Stiff Little Fingers (SLF), the legends from Northern Ireland, are presently on their final coast-to-coast tour of the United States. Barring any future festival or one-off appearances, this show at the iconic Metro may have been the farewell to Chicago. It was especially poignant as SLF founder and frontman and his wife, Shirley Sexton, called […]
Stiff Little Fingers (SLF), the legends from Northern Ireland, are presently on their final coast-to-coast tour of the United States. Barring any future festival or one-off appearances, this show at the iconic Metro may have been the farewell to Chicago. It was especially poignant as SLF founder and frontman and his wife, Shirley Sexton, called Chicago home for several years. The couple moved to rural West Virginia in 2023. In addition, the tour’s name comes from the “Hate Has No Home Here” campaign here in Chicago.
SLF brought along fellow Northern Ireland musician Ricky Warwick for a fun acoustic solo set.
Jake Burns recently spoke with Dying Scene about this coast-to-coast tour of the United States being the last the band will be doing. He left the door open for possible one-off shows and festival appearances.
And what a show this night at the Metro was. Look in one direction there were many friends from the Chicago punk scene, including members of Pegboy and Naked Raygun, as well as many other musicians. Look in another direction and you saw people representing Liar’s Club and other venues in which Burns, with SLF or with other musicians performed. The show also brought fans from across the country and the Pond. Right up front was Martin, a fan with a large SLF tattoo on his arm. Martin informed me he had just flown in from Belfast, the city in which Burns was born and raised.
Following some introductory music, the band – Jake Burns, Ali McMordie, Steve Grantley, and Ian McCallum – tore into one of its most famous songs, “Suspect Device.” The song is from the band’s landmark album Inflammable Material. Stiff Little Fingers’ roaring performance of the song set the mood for the night.
Burns also spoke of how special it was to be back in Chicago and the campaign that inspired both the title of the tour and the song they then launched into — “Hate Has No Home Here.” The song also indicates the powerful music the band is still capable of producing.
Stiff Little Fingers put in a solid 75 minutes. The set included the classics, “Wasted Life,” “Gotta Getaway,” and “Tin Soldiers.” Burns spoke of how Joe Strummer of The Clash inspired SLF as an introduction to “Strummerville.”
The band closed out the night with a fiery rendition of its most famous and greatest song, “Alternative Ulster.” With the crowd singing loudly along, there was no doubt this was a special night for the band, and for all those in attendance. I felt so fortunate to witness Stiff Little Fingers retiring from regular touring on such a high note. Stiff Little Fingers is one of the pioneering bands of punk music from the genre’s first generation. The band’s power never wavered.
Thank you gentlemen!
Ricky Warwick, from Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, kicked off the night with a blasting performance. Warwick has a long-time affiliation with Stiff Little Fingers, having performed with the legends in Glasgow in 1993. The performance appeared on the live record Pure Fingers in 1995. Warwick listed his favorite SLF songs in 2016. Warwick, also a member of The Almighty and Black Star Riders, among other bands, took the stage with just an acoustic guitar and his powerful voice.
Warwick ripped through a set including the Black Star Riders’ “Kingdom of the Lost,” and songs from his solo work, the rousing “The Arms of Belfast Town,” and “The Whiskey Song – Feckin Whiskey.”
Warwick performed a stirring rendition of Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak.” Ricky Warwick, in 2009, joined Thin Lizzy as its lead singer. In 2011, he toured with the band in Europe as it commemorated the 25 years since the death of lead singer Phil Lynott. Warwick was a charismatic and compelling presence and a great opener for Stiff Little Fingers.
Since I first started going to Slam Dunk in 2023, the festival made its mark on me. And this year was no exception. After seeing the lineup with Arm’s Length, One Step Closer, Guilt Trip, The All-American Rejects, You Me At Six, State Champs, and more, I knew I needed to go. Because these were […]
Since I first started going to Slam Dunk in 2023, the festival made its mark on me. And this year was no exception. After seeing the lineup with Arm’s Length, One Step Closer, Guilt Trip, The All-American Rejects, You Me At Six, State Champs, and more, I knew I needed to go. Because these were bands I had loved since childhood, Guilt Trip, One Step Closer, and Arm’s Length were added over the years. So, I packed my bags, jumped on a flight, and made my way to England.
Festival Atmosphere
It was late May, but being in England, the weather is always tricky. As with the year before, the sun was high in the sky, and it was warm. But unlike last year, I had forgotten my sunblock. Oops. As I arrived, the queuing was much better than the previous year; you could basically walk in, and that was a nice feeling after I was yearning for some live music. Once inside, everyone was having the time of their lives, with Monster Energy being amazing and supplying free energy drinks as my coffee intake had been limited on one of the days compared to my… well, my coffee intake is not a newsworthy story, so let’s move on.
In my opinion, the layout has changed for the better compared to last year. Actually, much had changed; after the fallout of last year’s bad luck with parking, they seemed to have had it more under control, and everything seemed much easier to find.
