Rad Payoff, photo by Patrick Houdek.
Look, I don’t need to say that Chicago is an extraordinary place when it comes to music—that’s a given. If you’ve been here, you know it’s a great city. So before you read the rest of this, make note that this list is in no way a summation of everything going on in the punk scene; it’s an iota of what I would like to portray and the subject is as vast as Lake Michigan itself. And if you think for a second I’m going make some trite, backhanded comparison to NYC or LA like we care, we don’t. Seriously. We truly could not give less of a shit.
I say that because right now, there are some beautiful things happening in Chicago, especially in the Northwest part of the city. There are handfuls of bands popping up and shaping a very unique scene, and their influence is showing. The sounds of older Midwestern punk bands like Dillinger Four, Alkaline Trio, and The Brokedowns still simmer and ring out, but newer bands have been incorporating different elements into their sound. In other cities, this might be considered negative or something to scoff at, but in Chicago, it shines.
One of the best parts about this is that most shows in this part of the city are 10 to 15 minutes apart by foot, public transportation, etc. Venues like Quenchers, The Burlington, and Coles are fairly close and in even in the winter, it’s not hard to get from one place to another quickly. It’s easy to catch multiple shows in one night if you wanted to, and it’s not unusual to hear someone mention checking out certain sets at different venues in the same night. If you have a bike and it’s not eight fucking degrees below zero, you pretty much have the world at your fingertips.
There are a lot of great things to take from the scene here. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it if you keep your ear to the ground. Ask around, and you’re bound to discover something good.
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Anyway, I’ll spare you the bullshit jokes about deep dish pizza and whether I’ve seen CM Punk. Here’s a taste of what you can expect from this city when you crash on your buddy’s smelly couch for the weekend.
Rad Payoff
Comprised of members from noteworthy bands like Sass Dragons and Bust!, there’s no surprise that Rad Payoff presents a very maniacal sound at times. The no-holds-barred approach to their music displays the ferocity in Jason Smith’s vocals and the unusual melodies in Jon Olson’s guitar parts. In whole, they can be brash and unmannered but they don’t fall short of being impressive musicians as well.
Velocicopter
Two Houses
Total Recall
Dog & Wolf
Closed Mouths
Nervous Passenger
Rat Hammer
Typesetter
Meat Wave
Meat Wave tooFuck You, Idiot!
Ribbonhead
Mike Petruccelli is a Chicago-based writer and musician and plays in the bands Tens and Rapids. Check them out too.
