The final day of Riot Fest 2022. What a journey it has been! Do you ever get that post-concert blues? Because I sure was feeling it after Riot Fest. Check out our photo gallery of Save Face, Mom Jeans. and long-time favorites Less Than Jake. Mom Jeans. is an indie rock/emo band from California. Time […]
The final day of Riot Fest 2022. What a journey it has been! Do you ever get that post-concert blues? Because I sure was feeling it after Riot Fest. Check out our photo gallery of Save Face, Mom Jeans. and long-time favorites Less Than Jake.
Mom Jeans. is an indie rock/emo band from California. Time to get your sad on!
Another first for me was seeing Save Face and I’m so glad I did. The red jumpsuit-wearing post-hardcore/emo band released their debut album Merci with Epitaph Records in July 2018.
If you’re a ska fan then you are well familiar with Less Than Jake. They formed in 1992 and been making waves ever since. Check them out in the full gallery below, along with some neat shots of their toilet paper shooter (yes, you read that correctly)!
Don’t forget to check out Riot Fest day one coverage and day two!
This show was initially slated to take place a few days prior (Thursday the 20th, if you must know) but due to…reasons…the band was forced to cancel a few shows in Hamden, CT, and Buffalo, NY, and Titusville, PA, but thankfully the Boston show was able to be slid from a Thursday to a Sunday […]
This show was initially slated to take place a few days prior (Thursday the 20th, if you must know) but due to…reasons…the band was forced to cancel a few shows in Hamden, CT, and Buffalo, NY, and Titusville, PA, but thankfully the Boston show was able to be slid from a Thursday to a Sunday evening, which means instead of being yours truly’s first Lucero show in five days, it was his first Lucero show in eight days. Talk about first-world problems.
ANYWAY…the rescheduled show marked Lucero’s first trip to Boston proper in just over a calendar year, and it took place back at Paradise Rock Club, the legendary 900-ish capacity venue that’s become a bit of a regular stop on the Memphis five-piece’s fall tours. Due in part to the show being moved to a new date (which, in turn, happened to be a cool and drizzly Sunday night), the show was perhaps a little more sparsely attended than it otherwise would have been, but that just gave the attendees more room to dance and get rowdy as the band ripped through a two-hour, twenty-four song barn-burner of a set.
The band kicked things off with the trio of “For The Lonely Ones,” “Chain Link Fence” and “Sweet Little Thing” as has been as close to a script as you’re going to get at a freewheeling Lucero show. From there, at least a cursory level of attention was paid to a “setlist,” although a look at the printed game plan (see the slideshow below) and a look at the list of songs they actually played reveals numerous deviations from the course. It’s a Lucero show, after all – you can’t go off the rails if there were never rails to begin with!
The band ended up playing a pretty representative sample of tracks from across their near quarter-century career. Four tracks from the upcoming twelfth studio album Should’ve Learned By Now (lead single “One Last Fuck You,” “Nothing’s Alright,” “Buy A Little Time,” and “Macon If We Make It,” the latter of which sounds like the closest thing to a crossover hit that we’ve heard from them in some time) were spread out between such classics as “Watch It Burn” and “Smoke” and “Texas & Tennessee” and, of course, “The War.” Crowd requests are a normal part of a Lucero show and they would have spent four hours playing all the suggestions lobbed at them on this night, but some surprise yesses included “Darken My Door” and “Pull Me Close, Don’t Let Go” and “Little Silver Heart” and “No Roses No More,” the latter of which dates back to the earliest days of Lucero’s career but has become a massive, dual-guitar shred-fest of a song that could easily serve as a cathartic show closer on any given night.
L.A. Edwards once again served as formidable openers on this particular night. It marked the band’s first appearance in Boston, although it wasn’t the band’s frontman and namesake’s first time in town, as he regaled the crowd with a story of a night spent at the very same venue years prior working as a guitar tech for the one-and-only Lucinda Williams…only to have one of her guitars wind up stolen on that very night. (Don’t worry, he tracked it down on Comm. Ave after a few nervous moments. A particular high note on this night found the three Edwards brothers (Jay, Jerry and Luke from left to right in the picture here) gathered around a solitary mic to kick off a soulful rendition of the Townes Van Zandt classic “If I Needed You” before returning to their respective instruments and joining guitarist Landon Pigg to close things out.
