| 'Lemuria' and 'Paint It Black' warm up a snowed in Chicago |
| Written by Tim Crisp, Vidette Blogger |
| Tuesday, 08 February 2011 20:03 |
 We couldn’t get to the city fast enough. The blizzard (by Wednesday I was actively refusing to refer to it by any stupid pun) had left me stranded in a tiny apartment for three days drinking stupid amounts of coffee while watching endless Netflix and becoming increasingly more manic as cabin fever set in. Fear and loathing in Normal, Ill. That’s not to say my seclusion didn’t come away with a few minor victories—the first season of Northern Exposure is awesome and if you haven’t seen Cassevetes’ Opening Night do it, especially if you listen to The Hold Steady. But by Saturday everything had been cleared and I was excited to get in my car and up to the city. 55 was heaven, especially considering we were on our way to see Lemuria and Paint It Black.With 500 people confirmed on Facebook, I was a little worried about getting into the show, which was being held at Locked Out on the corner of Fullerton and Pulaski, but we had no problem getting in. I had never been to Locked Out before but it’s a very cool DIY space, similar to a VFW Hall—a big ole room with a small stage and a good assortment of literature set out as well as vegan tamales for sale. The show was a benefit for the Chicagoland Bully Breed Rescue a volunteer bully breed dog rescue. Everyone was pretty stoked for the show to get started and after some delay Chicago’s Boilerman was ready to open things up. The three-piece pop-punk band’s 7” “Bright Young Things” was one of my favorite debuts of last year and having just heard the songs from their upcoming release, I was very excited to see them. Unfortunately they fell victims to some pretty bad sound issues with the PA cutting in and out as well as giving off some heavy feedback. The band kept it together and played a tight set, but it was pretty tough dealing with the sound problems. Either way, they have a new 7” coming out this spring on Cowabunga Records and I’m telling you now that it rules. By the time Chicago straight-edge hardcore veterans Poison Planet took the stage the sound issues had been alleviated and the band played a charged up set which included a cover of Bleed For Me by the Dead Kennedys. Raw Nerve from Chicago/Northwest Indiana followed and chaos ensued as they tore through their set. I had heard the band’s demo from 2009 and thought it was pretty alright, but I was very impressed with them live. I would definitely recommend their self-titled LP if you’re into frenzied hardcore. After seeing a couple hardcore bands, it was a little goofy to think that Lemuria was going to follow things up. If you’re not familiar with Lemuria they’re a three-piece very poppy pop-punk band from Buffalo and possibly the most adorable band you’ll ever see or hear. The moment they got started and pint-sized guitar/vocalist Sheena Ozzella started singing, everyone, including all the hardcore kids who had just been going crazy to Poison Planet and Raw Nerve, started singing along. Lemuria is one of the few universally loved bands amongst all subsets of punk rock and it was awesome to see a bunch of different boys and girls come together. Unfortunately the sound became an issue once again as Ozzella was having guitar issues and the vocals sounded very fuzzy. On old songs, it didn’t really matter because everyone was singing along anyway, but the songs from their latest record “Pebble” definitely suffered. Despite frustrations with the sound, my heart definitely melted a little when they closed with one of my favorite songs, Pants. I picked up a copy of “Pebble” (which is fantastic) as well as the new split with Cheap Girls (who are opening for Against Me! at the Castle in Bloomington on 2/11 and with Two Cow Garage and Laura Stevenson & The Cans at Firehouse on 3/12). Closing out the night was Paint It Black, a band who I never really got huge on despite the fact that Dr. Dan Yemin of Lifetime and Kid Dynamite is the lead singer. By the end of the night though I was sold on Paint It Black as being one of the better bands in punk and hardcore today. They played a solid 40 minute set never bringing a dull moment—every breakdown was upbeat and fun and watching Yemin screaming in a sea of bodies flying from all angles was entirely entertaining. Atticus Finch and Memorial Day brought huge sing-alongs from everyone involved and we all walked away feeling alive and ready to party. The night had been a definite success and I made sure to start listening to Paint It Black again. Click here to stream Wise People from Lemuria’s new record “Pebble.” Note: So this is my first blog for Sounding Off and I’m pretty excited to be a part of the Vidette’s blogging community. I’d love to turn this into an open forum of sorts, so feel free to use the comment section to voice your opinions whatever they maybe. Feedback is a beautiful thing and I’d love to hear your thoughts as well as any music recommendations, etc. You can follow me on twitter @IvanKorshunov. Party. |
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