Arm’s Length – The Key Club Stage
As Arm’s Length took the stage, they kicked their set off with a bang with their 2023 single, “Up In Smoke”. The pop-punk Canadians may have encountered a few technical problems in the beginning, but they were quickly fixed. As they hit “Object Permanence,” from Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, the third song out of eight songs on their setlist, I felt like I was floating. As Allan Steinberg’s vocals were on point, the rest of the band, consisting of Jeremy Whyte, Jeff Whyte, and Benjamin Greenblatt, were energetic, as if they had been run over by the Monster Truck and shotgunned three cans each before hitting the stage. Disclaimer: They are one of my favorite bands, and I’ve discovered them in the past few years, but seeing them for the first time blew me away. And the songs flew by, as they hit “Overture”, once again from the 2022 album, Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, tears did shed from my eyes as I sang along, as the lines “You know exactly where I’ll go when I’m gone / Know that it’s been in the works for so long”, I was in pieces, exactly like the first time I heard it. There was something about their live performance that just hit home. They worked so well together while acknowledging they were playing Slam Dunk. It felt more like friends having the time of their lives playing their instruments, and we were lucky enough to witness them. They were the highlight of my year, and they deserve all the greatness that comes to them.
Guilt Trip – The Key Club Stage
As my heart was still racing from Arm’s Length, I didn’t have to wander far for the next act on my schedule: Guilt Trip. And two months after they visited Denmark with Landmvrks, I got to see them again. I thought I knew what I was in for, but frankly, this was peak Guilt Trip. They had zero technical difficulties, but what I loved the most was how quickly mosh pits managed to get going. Once again, the banter was top-notch, but it doesn’t beat their well-curated setlist, which gets the crowd going. They continue to stay at the top of their game because they are one of the best hardcore bands around right now. Much like when I saw them in March – I can’t deny that they put on one hell of a show. From song to song, vocalist Jay Valentine was living his best life while the rest of the band had a grin from ear to ear. The fact that they are so well rehearsed gives one an excellent idea of why they are selling out shows around the world. If you can catch them, you must!
One Step Closer – The Key Club Stage
Hardcore outfit One Step Closer is here! THEY ARE HERE! I nearly had to pinch myself. You’re asking why, but over the past year, I’ve found much amusement in hardcore, and with their sophomore album All You Embrace that was released earlier in the month, it was only fair that I canceled all my plans to have lunch and see them in full glory. While there’s an ongoing discussion that All You Embrace leans much more toward the grungier sound, it’s not stopping the band from digging out their hardcore roots. I’m not the only one excited to see them. In fact, it seems that the whole band is picking up on the energy from the crowd and making sure that they match it. The stage isn’t the biggest, but that doesn’t seem to matter because they are having the time of their life as they go from song to song on their setlist. Ah, to be young and full of energy.
Albany pop-punkers State Champs entered the stage, and they actually played their 2013 album, The Finer Things, which is, in total, a treat for those of us who are experiencing the band for the first time. And what a joyous treat indeed! It’s the tenth anniversary of the album, or it was back in October 2023, but that didn’t make it any less memorable. As it was my first time seeing them live, I was pretty excited. I couldn’t help but notice how alive they were, mainly after saying they were once a “baby band”, and now they are “old”. It simply didn’t feel like that at that moment.
As they made their way through their setlist, which, once again, was their sophomore album and a big deal, “Hard To Please” was a trip to hear live. They were flying from one end of the stage to another, with no moment of standing still for them, and it was, in fact, one of the best performances I had seen all day at that point. They indeed marked themselves as pop-punk royalty!
L.S. Dunes – The Key Club Stage
This is probably the coolest band I’ve seen to date. The emo supergroup consisting of Frank Iero, Anthony Green, Travis Stever, Tim Payne, and Tucker Rule was on the minor stage for some reason. After the crowd kept growing, it confirmed my suspicion that it was a poor choice, but with such a packed line-up, someone had to pull the short stick. There’s no denying how good they sound. While I wasn’t blown away entirely by their album, their performance was excellent for me, and Green sounded perfect while belting out their songs. But for some reason, their set was cut short, and we never found out why.
The All-American Rejects – Slam Dunk Stage
Hi, my name is Karina, and I’m a vast AAR fan. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing The All-American Rejects, but I’ll try. It’s been ten years since they were there last, and as I wasn’t, I knew I needed to see them. They have, for the past decade and a half, when I first discovered them and screamed “Dirty Little Secret” as a teen in my room, been one of the bands alongside Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Motion City Soundtrack, and Something Corporate, been a pillar in my music taste.
The All-American Rejects kicked off their set with “Swing, Swing,” and no one in sight wasn’t feeling it. Here they were, with Tyson Ritter dressed to the nines and funny as hell, springing into life as the music kicked off. As they rip their way through the packed setlist consisting of “Gives You Hell”, “It Ends Tonight”, and even playing “Fallin’ Apart” to a much-overjoyed audience. They still got it, and of course, Ritter proved that they are one of the few pop-punk bands from the 2000s that still know how to hit the original notes of their songs.
