CHICD: The Studs, The Last Afternoons and The Pink Spiders at Beat Kitchen - 8/19

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 34 weeks into the year and I have seen 81 shows.

Tonight, The Studs kicked off a night of music that traversed from punk to power pop. They rocked hard, but above all they set the mood for everyone to have a good time. This bunch was fully committed to performing their music. By singing along, headbanging, and either encouraging or messing with each other, it definitely added to the fun atmosphere. Their music was short and punchy. I really dug their performance of “Pepperoni Payoff.” Even during the headbanging and the screaming angst, you could tell it was pure punk joy for them to be performing. This is definitely aided by the fact that it was guitarist Erik’s birthday. Love when a band member has a birthday!

The Last Afternoons kept up the fun vibes with stellar musicianship and really great vocal harmonies. They were all performing in coveralls, very comfortable for movement, but apparently on the warm side, as lead singer said “not great at breathing, kind of like me.” Was that an asthma joke?!

From the moment they stepped onstage, I knew there was something delightfully nerdy about these guys, and it wasn’t just the glasses. It was their precision and slight awkwardness, and it totally worked for them. Give their album a listen, there’s a lot to like. It’s a toss up between “Little Habits” and “Modern Girls” for best live performance.

The Pink Spiders had a devoted fan base at this show. There were tour t-shirts from 2007. The singer of The Studs gave them an “I was listening to them when I was 17” shout out. There were many people wearing the band’s trademark pink, black, and white. The changeover was fast, and we quickly realized it wasn’t going to be a typical Beat Kitchen show.

The band spent more time plugging in light fixtures than instruments. The guitarist tapped me on the shoulder and warned me that the smoke machine gets really hot. When they started playing, all the lights and smoke definitely gave their show a big feeling in a small space, but that wasn’t the reason they were great. They were passionate, and their music was seriously catchy. They were playing hard and fast, and I loved the scratchy rock ‘n’ roll growl in the vocals. The fans were beside themselves with joy over the performance. Apparently, it was the band’s 20th show in 20 days. If that was their energy level after 20 days, I can only imagine what they are like well-rested. Phew! If you are into power pop check out their new album, especially the first track “Black Dagger” (although I also like the tone shifts in “Penny-Ante Avenue”).