The Lucero/L.A. Edwards fall tour runs through the rest of this week, winding down Sunday night in Bloomingon, Illinois. Check the full bitchin’ rundown here, and check out our photo slideshows below!
Reggie’s Music Joint played Friday night host to a terrific trio of bands. The Joint is the smaller of Reggie’s music rooms but the energy explosion was no less than that of the Rock Club. The all-Chicago show was also the official celebration of The Eradicator’s new album. The Eradicator was inspired by a classic […]
Reggie’s Music Joint played Friday night host to a terrific trio of bands. The Joint is the smaller of Reggie’s music rooms but the energy explosion was no less than that of the Rock Club. The all-Chicago show was also the official celebration of The Eradicator’s new album.
The Eradicator was inspired by a classic Kids in the Hall sketch. As such, The Eradicator comes to the stage armed with a squash racquet, in a tennis outfit, and wears a ski mask. The character of The Eradicator may have been inspired by a comedy troupe, but its performance is itself inspired.
Because The Eradicator is an unmasked member of one of the earlier bands on the bill, it came on like a “hot ball” (no, that’s not a vulgar term). It also failed to stay within the service box that is the stage. But sometimes failure can be a good thing, especially when it produces an unshackled set which included “I Am The Eradicator,” “I’m a Squash Man,” “I’mma Be Me,” “One Rung at a Time,” and “Peak Eradicator.” The Eradicator also debuted tracks off of its new album, “Forever the Eradicator,” which is also billed as his final album, including, “Squash Stomp,” “Squash Bender,” “You Can’t Play Me,” and “Can’t Play Well With Others.”
The Eradicator may call this its final album, but un-retiring is a popular past-time in the USA so perhaps we will see The Eradicator on the court…err stage once again for a rematch with its fans.
Bad Mechanics is another band in the sub-genre of what I call humor-punk. It was in its full glory this night, eliciting smiles, laughs, and cheers from the crowd. The core duo of Ryan “Daddy” Durkin on vocals and Andy “Candy” Slania, were backed by touring band members, Danny Walkowiak on drums, and Scott Thomson on bass. The band tore through the chuckle-worthy set list, “You Drink LaCroix,” “Social Obligation,” “I Collect Stamps,” “Zine Festival,” “Donut in the Park,” DiCaprio Hit A Baby,” (hmm, I hazard to guess that last one could edge close to defamation but does not quite meet its standards) “USA Foods,” and “Must Be The Suburbs.”
That was the entire Bad Mechanics set. Not always possible to list a set list in full but here we are. Short, sweet, and please do a near future hometown repeat.
Coronary kicked off the hometown trifecta. The Windy City hardcore group jammed through a performance so intense, it required some tables near the small stage to be pushed back by venue staff members. Included in Coronary’s set list was “Victim of Truth,” I Quit,” “Bricks,” “Violent Era,” and “Scene Cops.” Coronary is as serious as a heart attack when it comes to expressing its collective opinions. Coronary will also get your blood pumping so catch one of its shows when next you can.
Day 3 of the Riot Fest took place in Chicago’s Douglass Park on September 18, 2022, with some of the most influential all-women or women led bands dominating the stages. Jawbox, the Washington D.C, iconic band founded in 1989, whose original run lasted until 1997, was welcomed back during its midday set. The bright sun […]
Day 3 of the Riot Fest took place in Chicago’s Douglass Park on September 18, 2022, with some of the most influential all-women or women led bands dominating the stages.
Jawbox, the Washington D.C, iconic band founded in 1989, whose original run lasted until 1997, was welcomed back during its midday set. The bright sun beating down on most of the band members’ faces did not cause a step lost as Jawbox gave the crowd a forceful performance. The set included “Mirrorful,” “Motorist,” ”Cooling Card,” “Static,” “Cutoff,” and “Savory.” The band members J. Robbins, Bill Barbot, Kim Coletta, and Zach Barocas also solidly covered “Lowdown” by Wire, and “Cornflake Girl” by Tori Amos. A hot set made the hot sun more bearable for the Sunday attendees.
