Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah split

Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah – Split 7″

Chicago’s first punk band and one of Chicago’s current best team up for a four-song home run. This is punk rock gold! Rating:   Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah – Get Weird split 7″ Sexy Baby Records Chicago’s first punk band teamed up with one of Chicago’s best current punk bands to put out a split [...]

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Tutu and the Pirates

Tutu and the Pirates, Silver Abuse, Hotlips Messiah 5/4/13 at Cobra Lounge

It is always a treat when some old Chicago punk bands decide to play a show as it doesn’t happen often enough. Saturday night was an extra special treat when Chicago’s first punk band teamed up with one of Chicago’s oldest and one of Chicago’s current best to play a show at the Cobra Lounge. [...]

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Jeff Hanneman of Slayer

R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman

In extremely sad news, Jeff Hanneman of Slayer passed away yesterday morning due to liver failure. Jeff was only 49 years old. Jeff was a founding member of the legendary metal band, Slayer, who have enjoyed one of the longest careers in heavy metal history. Not only has Slayer been around for three decades unlike [...]

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Jay Bradley vs. Trevor Court

Resistance Pro: Back for the Attack 4/28/13

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Rhyno vs. Hardcore Craig

Pro Wrestling Blitz: High Stakes 4/27/13

It’s spring and not only is the weather finally heating up but in the world of Pro Wrestling Blitz some feuds are as well. Saturday night Blitz held their latest event in their home base of Joliet titled High Stakes. It was an appropriate name for the event as stakes were high with not only [...]

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Sienna Nanini LP

Sienna Nanini – Pants Down Time LP

The first new Dangerhouse release in more than three decades is every bit as genre defying and quirky as you’d expect from this cast of eclectic musicians. Not for the closed minded. Rating:   Sienna Nanini – Pants Down Time LP Dangerhouse Records/Frontier Records Your mind is not playing tricks on you, that does say Dangerhouse [...]

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Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah – Split 7″

Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah splitChicago’s first punk band and one of Chicago’s current best team up for a four-song home run. This is punk rock gold!
Rating: ★★★★★ 

Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah – Get Weird split 7″
Sexy Baby Records

Chicago’s first punk band teamed up with one of Chicago’s best current punk bands to put out a split 7″ to remedy the fact that the former never put out a record back in the day when they were a full-time active band and the latter never released anything on vinyl in their career thus far.

Tutu and the Pirates was Chicago’s first punk rock band. They started in the 1970′s and stuck around for a few years playing gigs regularly. They recorded a bunch of demos but they never released a record back then which goes down in history as one of the biggest crimes against musical humanity. Their disbanding was never permanent as they would get together somewhat regularly to do reunion shows in the city and since the release of the Chicago punk documentary film, You Weren’t There, they’ve been playing around a lot more often and they even finally released an album of their old demo recordings. This single features their first new studio recordings since they’ve been active again. If you told me these were songs from their old days I’d believe you, it sounds as if time stood still for this band and they can still write the great kind of punk songs they did over 30 years ago.  They’ve got a great 70′s punk sound with catchy hooks and punchy guitars. They also retain their quirky sense of humor and are just a fun band. If these two songs came out on a 7″ back when they were young people would likely be paying hundreds of dollars for them now as they’d be cherished punk rock gems in the eyes of record collectors.  Everyone should be thankful these guys are still playing, let alone putting out more music (or at the very least making up for the fact they didn’t release anything in the past). These two songs warrant the price of purchase alone but wait, that’s not all!

Hotlips Messiah is perhaps Chicago’s best kept secret in regards to current punk bands. They are a secret that shouldn’t be a secret though as they are too good not to be heard by more people. Their songs are fast tempo, sci-fi fueled punk numbers with sing along choruses and great keyboards layered with the driving guitar sound. Their singer, Traci Trouble, has a great voice and delivery and the male backing vocals add a nice depth to their sound. Their influences clearly include 1970′s SoCal punk rock such as the Screamers and the Nuns. The fact that so few bands these days seem to draw any kind of influence from that era makes Hotlips Messiah sound refreshing and they really stand out from the mass of current punk bands in Chicago or just about anywhere. They too provide two songs on this record and they are guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days on end.

This record comes inside a color fold-over sleeve. Inside the record comes on colored vinyl (it was pressed on a random assortment of colors). There is a two-sided insert with artwork and band information/credits. The record sounds great so whoever mastered it did a fine job. Each band has two songs and both sides will leave you wanting more from each band. The two bands compliment each other nicely and hopefully it’s not the last we see or hear of either one of them. Buy this immediately as this is punk rock gold and likely won’t be around very long before people snap them all up.

