Chicago Music Tour

The tour was extremely informative and fascinating to learn the history behind places I already frequent in the city, as well as random buildings or store fronts that have been transformed from the record stores, music venues, and recording studios they once were. For those who are especially passionate about alternative and punk rock, this is a must do.
It was also a great way to see all different types of areas in Chicago you would never know existed, let alone venture to. Really enjoyed stopping at various dive bars and seeing the locals and especially enjoyed checking out Schubas while enjoying a free beer. Phil is incredibly knowledgeable and an excellent tour guide. I won’t spoil all the surprises and stops so suggest you check it out for yourself!

«The Wilco/​Smashing Pumpkins/​Fall Out Boy Tour.»
As anybody who’s aware of music in Chicago would reason, this tour covers a lot about the three aforementioned groups. However, Phil has a great background in music, and clearly knows his stuff. He had some great stories about a number of bands who worked at a number of locations, in addition to venues, from around the city, which largely covers the north-​side scene, largely in the past 30 years of rock history. In two and a half hours, we covered a lot of ground.
The tour serves as an excellent starting point for someone without much experience in the Chicago music scene. I originally suggested this to my wife (who’s from out of state) to give her an idea of just how much goes on in this city, musically. I’ve been a musician for about 15 years now, and a good portion of the venues that Phil brought us through. As someone who knew about a lot of the stuff Phil showed us, it was just as fun to geek out and talk with people who love music, as it was for my wife, who learned a ton about the scene.
We were on one of the first tours of the season, on an early Sunday afternoon, with a younger crowd, so a number of the locations we stopped at were closed, or we were unable to tour through. Phil didn’t skip a beat, as there was still plenty to talk about. I’d suggest that if you’re over 21 to try and schedule your tour at a time when the bars are open, as it seems you’d get a richer tour, but it’s still great if you’ve got young rockers along. Phil seems to be pretty adept at adjusting to his audience without dulling anything down. Anybody who’s got a thing for music and is from or visiting Chicago should check this out.

A great tour! We took the tour as part of the Chicago History Museum’s «Chicago Rocks» series. I’ve taken a few bus tours from them — and the history pub crawls are awesome — so when the chance to take the «True Rock Alternative» tour came up, we jumped at the chance. So glad we did. Phil Rockrohr (is that an appropriate name or what?) knows his stuff. He lived the alt-​rock scene in Chicago and knows a lot of the «behind the scenes» stuff. He’s really engaged with the tour group which I liked a lot. He didn’t just focus on talking to 1 or 2 people (which happens with other tours) but talked to everyone. We had a guy on our tour who also was really knowledgable about the Chicago music scene so it was really fun to hear about his experiences. Phil encouraged everyone to talk about their memories. It wouldn’t be a CHM tour without stops at bars. We stopped at Schuba’s for a drink, got a tour of Metro, heard about Wilco at Brisku’s Bistro, got a tour of Double Door, and had drinks at Rainbo Club. He played tunes from a ton of different Chicago bands — from early Ministry to the Waco Brothers. If you want to have a good time talking about Chicago rock, drink beer and listen to good music, this is the tour for you.

I went on this tour last night. I loved it! Highly recommended!
I was interested in it because I saw that he covered landmarks that were key to Wax Trax Records and their artists (Al Jourgenson especially). He covered that thoroughly. Also he knows a LOT about lots of other Chicago bands. I don’t want to give away too much, but fans of Wilco would definitely enjoy this tour. And there was time to chat about great shows we have been to with other tour patrons. I have now vowed to get out more and go to more shows!
This is not for the kids because some of the stories and songs have adult language. It is definitely for any alt and indy music fan!