Tutu and the Pirates/Hotlips Messiah 12/21/12 at Township
The world did not end on Friday night despite what some gullible folks would have led you to believe leading up until that day. Those not naive enough to think it was all over Friday night had something fun to ring in the holidays over at Township where Tutu and the Pirates and Hotlips Messiah [...]
Resistance Pro: Sad Wings of Destiny 11/30/12
Friday night was the big first anniversary show for Resistance Pro Wrestling, the federation co-founded by Smashing Pumpkins leader, Billy Corgan. Billy also serves as the creative director for the federation, one that got off to a strong start and has been improving and growing with each show they’ve done. To celebrate their first year [...]
UFO 11/15/12 at House of Blues
Almost a year and a half exactly to the day of their last visit to Chicago, UFO returned to the House of Blues to kick off another tour. Since their last visit they released a new album and this time out they had a different bass player. The crowd was filled with mostly middle-aged rock [...]
The Avengers 10/28/12 at Abbey Pub
San Francisco punk legends the Avengers played a show here on Sunday night at the Abbey Pub. This was the last stop of only a three city tour and Chicago was lucky enough to be included. It had been a few years since the band toured and Avengers tours in general are a rarity so [...]
Swans 10/24/12 at Metro
For the third year in a row, the Swans have gone on a fall tour. This is a welcome tradition as until three years ago the band was inactive and seemingly retired. This year they not only brought us another tour but they just released a monumental and incredibly lengthy album called The Seer which [...]
Public Image Ltd. 10/21/12 at House of Blues
A little less than two years ago, John Lydon (the former Johnny Rotten) ended a very long hiatus and reactivated Public Image Ltd. (PiL for short). Since doing so they’ve kept busy first with a tour and then by recording a new album and now with another tour. They stopped in Chicago Sunday night for “an [...]
Social Distortion 10/12/12 at The Vic Theatre
For the third fall in a row, Social Distortion hit the road for a U.S. tour and made a stop here in Chicago. This time out they did a two-night run at The Vic and Friday was the second of those two nights. The place filled up fairly quickly with fans of all ages (as [...]
Saint Vitus and Weedeater 9/30/12 at Bottom Lounge
Last night could have been considered a heavy metal holiday as Saint Vitus returned to Chicago for the first time in nearly a decade. They not only returned but they brought Weedeater with them! The Bottom Lounge saw a good turnout of metal fans willing to stay out late on a Sunday night and those [...]
Anthrax 9/27 at The Vic Theatre
Thrash metal stalwarts Anthrax returned to Chicago for the third time in a year to headline a show at The Vic. The band has been touring almost constantly since late last year when they released a new album with all but one member (Dan Spitz) of their “classic lineup” titled Worship Music. Their last outing [...]
Down 9/22/12 at House of Blues
In recent years the return of fall mean New Orleans based metal/rock band Down hits the road for their annual tour. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, it consists of Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Pepper Keenan of Corrosion of Conformity (the 90′s alt-rock version of the band), Kirk from Crowbar/Kingdom of Sorrow and [...]
Riot Fest 2012 9/16/12 at Humboldt Park
Sunday was the final day of Riot Fest and once again Mother Nature provided absolutely perfect weather for an outdoor festival. You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weekend to have this festival take place. The final day’s festival had a stellar and diverse lineup of bands as well and once again there was [...]
Riot Fest 2012 late show 9/15/12 at Congress Theater
Those with any energy left after a wonderful day-long event at Humboldt Park had the option (if they were a three-day pass holder) of staying out late and catching a great four band bill at the Congress Theater headlined by NOFX. This bill put three bands who have been around since at least the 1980s [...]
Resistance Pro: Just a Game 9/14/12 at Excalibur
After a month off Resistance Pro Wrestling finally was back with a new event this past Friday with Just a Game which was held at Excalibur. This time the setup was different as Excalibur had done some renovations so while the event was on the same floor, it was in a different, bigger room this [...]
Cold Waves: The Jamie Duffy Memorial Concert 9/7/12 at Bottom Lounge
Friday night the Bottom Lounge hosted a very special event billed as Cold Waves: The Jamie Duffy Memorial Concert. Jamie Duffy was a staple in the Chicago industrial music scene for a long time. Jamie was in Acumen Nation and he also did live sound for a number of notable venues around the city, worked [...]
Electric Hawk 8/31/12 at Reggies Music Joint
Friday night was a semi-private party over at Reggies Music Joint (the bar next door to the rock club that also has live music in there regularly) where a birthday was celebrated and Chicago instrumental rock trio Electric Hawk played. The birthday in question was for none other than former Spontaneous Combustion (the printed music [...]
Shiner 8/26/12 at Bottom Lounge
Sunday night was Shiner’s last stand not only in Chicago but anywhere as their four-city reunion tour concluded at the Bottom Lounge. This time the band was joined by two different opening acts than the night before. Despite the fact that there was at least one other big indie rock show (Shellac and Tar were [...]
Shiner 8/25/12 at Bottom Lounge
Saturday night was a special evening at the Bottom Lounge as that was the venue that housed two nights in a row of Shiner reunion shows. Shiner was one of the best bands of the 1990s that should have been a lot more popular than they were. They had a very good following but they [...]
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine 8/24 at Reggies
Just 24 hours later after having one punk rock mainstay headline the stage, Reggies had an even bigger legend headline on Friday night. Jello Biafra, a man who needs to introduction, and his Guantanamo School of Medicine (aka: his current band) headlined a show to a packed house that saw fans spanning a couple of [...]
The Summer Slaughter Tour 8/16/12 at House of Blues
The heaviest day-long tour of the year is The Summer Slaughter Tour. This tour features around a dozen extreme metal bands sharing a stage for a full day of brutal music. The annual tour (which features a different lineup every year) made a stop here in Chicago Thursday night at the House of Blues. The [...]
System of a Down and Deftones 8/15/12 at Allstate Arena
System of a Down and Deftones both enjoyed quite a bit of success from the mid 1990′s through the early 2000′s and both of them are still at it, having outlasted a lot of bands from that era. The two bands joined forces for a summer tour that concluded here in Chicago Wednesday night at [...]
Resistance Pro: Fair Warning 7/27/12
Resistance Pro Wrestling returned to the larger and more comfortable confines of the Teamster Auditorium in Chicago this past Friday night for their latest event, Fair Warning. On top of the cast of super-talented regulars, this time they were treated to a special appearance by John Hennigan (John Morrison – formerly of WWE) who wrestled [...]
Refused/OFF! – 7/26/12 at Congress Theater
Thursday night nearly 4000 excited people packed themselves into the 100 degree Congress Theater to see an amazing duo of punk bands whose members collectively span three generations of punk rock. The bands in question were OFF! (featuring members of Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Red Kross, and Rocket From the Crypt among others) and Refused [...]
Rockstar Mayhem Fest 7/21/12 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
Summer brings two annual festivals on opposite ends of the music spectrum: Warped Tour which caters mostly to pop-punk and emo bands these days, and the Rockstar Mayhem Fest which caters to heavy metal bands and fans of heavy music. The former happened a couple of weeks ago and the latter just happened on Saturday. [...]
Ministry 6/28/12 at The Vic Theatre
In pro wrestling retirement doesn’t have the same meaning as it does to everyone else. Countless wrestlers have had retirement matches or farewell matches, announcing retirement only to come back a year or two later (or sometimes a few months later) like the retirement never happened. Al Jourgensen must be a wrestling fan because a [...]
