Life In A Bungalo

Chicago, IL 3/8/07
by Michael Mcnichols

With a name like “BeneathMe,” you’d expect the band to be composed of the emo freaks dressed in tight, see-through black who work at Hot Topic. Thankfully, at the Double Door last Thursday night, the band proved to be actual hard-working rock musicians.

Lead singer M. Tex Clark writhed about like a snake charmer on crack, easily commanding the audience’s attention. His body language reminded me a lot of Josh Todd from Buckcherry, except Clark didn’t look like he’d gotten his nose broken crawling out of an opium den. He also displayed an impressively wide vocal range, switching between bellowing out lyrics forcefully and a softer, more melodic tone. Read more »

by Michael McNichols
Chicago, IL 2/10/2007

“Shadows fade, but some things last forever. Do not ask who wears the mask!”

I’m only paraphrasing, but that mere sampling of shitty poetry was what Rogue, lead singer of the Cruxshadows, whined between songs at Metro last Saturday night. I’d expect such verbal diarrhea spurting like a geyser out of a teenaged goth girl’s mouth, not a grown man’s.

Rogue (real name Virgil Roger duPont III, yeah, no wonder he uses a pseudonym) had styled his hair into spiky strings that flailed all over his head like a drunk Madonna had gotten her hands on it. He looked like a retarded anime character come to life up on stage in front of me. And this was the man trying to command my and everyone else’s attention in the entire crowd. Read more »

by Michael McNichols
2/4/07 Chicago, IL

“Jesus is a cunt!”

These words greeted me from the back of a teenager’s t-shirt as I stepped into the lobby of the House of Blues on Superbowl Sunday for the Cradle of Filth show. If you’re Jewish, that really means nothing to you, doesn’t it? It’s the thought that counts I suppose.

Gas masks, surgeon masks, chains, leather, fishnets, I saw it all. Oddly enough, Dani Filth (hey, he wants to be called that) and his Cradle of Filth bandmates were the most normal-looking people at the show. After scraping off some of their makeup, they could have walked into McDonald’s and ordered a Big Mac without much complaint.

I expected to see teenagers at the show, but it really threw me to see so many little kids running around, dragging their parents behind them. Like everyone else, the kids had caked their faces in makeup reminiscent of The Crow though they’re probably too young to have ever seen that movie. Some even dragged long trench coats behind them or wore spike-studded dog collars around their necks. Read more »

The Lounge Puppets
Chicago, House of Blues 1/26/07
photos courtesy of The Lounge Puppets

by Michael McNichols

“Fuck you, Pete! Fuck you, Pete!”

The crowd of older rock fans desperately trying to relive their glory days at the downtown Chicago House of Blues repeatedly chanted this at Pete’s joyful insistence. Pete Greco, lead singer for “˜80s hair metal tribute band the Lounge Puppets, bragged readily up on stage about how he’d come here tonight to get loaded. He must have already been looking like that. Read more »