Tutu and the Pirates, The Mentally Ill, Hotlips Messiah 1/27/12 at Ultra Lounge
Friday night the little place called the Ultra Lounge put on a show that mixed two classic Chicago punk rock bands from the early days with two bands of the modern age that resulted in a solid lineup that was worth braving the cold for. First up was Claw Toe. They mixed up a few [...]
Burning Sons – Reduced to Equality 12″EP
The second release for the Burning Sons is every bit as good, if not better, than their debut and more than deserves the honor of being the first new Mystic Records 12″EP in more than two decades. Rating: Burning Sons – Reduced to Equality 12″EP Mystic Records Last year Milwaukee’s, Burning Sons, was given the [...]
Naked Raygun 11/23/11 at Metro
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend got an early start when Chicago punk rock superheroes, Naked Raygun, returned to the Metro. In the 1980s Naked Raygun was a staple of the Metro and their shows were always big events that packed the house. This time was no different as the Metro quickly filled up with people ready [...]
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power Live In the Hand of the Fans
Putting the cameras in the hands of hardcore fans resulted in better than normal concert film. Nice extras and a great performance make this a must for Stooges fans. Rating: Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power Live in the Hands of the Fans DVD MVD Visual Last year through an online contest, six fans [...]
The Damned 10/25/11 at Metro
Last night one of the earliest and best punk rock bands of all time made a long overdue return to the Metro and that was The Damned. The band is celebrating their 35th anniversary by going on their first US tour in years and they had something special planned for these shows. The Metro was a [...]
Riot Fest 2011: Secret show with Marky Ramone
After the Weezer show let out (and the 7 Seconds show over at Bottom Lounge) there was just one event left for this year’s Riot Fest and it was the last of the secret shows. This show was being held at the AAA building in Wicker Park which was only a few minutes down the [...]
Riot Fest 2011: Descendents 10/8/11 at Congress Theater
Saturday was the longest day of Riot Fest as the show was an all day affair at the Congress Theater. More than a dozen bands took the stage that day so those who were ambitious could spend the entire day there starting shortly after lunch time. Those who were out late every night that week [...]
Riot Fest 2011: All at Bottom Lounge 10/6 and 10/7
As Riot Fest continued during the week, the shows were starting to split up between venues which sometimes made fans have to choose which show to see but this year it was a little friendlier and due to some later start times it was possible to catch multiple/partial shows on the same evenings. On Thursday [...]
Riot Fest 2011 day two: Social Distortion at Congress Theater 10/6/11
Riot Fest continued last night and kicked into high gear giving people a choice between going to Congress Theater and Bottom Lounge. They even had a shuttle bus going between the two venues at one point for people who wanted to head over to catch the other show. The show at the Congress Theater featured [...]
Samiam 9/10/11 at Reggies
After more than a decade since they last played in Chicago, Samiam made their long, long-awaited return to the Windy City in support of their first new album in quite some time. They headlined a three band bill at Reggies on Saturday night and a respectable number of die-hard fans filled the room with excitement [...]
The Jesus Lizard – Club
One of the best reunions ever and a great trip down memory lane of one of the best bands of the early 1990s. Rating: The Jesus Lizard – Club DVD MVD Visual Back in the early 1990s, The Jesus Lizard were one of the best bands around during the noise/indie rock/punk times. They put out [...]
COC/Coliseum 7/30 at Reggies
Saturday night over in the South Loop, Reggies had a four band show that featured one legendary punk/metal band from the old days who was touring with one of the finer bands of the modern-day. Those two bands are COC and Coliseum and you couldn’t ask for a more solid pair of bands playing a [...]
The Clash – Black Market Clash vinyl reissue
Way back in October 1980, Epic Records in America released an EP that collected a bunch of Clash songs that weren’t available on any releases domestically. This EP was a 10″ vinyl record that was part of Epic’s line of EP’s called Nu-Disk. Cheap Trick was another notable band to have a 10″ on Epic [...]
Blood Red Baby Blue – The Colors of Chaos
A solid debut by female-led punk with a spattering of other influences. Bonus points for the nice packaging and bonus items.Rating: Blood Red Baby Blue – The Colors of Chaos LP No Profit Records Blood Red Baby Blue is a band from Alabama and I believe this is their first record. They are a four-piece [...]
Amebix release new song and video
UK punk/metal legends Amebix have just released a video for a new song from their forthcoming album. Having seen the band play a couple of years ago and seeing just how great they still are, needless to say this is very exciting news. If this new song is an indication of what the album as [...]
The Bollweevils 12/11/10 at Metro
Saturday night the Metro was the venue chosen to host the return of the Bollweevils, a band that hasn’t played in close to two years. They headlined a five band bill that saw them sharing the stage with a nice lineup of bands from Chicago including 88 Fingers Louie. It also was a celebration for [...]
X – Wild Gift vinyl reissue
X was a band I first heard when I was about 14 years old when I got the Decline of Western Civilization soundtrack. Back then I didn’t appreciate them because I was a foolish young teenager who didn’t think they were hardcore enough. It wasn’t until I reached my mid-twenties that I revisited the band [...]
The Hamburglars and Hotlips Messiah 11/24 at Lucky Number
Thanksgiving Eve was the “pre-gobble robble” starting The Hamburglars and Hotlips Messiah; two of the better and under-rated bands from the Chicago area. They were kicking off the mini-holiday in a small bar on the second floor of the Lucky Number Grill. Sporting a new drummer and Indian headdresses, Hotlips Messiah took the stage/floor first. [...]
Stimulators – Loud Fast Rules!
A great document of this old New York punk band’s only full-length recording. Mandatory early punk rock. Rating: Stimulators – Loud Fast Rules! CD ROIR The Stimulators were an early punk rock back from New York City who became most know for their having a young Harley Flanagan of Cro-Mags fame as their drummer when [...]
Gwar 10/26/10 at House of Blues
Halloween means two things: free candy if you are a kid, and the return of Gwar to Chicago. The band has done a show around the week of Halloween nearly every year since they’ve been a touring band. It is one of the better fall traditions here. This year’s visit was held once again at [...]
Riot Fest 2010: Bhopal Stiffs 10/7/10 at Subterranean
The second night of Riot Fest saw another Chicago area punk band from the 1980s reuniting just for the show. This time it was the Bhopal Stiffs who returned from the dead. They were from the suburbs of Chicago during the mid 1980s and in their short time together, put out two great records and [...]
Riot Fest 2010: Busted at Oz reunion 10/6/10
Riot Fest is officially underway as of last night when the sauna known as the Double Door hosted a very special night for old Chicago punks (and younger fans of the old punk). To mark the 30th anniversary of the Busted at Oz compilation (something that has been out of print for about 28 of [...]
Smoking Popes 10/1/10 at AAA
As fall rears its ugly head letting Chicagoland know that summer is over and hibernation season is approaching there is only one redeeming factor of it and that is Riot Fest. Much like last year, this year the festivities started a few days early with a “secret” show headlined by Smoking Popes. The show was [...]
The Adicts – Life Goes On
The Adicts – Life Goes On CD People Like You Records The Adicts is one of those rare bands that not only has managed to have a three decade career and counting, but one that still has the original lineup. I can’t think of many bands that can claim that, especially ones that never stopped [...]