As “Move Along” closed their set, an unexpected move on their part, as I was 100% sure that they would’ve closed with “Dirty Little Secret”, I didn’t want it to end. Selfish, of course, but their energetic stage presence, the setlist, gave me such an adrenaline rush. I’ll admit that halfway through their setlist, I am having a complete blackout, not because of alcohol but pure excitement. I felt I was the only one there, and I was living my best life because this was IT. They were everything I expected and more. While Ritter did go on some random rants, it was the moment I discovered he was funny as hell. I’m so sure that if it hadn’t been for You Me At Six calling it quits prior to Slam Dunk, The All-American Rejects would have been the headliners because they served a proper stage presence as if they were the headliners of this fantastic festival.
“KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF,” Josh Franceschi sings as they kick off their last festival appearance with “Save It For The Bedroom”. Yes, their last-ever festival performance. It’s frankly quite beautiful and full circle. You Me At Six’s first festival was Slam Dunk in 2007, and they signed to Slam Dunk’s record label back in the day. Tonight, many of us were taking a trip down memory lane, and their setlist was curated for their fans. As the band was ripping through their first single, “Save It For The Bedroom”, it clicked for me that I had been spoiled by many of the bands and their setlists, and YMAS was the icing on the cake, the cherry on top.
There’s no room for much talk, not that I mind, to be honest, because it’s a race against time. Overall, it felt like they wanted to cram as many songs into the set as humanly possible, and that meant keeping the chatter to a minimum. Still, some moments pulled at the heartstrings, from Franceschi saying, “It’s only right to finish where we started” in regards to their last festival performance to dedicating “Liquid Confidence” to their fanbase, and down to the moment when Elissa Franceschi, Josh’s sister came on stage to sing “Always Attract”. It somehow felt final, like this is it. Even though they have a string of tour dates for their Farwell Tour coming up, that was the moment that smacked me into reality, and tonight, You Me At Six pulled out all the stops to make this one of their best shows in history. From the showmanship Franceschi displayed to the stunning stage visuals, the rest match Franceschi’s energy. This was a night for the fans. As the sun sat over Hatfield, and they were ripping through their setlist, the audience was singing along to every song, and strangers were hugging and giving room to each other to let the emotions show.
Nostalgia wasn’t the enemy tonight. In fact, it was a welcoming friend, a friend that came in flashbacks to the moment when one first heard the different songs, the lyrics popping up as if they were subtitles to a movie. And suddenly, it was pitch black. The show ended with the finale song, “Beautiful Way” from SUCKAPUNCH, which actually served well to close a magical evening.
Final words.
While this typically serves as a conclusion, I’ll treat it like my final thoughts. I saw so much this year, and there weren’t many clashes of sets—though there were a few. I had always wanted to see The Wonder Years, but I caught only a few songs before heading over to the Slam Dunk Stage for You Me At Six. Waterparks was also on my list, but I had to prioritize L.S. Dunes, who ultimately won me over as my new favorite supergroup.
The lineup was more stressful than ever; I wanted to see so many bands, but it just wasn’t possible. Perhaps I’ll need to take both days at Slam Dunk next year! Overall, after addressing the minor issues from 2023, I have to commend the organizers. They came back stronger, listening to feedback from the audience, and for that, they’ve officially become my favorite out-of-country festival. They even fixed what my friend and I affectionately dubbed “toilet island”—a corner with so many toilets that I didn’t experience any queueing this year!
Slam Dunk brings back a lot of nostalgia for me, especially as it coincides with moments when I feel like I’m about to burn out from writing. This weekend away has become a way to recharge my energy for what’s to come, perhaps due in part to the incredible community surrounding it. You feel safe, and you often make friends you get to catch up with while there.
I’m excited to see how the festival grows in the future and how they’ll one-up this year’s lineup! While you’re at it, check out the stunning pictures from Nick Allan below!
Attending 2024’s Sick New World Festival was one of the most exciting experiences of my adult life. It was an 80-degree day with a perfect lineup. What more can a fan ask for? The festival was extremely organized and well run. The bands seemed to be having the time of their lives. This clearly wasn’t just […]
Attending 2024’s Sick New World Festival was one of the most exciting experiences of my adult life. It was an 80-degree day with a perfect lineup. What more can a fan ask for? The festival was extremely organized and well run. The bands seemed to be having the time of their lives. This clearly wasn’t just another stop on the rock festival circuit. This felt monumentous. Every aspect of the day had a grandiose feel to it. Sick New World is (one of, if not) the best, punk rock and heavy metal festivals currently.
Most people compare Sick New World to its sister festival, When We Were Young. While yes, they are managed by the same team, take place at the exact location, and have very similar business styles, I believe they cannot be compared. When We Were Young is more based on nostalgia. It’s literally in the name. Most of the bands on that bill already had their heyday. The 2024 lineup is actually just bands playing all their older records in full. There is nothing wrong with this. The festival plays classic bands that serve a purpose in their community. There will always be a space for those bands, and When We Were Young will always continue to have the coolest lineup.
The key difference with Sick New Word is that these are all the bands that are making a splash in the community NOW. Bad Omens’ newest record, “The Death of Peace of Mind,” is not only their biggest but also one of the most successful rock albums of recent memory. Sleep Token have ascended into amphitheater headliner status, something extremely rare in this genre. The last rock artist to really start playing areas of this size was Rise Against in the early 2010s. Knocked Loose is slowly becoming the biggest hardcore punk band to ever exist, playing Coachella and getting mainstream attention. They’re the face of the genre right now. In a different scene, Lorna Shore has become the most well known deathcore band in history. Will Ramos is appearing on covers of Rocksound and getting talked about in Loudwire the same way they talk about Corey Taylor. Ice Nine Kills are currently opening support for Metallica and proving they’re also the future of metalcore music. Most of the bands on the bill, have had their most recent album be their most successful. It’s not nostalgia bait; it’s the heartbeat of heavy music today.
