I Breathe the Underground

The Lawrence Arms Working on New 7" Series?

The Bouncing Souls and the Lawrence Arms have quite a few similarities. I'm not just talking about a stubborn adherence shared by fans to use the article "the" when stating their band names. There's something deeper, some sort of poppy instinct within the body of each band's work that shines through in a sonic onslaught on listener's ears.

You can't really hear the similarities between the two bands quite as clearly on their recordings, but I had an alcohol induced revelation at this past weekend's Riot Fest. TLA and TBS are perfect bed...err, stage-fellows...?

The House of Blues is really an extraordinary venue, but a surprising place for a punk show of this calibur. Simply put, the HOB is pretty well kept and clean in terms of Chicago venues, and the audience that attends Riot Fest is generally...not. So it wasn't exactly a surprise to see the pop-sensible punk rock fans had a dominating "one-up" status on the old school punkers.

When TBS took the stage, I was pretty excited for their set, as I'd seen them at Warped a few years before and absolutely loved them. Still, although I'm decently knowledgeable when it comes to TBS' repetoire of songs, I found myself fidgeting throughout the hour-plus set. I got mad love and respect for TBS, but one word I would not use to describe them is "versatile."

So what did I learn? There might be a few other bands I've only seen play at Warped Tour that I should avoid going to see in a regular concert setting.

When you get fidgety at a show, you turn to the bottle for support, which made at least half of the crowd a little jazzed for the Lawrence Arms by the time it was their turn to rock the HOB.

And then it was their turn.

As usual, Brendan Kelly kept the crowd laughing with his drunken antics, Neil Hennessy was a blur of hands and fingernails, and Chris McCaughan brought the ladies to their knees with his sexy pot-voice. They played songs from every album and even surprised the crowd with "Quicentuple Your Money," a fan favorite that doesn't get dragged off the shelf too often. The energy level was amazing and the crowd was slightly out of control.

Take it from a guy who has been to a lot of shows: the Lawrence Arms have some of the best fans in Chicago.

Oh, you were dragged in by the headline and you're waiting for the point, huh?

When my attention started waning during the Bouncing Souls set, I ran into Hennessy and chatted things music. Kelly's wife just had a baby, which has pushed plans for a new album off into the unforeseen future. So, from what I gathered, it appears talks with Fat Mike have developed the possibility of a 7" series, in the tradition of other Fat bands. Hennessy mentioned that, since the band members have been busy with other things, Fat Mike suggested that they record songs as they write them. Then, he'll release a few here and there as 7"s.

Hennessy didn't mention that there was anything specific in the works as of yet, but that it was an idea being bounced around. Let's hope something gets moving shortly, huh? I feel like I'm starved of new Lawrence Arms material.

"I never tried that / I never tried that / I never tried that / but I know I don't like it."
- Brendan Kelly, "The Devil's Takin' Names"

Large Water-Dwelling Mammals Playing Trombones?

A post over at AP.net today got my mind whirring. A slot machine of bands I used to listen to in high school spun mercilessly until it stopped on three Hippos. I hit the jackpot.

Does anyone even remember the Hippos? They were an upbeat ska-punk band that were bought by Interscope -- shortly before the pop-ska movement began losing steam, Reel Big Fish began losing their short-lived airplay, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones began losing their ties to a major label. The Hippos just barely missed the transition into synth-fueled power-pop a la Ozma (or, later, Motion City Soundtrack, HelloGoodbye, etc.) that would have put them ahead of their time. Instead, they went the way of the buffalo and earned a prominent spot on my underground music "Where Are They Now?" list -- although I think a lot of those mid-to-late 90s poppy ska-punk made that list.

I thought of these guys because an ex-girlfriend of mine used to make these spectacular perfume-doused mixtapes for me that often featured a Hippos song or two. There's an element of nostalgia that plays into the love I've got for these guys, but the band sells itself as a legendary key to the door of post-OpIvy ska. If you're interested in giving these guys a listen, your best bet is to check out 1996's Forget the World, a true ska-punk classic if ever there was one. (Released jointly by then-young labels Vagrant and Fueled by Ramen, the Hippos were an important part of establishing each label in the scene.) Complete with RBF-esque harmonizing vocals, strategically placed punk beats, and upbeat horn sections, the extinct Hippos are fun, catchy dance music.

Again, Universal is killing me with this no embedding shit, so go here to check out the band's video for "Wasting My Life." To hear some more stuff, check out the band's LastFM page.

Should my next post be dedicated to the Impossibles? I've got a feeling today's ska kick is going to fade faster than the fad itself did.

"I'm not a large water-dwelling mammal / Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis? / Did Steve tell you that, perchance?"
- Hiphopopotamus, "I'm the Motherflippin"

Re-Education (Through Quality, Forward-Thinking Punk Rock)

Ladies and gentleman, Chicago natives Rise Against have finally avenged the creation and subsequent release of 2004's near-miss Siren Song of the Counter Culture with this week's drop: Appeal to Reason.

It's kind of hard to put my thumb on exactly what gives this album perfect timing. It's not a direct response to SSOTCC like 2006's The Sufferer and the Witness, which was spectacular in it's own right and instrumental in positioning RA as the new reigning punk rock champions. But it's not exactly a step deeper into the existing boundaries of mainstream pop-sensible music. It's more of a statement that defines new boundaries for the norm of the music scene; it's an album so confident and brimming with emotion that even the most outspoken punk rock skeptics can't ignore.

The one thing that's clear: this bands revolves around Tim McIlrath's overpowering vocals and ideologies. Don't get me wrong; Joe Principe's bass guitar has been a significant factor in the success of this band. There's a lot to be said for the rest of the band, too (even though the other spots have been revolving doors over the band's nine-year career). But McIlrath is the life-force.

Reviews of ATR have generously likened RA to a more generation-conscious Bad Religion, which I find to be a satisfying comparison. I just have a few comments on this; for one, the lyrics are socially-charged and active (a Bad Religion recipe for success), in high contrast to the blatant finger-pointing of 90s political punkers like NoFX and Anti-Flag. The vocals are a major driving factor for both bands, and the songs are chock-full of poppy hooks and anthematic choruses. But the real diverting factor between these two bands: Bad Religion's music is formulaic, static, and has withstood the test of time, while Rise Against continues to prod into unknown territory, thrusting themselves forward through the preconceptions that surround punk rock.

This band is not afraid to push the limits. Five full-lengths through, I doubt they've even reached their halfway point.

So why the comparison to SSOTCC? Well, for one, ATR just feels like the production quality is eliminating some of the rawness of previous recordings. SSOTCC was afraid to go there, and you could hear it. Somehow, TSATW was catalyst enough to show RA what needed to be done before they could make their unique punk style work for them in the studio without directly selling the rawness and energy of the live show. Rather, they're selling quality, precision, and evolution in this recording and saving the live show for the real fans.

They had to go and do a radio-friendly single -- "Re-Education (Through Labor)" -- just to piss me off. The video (which was apparently filmed in the basement of the Chicago-favorite Congress Theater) captures the band's determination perfectly. I wanted to post it above, but apparently Universal Group doesn't like getting their shit pimped, as they've disabled embedding. Check it out here instead.

"Spin out of control / Spin out of control / Try to recover, but collide with each other / We spin out of control."
- Tim McIlrath, "Kotov Syndrome"