Concrete Castles hit the Rebel Stage with the Ferris Wheel and other carnival rides in the sightline of many in the crowd. Vocalist Audra Miller, guitarist Matthew Yost, and drummer Sam Gilman held their fans’ attention with an effervescent set which included “Wish I Missed U,” “Half Awake,” “Sting,” “Just a Friend,” “Lucky,” and “You Won’t See Me Again.” The Erie, PA band started out as the very popular cover band First to Eleven in 2009 before forming Concrete Castles in 2021. Young though the members may be – all three are in their early 20s they all perform with the maturity of confident musical veterans. That’s what they are, combined with a bright and hopefully long future creating terrific music.
Zola Jesus‘ bewitching performance immediately brought to mind Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, not just because of her flowing garments. The Merrill WI performer, known offstage as Nika Roza Danilova, has an ethereal stage presence, and her set including “Lost,” “Soak,” “Exhumed,” “The Fall,” “Sewn,” and “Undertow” made for as intriguing a performance as her stage name.
Lunachicks kicked off their set with some seriously iconic music, Bill Conti’s inspiring Oscar-nominated theme from Rocky “Gonna Fly Now.” This was the perfect walk-on song as the band appeared, as they always do, ready to fight (for issues in which they believe. Not physically. Though I’m guessing they can hold their own in that manner as well). Band members Theo Kogan, Gina Volpe, Sidney “Squid” Silver, and Chip English didn’t wear their hearts on their sleeves, they wore them on their jumpsuits, dresses and shirts. “Not Government Property,” “Roe Rage Riot,” and “Our Bodies, Our Choice,” were among the messages displayed prominently during a year in which The Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe V. Wade. Of course, feminist activism is engrained in the DNA of the band. The NYC band’s 2021 memoir “Fallopian Rhapsody” was met with critical acclaim. Lunachicks exhibited their signature power as they ripped through an extensive set including “Bad Ass Bitch,” “Say What You Mean,” “Jerk of All Trades,” “The Day Squid’s Gerbil Died,” “Luxury Problem,” and “Less Teeth More Tits.” A prodigious set indeed by voices perhaps more relevant than ever. Heroes we deserve? Probably not. Heroes we need? Most definitely.
One of Sleater-Kinney‘s first rehearsal spaces was located on Sleater-Kinney Road in Lacey Washington, nearby to Olympia, where the band was founded. The road from that road has been as long one for the now legendary Sleater-Kinney. Its set at Riot Fest 2022 once again proved why Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein continue to be so compelling, both as a band and as individuals. Among other tunes, the band performed “High in the Grass,” “Jumpers,” “All Hands on the Bad One,” “Bury Our Friends,” “Modern Girl,” and “The Center Won’t Hold.” Sleater-Kinney delivered a dynamic performance, one that makes us hope we won’t have to wait long before catching them again. Maybe at Riot Fest 2023?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O.’s signature black bowl hairstyle was partially obscured at the start of the band’s set by the topper of an elaborate bright, multi-colored outfit. The first sight of the outfit elicited wows from the crowd and other observers. Her bandmates, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, clad in clothing nearly matching the night sky, and positioned further away from the spotlight focused on O. were partially obscured themselves. In any case, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s stood out as a shining example of what a great band can accomplish during a crowded festival weekend. The band performed “Spitting Off The Edge of the World,” and “Burning,” from its new album “Cool it Down.” The well-received album, its first new one since 2013’s “Mosquito,” was released just under two weeks post-Riot Fest, on September 30, 2022. The set also included “Zero,” “Wolf,” “Soft Shock,” “Cheated Hearts,” and “Under the Earth.” It was a fun set to watch and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are enjoyable to shoot photos of as well.
As Riot Fest was born in Chicago, it was fitting that the band with the latest scheduled set start time, by a mere 15 minutes, was from Chicago as well. Nine Inch Nails might have been presented as the Sunday night headliner but The Academy Is… did a pretty good job of drawing many members of the hometown crowd, as well as visitors too, away from Trent Reznor and his bandmates. The band returned to active status seven years after its farewell tour in 2015 and for those fans, seeing them again or for the first time, could not contain their enthusiasm. Band members William Beckett, Adam T. Siska, Mike Carden Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek rewarded their wait with an energetic set, performing “The Phrase That Pays,” “LAX to O’Hare,” “Bulls In Brooklyn,” “Black Mamba,” “We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands,” “Checkmarks,” and “After the Last Midtown Show.” The Academy Is…also paid tribute to Material Issue, the immensely popular Chicago band active from the mid-80’s to the mid-90’s, by covering the latter band’s song, “Very First Lie.” There was a special surprise for fans. Original band members Michael Del Principe and AJ LaTrace joined the others on stage to perform “Attention” off their debut album, “Almost Here. “
Riot Fest 2022 was an exhausting and hot weekend full of great tunes and good times. As coverage of this year’s event winds down, we’re finding it difficult to take a full break from the event. After all, there’s Riot Fest 2023 in the works.
