The Punk Vault

The Flowers Of Romance Revisited – 4/11/26 at Reggie’s

Saturday night at Reggie’s was a very special night as Martin Atkins and Chris Connelly put together a really talented band to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Public Image Ltd. album, The Flowers Of Romance. How 45 years has already...

The Flowers Of Romance Revisited dress rehearsal – 4/10/26 at The Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music

If you are a fan of Public Image, Ltd., you may be aware that my personal favorite album of theirs, The Flowers Of Romance, just turned 45 years old this month! How 45 years went by so fast is an alarming mystery, but suffice it to say that album...

Descendents, Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls – 3/15/26 at The Salt Shed

Sunday night was a magical night for music when Descendents and Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls played the final night of their tour together at The Salt Shed, one of the nicest venues in Chicago history! Even a rainstorm didn’t keep...

Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything, Sincere Engineer – 2/13/26 at Riviera

Friday night was a triple bill of both emo and pop/punk bands at the Riviera that featured Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything, and Sincere Engineer. The place was absolutely packed, even before the first band went on! First up was Sincere Engineer...

Smoking Popes – 11/28/25 at Bottom Lounge

Those not interested in getting in fights over flatscreen TVs on Black Friday had a much more entertaining option when Smoking Popes headlined a show at Bottom Lounge. They were on a three band bill and it was a really solid lineup so it was well...

The Saints ’73-’78 – 11/11/25 at Metro

Last tuesday the Metro hosted some Australian punk legends when The Saints ’73-’78 headlined a show there. They were part of a two band bill. First up, also hailing from Australia, was Chimers. This duo made a sound as big as a five...

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – 10/31/25 at Concord Music Hall

If you live in Chicago and were ever part of or into the industrial/Wax Trax scene then can you think of a better way to spend Halloween than seeing My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult headline a show at a really good venue? The answer is no, you...

Swans – 9/30/25 at Metro

Tuesday night was a big night if you are a Swans fan as the band made their return once again to the beloved Metro here in Chicago. They headlined a two band bill and when Swans play, it’s always an event. First up was Little Annie & Paul...

Category - Show Reviews

Naked Raygun 12/5/15 at Concord Music Hall

Just in time for the holidays, Naked Raygun decided to do a weekend of Midwest shows where they’d be debuting some material from their forthcoming new album as well as playing many of their old favorites. The...

King Diamond 11/27/15 at Aragon Ballroom

A lot of great metal shows have taken place at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago dating back to the late 1980’s and that tradition continued on Black Friday when King Diamond returned to the venue. Metal fans filled...

Skinny Puppy 11/16/15 at The Rave

After an eleven-year hiatus from playing in Milwaukee, Skinny Puppy finally returned to our neighbor to the north on Monday night where they headlined a show at The Rave on their Down the SocioPath tour. This time out...

The Orb 9/27/15 at Metro

The Orb have been around in one form or another for a very long time now and are considered pioneers in electronic music. The nucleus of The Orb in recent times consists of founding member, Alex Paterson, along...

Cold Waves IV festival 9/26/15 at Metro

Saturday was the second and final day of Cold Waves IV at the Metro and boy did they make it every bit as good, if not better than the previous night. On paper this looked like a home run with Front Line Assembly...

Cold Waves IV festival 9/25/15 at Metro

The fall always marks the end of outdoor festival season but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a smaller scale festival indoors and that is exactly what happened at Metro this weekend. The Cold Waves festival...

Riot Fest 2015 Day Three

Sunday came and many opted to sleep in after two long days before returning for the final day of Riot Fest. The weather was absolutely perfect and a lot of the mud had dried except up close near a few of the stages but...

Riot Fest 2015 Day Two

Day two of Riot Fest started much like the first day in that Mother Nature dumped a bunch of rain on Douglas Park all morning before finally leaving for good for the rest of the weekend. That meant the second day was...