Category Archives: shows

SXSW Recap: Wednesday, March 18

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Okay, I know it’s Monday and nobody cares about SXSW 2015 anymore, but I’m still going to write these recap posts day-by-day because that’s what I started, goddammit. And Wednesday was one of the best days of SXSW because I didn’t actually do much that felt overtly festival-like.

My day started with Young Buffalo and free cold brew coffee and kale chips at The Wild Honey Pie’s day party at Side Bar. These are some super nice dudes from Mississippi who play pretty, sunny rock ‘n’ roll songs and keep getting more fun each time I see them. In fact, I can safely say the band was better than the snacks and I love the shit out of cold brew coffee. Read the rest of Wednesday’s recap

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SXSW Recap: Tuesday, March 17

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The first day of South By Southwest tends to be my favorite: my feet don’t hurt, the douchebags haven’t yet descended en masse, and I can actually see most bands I try to see. I met up with friends at the airport, took a cab to our Airbnb, and caught an express bus (Austin has bus rapid transit and it’s awesome!) to Cheer Up Charlie’s for the No Play Music day party, where I hung out for most of the day before eventually heading over to Hotel Vegas for their St. Patrick’s Day kickoff. Click here for the rest of Tuesday’s Recap

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Forever In Mean Jeans: Weekend Agenda March 12th – 14th

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We get a new Mean Jeans album one week from Saturday! Their collected singles are coming out on an LP from Dirtnap, and in preparation I’m going to drink malt liquor every day to purify my body and focus on reaffirming my belief in the teachings of the Church of Mean Jeans:

1) Don’t stop partying.

2) Be tight to each other.

3. Did you stop partying while reading this? That’s bogus, and you should get back to partying.

Thursday, March 12th

Gym Shorts, Dirt Cheap Date
Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles, 3156 West Diversey Avenue
5:30pm / AA / BYOB

Death Injection, Abduction, Scary and the Scrapers, Ritalin OD
Old Mount Happy
7pm / $5-7 sliding scale

Archie Powell and the Exports, Me Like Bees, The Noise FM
Archie Powell’s been around for years, but at this point I think they’re gonna be “that band that did the Malort song” forever.
Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 Milwaukee Avenue
9pm / Free / 21+

Flesh Panthers, Gym Shorts, Absolutely Not, Bihari Beach, Basement Family
DUDES I’M SO HAPPY BIHARI BEACH IS PLAYING OUT AGAIN! Those dudes are super great.
Wally World
9:05pm / BYOB / donations please / 21+

Friday, March 13th

Christines, Friendlys, Perfume, Sueves
Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles, 3156 West Diversey Avenue
5:30pm / AA / BYOB

Brain Tumors, Public Assault, Thumbsuckers, Udusic
Old Mount Happy
7pm / $5-7 sliding scale

Sin Orden, Scoundrel, Youth Crush, Angry Gods
Sin Orden have been around forever and it’s rad to get a chance to see them. Classic Chicago Latino hardcore in the tradition of Los Crudos.
The Friendzone
7pm / $5

The Rubs, The Fuckers, MAMA, The Obleeks
Auxiliary Art Center, 3012 West Belmont Avenue
7pm / $7 / 21+

Killermoon, Vamos, Bad Dreams
Y’all know we love Vamos.
Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 Milwaukee Avenue
8pm / Free / 21+

Paul Cherry, Bogrot, Mope Grooves
Weirdo femme meme-artist and pop star Paul Cherry is going to be hosting a meat auction. I’m going to place the chances of some sausage-based sex act happening on stage at about one hundred percent.
Cole’s Bar, 2338 North Milwaukee Avenue
Free / 21+

Nones, Buckingham Palace SVU
This is such a weirdo loud noisey show to happen in a tiny one-room bar with no stage and free cheez poofs. Which is exactly why I want to go.
Archie’s Iowa Rockwell Tavern, 2600 West Iowa Street
10pm / Free / 21+

Saturday, March 14th

Haki, Evasive Backflip, Truman and His Trophy, Post-Child
The Flowershop
8pm / $5 / ends at midnight

Jollys, Glyders, Dumpster Babies, The Rubs, Dad Jr
South side house show fun times. Dumpster Babies are Store Brand Soda fam. Look out for ya girl having an anxiety attack in the corner because I don’t leave the house anymore.
Ratt House
8pm / Free

Yeesh, Oshwa, Advaeta, Kangaroo
Yeesh record release!
Observatory
8pm / $5

Brendan and the Black Jackets, Richard Album and the Singles, Male/Men
Male/Men is one of Magic-Ian-of-Wally-World’s five million bands. They’re pretty rad and not associated officially with the United States Postal Service.
Cole’s Bar, 2338 North Milwaukee Avenue
10pm / 21+ / Free

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Weekly Agenda: Jan 20th – 24th: Are You Goth or Are You Glam?

