So last weekend the pregnant wife and I called my mother to look after the three year old singing machine better known as Hailey so that we could go out for a night punk rock music. We went downtown to the House Of Blues (my absolute least favorite venue in all of Chicago) to see Hot Water Music and Naked Raygun. Before I get to the show I need to rant a little bit about the venue.
I fucking hate the House Of Blues and everything it stands for. Maybe it’s just too “classy” for me, but it seems like the kind of place that is way more concerned about how many drinks they sell than anything regarding the actual music being played. There are more bars than places to watch the show from. There were attendants in the mens bathroom. Attendants! I’m not kidding you.
The show itself was opened by Chicago’s own Methadones, a band that features Danny Vapid (ex-Sludgeworth, ex-Screeching Weasel). They plowed through 40 minutes worth of songs with barely a breather but it sounded basically exactly like I thought it would. Next, Hot Water Music did what they usually do. Chris, Chuck, Black, and George opened with “A Flight And A Crash” and played more than a few of the songs I wanted to hear, but (IMHO) played too many post-No Division songs. What can I say, I like the early stuff. Solid performance nonetheless.
And then after some Looney Tunes on the big screen, the Raygun… Naked Raygun lineup of Naked Raygun took to the stage and I was in awe. Honestly, I was mainly there to see Hot Water Music, and we were going to leave a few songs into the Naked Raygun set, but I was blown away. Naked Raygun stole the show. I’ve listened to my fair share of Raygun recordings, but seeing them live (even after all these years) really affirmed just how important a band Naked Raygun was and is. I’ve been told we can be hopeful of a new Raygun album sometime in the future.
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This a more a comment on your 3 year old singing machine. I have a 4 year old singing machine and let me tell you, the entertainment never stops. But on the topic of Naked Raygun, whenever you can get the words fetus, tumor, nymph and three toed gecko into a song, you know you’re involved in something special. In fact, getting our toddlers together for a chorus of Metastasis would be legendary.
Yeah,
When I lived in Chicago, I went to see a friend’s band who were opening for a major touring artist at the time at the HOB. They made my friend’s band go on without a sound check. Not even a line check. So on the first song they played, his guitar wasn’t even amplified.
Spot on about HOB. I’d rather go to the Hideout or Ronnie’s every single night than the HOB, where I’ve come to EXPECT to hear more clanking glass and talking than music .. just terrible the way they treat “live music” and the experience that live music should provide to the listener who will always shell out a good buck or 20. And besides the sweet swanky dressing rooms, the sound ONstage isn’t much better than the house sound.
Naked Raygun rule, love them