Avengers, The Effigies 9/3 at Beat Kitchen

Last night The Loaf and I went down to the Beat Kitchen to see the Avengers, The Effigies, The Plus Ones and M.O.T.O. It was a 21 and over gig which meant it started at 9pm and thankfully they didn’t have to hurry the show along so to clear out for a later one the same night like the Adolescents had to a few weeks ago when they were there.

M.O.T.O.

M.O.T.O.

M.O.T.O. played first. They delivered another fine set of their somewhat lo-fi 70’s inspired melodic punk. While they don’t really break any new ground musically, their songs are catchy as hell and you can’t help but get sucked in by them and find yourself bouncing up and down along to the music. I’ve seen them play a few times before and they never fail to deliver adn entertaining set and this was no different. It had been awhile since I saw them last so I was glad to be doing so again.

The Plus Ones

The Plus Ones

The Plus Ones were next. They were a sort of emo-ish indie pop type band. I liked the first couple songs but as the set progressed, they all started to sound the same to me and I got bored rather quickly. I’m sure the ladies jeans adorning types would really dig them.

The Effigies

The Effigies

Chicago’s own Effigies took the stage after a pretty quick equipment change. They played a set that seemed more weighted towards their brand new material than usual. They still peppered the set with such classics as “Mob Clash”, “Haunted Town”, We’re Da Machine” and they closed with “Body Bag”. Much to everyone’s surprise they did not play “Security”. I guess they must have ran out of time. That aside they were as good as always and after seeing them play probably close to eight times since they reformed, I’d still gladly go see them another eight. It was also doubly cool that their inclusion on this bill made for there being two old-school punk rock bands from my youth instead of the usual one!

Avengers

Avengers

This just left The Avengers, a band who I’ve loved since I was a young teenager in the 1980s but never got to see due to their breaking up, and having never toured! This lineup was 50 percent original, those being Penelope and Greg. The other two (bass player and drummer) were members of The Plus Ones so those guys did double duty performing this night. They opened with “We Are the One” and the crowd went crazy. They pretty much played most songs you’d expect and want to hear, including a couple that were on the Died for Your Sins LP. They even played “Cheap Tragedies” from the Rat Music comp which was always a personal favorite of mine! The sound was pretty excellent and the band played those songs to perfection. Penelope was smiling a lot and really seemed to be enjoying being up there on stage playing those songs. After playing a decent length set they took a short break and came back for a few song encore. I tell you I marked out big time just to be seeing Penelope up there on that stage seeing as she was one of my punk rock crushes back when I was a teen! The show was well worth the trip to the city and the packed and overheated club, plus I got to scratch another band off my list of of bands I’ve always wished I could see!

Avengers

Avengers

Some more pictures after the jump and even more (and larger) on my Flickr page. I’d like to extend a special thanks to The Effigies and Jon Babbin for the guest list action.


M.O.T.O.

Avengers