My goal is to see one show per week. Yes, I might be that annoying friend that just has to tell you about the thing you missed, but I’m also catching every great show in the city of Chicago–with plenty more ahead of me. Welcome to the Chicago Concert Dispatch.
At the time of this show, it is 9 weeks into the year and I have seen 32 shows.
I was greeted with a cacophony of music as Distants kicked off the show. They had a very muscular style of punk rock: noisy and driving. Bassist, Zach Leipham, had a strong stance as he thrummed. By the end of the set, Alex Angus was glistening and the veins in his neck were bulging as he sang. My favorite tunes of the set were “Odds and Ends” and “Interim.” I’m a sucker for a good use of guitar chucking, as they did on “Interim.”
Oscar Bait’s lead singer, Jim Coleman Howes, had the look of a caged animal as he paced the stage. The bass cut through a wash of power chords, but its drummer, Brandon Runyon, that really made this group worth checking out. He had an extreme speed and aggression—like he didn’t want any drum or cymbal to go unpunished for more than a second—returning to and hitting them all, over and over. It all somehow sounded completely musical, in that “noise is king” kind of way. In fact, their collective noise was so extreme, I could not distinguish a single lyric.
When Kali Masi started, it made for a sharp contrast from the first two bands—which goes to show how wide-ranging the “punk” genre is. Lead vocals and melodic guitar leads gave the crowd moments of clarity amid a wall of power chords. They continued to deliver an aggressive set while the vocals skirted the line between singing and screaming. Lead singer, Sam Porter, was tightly coiled. He stood straight at the mic, only turning away to bend and thrash to the music. Guitarist/vocalist, Wes Moore, embodied all the outrage and joy a punk show traverses. My favorite tune of the set was “Sputter,” which brought in some elements of math rock and guitarmonies—both things I love. From where I was standing, these guys will be a perfect match-up for their upcoming tour supporting Less Than Jake.
Pkew Pkew Pkew make music that is meant to be sung by a chorus of happy drunks. Most (but not all!) will be dudes. Their songs are about aging well (or badly) and owning it either way. Life is a struggle. Teenage angst has nothing on the angst of getting older. Don’t go quietly into that good night and all that shit.
The audience was keyed up from the beginning. For an album that had only been released the day before, there were a lot of people singing along to the new material. But it was on “Before We Go Out Drinking” that the moshing broke out. At one point, the audience could barely support a shaky crowd surfer—it was truly impressive how long the guy stayed up. The crowd rushed in to keep it going as long as possible, then happily went back to moshing and bouncing. All of this is a testament to the passion of this band. They were a tight rock n’ roll machine, throwing themselves around the stage. But for me, it was all about bassist Emmett O’Reilly. He was truly unlike anything I had seen before. The stances, the moves, the faces, he was definitely feelin’ himself. He must be made of elastic and a master of his instrument to be able to do all of that and keep the beat thrumming. I was completely enthralled and hard-pressed to capture it. Pkew pkew pkew is a must-see, even if just to watch Emmett do his thing and get lost in the crush of their fans.
Distants Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Oscar Bait Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Kali Masi Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Pkew Pkew Pkew Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
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