The only good thing about fall continued on Thursday over at the Beat Kitchen, which I believe is another first time for Riot Fest venue. This show was a three band bill and got off to a pretty early start. The small size of the venue and the popularity of the headlining band, 7 Seconds, pretty much guaranteed a packed house and that’s just what they got.
Vortis
Vortis
Vortis
Vortis
Chicago’s own Vortis started the show. They were a pretty fast and very energetic hardcore punk band. Their songs were pretty short and fast and had a slight bit of garage twang to them. They played about a half hour set and were totally winning me over until they played their last song in which they besmirched Husker Du by covering “The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill”. Ugh. I should have chosen then to go to the bathroom because then I’d have thought they were really good and I wouldn’t have had to witness that blemish on their otherwise flawless set.
Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Another band of Chicago natives, Das Kaptital, played second. This band features Mark Ruvolo of No Empathy/Johann’s Face fame on guitar/vocals. I saw these guys play about a year ago and they were quite good then and this time out was no different. Melodic punk rock with loud guitars. Lots of singalong parts too that makes the crowd happy and some of them were even singing along with those parts. Their short set flew by in what felt like a matter of minutes and they won me over for sure.
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
7 Seconds closed the show and by the time they were setting up, the place was totally packed full of people and it was about 85 degrees in the club. As soon as they started playing the crowd went nuts. I was getting hit in the back constantly despite the friendly people directly behind me trying their best to shield me. I snapped what I could before fleeing to the safety of the side of the stage. The band played lots of old material including “Young Until I Die” which is quite fitting because this band who is about to celebrate their 30th anniversary seems to be living up to that statement because they still play like they are teenagers. The amount of energy and enthusiasm the band plays with is incredible for guys in their mid 40’s and would be for even a band of teenagers.
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
The crowd continued to go nuts as the band delivered classic after classic as well as sprinkling in some newer numbers which sounded as good as the older stuff and fit right in. Kevin told stories and talked to the crowd a lot between each song and the temperature in the club seemed to raise about ten more degrees by about the middle of their set and the entire place was sweaty. There was fists pumping, legions of fans singing along and slam dancing like crazy. I have never seen a bad 7 Seconds show and this was no exception, in fact they seem to get better with age!
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
7 Seconds
When they closed the show with “99 Red Baloons” the place went nuts, everyone was singing along. The band was finished and I heard Steve say “damn that was fun” as he was walking of the stage. That statement I believe is a testament to why the band is such a great live act still after three decades, it is because they really enjoy playing up on stage for people and like what they do, they just aren’t going through the motions for a paycheck.
Another day, another Riot Fest show on the books, and another really great evening that left people wanting more.