More photos from the final day of Riot Fest 2022 below!
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Keep Abortion Legal t-shirt during Lunachicks set.
Prior to last weekend, it felt like it had been a while since Lucero – my personal favorite band of the last couple of decades – had played in my neck of the woods (let’s call it southeastern New England). In reality, it had been quite literally just a hair shy of one calendar year, […]
Prior to last weekend, it felt like it had been a while since Lucero – my personal favorite band of the last couple of decades – had played in my neck of the woods (let’s call it southeastern New England). In reality, it had been quite literally just a hair shy of one calendar year, but when you’re talking about a band of veritable road warriors like the Memphis-based quintet, one calendar year seems like an eternity. Such is life when still firmly entrenched in a music industry in its third year of pandemic-inspired “new normal” or whatever.
So it was that I found myself in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Saturday night as the Lucero / L.A. Edwards tour that’s currently crisscrossing the eastern half of the country finally made its way to the northeast corner for the first time. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Pawtucket? Really? They don’t even have a baseball team anymore, but they have a cool place to see good shows?” Yes, in fact, they do! It’s called the Met and it’s presently in its third location (the first two were in neighboring Providence. As an aside, shoutout to the old Met Cafe. Well, not the OLD old Met Cafe, but the second one; the one that was next to the old Lupos. Well, not the OLD old Lupos, but the second Lupos, before it moved to where the Strand is now. Yes that’s as confusing as it sounds but if you are from the area, you get it) and it’s a pretty great room, even accounting for the fact that it has a giant support pole right in the middle of stage right (see the picture above).
ANYWAY, this Lucero run finds the band in between album cycles. Touring for their last studio album, When You Found Me, has wrapped, and over the course of the last year, the crew wrote and recorded another new record. Due out in February, the new record is slated to be called Should’ve Learned By Now, it’ll be their second studio album since the start of the pandemic and their twelfth overall (thirteenth if you count The Attic Tapes). If you’ve caught any of the shows on this run, you’re no doubt familiar with probably four or five of the tracks from the new album, as they’ve already woven their way into setlists. That was certainly true on this particular evening, as we were treated to “Buy A Little Time,” “Drunken Moon” with a vocal harmony assist from all three Edwards brothers, “Nothing’s Alright,” and of course lead single and newfound crowd favorite “One Last Fuck You.”
The remainder of the set did a pretty good job of encompassing most stages of the band’s career, which is just about to hit the 25-year mark. The band’s second album, Tennessee, and second-newest album, Among The Ghosts, were equally well represented. “Watch It Burn” from 2005’s Nobody’s Darlings was a welcome surprise, as was “Smoke,” the first track on 2009’s 1372 Overton Park, my own personal favorite Lucero record. The band sounded great; tight to a point, but then again, it’s a Lucero show, so with its requisite amount of chaos embedded in the mix. As Lucero shows go, it was just about as solid as you can get!
As mentioned above, L.A. Edwards are serving as support for the duration of this run. For the uninitiated, LA Edwards is four-piece outfit that finds its frontman and namesake Luke backed on both rhythm section and vocal harmonies by his brothers Jerry and Jay and, on this run, by Landon Pigg on guitar. There’s a real heavy Tom Petty/Jackson Browne/Laurel Canyon vibe to the band’s sound, which probably makes sense given that they have roots that spread from Nashville, Tennessee, to southern California. The newly-released single “The Crow” was a personal favorite – you can check out the lyric video here.
Check out a bunch more pictures of both L.A. Edwards and Lucero below. Tour runs through the end of the month when it wraps up in Bloomington, Illinois. Catch the full rundown here, and if you’re out and about at the rescheduled Boston show this weekend, come say hi!