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Tuesday, January 20th

Get Up With The Get Downs
Super fun James Brown cover band, complete with a full horn section and a bunch of really great dudes. This seems like a nice generic date to take an OK Cupid boo or Tindr match to, but really, do you want to date anyone who wouldn’t accompany you to a drone show in an unheated basement in Pilsen? Nah.
High-Hat Club 1920 W Irving Park Rd
9pm / 21+

Lamp, The Symposium, mtvghosts, Strange Faces
You still have a few hours left to RSVP for free for a bunch of local weirdo pop.
Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western Avenue
9pm / $8 or Free with RSVP / 21+

Slushy, Yeowulf, American Breakfast
Nod along to lofi pop, woogie to female-fronted garage, finally beat your personal record in Ms. Pac-Man.
Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 N Milwaukee Ave
9pm / $2 / 21+

Wednesday, January 21th

Pharmakon, Oozing Wound, Death Factory
I think there’s like 500 people RSVP’d to this so, like, good luck. And you thought the “four thirty on a normal Friday” Owl was a shitshow.
The Owl, 2521 North Milwaukee Avenue
10pm / Free / 21+

Thursday, January 22th

Bloom, Gnar Wave Rangers, Rathammer
According to Noisey Rathammer is one of the best punk bands in Chicago? I know we all hated that article, but whatever, Rathammer are indeed rad. And you can go get a bougie tiki drink next door after shows at Bric-a-Brac now!
Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles, 3156 West Diversey Avenue
5pm / Free / AA / BYOB

Negative Scanner, Weird Science, Soddy Daisy
YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GO TO THIS SHOW, GO RSVP RIGHT NOW, LET’S GET DRUNK AND THROW BEER AT EACH OTHER
Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western Avenue
9pm / $8 or Free with RSVP, 21+

Friday, January 23th

Carbonleak, Melkbelly, Harebrain, Amanda X
The Friendzone
7pm / $5 / BYOB /message admin for address

Oscillator Bug, Absolutely Not, Mr Ma’am
Queer rock-n-roll weirdo pop vibes forever, y’all.
Door #3 (Double Door Bsmt), 1572 North Milwaukee Avenue
8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Destroy Everything, Liquor Beats Winter, Bill Ura Dik, Mandatory Abortions
Punk punk punk punk, like, the Elmer’s Glue in the hair and forty pound studded leather jacket kind.
Liar’s Club, 1665 West Fullerton Avenue
9pm / 21+

Gnar Wave Rangers, Soddy Daisy, Perfume
They had me at “Goth vs Glam Birthday Party.” I wouldn’t miss this for the world and I am looking forward to busting out the black lipstick. Did you know that you can spill beer all over a latex dress and not get wet? Now you do.
Young Camelot
9pm /donate for bands / $2 beer/wine donation / costume party

Blizzard Babies, Son of a Gun, Fake Limbs, and Bleach Party
All four of these bands are totally awesome and the show is free and Son of a Gun is releasing a tape so yeah, you should probably leave the house, grandma.
Cole’s Bar, 2338 N Milwaukee Ave
10pm / Free / 21+

Saturday, January 24th

Fake Limbs, Rad Payoff, Gnar Wave Rangers, Jolly Korea
FAKE LIMBS IS FAM.
the flowershop
$5 / don’t be a dick

Gula Gila, The Gold Web, Cornstar Farmer’s Market Pornstar Coinstar, Daymaker
Wow. What…what is going on with that band name. You know which one. Wow.
Eco, 2042 W 21st Street

Yeesh, Den, Swimsuit Addition
This is a particularly stacked lineup for Quenchers, which is a chill spot and cheap as fuck!
Quenchers Saloon, 2401 North Western Avenue
9pm / 21+ / $7

Dust Bunnies, Hanging Gardens, Savage Sister
Cole’s Bar, 2338 N Milwaukee Ave
10pm / Free / 21+

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Dumpster Babies & Harebrain Play Saki Tomorrow

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jbheader

John Bailey is a weird dude with a weird mustache who makes weird art. Tumid action figures and doe-eyed anime dolls, the denizens of sugar-spiked Saturday morning cartoons, are dipped them into corrosive acid so that their plasticy skins burble and drip, tongues fork, and new eyeballs pop cheerily out of foreheads.

jb1

Tomorrow, some of his work is going on display at Saki. Rock-n-roll trash goblins Dumpster Babies are playing the reception, as well as Harebrain. In-stores are the best because they’re early and you can bring your own beer and they’re free, which is ideal for me as a seventy year old grandma who lives off a stipend and has to be in bed watching Gilmore Girls by 10pm. And this one has snacks. SNACKS, Y’ALL.