A highlight set that needs to be discussed is the carnage that was Bring Me The Horizon’s set. The band brought their A-game in a massive way. As someone who has consistently seen the band for over 10 years, their set at Sick New World was a moment in time. It felt like their entire career had been building to that show. The band had Babymetal appear for guest vocals on their song “Kingslayer,” and every single person was on their feet. Video screens featured an AI named Eve trying to destroy humankind between songs. It added flair and personality. I felt like I was living inside an action movie by moshing. I would fly out to Las Vegas just to see that single set again.
Knocked Loose was so intense there were four mosh pits all going off simultaneously. The guitar tones sounded exactly like they did on the studio albums. The band connected with the fans live in such a strong way. Everyone was pointing screaming lyrics at Bryan and the band was giving the energy right back at them. They brought Poppy out to play the live debut of “Suffocate”. Knocked Loose should be a household name at this point.
Ice Nine Kills also played their first show of 2024 at Sick New World. This being my 18th time seeing the band, it’s safe to say I was excited. It was astounding, as usual. The band had a massive inflatable Silence Killer behind them as they performed. During “Meat & Great,” they rolled out a chained Hannibal Lecter, and fans got to watch him escape. Spencer did his classic American Psycho during “Hip To Be Scared” when he murdered Paul on the breakdown. It was a spectacle, it was extremely heavy, and more than anything, it was unapologetically Ice Nine Kills.
The festival also needs to work on its entrance. It had a capacity of 80,000 with only 4 gates to get into the festival. I waited outside for an hour and a half before I was finally allowed in. It was a brutal experience. This can be easily remedied with more entrances. It can also be fixed by having entrances in different locations. Everyone had to enter in the same parking lot area behind Circus Circus Hotel. Another possible solution to this would be having doors open much earlier. The doors opened at 10:30 am, and the first artist started at 11:15. Spacing out the time when doors open may allow for a more gentle flow of people.
A critique we’ve seen a lot about Sick New World is that the band’s set times were too short. While we understand the frustration fans have, we firmly disagree. Did Lorna Shore only play “Sun // Eater” and the “Pain Remains” trilogy? Yes. But in the span of 2 hours, you have seen four headliner-sized bands for the price of one. If fans go choose to see the smaller artists on the Diablo and Siren stages, that turnaround is even faster. In 3 hours (from 6-9pm) fans could mosh out to Drain, Vein.Fm, Code Orange, Better Lovers, Static Dress, and Incendiary. That’s a bucket list lineup right there; it’s just the last quarter of your night at Sick New World Festival. I did not understood the vision until I saw it with my own two eyes. It’s a sacrifice for the length of the set in exchange for the volume of artists. If the lineup is as good as it was this year, that’s a worthy trade-off.
There were no wait times to get food or beer. The food was delicious, and the alcohol was strong. The festival merch line moved quickly and efficiently. The artist merch line had a two-hour wait, but if you flew to Las Vegas to buy band merch, reevaluate your life! There were four bands playing at the same time! Go crowdsurf or run around in a circle pit! The bands have merch online after the festival anyway.
Overall, the title says it best. Sick New World is Coachella for heavy music fans. It’s THE festival for anyone who grew up playing guitar and trying to learn to scream. It was a mass congregation of every hardcore punk fan in the world. At the festival, I ran into people from Brazil, Canada, and every part of the United States. Sick New World 2024 is in the history books.
House of Blues welcomed Bayside back to Chicago. Winona Fighter and Armor For Sleep lent support. Finch, with the penultimate set, was billed as a special guest. Bayside, named for the Bayside, Queens neighborhood of its origin, brought its There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive tour to Chicago at the end of April. The […]
Bayside, named for the Bayside, Queens neighborhood of its origin, brought its There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive tour to Chicago at the end of April. The tour name doubles as the title of the band’s brand new album from Hopeless Records.
It’s an album garnering positive reviews and it pulls no punches. “The Devils” haunting intro sets the mood:
“We are the trade-ins, the souls that needed saving Counting on a tired god who didn’t really want the job If he’s on vacation, as I wait to be taken Then nothing really matters now So what am I so worried about?“
As for the Monday night show, Bayside’s powerful performance was a 21-song salute to its 2-plus decade history. Included in the set (not in order of how played at the show) were “Devotion and Desire” from Bayside’s 2005 self-titled record, “Sick, Sick, Sick” off of 2011’s Killing Time, and “Prayers” from 2019’s Interrobang.
Of course, the band also peppered the set with cuts off of the new album, including, “Castaway,” “Go To Hell,” and “The Devils.”