I’d had the weekend of October 7 marked off on my calendar since last March when The Gaslight Anthem announced that they would be coming out of their self-imposed hiatus and would be touring both Europe, The UK and most importantly (to me at least), the U.S. That U.S. leg of the tour would be […]
I’d had the weekend of October 7 marked off on my calendar since last March when The Gaslight Anthem announced that they would be coming out of their self-imposed hiatus and would be touring both Europe, The UK and most importantly (to me at least), the U.S. That U.S. leg of the tour would be coming to a conclusion with a Friday show in Philly and the final show of the tour in Gaslight’s backyard at Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Arts Center (for those of you as old as me, FKA The Garden State Arts Center). Needless to say both dates were etched firmly in my plans. That is however, until an NYC date was finally added to the tour a month or so later. I have to admit that when PNC was announced as the NJ venue, I was not happy. The idea of seeing Gaslight (and Rosenstock) in that cavernous and seated outdoor tin shed didn’t do much for me. So once I knew that I would have the opportunity to see them at the beautiful Pier 17 in Manhattan, PNC was dropped from my plans. Philly, however, I was super stoked for. I’d heard great things about The Met and of course the presence of a GA pit made all the difference in the world.
Jeff Rosenstock at The Philly MET
Jeff Rosenstock hit the stage promptly at 8 PM and when I say “hit” I mean he and his band of John DeDominici on bass, Mike Huguenor on guitar, Kevin Higuchi on drums and Dan Potthast on guitar, sax and keys hit it running! Opening up with “SCRAM!” off their most recent album No Dream (most recent if you don’t count the ska reworking of the same album SKA Dream which came out during pandemic times). I will be the first to admit that I am a huge fan of Rosenstock and while I thought there would be some logical crossover between his and TGA’s fanbases, it didn’t always appear to be that way during Jeff’s set. One place where the set was 100% appreciated however was front and center in the pit where a decently sized circle pit was active throughout “Death Rosenstock’s” rapid fire 10 song set.
As an aside, Jeff did mention midway through his set that shortly before he and the band hit the stage, he discovered that he and a whole bunch of his friends had been laid off from their day jobs. Rosenstock was the musical director for The Cartoon Network’s Craig of The Creek which evidently was uncerimoniously canceled. Nonetheless, this soul-crushing news did nothing to damper Jeff’s energized and exhilarating set. Needless to say, good luck to Jeff & the entire Craig Of The Creek staff; hopefully something pops up soon on the employment front for all of them.
Alex Rosamilia
The Gaslight Anthem came on shortly after 9 PM and opened things up with what has become their opener for most of the tour, “Have Mercy” followed by another tour regular in “Old White Lincoln”. It appeared right from the get-go that Brian was in really good spirits, coming off even more chatty than what has become the norm for him. But when I say “chatty” in this instance, I don’t necessarily mean his going off on wild tangents (don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of that throughout the evening) but I mean his literally being very conversational with the crowd, especially those at the rail. His back and forth with the newlywed upfront about their request for some never mentioned song dedicated to his wife who wasn’t there that night but would be in attendance the following evening at PNC was priceless. I wonder if the band added the song to Saturday’s setlist as promised.
Alex Levine
Moving forward were a pair of songs which were not part of the set which I’d seen 2 weeks prior in NYC, “Wooderson” and “Biloxi Parish”. Now seems like as good a time as any to mention that one of the major complaints on the various TGA facebook groups which I pay attention to was the lack of variety in the night-to-night setlists. Well I for one came out of the show at Philly feeling none of that. Without actually comparing song-for-song the setlists to the 2 shows which I attended, I definitely left The Met feeling like I’d seen a very different show from the one I’d seen in New York a couple of weeks prior. Well it turns out that my gut feeling was 100% spot on. In doing the research to put this piece together, I found that the Philly show contained a total of eight songs which I had not heard at Pier 17. Out of an average set consisting of 21 songs or so, to me 8 is a pretty good number to define variety.
Along the way, we did hear Brian go off on a number of tangents, only one which could be defined as being a little too long, but personally I enjoyed his monologues quite a bit, particularly the one where he suggested to a couple of out of town fans who were traveling to NJ after the show to go out the next morning and find someplace where they could get an authentic pork roll breakfast sandwich…”it’s pork roll, not Taylor ham! Don’t be calling it Taylor ham.” Now I know quite a few Jerseyites who would argue with this pork roll vs Taylor ham verbiage but hearing Brian explain to a couple of out-of-town newbies, the culinary delights of NJ was absolutely hilarious.
