Last Wednesday I went to see a show at Subterranean here in Chicago. The full lineup was Dropdead, Artimus Pyle, Punch in the Face, Bloodyminded and Rager. After sitting in traffic for almost 90 minutes to get there from work, I found a sweet parking spot right down the street and went to the club. When I got there, a line was formed down around the corner from the club. Since the doors had opened about 15 minutes before I got there, I feared it was going to be packed and that club is very uncomfortable when it’s crowded. When I got inside, it wasn’t very crowded yet and I set up camp on the side of the stage.
Rager
Rager
Rager
Rager
Rager were first. They were a three piece band with alternating female/male vocals. They played pretty fast and furious hardcore with a bit of a metal edge on occasion. Their songs were short, fast and tight and I really enjoyed them.
Bloodyminded
Bloodyminded
Bloody Minded
Bloodyminded
Bloodyminded
Bloodyminded quickly took the now very empty stage next. The reason for it’s emptiness? They don’t play any traditional instruments! They were a noise band of the most noisy proportions. They had a couple of guys on either side of the stage with various effects gadgetry and their leather clad singer looked an awful lot like Rob Halford of Judas Priest, a fact someone in the audience pointed out which got a fairly smart ass reply from the singer who said he’s heard that before. That doesn’t make it any less true! Their “songs” really for the most part were 1 minute blasts of noise. I like that in small doses but the thing about these guys was the noise for each song really sounded almost exactly the same from song to song. The only real difference to me in a lot of the tracks were the noises the singer was making. I didn’t mind it, but I’d have liked a little more variety in the chaotic noise they were making.
Punch in the Face
Punch in the Face
Punch in the Face
Punch in the Face were next. It was also at this point the batteries in my flash decided to die and like a moron, I forgot to pack the second set and instead they were sitting home in the charger on my floor! I was cursing myself out the rest of the night in my mind for being so stupid. I switched to my 50mm prime lens because it was faster, however the band also had them lower the lights! It was a losing battle for me! I only managed a few usable shots the rest of the night which bummed me out even more. From the opening note, the stage was swarmed with stage divers. The kids went absolutely apeshit for Punch in the Face. The band played a short intense set. They seem to get tighter and more powerful each time I see them. There were kids flying everywhere, and there was one goofy dude who would hop on stage, do a roll across the front of the stage like he was in a video game, and then jump off the other end. It was pretty amusing watching all this from the safety of the side of the stage against the wall.
Artimus Pyle
Artimus Pyle
Artimus Pyle followed fairly quickly. I am not too familiar with them, I only have one of their records but after seeing them, I really need to remedy that! They were a slower hardcore band than the others on the bill but they were equally powerful. I enjoyed them the best of all the bands this evening and had I brought any extra money with me, I’d have purchased some more of their stuff that evening from them. They played about a half hour and the time flew by in what felt like an instant. When they were finished, many in the crowd were asking for more but sadly there was none.
Dropdead
Dropdead
This just left Dropdead. I own exactly zero of their records but I know they’ve been around for a very long time now and have amassed quite a following. They played hyperfast hardcore with the singer basically shrieking most of his vocals with a power and fury usually reserved for angst ridden teenagers. In between songs, he would talk to the crowd about politics, and how fucked up things in our world are currently. He’d try and inspire thought and lead change, hopefully sending a message home with the people to try and make our world a better place. Then the band would start playing and the kids would go crazy. They played about 45 minutes and no one held still for very long. Much like the PITF set, the stage was a non stop sea of stage divers. And just like that, they were done, thanked the crowd and the show was over.
It was a very entertaining show with a solid lineup of bands. I wasn’t the least bit bored by any of them and since the sets were fairly short, having a five band bill for once didn’t feel like an endurance test! Thank you Dave Song for the invite and guest list action.
The two individuals rolling and moshing across the stage were Kyle and Evan during PITF. That set was ridiculous.
Here in Spain, concerts like these don’t exist. I send you some envy from here. Bye and thanks for the documentation.