Show Review: Ben Weasel/Jetty Boys/Chinese Telephones/Repellents @ Reggies 8/22/08

Friday night, my buddy Tim and I headed down to Reggie's for a night of Ben Weasel and company covering the entirety of the Screeching Weasel classic, My Brain Hurts.
The first band up was the Repellents, a band that has been around since the mid 90's hailing for south suburban Blue Island. Their style is reminiscent of many of the bands that I saw at the Fireside Bowl "back in the day." Their set was fun and despite not really knowing any of the songs, they held my attention for the duration of their set.
Next up was Milwaukee Wisconsin's Chinese Telephones. I was terribly excited to see these kids, because I'm damn near obsessed with their self titled full length. They played a solid set that did not disappoint, consisting of their beer stained style of pop punk.
Sheboygan Wisconsin's Jetty Boys followed them and I was blown away. I didn't really know what to expect, because I'd never heard them. The only thing I knew of them was that the guitarist, Drew, is in Ben Weasel's band. Live, their music comes across as high energy pop punk, not unlike the Mr T Experience. On record, they sound more like the bastard sons of the Jam and the Ramones than anything else.
The one thing that I could appreciate about the Jetty Boys was that it was very obvious that Drew can play guitar very well and could easily shred over every song, but had just the right amount of restraint. The solos, and there were many, were just over the top enough to where it was still tasteful and fun.
Their rhythm section is solid and entertaining and were able to keep up with their leader's stage antics. They were definitely the pleasant surprise of the evening.
Finally, after three excellent Midwest punk bands warmed up the crowd, Ben Weasel and his armada took the stage. The crowd chanted "Danny Vapid" repeatedly as Dan worked out some technical difficulties with his amp. Once the set got started, they barreled through side A of My Brain Hurts. Ben stopped the set and talked for a little bit, egged on the audience and jumped right into side B.
Once the record was done, the band went on to do a set of Screeching Weasel songs, a pair of Riverdales tracks and a tune off of Ben's most recent solo album, These Ones Are Bitter.
All in all, the night was great fun and we got to sing along to some classic Chicago pop punk. Weasel will be playing again November 14th and 15th at Reggie's with the Challenged and the Girls. For more info, check out the MPShows web site listed below.
Ben Weasel
MP Shows

Record Reviews

Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom - No Idea Records - 2008

Hailing from Minneapolis Minnesota, Off With Their Heads is an on going project that seems to be amateur therapy for Ryan Young, the singer/song writer/guitarist of the band. The turn over of band members is high and the subject matter is dark and often times depressing. This is often the markings of a great band.
People generally relate to and can understand depression and they can connect to heartbreak, as well as those feelings that come from genuinely dark places. The portrait painted by Ryan is that of a depressed, self loathing dirt bag punk. He takes the feelings we all feel and the things we all wish we could do and puts them to words with little to no self consciousness and a blunt delivery that leaves you believing that he has done the things he says he has.
The song writing on this record is definitely Off With Their Heads, but it definitely sounds different enough from their previous releases to continue sounding fresh. The music is rooted in pop-punk, but these aren't Mr T Experience songs. In fact, they're the polar opposite of the MTX.
If you're craving a musical comparison, I'd probably say Rivethead, Dillinger Four, the Arrivals and just a hint of J Church.
Off With Their Heads
No Idea Records






Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound - Side One Dummy - 2008

The Gaslight Anthem was a band I almost missed the boat on. I aligned them with a segment of bands that I just couldn't get into, but a good friend of mine wizened me up pretty quickly.
Before this review goes any further, I should probably point out that I'm a pretty big fan of Bruce Springsteen. I've liked his music since I was a little kid and at any given point in my life, I can honestly say that I related to his songs in some way. Clearly, I'm not the only one in the punk scene to feel this way.
The Gaslight Anthem very clearly like Springsteen, which makes their music so much more refreshing. With so many bands copping riffs from the Ramones, NOFX, Jawbreaker, and Hot Water Music, it was great hearing a punk band finding influence in an artist outside the genre that might make "the kids" feel a bit uncomfortable.
The '59 Sound speaks directly to their home state of New Jersey and sing of honest subject matter than any American teenager can relate to. The delivery is straight forward, but yet poetic and musical. Aside from the obvious Springsteen connection, you can hear a strong Tom Petty influence as well as being able to hold their own next to contemporary punks like the Copyrights and Off With Their Heads. The one thing that is significantly more subtle, but I still hear is a casual flirtation with the melodic pop leanings of late 70's pop punkers, the Stranglers.
If you have the coin to drop on a record, I recommend picking up The '59 Sound.
The Gaslight Anthem
Side One Dummy Records