Bayside will be playing the Not Just A “Phase” Fest in Kansas City, KS on June 2nd. The band will then head to The United Kingdom to play a couple of headling shows, in Brighton on June 11th, and in Huddersfield on June 12th. On June 14th, Bayside will hit the Avalanche stage of Download Festival, at Donington Park, in Leicestershire, England.
Finch, out of Temecula, CA, returned to playing shows in 2023 for its What It Is to Burn 20th Anniversary Tour. The band played shows in NYC, Chicago, Boston, and Anaheim. Being the special guest of Bayside this year has allowed even more Finch fans the opportunity to see the band live again or for the first time.
Finch’s set, including, “Rainy Day,” “Letters to You,” “Post Script,” “A Piece of Mind,” “New Beginnings,” “Insomniatic Meat,” and “What It Is To Burn,” was a throttling one. The reception the band received made it clear that its fans are glad to see it back on stage.
Teaneck, New Jersey’s Armor for Sleep, disbanded in 2009 and reunited in 2020 for the 15th Anniversary of its album What To Do When You Are Dead. The band then released a new album, The Rain Museum in 2022. This year the band is spending a great deal of time on the road. Along with providing support to Bayside, Armor For Sleep will be joining Hawthorne Heights‘ 20 Years of Tears tour. That second tour celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Hawthorne Heights’ debut album, The Silence In Black And White.
Blasting through a set including “Remember to Feel Real,” “Dream to Make Believe,” “Williamsburg,” and “Awkward Last Words,” Armor For Sleep gave a solid and tight performance. When the band returns to Chicago on June 28, on the above-mentioned tour, no doubt many of the same fans at this House of Blues show will be amped up to see them at The Salt Shed.
The fantastically named group, Winona Fighter, from Nashville, TN, kicked off the evening with a massive bang. The highly energetic lead singer Coco utilized all sections of the stage as she led the band’s propulsive performance. Winona Fighter ripped through a set including “Hamms In A Glass,” “I’m in the Market to Please No One,” a cover of Blur’s “Song 2,” and “You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers.” She got her first taste of punk in Boston, MA before moving to a city more famous for country music. Winona Fighter, formed in 2022, was the revelation for me on an evening stacked with decades-old veteran bands. I am looking forward to seeing the band again, whenever that might be. I am also curious to find out what other punk bands call Music City home.
April has just started and Punk Rock Tacos has already put together three shows as part of their relentless campaign to spread punk rock all over the Chicagoland area. This time the show takes place at the legendary South Irving Park venue, Livewire Lounge. The atmosphere was great even before the first band got up […]
April has just started and Punk Rock Tacos has already put together three shows as part of their relentless campaign to spread punk rock all over the Chicagoland area. This time the show takes place at the legendary South Irving Park venue, Livewire Lounge. The atmosphere was great even before the first band got up on stage; beer in hand, most of the crowd was eager to see some great bands while jamming to the music playing in the bar. A quick shout out to the bartender playing Eskorbuto, one of my favorite bands, which made getting there early truly worth it.
One of the aspects of the way Punk Rock Tacos puts together shows that make them so enjoyable is their ability to curate a chaotic mix of bands and genres. On paper, this strange combination would not appear to work, but once that initial feedback of the amplifiers’ screeches, as if it was introducing the rest of the distorted noise we call music, it all starts to make sense. On tonight’s bill, the only common thread between all the performers is the crunchy distorted guitars; although to the inexperienced ear they all probably sound similar, these bands could not be more different, both in genre and their artistic expression.
The first opener for the evening was Hood Rats. The rock n roll and punk rock trio made their way from Montreal to Chicago and put on an incredible performance despite having probably the toughest responsibility – to get the crowd started and excited. They played an energetic set that got everyone at Livewire interested and engaged.
The band’s lead singer and guitar player, Tony Salador, is the mastermind behind the musical project accompanied by Guillaume Tremblay & Andy McAdam as supporting musicians. At the risk of sounding reductive, Hood Rat’s set could be described as electric. Their music ticks all the boxes needed to have a great time –it is loud, fast, and straightforward. A great balance between street punk, leaning towards hardcore punk, but with a prevalent underlying rock n roll sound ever-present in their catchy riffs.
Overall, Hood Rats are a great band to see live. Hopefully, they will come back to Chicago soon, and if they do I would suggest any enjoyer of hardcore punk and street punk to see them live. The band describes their music as “in your face, raw music” and that description fits them perfectly. Their studio music is also worth checking out, and a great place to start would be either their song “Do Not Resuscitate” off of their Deep Cuts: The Singles Collection album or their video just released earlier this month “F*** the Police.”
After a few minutes of setting up and getting everything ready, Maharaja took the stage. Not many people were expecting the stark contrast between the first and second acts. This three-piece act from Dayton, Ohio showed they are all well-seasoned musicians; their performance was controlled, clean, and incredibly fucking heavy.
In comparison with the first band and their music perfect for slamming and thrashing, Maharaja brought the meat to the table with a slower-paced, thick, sludge and doom metal more suitable for the long-term neck issues caused by headbanging too hard. Their songs were significantly longer, as is typical in this specific genre. However, when the music is good, does the length of the track really matter? In terms of musicianship, all three members were exceptional, but the vocal skills of the lead singer and bassist alongside the backing vocals of the guitar player are worth highlighting. The brutal, unnatural, guttural sounds gave the music a haunting sound of despair and anguish. Their style is heavy, and gloomy, like being pummeled with a sledgehammer to the skull repeatedly (in the best way possible) and the atmosphere they created while performing complemented that sound perfectly.
