Last Thursday I decided to go see some friends of mine perform for the first time at the Tini Martini Ultra Lounge on the northwest side of Chicago. I was told there would be a couple of sets by some local punk bands before they would go on, so I showed up early to get accustomed to the scene.
After all was said and done, the only phrase I could use to describe the show was: Rock N' F***ing Roll!
UGLYBoNES is a punk rock band from the Vernon Hills area of the Chicago suburbs. I had heard their music online, but never in person.
To give you a glimpse of how the night went, here's a rundown of what happened once I arrived:
- I met up with the drummer, Eric, and the guitarist, Fil, who tell me that their bass player, Viaj, is passed out in the backseat of his car, wasted.
- Viaj eventually joined up with us, still drunk, claiming that he may need to throw up, but is ready to play.
- Their lead singer, Lev, came out wearing knee high socks and a mini skirt.
At this point I thought, What the hell is going on here? These guys are nuts!
Their music exploded out of the speakers with so much ferocity and energy that I thought they were going to get kicked out for being too reckless. After looking around the room, though, the only thing I saw were faces of curiosity.
And that's not even the best part. While I was reviewing some photos I took, I noticed something fly off the stage and out onto the venue floor. It was Eric's freaking snare drum. After popping through both sides, he decided it was fucked and wanted nothing to do with it, so he moved his floor tom over and kept on playing. Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded as the dodged the moving object.
And yet, it grabbed everyone's attention even more.
As Eric continued to play without a snare drum, Viaj was finally starting to sober up, and Lev nearly threw up on stage from drinking a beer that was not originally his.
And throughout it all, they were still enjoying the time they were having. It was the most real hard/punk rock show I have been to in years.
Over the past decade, the idea of the Rock N' Roll lifestyle and persona has dramatically softened, especially among high profile bands. Bands like the Kings of Leon and Maroon 5 put out solid music, but they live more like hipsters or divas than rock stars. The members of UGLYBoNES would say, "F*** that s***!" and throw you a middle finger.
It is that kind of image that is incredibly fun to watch on stage because you never know what's coming next.
To me, that is the personification of Rock N' Roll.
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