New Articles of Faith video
Here’s something I never thought I would be writing about. Articles of Faith, a band who no one thought would be likely to get back together, just released a new video for “With a Vengeance” which is a song from their forthcoming album on Alternative Tentacles Records. If this is any indication of what the [...]
Tutu and the Pirates – Sub-urban Insult Rock for the Anti/lectual
Tutu and the Pirates – Sub-urban Insult Rock for the Anti/lectual LP Factory 25/Regressive Films Tutu and the Pirates have the distinction of being Chicago’s first punk rock band or at least that it how they are acknowledged in the history books. The band played tons of shows and were part of what became the [...]
DA! – Exclamation Point LP
DA! – Exclamation Point LP Factory 25/Regressive Films Despite their inclusion on the classic Busted at Oz compilation, DA! were one of the most overlooked bands from the first wave of the Chicago punk scene. They somewhat quietly released a 7″ and a 12″ EP on Autumn Records and then were never heard from again. [...]
GBH 7/9/2010 at Reggie’s
Reggie’s has been batting 1000 lately in terms of killer shows, especially of the old punk variety, and Friday night was no exception. GBH, perhaps the longest running UK punk band (without a break up) returned to the South Loop in support of their new album and headlined a four-band all ages show. Long-time Chicago [...]
Articles of Faith return!
This just gave me a reason to keep living, Chicago hardcore legends, Articles of Faith, have returned! For the first time in 25 years, the band will reform (with all original members) to record an EP at Chicago’s Million Yen Studios for release on Alternative Tentacles on October 5th. It will be available digitally and [...]
The Bollweevils DVD
The Bollweevils – Weevilive In Color DVD Go Deaf Records Back in the 1990s, The Bollweevils were the best of all the active Chicago punk rock bands at the time. Every time they played a show it was a really fun time, the guys in the band were all super nice, and they wrote a [...]
Da! and Tutu and the Pirates record release show
Saturday night was a special one for old school punk rockers as two of the city’s finest reunited for a special evening. The bands in question were DA! and Tutu and the Pirates and the occasion was that on Record Store Day, both bands had LPs come out full of unreleased and/or out of print [...]
Vintage Chicago punk releases for Record Store Day
Hot on the heels of their release of the DVD/LP of the Chicago punk rock documentary, You Weren’t There, Factory 25 is releasing two albums of vintage Chicago punk on vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day! DA’s Exclamation Point and Tutu & The Pirates’ Sub-Urban Insult Rock For The Anti-Lectual are the first two [...]
Naked Raygun new 7″ announced
According to the fine folks over at Riot Fest, the second 7″ in the Naked Raygun 7″ series will be released on June 15th. The band also plan to film their first music video in over 20 years and tour Europe for the first time in just about as many! Looks like it is going [...]
R.I.P. Iain Burgess
Legendary producer, Iain Burgess (far right in this photo with members of Blatant Dissent) passed away today after losing his fight to pancreatic cancer. Iain Burgess was probably the man most responsible for the “Chicago sound” of 1980s punk rock. Iain recorded all the big bands in this city back in the day including Big [...]
DRI 2/9 at Reggie’s
Sunday night Reggie’s played host to a hardcore extravaganza which was headlined by the long awaited return of DRI! This was also a marathon show and a late one featuring five bands, which meant it was going to be a long night. Vicious Attack Vicious Attack Vicious Attack Vicious Attack, a local band, opened the [...]
Naked Raygun 7″ series #1
Naked Raygun – 7″ Series #1 7″ Riot Fest Records Naked Raygun are legends in the city of Chicago and some even view the band as super heroes! The story of this legendary band has been told in a documentary or two and I’ve written about them countless times on this site since they decided [...]
Riot Fest secret show w/The Falcon
Saturday night the fine folks at Riot Fest put on their last “secret” show of the year at the same location they did all the other ones, the AAA building in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. As with the previous shows, admission was by invitation only and it was the recession friendly price of [...]
You Weren’t There DVD
You Weren’t There, A History of Chicago Punk 1977 – 1984 DVD Factory 25/Regressive Films Chicago had a good punk rock scene back in the old days with a some really great bands but the problem was that few outside the confines of the city and surrounding suburbs knew about it back then. While the [...]
You Weren’t There DVD release show
Saturday night was a big night in the world of Chicago punk rock, it was the official DVD release screening and show for the documentary, You Weren’t There. The documentary does a monumental job of telling the history of punk rock in Chicago, which was a city whose punk scene never got the recognition that [...]
You Weren’t There screening and DVD release show this Saturday
To honor its release on DVD, this Saturday there will be a special screening of the excellent Chicago punk documentary, You Weren’t There. The documentary is a wonderful telling of the history of the early Chicago punk scene and is a must see for punk rock fans of any age. The screening will be at [...]
Riot Fest 2009 Day Five
Sunday was the fifth and final day of the biggest Riot Fest yet, and it was being held simultaneously at two different venues. I choose to return to the Congress Theater for the show being held there and the chance to see a couple bands that I’d never seen before. She Likes Todd She Likes [...]
Riot Fest 2009 Day Four
Saturday’s Riot Fest show (well one of the them) had me back to the venue where Riot Fest all began, the Congress Theater. I’m quite fond of that venue and it’s nice big stage and good lighting so I pretty much figured I’d be in for a good time and of course a good time [...]
Riot Fest 2009 Day Two
The only good thing about fall continued on Thursday over at the Beat Kitchen, which I believe is another first time for Riot Fest venue. This show was a three band bill and got off to a pretty early start. The small size of the venue and the popularity of the headlining band, 7 Seconds, [...]
Riot Fest secret show w/Pegboy
Friday night was the third in the series of secret Riot Fest shows leading up to the rapidly approaching biggest Riot Fest ever. This time the show was to feature Chicago punk rock superstars, Pegboy! I thought this would be a pretty good followup to the last show which featured Naked Raygun. Off With Their [...]
Riot Fest secret show w/Naked Raygun
Only two weeks had passed since the first secret Riot Fest show and already there was another one and this time it featured Chicago punk rock Super Heroes Naked Raygun! Never one to pass up an opportunity to see one of my all time favorite bands from my own city, I found myself at the [...]
Riot Fest secret show w/ 88 Fingers Louie
As the countdown to Riot Fest begins (it is in October), the fine folks behind the annual punk rock goodness decided they were going to host a few secret shows here and the first one was last week. People who bought tickets in advance for the Riot Fest shows were randomly invited to a secret [...]
The Germs 6/23 at Reggie’s
Last week I happily went to Reggie’s yet again, this time to see The Germs (or what’s left of The Germs anyway). They played an all ages show that got off to a nice early start which was fine with me considering it was on a “school night”. We got to the club a little [...]
Amebix 5/29 at Reggie’s
Reggie’s has played host to a lot of good punk shows as of late and one that I was very excited to see happened last week. The legendary UK band, Amebix, reunited and came to Chicago for the first time ever only two plus decades after they broke up! Tierra De Nadie Tierra De Nadie [...]
