There once was a magical place called The Cabaret Metro. It was dark, smokey, loud, and filled with rock-n-roll degenerates … well, at least the nights that I was there, and I got to see some kick-ass shows there.
Some kind person on youtube has posted majority of one of those shows.
Nirvana from 1989:
THIS LINK will take you to the Youtube Playlist Page so you can watch all 9 songs.
This footage makes me smile
Filed under: Blogroll, memories | Tags: chicago, thrash, windy city hardcore
Damn … Chicago lost a character this week. Troy “Roach” Coates, frontman from The Plague – Lungbrush – Stunt Double Jesus – Rising Up Angry – Ghost of the Underground, passed away due to complications from a rare form of Adrenal Cancer.
I saw The Plague a few times & Lungbrush once, after that I lost track of Roach’s other bands. I was more of a fan of The Plague myself. They along with bands like Life Sentence & Zeotrope were important in the mid-late 80’s in Chicago because they were a bridge between the punks & the metal heads at the time.
Generally, you could be sure to see a fight if a pack of headbangers walked into a punk show & vice-versa. But with the growing Hardcore Scene, there was an acceptance at shows. I’m not saying people held hands screaming Kumbaya or anything, but the fights were over things other than the uniform you wore.
Anyhow – whether it was Cabaret Metro, The Cubby Bear, The Iron Rail or some dive bar Roach always put on a lively engaging performance. If memory serves correct, I think I saw Lungbrush at Circuits on Cicero when they were starting up – Good stuff, just more metal than I was hoping for. The Plague was fast, strong & in your face … and that’s what I dug about ‘em.
The scene is gonna miss you Roach! If you’d like more in-depth info … check out www.rockforroach.com
Pulled out an oldie but a goodie today. The self-titled Debut LP (1987) from Life Sentence! Chi-town hardcore that at times reminds me of a blend of 7 Seconds & D.R.I. with a touch of Suicidal Tendencies on the guitar solos. And when I say solos, I mean brief blasts of seering fuzzed out guitar riffs … no wankery here! This is my favorite of their few releases. This record sounds like it was recorded at a VFW Hall while a herd of drunken teens were running around losing their minds.
There’s nothing subtle about this album, everything sounds hot & urgent. Even the skank-a-rific slower parts of “Race to Die” gets the adrenaline flowin’. “In the Streets” throws a few quick stop-starts at you & then the drums pummel you as if you were falling down a three story flight of stairs. “Punks for Profit” is another standout track, not just for the lyrical sentiment but the music starts out with a fists in the air stand-up & shout vibe and then whirls into a thrashing frenzy and back to the fists in the air and so on … it a brilliant 53 seconds which you should hear.
There are some other good tracks & then a few that are ok … but “In the Streets” “Punks for Profit” and “Race to Die” are three tracks that no midwest punk +/or hardcore comp should go without. Check ‘em out on MySpace … looks like there’s a reformation of the band hittin’ the clubs.
2009 gets off to a crappy start with the discovery of Ron Asheton, dead in his home on Jan. 6th. If you’ve come across this entry from a google search, then you’re already aware of Ron’s importance in the world of rock-n-roll. If you’ve stumbled across this post & are not familiar with Ron Asheton – I’ll keep it brief.
Ron Asheton had a style & tone that challenged the established guitar world in the late 60’s. He created a sound that would bore through you and electrify your senses. It was down dirty & huge … and it probably frightened a fair amount of the general public.
Iggy gets most of the attention when The Stooges are referred to, but without Ron’s monstrous guitar & his brother Scott’s thundering drums, as well as Dave Alexander’s driving bass … The Stooges would have been just another garage band.
Although too young to see them in the late 60’s/70’s, I’ve seen 2 of the shows with Mike Watt on bass … and I’m saddened that I won’t be seeing any more.
Between the Stooges demise & the re-union, Ron was in Destroy All Monsters & Dark Carnival (both w/ Niagara), The New Order (no not the Blue Monday one), New Race (w/ Radio Birdman & MC5 members) and The Empty Set. And in the mid-90’s he was in a wonderfully “B” horror movie called Mosquito (w/ Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen from The Texasa Chainsaw Massacre).
Here’s one of my favorite Stooges clips, from the television broadcast of The Cincinnati Pop Festival in 1970.
Brothers & Sisters … although the path may be dark at times … although you may feel an emptiness in your soul … although you may think you’ve been forgotten … Brothers & Sisters, Fear No Longer! There is a light that will clear your vision, warm your being and embrace you with All that Rock-n-Roll should be!
This light … this energizing light … this almost Blinding Furious Ball of Light is known as The Jim Jones Revue !
Prepare to redeem your rock-n-roll soul!
The Jim Jones Revue recently released their debut self-titled album, and it’s just what I needed! It’s 30 sizzling minutes of rock-n-roll that’ll make ya wanna do flips like Jake in Church. This album was recorded really “hot” but natural … if you have some beat up Lil Richard 45’s layin’ around – you’ll find that The Revue’s debut fits in quite nicely with them.
Speaking of Lil’ Richard, there’s a cover of “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!” on the album and I think Jim Jones was possessed by the spirit of young Lil’ Richard during the recording … Holy Crap it SMOKES!!!
Jim Jones has been a part of some amazing bands (Thee Hypnotics & Black Moses) and The Revue is yet another one. It’s different stylistically but energy-wise it’s much like Thee Hypnotics “Liv’r Than God”.
This is an album full of riffs you’ve probably heard before, with traditional Rock-n-Roll themes, and it’s LOUD … it’s down-n-dirty blues-boogie ass-shakin’ hard-partyin’ rock-n-roll that has one thing in mind … A Damn Good Time! These are well written songs played masterfully by a pack of maniacs! I really hope they make it to America … specifically Chicago.