Benny Horowitz and Ian Perkins
But back to the music, with a mix that encompassed virtually the band’s entire musical catalogue. With songs from ’59 Sound and Handwritten dominating the remainder of the set, we still were treated to a smattering of selections from Get Hurt (“Get Hurt” “Halloween”, and “Stay Vicious”, Sink Or Swim (” We Came To Dance”) as well as American Slang (“The Spirit of Jazz”).
After making sure that the crowd knew that there would be no “lame walking off the stage and coming back for an encore”, the band finished the night off with none other than “59 Sound” to which they brought out Philadelphia’s own Brit Luna from the band Catbite to help on vocals (Catbite just so happens to be one of my favorite new ska bands).
It was a triumphant return to the stage for Brian, the two Alex’s, Benny and Ian. Each and every member of the band seemed to be having fun being back onstage. And sure as hell, they all sounded fantastic. I know Brian had some voice issues earlier in the tour, having to cancel a show in Denver, but his voice sounded fantastic in Philly. Now the only thing that I can hope for is that they don’t take too long to get back out there again, and if there is a delay in touring again in 2023 I hope it’s because they are busy in the studio working on a new album. Welcome back TGA, it’s great having you back.
Continuing with our Riot Fest 2022 coverage with a few bands from day two! In case you missed it, click here to see my day one recap. We’re starting off with the hardcore punk band War on Women. This female-fronted band delves heavily into political and feminist issues. Shawna Potter is the very definition of […]
Continuing with our Riot Fest 2022 coverage with a few bands from day two! In case you missed it, click here to see my day one recap.
We’re starting off with the hardcore punk band War on Women. This female-fronted band delves heavily into political and feminist issues. Shawna Potter is the very definition of fierce; definitely see this band live if you get the chance…and, head’s up they will be touring with fellow hardcore punk band Cancer Bats this fall for an East Coast U.S. tour.
Next are The Front Bottoms, an emo/indie rock band from New Jersey. They released their third installment of their popular Grandma EP series titled Theresa on September 2, 2022.
Long-time emo band Sunny Day Real Estate made a stop at Riot Fest for their fourth reunion tour. Their 1994 debut studio album Diary has been considered one of the defining albums of the Midwest emo genre.
Check out the full gallery below and Part One of day two here!
The foremost punk rock supergroup cover band hit the House of Blues in Chicago, IL on the first day of October 2022. The band brought the humor and fun, performing others’ classics but at break-neck speed. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes has a rotating cast of characters. At this House of Blues Chicago, only […]
The foremost punk rock supergroup cover band hit the House of Blues in Chicago, IL on the first day of October 2022. The band brought the humor and fun, performing others’ classics but at break-neck speed.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes has a rotating cast of characters. At this House of Blues Chicago, only one of the original members, Spike Slawson, was on stage. Joey Cape of Lagwagon and Fat Mike of NOFX were unable to join Slawson due to both bands being on tour. However, Slawson did have a pretty solid set of bandmates: CJ Ramone on bass, Speedo aka John “The Swami” Reis of Rocket From the Crypt on guitar, Jake Kiley from Strung Out, and Andrew “Pinch” Pinching formerly of The Damned, on drums. The entire band was decked out in white denim and glittery pink shirts, accented by white ties Slawson added a white sports jacket and Elton John style specs, as well his Lounge Lizard persona.
The band zoomed through a pair of John Denver tunes, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “Take Me Home Country Roads,” as well as Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” “ScienceFiction/Double Feature” by Richard O’Brien
The set also featured Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)” by Elton John, “Mandy,” by Barry Manilow and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes serves up a reliably good time, no matter what the lineup at any given time. It’s all in good fun, though there was an early oof moment when Slawson joked about John Denver’s skills as a helicopter pilot (Denver died when the home-made aircraft he was flying crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the crash to pilot errors). Aside from that, the band members play with an earnestness rather than a mocking spirit underneath the levity. They seem to be enjoying this insouciant break from their “day jobs.” The crowd was all for it and left asking for more.
The Black Tones, on its first national tour, got the show started in a big way. The duo, comprised of Eva Walker on vocals and guitar, and her twin brother Cedric Walker on drums and vocals, have built a devoted fan base in the state of Washington. The Seattle duo’s hit song, “The Key Of Black (They Want Us Dead)” speaks to police brutality fueled by racism.The name of the Walkers’ first album, Cobain & Cornbread, is a nod to both their hometown of the Emerald City, and their family’s southern roots in Louisiana.
