Screeching Weasel reunited Sunday night, October 11, at The Congress to play the sort of show that reminds you what it was like to be a happy 16-year-old punk rock loving kid. Beer cans were thrown to the stage, fists pumped in the air and kids in Chuck Taylors slammed into each other in the pit. Ben Weasel proved he hasn’t lost a step over the years as he opened up with the fast paced “Cindy’s On Methadone.” The band has broken up many times since their formation in 1986, but as Weasel said near the end of the set “this band never breaks up for very long.” Guitarist (and recent newlywed) Danny Vapid’s guitar playing was sharp during classics “It’s All in My Head” and “Teenage Freakshow.” They also covered the soft rock staple “I Can See Clearly Now” and the old country tune “You Are My Sunshine.” Weasel didn’t insult the crowd by taking any sort of break for an encore and kept the between song chit chat to a minimal, and instead packing in song after song. The Weasel crowd was absolutely massive, and it was rumored that the venue was at capacity. “Cool Club,” and “The Edge of the World,” helped close out a really solid set from a classic punk rock band. Chicago natives Alkaline Trio played a really tight and solid set featuring many classics and premiering two new songs Sunday night. Front man Matt Skiba announced at the beginning of the set that they finished their new album on Sunday. The set opened with the “We’ve Had Enough” off of 2003’s “Good Mourning,” and quickly transitioned into “Fatally Yours.” The new songs “Dine Dine my Darling” and “This Addiction” flow well between older songs like “Private Eye” and “In Vein.” Considering the vastness of Alk3’s catalog it isn’t surprising that some fan favorites like “Radio.” For the first time in a while, Skiba seemed to have remembered more of the lyrics at Sunday’s show than most of the crowd. Alk3 closed with “Blue In the Face,” bringing a hard close to Riot Fest at The Congress. The band’s past performances have set the bar pretty low as far as expectations of them go, but they exceeded them this time around.
Print
E-mail
Comments
Screeching Weasel was totally neat, totally sweet, totally knocked me off my feet.
Post new comment