John Bailey Opening Reception
with Dumpster Babies & Hairbrain
3716 W Fullerton
6pm – 9pm
Free / AA

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Weekly Agenda: Party with a Pizza in the Pit

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“All ages punk show in a pizza parlor” sounds like a fantasy scenario that’s too good to be true, like “velour waterbed full of corgi puppies” or “looping river you can tube down forever with a magic cooler that never runs out of beer.” Unlike the second two fantasies, however, the all ages show actually exists. Big Tony’s Pizza on Fullerton at Spaulding has a big back room with a stage, and they’re experimenting with holding punk shows.

If this is something you’d like to see happen on a regular basis, the best way you can show your support is to turn up and turn out! Let’s show them we’re not all a bunch of scumbags; respect the space. Don’t sneak in booze, don’t smoke two inches outside the front door, don’t wreck the room or leave trash everywhere, and if you see some little baby punks who need guidance in Being Chill, pass down your hard-earned lessons. Bonus points if you manage to crowd-surf while eating a hot slice.

Wednesday, January 7th

Homewrecker, Modern Pain, Dress Code, Paranoid Chant, Hate Force
I don’t wanna be no personal pizza, I just wanna live my life…
Big Tony’s Pizza, 3276 W Fullerton Ave
8pm / AA / $10

Uh Bones, Paul Cherry, Todayshits
Lofi slacker pop overdose, bruh. Free records for the first few who arrive.
East Room, 2828 West Medill Avenue
10pm / 21+ / Free

Friday, January 9th

Mal Intent, La Armada, From the Chest, Ox King, Bitter Thoughts, Heavy Down
Chicago Hardcore Showcase.
Beat Kitchen, 2100 West Belmont Avenue
7pm / $8 advance /$10 at door / 17+ to attend / 21+ to drink

Youth Funeral, Itto, Lord Snow, Torture Love
Mousetrap runs on super punk time and there’s nothing to do in the neighborhood, so show up late or you’re gonna be freezing outside / in an empty basement with a sound dude staring at you.
The Mousetrap
email nzaglaras@gmail.com for address
7pm / $5

haki

Forced Into Femininity, Haki, Logorrhea, Garbage Friends, Daymaker
This is a record release show for Haki!
Pith House
9pm / Donation

Heaters, Wet Socks, Son of a Gun, Spike and the Sweet Spots
One of the dudes from Son of a Gun used to pick up the mail from a place I worked at. Sometimes we’d be late getting it ready for him and he’d regale us with tales of doing acid or whatever while he waited. Nice dudes.
Wally World
9:05pm / byob / cheap bar / donate

Saturday, January 10th

Bleach Party, The Bingers, The Uglies, The Jollys
Celebrate the release of Bleach Party & The Bingers split tape on Dumpster Tapes! And the Jollys either just came back from tour or are about to go on tour, I dunno, but hug them goodbye/hello/nice2meetcha.
The Dandelion
9pm / Free / BYOB / FB message for address

Unmanned Ship (7″ Release), House Sounds, Vamos!, AM Stations (cassette release)
Go RSVP now or you deserve to spend Grandma’s Christmas check at the door.
Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western Avenue
9pm / $8 or Free with RSVP / 21+

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Weekly Agenda: December 16th – 20th: Bail me out, here

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Ezra Rabin, of the Bay Area queercore band The Younger Lovers, has been released from jail! He was arrested December 13, 2014 during an anti-police demonstration in Oakland, CA. Known throughout the community for his work with Food Not Bombs and mural artwork, he drew lots of support for his bail fund and is back in the arms of friends.

If you’d like to support the bail funds of folks closer to home here in Chicago, please consider donating to free David “Iggy” Rucker, Alfredo Reyes, and Derrick Wince. Iggy and Alfredo were arrested at the #MillionMarchChi demonstration on Saturday Dec. 13; Iggy was badly beaten by police. Derrick was arrested and beaten after the police broke up a memorial vigil for Desean Pittman, a Chatham youth who was fatally shot by CPD.

dumpster tapes

In other, more trivial news: Dumpster Tapes is dropping a new compilation of the best local punk, garage, psych and surf. 25 tracks of homegrown rock’n’roll weirdness on your favorite lofi format in their largest run ever, a whopping 250 tapes.