On stage, joined by family as back-up musicians and singers they soared. Eva Walker is both an indefatigable shredder and a dynamic vocalist. Cedric Walker is a thunderous drummer, every bash complementing his sister’s swaggering stage presence. With songs like “Mr. Pink,” “Ghetto Spaceship,” and “Mama, There’s A Spider In My Room,” this band will continue to knock the socks off of those lucky enough to see them in the future.
In the middle slot of the evening were the rising stars in Son Rompe Pera. The band, like The Black Tones, is led by siblings. The three brothers Gama: The two Marimberos/Vocalists, Mongo and Kacho, and percussionist/vocalist Kilos. The family is from Naucalpan de Juárezon the outskirts of Mexico City. They are joined in Son Rompe Pera by Raul Albarrán on bass and Albarrán’s cousin, Richi López on drums. The band has played nearly every size of music venue, and was interviewed by National Public Radio. They were also featured in a video for NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions, On this Windy City Saturday night, Son Rompe Pera buoyantly showcased its sound which is traditional marimba music and cumbia fused with garage punk and psychobilly. Marimberos Kacho’s and Mongo’s synchronized rapid fire banging of their mallets across their marimbas, whilst furiously dancing, building momentum, caused them to appear breathless as they hit the crescendos. Those moments elicited gasps from the crowd followed by roaring cheers. Son Rompe Pera did not just warm up the crowd for the headliners, Instead, it was introducing to many of the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes fans a piece of the members’ heritages and family traditions. In the process, they were also garnering new fans of their music and of the marimba and cumbia.
Violent Femmes took to the stage at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, for the first show of a sold-out two-night stand. Four decades past the Violent Femmes’ eponymous debut album, the band demonstrated it still has the ability to thrill audiences. I had not seen Violent Femmes perform since I was in […]
Violent Femmes took to the stage at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, for the first show of a sold-out two-night stand. Four decades past the Violent Femmes’ eponymous debut album, the band demonstrated it still has the ability to thrill audiences. I had not seen Violent Femmes perform since I was in the photos pit for its Riot Fest 2019 set so this was one of the shows I most looked forward to this month.
Founding Violent Femmes members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie flanked percussionist/drummer John Sparrow. Multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza remained mostly toward the rear of the stage, where one of his instruments, a Contrabass Saxophone, towered over him. I played alto sax for several years so I was especially fascinated by very tall instrument.
The band ran through a substantial number of its best and most popular songs, “Add It Up,” “I’m Nothing,” “Country Death Song,” “Jesus Walking on the Water,” “I Held her in My Arms,” “Waiting for the Bus,” and “Gone Daddy Gone,”
Violent Femmes, from Milwaukee, WI, also included in its set a song about a horrific event in the history of Milwaukee and the USA at large. Playing “Dahmer Is Dead” seemed less a cheeky wink and a nod, and more a straightforward recognition of the Dahmer-mania (beyond normal anthropological fascination) that has taken hold of a disturbing number of American tv viewers (and streaming services programming executives). Granted, the song was written years ago, but still, it was a bit eerie to hear hundreds of fans chanting gleefully along to:
“Dahmer is Dead / Am I supposed to feel outrage? / Am I supposed to feel sorrow? / Jeffery Dahmer has no right tomorrow / Dahmer is Dead / Dahmer is Dead / A broomstick bashed him upside his head”
Songs are given to varying interpretations by those who write them, and by those who listen to them. I find it intriguing, and for the better, that the song does not necessarily provide answers to the questions being asked. That is, alongside its otherwise “just the facts” approach. Again, strictly my interpretation as one who has far more questions than answers.
Personally, I was waiting for two songs in particular, two of the band’s biggest hits.
As a cold war (part 2 – the 1980’s) kid, I wasn’t quite a teenage anarchist but I WAS looking for a revolution. At a time when I was an idealistic political junkie (still one though, sadly, a bit of cynicism has crept in as so often it does as we age), writing letters to US Senators, and participating in protests among other actions, “Children of the Revolution” struck a chord. It still ranks as one of my all time favorite songs and I listen to it at least weekly along with Pegboy’s “Strong Reaction,” Dead Kennedys “California Über Alles,” and Bad Religion’s American Jesus. And of course “Know Your Rights,” among too many other The Clash songs to mention here. Alas, Violent Femmes did not play its phenomenal cover of the T-Rex song on this night. But any related disappointment was short-lived toward the end of the evening.
