeah, ain’t that fresh. All taken during my set. I was able to find pics of most of the people I described in an earlier post! Some of these are also up on my Myspace in the “Gigs” folder.