 

Tutu and the Pirates, Silver Abuse, Hotlips Messiah 5/4/13 at Cobra Lounge

It is always a treat when some old Chicago punk bands decide to play a show as it doesn’t happen often enough. Saturday night was an extra special treat when Chicago’s first punk band teamed up with one of Chicago’s oldest and one of Chicago’s current best to play a show at the Cobra Lounge. There were a lot of shows happening that night around the city but this one was easily the best choice.

Hotlips Messiah is the cream of the crop when it comes to current Chicago area punk bands. These guys have a very 70′s punk influence ala The Screamers but put their own sci-fi twist on it. Their songs are super catchy, punchy and have good hooks. The keyboards add an excellent driving element to their songs and they are just a lot of fun. Lead singer Traci Trouble bounced all over the stage while delivering a great vocal performance all while wearing flashing light glasses. The band belted out such greats as “Mutants Unite” and “Several Species of Small Furry Animals…” which sounded great and just happen to be their two best songs. These guys are a must-see if you live anywhere they happen to be playing and it’s really a crime that they aren’t a household name by now.

One of the oldest punk bands from Chicago is also one that shares or shared members with other classic punk bands followed and that was Silver Abuse. These guys play really out-there quirky art-punk that was usually of the mid-tempo variety and somewhat noisy and disjointed. This evening they seemed to have reworked some of their songs and boy did they sound good. They opened with “Ron Santo” and it was faster, had a really great driving keyboard sound and was amazing! This set the stage for a full set of great, quirky tunes that seemed to have been given new life. This was easily one of their best performances in all the years they’ve been playing again in recent history and they really seem to be at the top of their game some 30 years after they first formed! They need to play again immediately!

They saved the best for last, which also just happened to be the first – Chicago punk band that is, Tutu and the Pirates. Any time these veterans play should be a national holiday. They are the most fun and entertaining punk band ever to come out of the Windy City and tonight was no exception. They played their usual array of classic punk rock tunes as well as the new songs from their split single with Hotlips Messiah. They were as spot-on as usual and it was impossible not to smile during their set. Near the end of their set, Frankie Paradise busted out the toilet bass which meant it was time for “I Want to be a Janitor” and during the middle of the song he opened up the seat tor receive a plunging from Little Richie Speck. That gimmick never stops being amusing and that is one of their many great songs. They played over 45 minutes and ended their set with a song called “Boiled Alive” that they had Traci Trouble join them on stage to sing along with.

It was a great night to be a Chicago punk fan at the Cobra Lounge and those of you who opted to miss this for other shows that night made a poor choice. Hopefully these bands will play together on the same bill again someday as it was really a stellar lineup.

Check out additional photos from this show here!

R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman

Jeff Hanneman of SlayerIn extremely sad news, Jeff Hanneman of Slayer passed away yesterday morning due to liver failure. Jeff was only 49 years old. Jeff was a founding member of the legendary metal band, Slayer, who have enjoyed one of the longest careers in heavy metal history. Not only has Slayer been around for three decades unlike some other long-running bands from their era (cough*Metallica*cough), Slayer never put out a bad record. That in itself is completely unheard of in any genre for a band lasting that long. The band has enjoyed worldwide success for most of their career, especially after their third album, Reign in Blood, which just so happens to be one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time, if not the greatest.

Jeff remained in Slayer for their entire run but had to bow out of their last tour due to some health issues. The band toured with a replacement guitarist for that tour with the intention that Jeff would return to his spot once he was better. Sadly that day never came. Heavy metal fans across the globe will mourn the loss of this musical legend who was part of a hugely influential band. Hopefully if there is a heavy metal heaven, Jeff is up there forming a supergroup with the other fine musicians we’ve lost over the years. Condolences go out to Jeff’s family and friends for the loss of their loved one.

Resistance Pro: Back for the Attack 4/28/13

Resistance Pro Wrestling returned to the Arabian Knights Barn in Willowbrook, IL. It was an afternoon show and a beautiful day and the federation put together a really fun show for the fans. This show was unique in that every match on the card was a different gimmick match. This gave the entire event a really special feel and was a nice change of pace from your typical monthly wrestling show.

Pro Wrestling Blitz: High Stakes 4/27/13

It’s spring and not only is the weather finally heating up but in the world of Pro Wrestling Blitz some feuds are as well. Saturday night Blitz held their latest event in their home base of Joliet titled High Stakes. It was an appropriate name for the event as stakes were high with not only a world title match but a major superstar came in to try to collect the $10,000 bounty on Hardcore Craig’s head.


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