Burger Post: Kuma's Corner, Chicago

Kuma's Corner
2900 W Belmont Ave

Since this is my first burger post, I should probably start with the queen mother of Chicago burgers. I will say right now that Kuma's in my favorite burger place in Chicago and this was decided after my first visit.
I've since been back twice and Kuma's has proven to be one of the most consistent burgers I've had the privilege to enjoy. My first outing to Kuma's was in March of 2008, the day before Easter. I had heard a lot about this north side eatery and a lot of it sounded like hype and gimmick. "They blast metal and they name all of their burgers after metal bands!" The caveat was that the burgers were actually really good.
Upon walking in on that Saturday afternoon, the room was jam packed. We were told that the wait was going to be an hour and the waitress suggested that we "stalk someone at the bar" and snag a seat. We did this and within twenty minutes, we were seated and ordering beers.
Their beer selection is excellent. All micro-brews and craft beers, with the exception of Pabst Blue Ribbon. They carry Two Brothers and Abita, which are some of my favorite beers, as well as several others. I ordered a Two Brothers Cane and Ebel Red Rye Ale and a Neurosis burger.
The Neurosis consists of Cheddar, Swiss, Sautéed Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Horseradish Mayo. Melissa, my then Fiance (now wife) ordered the Black Sabbath, which is Blackening Spice, Chili, Pepper Jack, Red Onion and our friend Sarah ordered the Clutch, which is Cheddar, Swiss, Jack, Smoked Gouda.
As stated in my previous post, I always order my burgers medium rare and my friends and loyal readers, a medium rare burger I received. This burger did not just melt in my mouth, but it pretty much exploded with juiciness. I was afraid that all of the extra toppings would take away from the flavor of the meat, but it really didn't. The toppings did what toppings are supposed to do: add flair to the burger.
The meat itself was lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked quite literally to perfection. I managed to eat 3/4 of the burger, leaving enough for breakfast Sunday morning.
I decided that I would most definitely be returning to Kuma's and found myself craving their burgers for the next several weeks. I decided that I was going to take a day off one Tuesday in April and headed over to Kuma's for lunch. I was so curious about the Black Sabbath burger that I needed to give that a try.
This time, I ordered an Abita Turbo Dog to go with the burger. On a side note, I have to admit that my in-laws introduced me to the wonderful world of Abita beers. They're enthusiasts and along with allowing me to marry their daughter and my father-in-law giving me a chunk of his vinyl collection, introducing me to Abita beers was one of the nicest things they could have done for me.
I chose to sit at the bar again, despite there being several tables open. I watched the cook prepare burgers and I can now fully appreciate the talents that the kitchen at Kuma's exhibits. He checks the readiness of the burger by touch, instead of by piercing the burger or using a cooking gauge. Also, when preparing the chili for the Black Sabbath, they use cold chili and rehydrate it in a frying pan using Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Cringe all you want, but anyone who knows anything about chili knows that it's always better the second day and everything tastes better with beer.
Again, I ordered the burger medium rare and once again, it was cooked to perfection. This time though, the Black Sabbath did take away a little bit of flavor from the meat, as the chili is bit over powering, but it doesn't matter, because it's delicious. This is hands down my favorite burger at Kuma's.
The beauty of Kuma's is that if you're on a strict no-red meat diet, you can get a chicken breast instead. They also have a veggie patty as well as a portabella mushroom burger, so your veggie and vegan friends can eat there as well and not cry about their dietary needs.
This is a great choice for anyone who likes amazing burgers, enjoys their sandwiches with a twist and most of all likes metal and punk. Be warned though, if you go during dinner hours, you'll have at least an hour to two hour wait. Don't cry about it though, because they're doing their best with a small kitchen and limited seating. My suggestion is, watch the bar for opened seating. It's your best bet. Week day lunch and early afternoon is the best time to go.

First Post, An Introduction

I've had a couple of other blogs here on the world wide internet, but honestly, when it comes down to it, I never really got it right. It was extremely open ended and ranty, or jaded and uninspired.
What I'm attempting to do here is be a bit more focused. What you'll find in this blog is the two most important things in life... punk rock and cheeseburgers. Well, these are the two most important things in my life at least.

disclaimer:
I have a very broad idea of what I consider punk rock. My musical development started in the late 80's and early 90's, which by punk rock standards makes me "old," but in the real world, age is entirely relative.
My top five favorite bands are Naked Raygun, Screeching Weasel, the Ramones, the Smiths and the Cure. Beyond that, the list would probably include Sonic Youth, the Queers, Black Flag, the Replacements (the authors of the song which named this blog), the Jesus and Mary Chain and countless other bands.

The music portion of this blog will consist of the following:
- Show reviews.
- Record reviews (I accept submissions for review and I'll post a PO Box later)
- MP3 downloads of out of print 7"s (most of which from the late 80's and 90's.)

I'm a burger enthusiast. Few things make me happier than a well prepared burger and living in Chicago, there are plenty of delicious burgers to talk about. I'll be writing about my favorites and not-so-favorites.
All burgers will be judged on the following:
- Juiciness
- Taste/quality of meat
- Preparation (accuracy and attention to detail falls into this category)

I like my burgers to be prepared medium rare, with cheese. Anything else, like bacon, onions, mushrooms are only taken in consideration on the first visit if a plain cheeseburger is not an option.
Specialty burgers receive reviews on following visits to burger establishments. Why? Because I honestly like plain ol' cheeseburgers. Obviously, there's exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, I like my burgers to be meat and cheese with lettuce and tomato. Simple and to the point.

OK, so there you have it; a quick summation of my latest entry into the blogosphere.
Hope you enjoy!