Tuesday, December 16th

Unmanned Ship Live Jam Recording Session
Maximum Pelt is going to be recording Unmanned Ship for a limited edition cassette that they’ll be releasing in conjunction with a new 7″. Come kick back with a six-pack and contribute to the live vibe. If you can’t make it, make sure to get your RSVP in for the 7″ release show with fellow Wally’s favorites Vamos! and AM Stations.
Wally’s World
7pm / Free / Bring some beers

Mac Blackout Band, Fake Surfers, Potatoes
Local weirdo jazz punks and two touring bands from Detroit, all in the Burlington’s stinky womb.
The Burlington Bar, 3425 W Fullerton Ave
9pm / 21+

Wednesday, December 17th

SlayerKitty, Deadbeat, Regular Fucked Up People
Everybody’s favorite twee doom two piece (ok, you caught us, they’re the only twee doom two piece) brings their pink-pawed sludge to the Mutiny.
The Mutiny, 2428 North Western Avenue
9pm / Free / 21+

Velocicopter, Rat Hammer, Jolly Korea
Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western Avenue
9pm / $5 / 21+

Friday, December 19th

Yoko & The Oh Nos, The Boxers, MTVGhosts, 521 Briar
All ages? Wowee Zowie.
Martyrs’, 3855 N Lincoln Ave
9pm / AA

Tinkerbelles, Space Blood, Game Genie, Bow&Spear
The Burlington Bar, 3425 W Fullerton Ave
9pm / 21+

The Sky We Scrape, Rapids, In Exile, Bagheera
Quenchers Saloon, 2401 North Western Avenue
9pm / 21+ / $8

JD’s Revenge, Foul Tip, Orbit’s Tears, McFabulous
Multikulti, 1000 North Milwaukee Avenue
9:20pm

Saturday, December 20th

MAMA, Haki, The Sueves, Mac Blackout
The legend continues as this DIY house throws a very special holiday party with a very secret guest.
Young Camelot
9pm

The Brokedowns, Meat Wave, Rad Payoff, The Usuals
Heads up – we usually only do show listings for Chicago, but this show takes place in Elgin, a city I’m mostly familar with due to it’s proximity to the fictional town Lanford on the show Roseanne.
Dutch Inn West Inc, 36W610 Foothill Rd, Elgin, Illinois
8pm / $6 / 21+

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Weekend Agenda: December 11th – December 14th: New Blizzard Babies Video

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Local band Blizzard Babies (extremely local for me, since one of them is my roommate) have released a new video featuring a cameo from none other than their label mate Stephen Sowley of Fake Limbs as the most obnoxious customer ever.

Click through to the post to watch it. Put it on while you’re teasing your hair, putting on black lipgloss, and getting ready for a rad weekend of rock.

Thursday, December 11th

Swimsuit Addition (Cassette Release), Lil Tits, Donkey Hotel, The Burning Ponies
Fellow Store Brand Soda editor Emily and I will be there, proving we can indeed support local music in ways besides writing about it before falling asleep in front of a flickering Netflix screen.
Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 North Milwaukee Avenue
8pm / Free / 21+

NONES, The Rubs, The Gold Web, La Cosa (ONO)
Skronky noise punks NONES and members of ONO promise a weird, disorientating, noisy night.
Door #3 (Double Door Basement), 1551 N Damen Ave
21+ / $5

Potions, Banal Anml, Videobug, Wadduppp Sonnn
Heavy Petting, 2840 N Warren
8pm / BYOB / Enter thru alley / Bring your bike inside

Friday, December 12th

Flesh Panthers, Mac Blackout Band, Legendary Wings, Gross Point
Show #20 for local DIY venue The Flowershop!
The Flowershop
8pm / $5 for touring band

Saturday, December 13th

Bugs and Rats, In Heat, Nubiles Instore
Permanent Records, 1914 West Chicago Avenue
6pm / AA / Free

Oozing Wound, Wishgift, DEN, Foul Tip
Things The Band Name “Foul Tip” Suggests to Me:
1. a virulent, untreated, crusty STI
2. illegal insider trading
3. a baseball coach telling his players how not to foul
4. when you break off pencil lead while sharpening a pencil and have to start all over
Cole’s Bar, 2338 N Milwaukee Ave
10pm / Free / 21+

Sunday, December 14th

Joust, MAMA, The Dumpster Babies
Singer/guitarist Kevin is back in town for this show, putting our chances of seeing him shirtless at some point in the evening at 200% percent.
Empty Bottle
1035 North Western Avenue
7pm / $5 / 21+

PeoplesTemple of America, Yeesh, Pink Bathrooms
Pink Bathrooms were the inspiration of the cover image for this post, which is actually Jayne Mansfield’s bathroom. I want to live in it.

