The Punk Vault

Riot Fest 2026 Day Three – 9/20/26 at Douglass Park

Thanks to an overnight flash flood rainstorm that lasted the entire night, and then the rain that continued the entirety of Sunday, it turned out to be the most challenging Riot Fest in history. It was challenging for everyone involved on numerous...

Riot Fest 2026 Day Two – 9/19/26 at Douglass Park

Saturday started off a little wet, but when the second day of Riot Fest opened the weather was humid but nice. Sadly that would change later in the day, but we’ll get to that in a bit. The second day of the 21st Riot Fest had a stellar lineup...

Riot Fest 2026 Day One – 9/18/26 at Douglass Park

Friday started the last and best weekend of the summer when the 21st Riot Fest kicked off. It was a beautiful day for the first day of the fest, but unfortunately it ended up being the only dry and nice day of the entire weekend. Like every year...

Cabaret Voltaire – 9/16/26 at Metro

Last night was the second and final night of Cabaret Voltaire at Metro. Just like the night before, they filled up the place nicely. I Speak Machine was up first and just like Tuesday, Tara put on am amazing performance well worthy of fighting...

Cabaret Voltaire – 9/15/26 at Metro

Tuesday night was a very special one as it saw the long awaited return of Cabaret Voltaire to the Metro. This was the first of a two night stand and the most beloved music venue in the city. It had been over 30 years since the band played here, and...

Silver Abuse – 9/3/26 at Reggie’s Music Joint

First generation Chicago punk band, Silver Abuse, made a rare appearance headlining a really good four band bill at Reggie’s Music Joint (the bar side of the venue). It was hot as hell outside, and not much cooler inside, but at least there...

Sludgeworth – 8/30/26 at Cobra Lounge

In what should become a regular thing, yesterday Cobra Lounge hosted a Sunday matinee show when Sludgeworth headlined the second of their two record release shows, the first being the night before. It only took more than three decades, but the band...

Quicksand – 8/26/26 at Bottom Lounge

Wednesday night, Quicksand and Bane made a stop here in Chicago on their current tour to play a show at Bottom Lounge. Soul Blind was the opening band. This New York band played an interesting mix of metal/post-hardcore, grunge, and a bit of...

Category - Show Reviews

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...

Riot Fest 2015 Day One

Riot Fest had a bit of a rough go of it this year, first with having to find a new home when some halfwit alderman decided he didn’t like the fest being in “his park” anymore despite the good that the...

Channel 3 – 5/1/15 at Red Line Tap

Way up in the Rogers Park area of Chicago, the Red Line Tap was the host to a night of punk rock that featured the return of Channel 3 and MDC, along with local veterans Destroy Everything. The run down club was pretty...

Bush 2/13/15 at Riviera

Friday the 13th wasn’t bad luck if you were a Bush fan as the band made their return to the Riviera in Chicago, IL. The band is touring in support of their latest album, [amazon_link id=”B00MWG7RLU”...

Skinny Puppy 12/9/14 at The Vic Theater

2014 was a good year to be a Skinny Puppy fan because not only did they tour this year, but they toured twice! They started the year off with one tour (the Live Shapes For Arms Tour) and are now ending it with another...

The Smashing Pumpkins 11/26/14 at Thalia Hall

Billy Corgan has had a lot of changes in his life recently, not the least of which is he assembled another (mostly) new lineup of his main creative outlet, the Smashing Pumpkins. Billy has been the one mainstay in the...