As soon as the familiar first notes to their smash hit song “Blister In the Sun” started in there was an electrical feeling throughout the venue. Actually that electrical feeling was there all night long but it was ramped up ten-fold.
Gordon Gano’s very unique voice sounded almost all but drowned out at certain points by the fans down on the floor and those fans near my then position in the balcony close to the stage. Or perhaps Gano just gave the lead over to the crowd How it sounded on the ground level might have been very different. Whichever was the case, it mattered little because in every part of the venue were ecstatic fans by time the starting lyrics kicked in.
“When I’m out walking / I strut my stuff / And I’m so strung out / I’m high as a kite / I just might stop to check you out…”
One small kick I got during “Blister in the Sun” was watching John Sparrow playing a Weber Grill. Yes, a Weber Grill. The only thing which might top that is watching Sparrow play one with the band’s name and logo scrolled across it as with traditional drum sets.
If you have a chance to stop and check out the Violent Femmes for the very first time or the 20th or more time, I’d suggest you get on that. The show was unlike any other I’ve documented this season. Then again, the Violent Femmes continue to be unlike any other band, during any season.
Las Cafeteras, from East Los Angeles, provided a diverting warmup to the evening. The band blends folk music, Son Jorocho, and Zapateado dancing. Son Jorocho is a style of folk music from Mexico, in the region near the Gulf of Mexico. Zapateado dancing is similar in some ways to tap dancing. An important aspect of it is the sound of the dance shoes hitting the stage. Las Cafeteras had a small wooden square on which members repeatedly danced. Combined with a set full of lively tunes, it all added up to an enjoyable whirlwind of a set.
The ageless and invincible Lagwagon came to town a couple weeks ago and I found myself questioning why this was my first time seeing them. This being their “30ish Years on the ‘Wagon” tour (35 to be exact), they’ve been around long enough that surely I would have caught them at least once. But no, […]
The ageless and invincible Lagwagon came to town a couple weeks ago and I found myself questioning why this was my first time seeing them. This being their “30ish Years on the ‘Wagon” tour (35 to be exact), they’ve been around long enough that surely I would have caught them at least once. But no, once again I have saddened the punk rock gods by having not seen the live performance of yet another punk staple.
With that little piece of baggage out of the way, I can assure you that I finally made it to Eastside Bowl (my first time as well). I saw the Laggy boys do what they do best, was introduced to Grumpster whom I had never even heard of but was truly impressed by, and hung out with the dudes in SecondSELF, the last minute replacements for Bigwig.
SecondSELF was the replacement for Bigwig, and, although we were all saddened to hear of their untimely departure from the tour, I heard no complaints about the local favorites taking the stage. It’s always nice getting to see some good friends of yours absolutely blow the roof off the place, especially opening for one of my all-time favorites.
For a lot of aging punk fans, there’s a phase early in life where you’re in love with pop-punk. For many, that’s a phase that is soon left in the past, myself included. I had an early-high school interest in many of the bands on Pure Noise Records, but have since trended more towards the East coast skate-punks on Fat Wreck Chords.
What I will say is, thanks to bands like Grumpster, part of my music taste is trending back to that of my early days discovering punk. Grumpster performed a version of pop-punk that exhibited some qualities of what I enjoy now, merged with what might appeal to those already fans of Pure Noise. It’s unknown to me whether this trend for myself will continue, but what’s certain is this three-piece was an excellent opener and fucking killed it in front of a near-capacity crowd.
I’ve used forms of the word ‘professionalism’ as an artist description on the site before, but if it applies to anyone in punk, I think these guys deserve it (I think I used that description on Frank Turner, so I’d be okay putting these two in that same category).
Having never seen them before, I was able to truly appreciate the show that the Lagwagon dudes put on: the difficulty and complexity of what they were playing, the wittiness behind their stage banter, their tasteful showmanship. No wonder these guys have been at it 30+ years, whatever formula they’ve got for songwriting and performing sure is working.
At times during the show, I had to remind myself to actually take the pictures I was there for and stop admiring the mastery that was taking place before me. This might have been my favorite show all year and I was glad a band of this caliber drew close a near-capacity crowd in a city where that’s often difficult to do.
As always, thanks for your time both here and wherever else on the site you may wander off to. Cheers!