Sadly, Maharaja is currently bidding farewell, as they are disbanding soon. All good things must come to an end, and this one specifically is leaving one full-length album and a few EPs to show for it. Not only does the cover image look sick, but their single “Soulless” would be a great soundtrack if there is ever a movie made about Marvin Heemeyer’s Bulldozer Rampage.
At this point of the show, the gears shifted. Lengua Salvaje took over the stage and as they were setting up, it was clear they were there on a mission: to play fast, loud, and with determination. They had things to say, and pulled no punches.
Before beginning their set, as the band members were waiting for their cue, the lead singer standing a bit off to the side gave the impression of someone kind of shy and reserved. However, once the music started playing, the presence of the vocalist seemed to grow larger and larger until it was the stage that felt too small and constrictive.
Lengua Salvaje added a much-appreciated political tone to the show. Touching on anarchist themes and spreading a fairly overt anti-capitalist message, their music was as untamed as their namesake. In terms of sound, the band was playing an amalgamation of hardcore and crust punk with hints of grindcore; the guitar tone was crunchy, closer to the standard sound of crust punk, but the drums truly shone by setting up the pace that created the back and forth between the styles, keeping each song interesting throughout their set.
A song of theirs worth checking out is the track titled “Machete,” it truly showcases this band’s musical style, a unique sound that combines the best aspects of several subgenres within the more extreme branches of punk. Lengua Salvaje is a great band to see live for an unbridled and savage display of angst and aggression, and a perfect choice to precede the headliners of the evening.
To close off the evening, the final band of the show took the stage. In between the tambores, y la sazón caribeña they unapologetically embrace as a core part of their sound, La Armada brought unto the table a sound that took all the aspects from the music genres of the previous three bands. The clear influence of metal, punk, and hardcore shone through in every single song. The set was tight, a no-bullshit kind of performance, which makes sense for a band with a clear message of anti-oppression that honors the Caribbean resistance movement.
Singing in both English and Spanish, this band takes on colonization both as a historical concept and as a modern one as one of their main subjects. Embracing Latin American, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms they have a subversive approach to what has historically been a caucasian music genre, which in a way is their strongest form of protest.
When talking about their music, they have some explosive, fast-tempo tracks. They do not shy away from their hardcore punk original sound but also are not afraid of brazenly appropriating the characteristics of adjacent music genres to create depth and variation in the songs. Their frontman Enrique Vargas performed incredibly well, connecting and engaging with the crowd as well as delivering each lyric with fierce, and aggression.
Al final del día, el corazón hispano lleva la sangre que anhela la libertad del viento caribeño. Es la razón por la cual es fácil crear una conexión con las letras que rechazan la colonización, y mantienen presente la necesidad de la unión entre los pueblos oprimidos. Fomentar la resistencia latina es parte esencial del deber de los activistas hispanos, y así juntos salir pa’lante.
This article was a collaborative effort with the incredibly talented Ed Kost who produced all the featured images in the article.
Chicago got a double-dose of New York bands Jigsaw Youth and Des Rocs who teamed up for a spring North American tour after the release of Des Rocs’ Dream Machine in August 2023 with Sumerian Records. Jigsaw Youth are no strangers to Dying Scene (check out the photos from when they played with Destroy Boys […]
Chicago got a double-dose of New York bands Jigsaw Youth and Des Rocs who teamed up for a spring North American tour after the release of Des Rocs’ Dream Machine in August 2023 with Sumerian Records.
Jigsaw Youth are no strangers to Dying Scene (check out the photos from when they played with Destroy Boys and Pinkshift!) and manage to kick-ass every time they play in Chicago.
After the release of The War Inside Me EP last year, Jigsaw Youth bestowed upon us two new singles: Sit On It and Love Sick.
As of this writing, Jigsaw Youth is currently scheduled for Elsewhere Fest in Wichita, KS on June 22nd, Louder Than Life in Louisville, KY on September 26th and Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, CA on October 11th.
More dates are coming soon, so you better follow Jigsaw Youth and Dying Scene to hear all about it!
Closing out the night with his new brand of rock n’ roll and edgy punk rock Elvis vibes, Des Rocs, aka Danny Rocco, has quickly climbed the charts and becoming known for his unforgettable electrifying performances.
His shows are literal art, from beginning to end, that will have you sweating and dancing to every beat. The amount of energy he brings to the room is no joke!
Des Rocs’ sophomore album Dream Machine is fierce and emotive and certainly worth the time to listen to. You can pick it up via Sumerian Records here! In addition to a few festival dates, Des Rocs recently announced a EU/UK tour happening this fall. Don’t miss it!
John Reis, best known as the guitarist for Rocket From The Crypt, brought his brand new band Swami and the Bed of Nails to Chicago’s Subterranean. In support was Meat Wave, the Chicago group riding a massive wave of acclaim. It was a night of double delight. Swami and the Bed of Nails, is making […]
John Reis, best known as the guitarist for Rocket From The Crypt, brought his brand new band Swami and the Bed of Nails to Chicago’s Subterranean. In support was Meat Wave, the Chicago group riding a massive wave of acclaim. It was a night of double delight.
