Friday night was an old Chicago punk scene class reunion when Pegboy made their return to the Metro after a very long time. They packed the card with a great lineup of openers and the place was more than sold out and packed to the ceiling. Everyone came out of the woodwork for this one!
First up was Criminal Kids. This local act played good old punk rock and roll. Their songs were short, gritty and pretty fast, yet catchy in that ’70s punk way. They put together a really good set of songs and their half hour set was a fun way to start the night.
Next up was Canadian Rifle, who are not Canadian at all and are actually from Chicago as well. For 17 years now the band has been putting on great shows and making good records. They played catchy, yet powerful, high energy punk rock. This band is consistently great live and this night was no exception. They are more than worth your time if you get a chance to see them play.
The Arrivals reunited for this show, but it wasn’t just for this show as during their set they announced they are working on a new record! Their sound is rooted in that ’80s/early ’90s Chicago punk trademark sound with the loud guitars, mid to fast tempos and catchy hooks. It was great to have them back and it is even more exciting that they are going to stick around.
Though they have been semi-active still, aside from shows at Liar’s Club, Pegboy hadn’t stepped foot on the Metro stage in a very long time! They were way overdue to play a high profile show like this and what felt like the entire Chicago punk scene came out for the occasion. The Metro was packed to the ceiling with decades of Chicago punk fans and musicians, eager to see a band many of them grew up with play again.
The band took the stage and opened with “Not What I Want” and Larry immediately hopped off the stage into the barricade to sing into the faces of the crowd up close and personal. He kept the security guards busy more than the crowd did with them having to follow him and manage the microphone cable and keep him safe. He even climbed up onto the crowd on multiple occasions throughout the night. The crowd loved it and were singing along and the band were really tight and it was clear they were well rehearsed for this upcoming tour. Herb Rosen of Liar’s Club and Rights of the Accused fame is now playing bass for the band and he was a wonderful addition and fit right in. His playing was spot on, as was the playing of the legendary Haggerty brothers.
The band cranked out one great song after another and Larry spent most of the time down inside the barricade, only coming on stage when they were playing a song that he played second guitar on. While he was down there roaming, the rest of the band stayed at their posts playing to perfection. They played tons of old favorites including “Through My Fingers”, “Field of Darkness”, “My Youth”, and “Strong Reaction. They did a couple of covers too including “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver” (Mission of Burma), and they were joined by Scott Lucas of Local H for a really great rendition of Naked Raygun’s, “Treason” which they dedicated to the late Pierre Kezdy and said that will become a staple of Pegboy shows from now on to honor him. The band ended their 13 song set with “Hardlight”, which Larry said it was his favorite song of the set because it was the last one and he was really blown up by the end of the set, and who wouldn’t be with all the moving around he did and climbing up and down! It was a really fun performance and one that was way overdue!
