Saturday night saw the second big Chicago punk reunion in as many months. This time it was three slightly more obscure but equally great old bands from the first wave of windy city punk. Silver Abuse, Toothpaste and The Wayouts all reunited, sharing many (and sometimes all) members for an evening down memory lane. I was pretty excited about it especially because aside from Silver Abuse, I wasn’t really familiar with the other two bands outside of hearing their names before.
The show was being held at the Lucky Gator Loft, which is just that, a loft. It isn’t a music venue and there was no stage. This was a very old school type DIY show. Patrons were encouraged to BYOB and the band simply had their equipment set up on the floor on one side of the room and there was a modest PA system. It was a very informal atmosphere which made for a real nice change of pace and a nice throwback to the old days.
The Diamond Stretch
The Diamond Stretch
The Diamond Stretch
The Diamond Stretch
The show started off with a band of young fellows, The Diamond Stretch. They played really fast thrashy music with dual screaming vocals that is all the rage these days. They weren’t bad but I think they were pretty lost on most of the patrons this evening. Their singers also had the bad habit of singing facing the drummer instead of the crowd. In time I think they can hone their sound a bit and hopefully put some sort of unique spin on their chosen genre but for now they didn’t really stand out from the pack of bands that are doing it now. They seemed a very odd band to be put on this bill too, but I imagine perhaps they have relatives either at the loft or in one of the other bands.
Thax Douglas
The Wayouts
The Wayouts
The Wayouts
The Wayouts
The Wayouts
The Wayouts
After The Diamond Stretch cleared out their stuff and a poem from Thax Douglas, The Wayouts set up their gear which would be the equipment for the rest of the evening since all the bands shared members. They were a rather off-kilter, arty and experimental punk band which is exactly what you’d expect for the time period and location. They would have easily fit in on the Busted at Oz compilation. None of their songs really sounded alike, and at one point they did a rendition of “Bombshelter” which they said “you know this song, but we do it better”. That song really made its rounds back in the day because this is like the third band I know of from the city who performed it. It makes sense since memebers were shared among all the bands who ever played it. The Wayouts played about a half hour to a very warm reception from the crowd who seemed to be really enjoying themselves.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
When they were done, they took a short break, regrouped with at least one different person and switched up instruments and then it was Toothpaste that were performing. Camilo Gonzales handled a majority of the vocal duties for their set except at one point another former Toothpaste member came on board to sing “Oh Yeah Come On” which was one of the highlights for me, as was “Freud Taught the Mambo”. I think I enjoyed their set the most out of all three bands this evening and I was eternally grateful that I not only discovered a band that I missed from my own city, but that they had brought a few copies of their original 12″ EP that they unearthed and I was able to get one! That was more than worth the trip out in the cold on top of a great performance!
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Again they played roughly a half hour to an enthusiastic crowd that was nothing but smiles from wall to wall, then after another break and a little regrouping and another much more long-winded poem by Thax, it was time for Silver Abuse. Much like the Wayouts, Silver Abuse were really out there in a good way and had a very diverse sound. Their songs sounded great live and they too did a version of “Bombshelter” which we were again told “we do it better”! That alone made me smile from ear to ear. The crowd ate it up and at one point a young punk rocker came up and sang backup vocals with the band because he was just so into it. I am pretty sure he might not have even been born when that song was written but it was really cool to see him obviously excited about that particular song and it showed how this great punk music has transcended different generations.
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse played all the songs they knew and ended with their song from Busted at Oz and were set to call it a night but the crowd wanted more so they picked their instruments back up and played some more! Everyone in the crowd were having a great time, there were people watching and smiling the entire evening and the atmosphere in the room was very positive and friendly which was unlike anything I have seen in years. This wasn’t so much of a proper show as it was a gathering of like-minded individuals who share a passion for something special and important. It was like a big family reunion even if you didn’t know many of the people in the room there was just this feeling that you belonged and were one of the gang.
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
Silver Abuse
I love it when old bands that I didn’t get a chance to see reunite and put on a good show. This show much like the other Chicago punk reunion was something really special and a once in a lifetime event and it was such a great way to end a year of shows. I walked out of the Lucky Gator loft with such a huge smile on my face that it lasted well into the next day!
Many additional photos from this show can be seen on MXV’s Flickr Stream. Thank you to John from Toothpaste for putting me on the list to come out and shoot this.
MXV-this is the same Camilo from NR-correct?
Looks like fun!
Yep, he’s the same guy.