Swami and the Bed of Nails, is making its new band debut with a series of shows. Though John Reis is mostly known for being a member of Rocket From the Crypt, he has also been a part of Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, The Sultans, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, just to name a few groups in which he has played an integral role
In SATBON, he is joined by other well-known punk veterans: bassist Tommy Kitsos (Night Marchers and CPC Gangbangs); Lady Dottie and the Diamonds’ Joe Guevara on piano and synthesizer, session player Richard Larson on drums; and Mark Murino (of Radio Wendy and Dirty Sweet) also guitar.
The band entranced the crowd with a set including, “Do You Still Wanna Make Out?,” “Rip From the Bone” “When I Kicked Him in the Face,” “Vape in the Dark Alone.” While all of those songs are off of Reis’ solo album, Ride the Wild Night, the group also performed its first single, “How Are You Peeling?“
Swami and the Bed of Nails’ lively performance inspired hope in me, and I’m sure in many others in the crowd, that we will be enjoying more music from this group of punk vets.
The band kicked off the night with a raucous performance. Sutter’s growling vocals and guitar playing were complemented by Ryan Wizniak’s pummeling work on drums, and Joe Gac’s fierce bass playing.
The band was runner-up to the legendary Naked Raygun in the 2022 Chicago Reader’s Poll Best Punk Band category. That same year it released Malign Hex with the driving single “10k.” The combination of the two introduced the band to even more listeners, no doubt growing its number of fans.
If you have yet to check out Meat Wave, I recommend you do so soon. The band is just another reason why Chicago’s punk scene stands strong.
This show was a lively and fun one and on a night when the city hosted concerts all over the place, SubT was a pretty good place to be. Thanks and Cheers!
Chicago’s own Meth headlined a wild night of noisy hardcore punk metal madness “in the round,” where they set up on the floor of Thalia Hall and were surrounded by the crowd for the night. Meth delivered an incredible set and the crowd went wild. Opening bands See You Next Tuesday, Deaf Club, Usurp Synapse, and DJ Speedsick […]
Chicago’s own Meth headlined a wild night of noisy hardcore punk metal madness “in the round,” where they set up on the floor of Thalia Hall and were surrounded by the crowd for the night. Meth delivered an incredible set and the crowd went wild. Opening bands See You Next Tuesday, Deaf Club, Usurp Synapse, and DJ Speedsick brought the magic and didn’t disappoint and Dying Scene was there to witness this show.
Meth is a noisy metal band hailing right here from Chicago. Find them here.
DS saw a show at the legendary Live Wire with an awesome line up! Child Bite was the headliner with Living Terror, Idol Throne, and Speed Pvssy as opening acts. It was a great way to start the show. Child Bite from Detroit, Michigan shared a unique sound of intense high energy punk/metal their with […]
DS saw a show at the legendary Live Wire with an awesome line up! Child Bite was the headliner with Living Terror, Idol Throne, and Speed Pvssy as opening acts. It was a great way to start the show.
Child Bite from Detroit, Michigan shared a unique sound of intense high energy punk/metal their with Chicago fans! Find them here.
Living Terror from Plano, Illinois. They describe themselves perfectly, “spread true, old-school, aggressive thrash metal throughout the Midwest.” Find them here.
Idol Throne is an Indiana based thrash/power/prog metal band. Find them here.
Speed Pvssy is a speed metal band from Chicago. Be sure to check them out here.
In what may be one of the more random and unique turns of events in the recent memory of at least one long-time DS staffer (read as: me), we had the opportunity to shoot night two of Sessanta at Boston’s Wang Theatre. What is Sessanta, you might ask? Valid question. Sessanta – the word – […]
In what may be one of the more random and unique turns of events in the recent memory of at least one long-time DS staffer (read as: me), we had the opportunity to shoot night two of Sessanta at Boston’s Wang Theatre. What is Sessanta, you might ask? Valid question. Sessanta – the word – translates from the original Italian to “sixty” and not, contrary to popular belief, to “sexy Santa.” But Sessanta in this case is so much more. Specifically, it’s a touring celebration in honor of noted oenophile and Brazilian jiu-jitsu enthusiast Maynard James Keenan turning – you guessed it – sixty years old, a fact that is at least as mind-blowing as the show itself that celebrated the momentous occasion. (Seriously…Elvis died at 42 and Wilford Brimley was like 49 when he started shooting Cocoon and Jerry Garcia died at 53 and Maynard still looks like has aged maybe two weeks since he was stalking the stage at Lollapalooza 1993 during the handful of Tool appearances on that iconic tour. Maybe there’s something to a life of wine and martial arts and not, in Elvis’ case, Demerol and tranquilizers and, well, and martial arts. But I digress. As usual.)
