It's mid February and I've only been to 3 shows so far. Every week I check out various sources for shows around Chicagoland. I wanted to see Old Fox Road last night in Crown Point, IN but I couldn't because I had to finally finish my Christmas Letter. So when I saw they were playing an all ages show in a bowling alley in nearby Tinley Park, I decided check out this show. It was put on by John from Evolution Music and was advertised as a pop punk show. I figured I would be the oldest person there...I was...but who cares...I wanted to check out what passes for punk music in white suburbia in 2014. The show was in a room that is probably used for parties at the bowling alley. So what...it kind of looked like a basement with the cinder block walls...a perfect place for some punk music.
I missed the first two bands and walked in on Eric Kyle Lyday playing acoustic guitar. Not exactly the punk mosh pit show I was hoping for. But he sang a few original songs that had a feel bad vibe that is sort of punk. He sang a bit monotone but had a real good voice for the type of songs he played. He seemed to cut his set short, probably due to the small crowd of very young people not really into his songs. But they did politely clap after each song. You can check him out on ReverbNation.
Next up was a band called Dead Split Egos. This was a straight up punk band and they had the moves and the sounds. The singer was standard punk, he spit out the lyrics. I thought the bass player was really good. They tried hard to be punk and succeeded for the most part. Then they covered a Black Flag song and had the merch guy, Ian come on stage and sing. He immediately pushed his way into the crowd and tried to get people dancing. Then they ripped through the song with a fury not seen earlier, sorry not sure which Black Flag song it was but they cover My War on their CD. If anyone would have moshed I would have joined in.
This song was so damn good, I bought both of their CD's because this was exactly what I was hoping to see. Now, don't get me wrong. They sound like a young band that needs to perfect their craft and I was happy to hear the political songs which is what punk is supposed to be. But I enjoyed their set...
...which ended with the lead singer/guitarist diving over the drummer and flattening the drum set.
I love the title of this CD. It is so 2014 and 1977 at the same time. After listening to their CD all week, I am beginning to really like this band.
I stayed behind the kids who stood right in front of the bands. So it was hard to get good pictures. This is Ryan Rumchaks. I really enjoyed his performance. He falls into a mix of pop, punk and rock with good vocals and something rare in young bands, stage presence. He is also a very good songwriter. I also enjoyed listening to his CD, Decades.
I apologize for the shitty picture of Dylan from the folk punk band, Old Fox Road. I loved this band before they even began playing. A stand up bass, an acoustic guitar and a sax player. They stood in front of the mics and asked everyone to please refrain from talking during the songs. They played without mics or amps...a fully acoustic set. Once they started playing I was very glad I ventured out to see them tonight. The songs were great lyrically and musically. They had the crowd clapping and stomping along and made jokes about being "punk with all the wrong instruments". Dylan also made me laugh when he introduced a couple of songs as "love songs that will never happen". They ended their set with the bass player riding his instrument across the stage as he continued to play. I joked with Dylan afterwards that I've never seen a band that has two really cool shirts for sale but no music. They have a CD coming out in early March. I highly recommend this band.
This band, Sudden Suspension were definitely the crowd favorite of the night. Most of the kids were singing along to the chorus on their songs. They were really good at playing suburban punk. Both the guitarist and the bass player sang songs and they had really good stage presence with lots of self deprecating humor. I loved their slogan of "Beanies and Teen Angst". If you want to know what a band that grew up listening to Green Day and Blink-182 might sound like, check out their CD. One thing I noticed about all these bands is that they are all over the internet. Whenever I googled any of them, I found their music on various sites. It really is a great time for music fans and hopefully for the musicians too. Once again I ask everyone to support live music whenever you get a chance. This years 50 shows project has been fun so far.
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