Also, slightly topical: one time I did like three shots of Malört at Quenchers and threw up in a trashcan. I could have used a spotless, comforting pink bathroom right about then.
The Burlington Bar, 3425 W Fullerton Ave
21+

Todayshits Christmas
James performing a two hour holiday themed set definitely promises some harrowing performance art with a slight possibility of holiday cheer.
The Whistler, 2421 N Milwaukee Ave
Free / 21+

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Weekly Agenda: October 15th – October 18th: Tuff Meat

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I bought myself tickets to the King Tuff + OBNIIIs shows as soon as they were announced, months before the new King Tuff record Black Moon Spell came out or everyone heard about the shake-ups in OBN-ville, so I’m pretty stoked about this week. I’m gonna party at those shows and then get the fuck outta Chicago for a trip to House on the Rock’s annual Halloween exhibit, Haunted House on the Rock, with Store Brand Soda co-founder Hotdish Ramone.

Don’t be mad, though; we’re not abandoning you to your own little pop punk devices. We’ve put together plenty for everyone staying in Chicago to do this weekend, including an impressive array of DIY shows + instores for those of you looking to save a little money or skate by with an expired driver’s license.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH

Slushy, Sneaky Creeps, Earring, Vaguewaves
Wally World
9:05pm / 21+ / Don’t be a jerk or smoke inside

Eye Vybe DJ Night
Karissa of Eye Vybe Records will be spinning some hard-hitting noise rock, psych punk, biker lounge, deep space, and power rawk.
The Owl
2521 N Milwaukee
21+ / Free

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH

Ultimate Painting, Negative Scanner
Permanent Records
1914 W Chicago Ave,
Chicago, IL 60622
6pm / BYOB / AA

King Tuff, Cassie Ramone, The Lemons
How are you guys feeling the new King Tuff? At first I was like “whoa, this is super overproduced; since when are there layered vocals and female backup singers on a King Tuff record?” But on subsequent listens, I decided that lofi freak-folk is overrated and I’m kind of digging the overblown T. Rex rock-n-rollness of the whole thing.
Subterranean
2011 W North Ave
17+ / $15

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH

Vamos, Meatbodies
Last time I saw Meatbodies was at The Burlington. Instead of the stinky concrete bunker of a back room they played right inside the door, lit by a single heavy duty construction flashlight, against wallpaper patterned like the woods. It was incredibly loud and intimate and the drummer had a cool thrash metal thing going. My girlfriend at the time bought me a shirt that I have since lost.
Permanent Records
1914 W Chicago Ave,
Chicago, IL 60622
6pm / BYOB / AA

Hunters
Bric-a-Brac Records
3156 W Diversey, Chicago IL
5:30 / BYOB / AA

Peekaboos, Bad Bad Meow, Glad Rags, Elusive Backflip
Multikulti
1000 North Milwaukee Avenue
21+ / $7

Unmanned Ship, Beth Israel, Mumblr, Vamos
VAMOS IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS, THEY ALWAYS MAKE ME FEEL LIKE MY PANTS AREN’T TIGHT ENOUGH
Wally World
9:05pm / Donations

OBNIIIs, Meatbodies, Hunters
Word is that Austin’s Orville Bateman Neeley III kicked everybody out of the band and it’s a whole new line-up and a whole new sound and they’re not going to play any of their old songs so don’t ask? We’ll see, I guess.
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Ave
21+ / $10

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18TH

Gringo Starr, Slushy, Juicy James
Juicy James is one of the many pseudonyms of James from The Lemons/Todayshits/etc, who wrote the song I get in my head whenever I eat pizza for the fifth time in a week (“every day I eat ya, pizza, pizza, pizza.”)
Bric-a-Brac Records
3156 W Diversey, Chicago IL
4:00pm / BYOB / AA

Apache Dropout, The Sueves, Son of a Gun
Apache Dropout has a song about Archie (like, the redhead from Riverdale) as the leader of an undead army of zombies, so that’s pretty much all you need to know about them.
Cole’s Bar
2338 N Milwaukee Ave
Free / 21+

Van Buren, The Flaccids, Ezra Furman, Bloodhype, Bricklayers Foundation
Help Fury Frat House raise money to repair their PA and soundproof their basement!
Fury Frat House
Armitage+Whipple / Ask a Punk / Donations

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