The Sessanta touring monster is a three-headed beast that features Primus and two of Maynard’s non-Tool-related musical projects, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. The tour marks the first A Perfect Circle dates since 2018 – and I think the first dates with Josh Freese on drums since like 2011. Each band is certainly more than capable of headlining a similarly-sized venue (now in its hundredth year, the historic Wang Theatre holds 3,500) in their own right, so having all three on the same bill creates the problem of “who is going to headline?” To tackle that, Keenan and company created an evening event with all three bands trading spots and hoping on and off each other’s sets over the course of three hours. The stage was set up with three drum kits on a shared riser that was bookended at stage right and stage left by staircases that lead to seating areas each adorned with dual couches for the rotating cast of characters to hang out on and watch the festivities when it wasn’t their respective turns to perform.
All told, the trio of rock heavyweights pounded out twenty-nine songs over the course of the evening, with none of the bands really taking much in the way of precedent over the others. After a series of video reminders about the consequences of violating the show’s cell phone/camera policy, the musical portion of the celebration kicked off with a trio of songs from A Perfect Circle – “The Package,” “Disillusioned” and “The Contrarian” who then gave way to Primus’ well-received run-throughs of “Those Damn Blue-Collar Tweakers,” “Too Many Puppies,” and “American Life.” Then it was Puscifer’s turn to take center-stage, with commanding performances of “Galileo,” “Horizons” and “Indigo Children.” With each band’s initial three-song mini-set out of the proverbial way, the evening turned progressively more collaborative. Act 2 kicked off with Primus playing a trio of their biggest hits in succession: “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver,” “My Name Is Mud,” and “Tommy The Cat,” the latter of which saw Keenan himself taking Tom Waits’ position in the titular role from atop the stage left staircase. Puscifer returned for what really was the heart of the set – a four-song collection of “Flippant,” “Momma Said,” “Bullet Train to Iowa” and “The Underwhelming.” A Perfect Circle returned for “The Hollow” with Primus’ Tim Alexander on drums. Astute observers will recall that Alexander was APC’s founding drummer and his drumming on the studio version of that song marks his only recorded appearance in the APC catalog. On this night, as he did in the band a quarter-century ago, Alexander then handed the reins back to Freese for “So Long, And Tanks For All The Fish,” “Weak And Powerless” and “The Outsider.”
Act 3 started with a Puscifer return, closing out their portion of the evening with “The Humbling River” and “The Remedy.” A Perfect Circle then played arguably their two biggest hits – “The Noose” and “Judith” before Primus closed out their portion of the main set with an extended “Southern Pachyderm,” which featured Freese and Olsen joining Alexander as a three-headed drum soloing monster. The set closed with each band performing their new tracks that appear on the tour-exclusive new EP; APC’s “Kindred” performed with Puscifer’s Carina Round, Puscifer’s “No Angel,” and finally Primus’ “Pablo’s Hippos,” performed with Keenan himself. Then it was time for the grand finale; the entire twelve-headed monster took to the stage simultaneously to bang out what I guess you would call a cover of Puscifer’s “Grand Canyon.” You really should watch the latter – it’s something to behold.
As I alluded to before, the show brought with it a strict “no cell phone/no photography” policy which was startlingly well adhered to. It sounds weird maybe to mention in a show review, but we’ve reached the day and age where it is truly noteworthy – and undoubtedly refreshing – to be at a show filled with people who are just reveling in the experience in real life and not through a screen…and I say that as someone who watches shows through a screen for a (pretend) living. The atmosphere made for a compelling watch. Certainly, it seemed most show-goers were most stoked to see A Perfect Circle, especially with the powerhouse that is Josh Freese supplying the drumming duties. I think Billy Howerdel is a tremendous writer of poignant, heavy yet atmospheric music, and it creates for a live performance that borders on haunting at times. Primus, though, had a large contingent of their own fans singing and dancing along as Les Claypool and crew frog stomped their way through their particular brand of psychedelic prog funk jam rock. Puscifer are a band that I think a lot of people traditionally sleep on, because maybe of the sort of juvenile band and song/album names sometimes, and because I think they’ve been mischaracterized as a catch-all for Maynard’s non-Tool/APC musings and, as such, not as “serious” a band, but let me tell you…that band rules. Hard. Especially live. The interplay between Maynard and the spell-binding Carina Round’s voices and personalities was captivating, and genuinely lent itself perfectly to the gothic, theatrical setting.
I was going to write a more thoughtful outro to this show review, but in my brain, I keep hearing Stefon, Bill Hader’s brilliant city correspondent/club promoter from SNL’s Weekend Update like 15 years ago. “This show had everything; a birthday cupcake for Maynard James Keenan, three drummers at the same time, Les Claypool in a pig mask playing standup bass with a bow, an Ameriglide stair lift, Josh Freese and Billy Howerdel playing ping-pong, not a single cell phone in sight for three full hours (minus a ten-minute interlude); a hundred-year-old theater where they filmed Witches Of Eastwick.” It really was a special sort of show, and for being only night two of a tour filled with a lot of chaotic moving parts, it seemed from where I was sitting to go off without a hitch. Check our more photos below, albeit only from the show’s finale because that’s all we could shoot. The greedy photographer part of my brain thought it was super unfair because the people deserve to see pics of such an amazing atmosphere…but the cranky old man show-goer part of my brain feels happy we got an uninterrupted treat all to ourselves!
