Destroy Everything, The Deranged, Dublin Brigade at Stage 83

Last night (well it could almost be considered late afternoon) I went over to the Clown Ranch to meet up with the Klown army to head out to a show Destroy Everything was doing over at Stage 83 in Lemont. After a pit stop for some junk food over at White Hen, we made the easy trip out to the venue. When we got there, which was about 4:30pm, we were supposed to load in and meet the sound man but there was no one there and the venue was closed. Many phone calls were made to no avail and we all feared the worst, but finally close to the time the show was supposed to start, the owner of the club showed up and everyone set up their gear. The sound man showed up nearly an hour after the scheduled start time for the show, and finally the show began. The owner of the club was a really nice guy, which seems somewhat rare these days, and the club itself is a nice huge room with a nice stage and what seems like a good light rig, except they don’t have anyone to operate it, and instead just have it set to some autopilot program where the lights just flash and move in a set pattern, thus leaving the stage rather dark and made for some very difficult shooting.

Dublin Brigade

Dublin Brigade

Dublin Brigade were the first band and they were from Crete, IL. I am pretty sure they all still might be in high school and their mom was their “manager”. They played a sort of country laced rock that really wasn’t my cup of tea. Some of my friends there enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t my thing. They seem pretty talented though. They played about a half hour.

After the first band were finished, I went to the sound guy and asked him about the lights (since it seemed he was responsible for both) and he claimed if there was an autopilot setting that used more lights, he wasn’t aware of it. Here’s a tip to those in charge if they plan to continue having shows there – get someone in there who knows how to work that thing because it is a nice light rig and its worth actually using, and then people taking photos can actually have a little light to work with and the overall presentation of what’s on stage will only benefit from it as well.

The Deranged

The Deranged

The Deranged were second and they were a very energetic hardcore band. I really enjoyed their set and so did a lot of the small crowd, which seemed to consist of a lot of their friends. They also played about a half hour and their female drummer kicked a lot of ass, she was impressive!

Destroy Everything

Destroy Everything

Last up were Destroy Everything after a bit of a late start thanks to a missing Cheddar Nines. Once he reappeared they played their usual blend of catchy punk tunes which are guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days. Their set got cut short due to the fact the show had to be over at 9pm sharp and it getting a really late start, but the time they did get to play was as enjoyable as ever.

Destroy Everything

Destroy Everything

After the show, we packed up and there was an impromptu party at the Clown Ranch where I swear at one point there may have been more people there than at the show! We had a couple of surprise people show up including Herb of ROTA/Liar’s Club and Marie Kanger-Born, who is one of my punk rock photography idols! Overall another fun evening!

More photos can be viewed by clicking below.


Dublin Brigade

Destroy Everything