It's been awhile since I last posted a show review on here and I figured I'd make it worthy since my last possible choices were a bust due to personal shit. Any who, I thought I'd make it up by attending this benefit that was hosted last weekend at Locked Out. So, I persuaded a close friend to venture out with me and off we were like a couple of race horses, or something similar.
I've only heard of Locked Out from the various flyers I've came across for shows going down in the city. Assuming it was another basement venue, sort of like the Strangelight, it ended up being an upstairs VFW hall, decorated with various political protest signs hung up on the walls or very interesting artworks created by students in the community. Considering the lineup, the overall look of the venue was a worthy choice for the location. I should point out that the proceeds of the show were going to a local charity called the Chicagoland Bully Bread rescue, a charity that houses and cares for pitbulls, either abandoned or waiting to be adopted. Along with some of the show's proceeds going to charity, a raffle was also conducted for "special" audience member to actually have a chance to win some of the money. Good idea for a real good cause, that's for sure.
After about an hour waiting around, the first band came up. Boilerman are a local Chicago pop punk band, playing some pretty mouth watering tunes that would satisfy any pop punk fan. Hearing their 7 inch, I was anticipating this band, but was pretty disappointed with the sound guy. The vocals were going in and out, making quite difficult to actually hear the singer from way in the back. The band, of course, didn't play too terribly, still continuing to play, but the crowd didn't seem very impressed with band, going on with their conversations about their lives. I still give credit to the band for at least giving an effort to play, and hopefully they do plan another show were the show won't be an issue.
Next band up was Poison Planet, another local band coming straight out of Chicago. The last time I'd seen these guys was last year in August when they were playing alongside Nazi Dust at the Strangelight. Things were a little different this time around, playing to a now sold-out crowd instead of a little crew of cellar dwellers. Once the band engaged in a couple riffs, an instant circle was made in the front and from where we were, all we could see was a ring of fists going up in the air. Poison Planet from then on, were a force to reckoned with. It was a blitzkreig going off and kids were getting physical, with some stage dives here and there. The vocalist, who was also organizing the show, thanked everyone for coming out and went on about the charity; from how it started to reasons for support. Poison Planet were pretty great, even playing a cover of "Bleed for me" by the Dead Kennedys, that even had a couple kids near us chanting the lyrics. Great set fellas, keep it up!
Raw Nerve were up next, and was my main reason for attending the show. I've kept missing shows from this particular band that ended up being some of the better shows around, from the -/- gig back in October to a recent gig at the Kostner house, alongside Culo and The Ropes (The Repos member's new endeavor). I've never been disappointed with this band, especially live and this show was a pure example. Jokingly, the band engaged in a stereotypical hardcore breakdown and vocalist Ralph Rivera stating "Come on now, they've paid $10. Let's make sure these kids have a good time". My friend and I both laughed, getting the joke, and watched some of local kids start hardcore dancing. Once this was over (they did this twice, for the record), Raw Nerve then went off with their set list and like Poison planet, kids were starting a ruckus. The band played tracks off of their LP released by Youth Attack last year and a couple songs off their cassingle released last month, with the exception of the cover song. I still remember seeing Dan Yemin's face during their set, and saw a stage diver go over his head, lipreading Dan say "woah". Raw Nerve of course were going chaotic during their set, especially with crosses with guitarist Nico and bassist Antonio head banging along with the beat, and then unleashing madness once the intro was over. Definitely not their worst set ever, keep it up.
Lemuria came right after Raw Nerve, coming off as a surprise for me, since I figured they'd be headlining the show. Much like Raw Nerve, it has been awhile since I've seen this group in person, this one being 3 years ago at Reggie's during their stint with the Queers. Their set didn't disappoint, playing from their back catalog such as "Lipstick", and "Chautauqua County". Although the band played perfectly, the sound from the microphones was pretty inaudible and made Sheena's voice sound like one of the characters found in Charlie Brown. A guitar malfunction sort of ruined their set, taking about five to ten minutes to fix the issue before the band got back on it's feet. The crowd didn't get sick of enjoying them, even clapping along to the beats of "Pants", singing along to the entire song with smiles shown on their faces. I admired their set and enjoyed seeing their performance as fan, instead of three years ago when I had no idea about this band. My friend, on the other hand, was pretty bored by their set and instead decided to read the "vegan literature" (i.e pamphlets on why to actually go vegan) and I joined him. Despite so, A great band indeed to keep an eye for but I'm pretty sure kids are at the point. If not, check their stuff out.
Last but finally not least, Paint It Black graced the stage, fulfilling the wishes of every attendee at the venue, including my friend and I. The last time I had witnessed this band was 2 years ago during Riot Fest, where they played in the lobby of the congress theater, probably one of the better performances that night. Around this time, the crowd got a little bit smaller, with some kids leaving right after Lemuria, and the kids before that left during Raw Nerve's set. Still, the band was on fire, hitting song after song, non-stop with unprecedented fury that was matched by the kids in the pit, stage diving or dog-piling Dan Yemin. The Philadelphia band played some of their more recent released songs from the Amnesia and Surrender 7 inches from last year, so nothing too different from their usual sets. Much like Lemuria, the sound was a major issue, with Yemin's microphone cutting in and out during their set, kind of a buzz-kill after dealing with this as an attendant from the first band to the last. Paint It Black didn't let this bother them, with Dan having the crowd chant along to their songs. He even had time to actually interact with the crowd, talking about various issues still affecting our county such as the immigration fiasco to personal thoughts revolving animal cruelty. Despite dealing with the shitty sound the other bands had to deal with, Paint It Black made it worthwhile with kids getting their money's worth. My friend was also impressed, telling he'd never seen anything like that. Talk about a good night.
Although the sound basically ruined a good majority of the band's set, the event was still a success, raising about $1300 for the charity, excluding the raffle tickets. Pretty impressive if you ask me, but who's asking anyways. Not only was it a success for the rescue but also for actually bringing the headliners back to Chicago once more, due to the year gap since their last shows.
I'll try to post something about the Raw Nerve tape that I recently received (Postoffice can be a major pain in the ass sometimes), and then a couple more record reviews from Culo and maybe Lemuria. Also, I plan on doing a couple more show reviews, such as the upcoming This is My Fist! show and Libyans show in may. Till then, thanks again for checking this out!
Boilerman Bandcamp
Not Normal Records
Lemuria
Paint It Black
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