Rock, Pop, Etc Search – Recommended
Die Kreuzen, We Are Hex, Canadian Rifle
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Though long overlooked in music-history books, Milwaukee’s Die Kreuzen were a crucial part of the posthardcore puzzle. Formed in 1981, they released their self-titled debut, which laid out the connections between hardcore and metal, in 1984—by which time labels such as SST, Touch and Go, and Homestead were all releasing records by independent bands that had emerged from punk but bucked its limitations. Die Kreuzen played with a punk ferocity and velocity—bassist Keith Brammer and drummer Erik Tunison formed a precise, heavy rhythm section—and the combination of Brian Egeness’s metallic, serrated guitar and Dan Kubinski’s scorched howl seemed to anticipate the tortured, brutal screech of death metal, which was coming around the bend. Starting with their next album, 1986’s October File, Die Kreuzen began easing up on the tempos and moving into an arty hard-rock sound, with Kubinski mastering a proto-metal cry and Egeness finessing an almost prog-rock tone. The band went on to make a couple more albums (like the others, for Touch and Go), but after Egeness left in ’92, Die Kreuzen’s days were numbered. Last year the group reunited—with former Couch Flambeau guitarist Jay Tiller replacing Egeness, who declined to participate—and they’re bringing their career-spanning show to Chicago for the first time in more than two decades. —Peter Margasak We Are Hex and Canadian Rifle open.
$17
773-489-3160Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Immolation
Tue., May 28, 7 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Yonkers, New York, might not seem like a natural hotbed for death metal, but it’s produced at least one great band. Immolation came together in Yonkers in the late 80s, and right out of the gate guitarist Robert Vigna was writing punishing, demanding music—their first album, 1991’s Dawn of Possession, is often considered one of the foundational documents of technical death metal. Their ninth and latest, Kingdom of Conspiracy (Nuclear Blast), is like a knockout punch or a killing blow, finishing the job started by its two predecessors, Shadow in the Light and Majesty in Decay. Immolation have perfected their balance of brutality and sophistication—though their relentlessness can work against them, given that the album’s intense production sets up every element to constantly compete with all the others. But there’s no weak link—the slightly sidewise riffing sells the dystopian atmosphere at every turn. —Monica Kendrick Cannibal Corpse headlines; Napalm Death and Immolation open.
$25
Mako Sica; Zelienople; Jason Stein, Matt Schneider, and Frank Rosaly
Mon., May 27, 9 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Mako Sica claim on their Bandcamp page that their name means “Bad Lands.” Zelienople is named for the town in Pennsylvania where two band members pulled the plug on an unsuccessful road trip. On their new unnamed split LP for Slow Knife Records both combos turn inward—each contributes a side-length exploration of mostly blue moods—but it’s probably a stretch to connect that to the geographical bad vibes implied by their names. Mako Sica’s “Ancestors” opens with echoing guitars and wordless vocals that remind me of Keiji Haino at his most disconsolate. For a moment they swing to the other end of the spectrum with a jaunty instrumental passage—imagine Television jamming on Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me”—but soon they lapse back into forlorn atmospherics. Zelienople’s “I Think I’ll Join You” starts out eerie, with electronically processed reeds and churchy organ rising from a wash of cymbals, then gets progressively more spacey and remote—it’s as though they were spooked by a sad memory and then got lost in it. The band’s LP from last year, The World Is a House on Fire (Type), distills that lost atmosphere into discrete songs. Memorial Day celebrations tend to drown out sorrow with jingoism, but if you’re looking for music that respects what loss feels like, this record-release concert is where you need to be. —Bill Meyer Mako Sica headlines; Zelienople and a trio of Jason Stein, Matt Schneider, and Frank Rosaly open.
$5 suggested donation
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Yoko & the Oh No's, Ye Ye's, Absolutely Not
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Lee Ranaldo Band, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Mon., May 27, 6:30 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Your Turn (Northern Spy) is the second and best album by Ceramic Dog, the knotty rock trio led by guitarist Marc Ribot. The group’s 2008 debut, Party Intellectuals (Pi), felt a bit slick and chilly, but the new one—with raw, vibrant production by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier—is elbow deep in blood and grit, and Ribot sounds his most inspired and concise, even on extended solos. Supported by bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, he skips among genres and tropes without sounding at all dilettantish: a sort of punk-blues hijack of 60s rock (“Lies My Body Told Me,” about struggling against the procreative impulse), furiously swinging instrumental surf rock (“Your Turn”), quaint rocksteady (“Ain’t Gonna Let Them Turn Us Around”), early jazz (“The Kid Is Back!”), and even a version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” Ribot is at best a serviceable vocalist, and when he crosses over from his usual crankiness into outright bitterness—most egregriously on “Masters of the Internet,” an artless rant about musicians getting screwed by online piracy—it’s hard not to cringe, even though the sentiment is understandable. Luckily, though, he lets his guitar do most of the talking. He’s built a career by flouting expectations and yanking the rug out from under his own music, but in Ceramic Dog he often leaves well enough alone—and even when he does take things sideways, it’s easy to hang on for the ride. —Peter Margasak The Lee Ranaldo Band headlines.
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Tue., May 28, 9:30 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Your Turn (Northern Spy) is the second and best album by Ceramic Dog, the knotty rock trio led by guitarist Marc Ribot. The group’s 2008 debut, Party Intellectuals (Pi), felt a bit slick and chilly, but the new one—with raw, vibrant production by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier—is elbow deep in blood and grit, and Ribot sounds his most inspired and concise, even on extended solos. Supported by bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, he skips among genres and tropes without sounding at all dilettantish: a sort of punk-blues hijack of 60s rock (“Lies My Body Told Me,” about struggling against the procreative impulse), furiously swinging instrumental surf rock (“Your Turn”), quaint rocksteady (“Ain’t Gonna Let Them Turn Us Around”), early jazz (“The Kid Is Back!”), and even a version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” Ribot is at best a serviceable vocalist, and when he crosses over from his usual crankiness into outright bitterness—most egregriously on “Masters of the Internet,” an artless rant about musicians getting screwed by online piracy—it’s hard not to cringe, even though the sentiment is understandable. Luckily, though, he lets his guitar do most of the talking. He’s built a career by flouting expectations and yanking the rug out from under his own music, but in Ceramic Dog he often leaves well enough alone—and even when he does take things sideways, it’s easy to hang on for the ride. —Peter Margasak
Anamanaguchi, Chrome Sparks, Infinity Shred, Sharpless
Sat., May 25, 9 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
The sophomore album from prolific chiptune band Anamanaguchi, Endless Fantasy, is an endurance test. Yes, you could probably parlay that statement into a load of analogies to eight-bit video games, but the more relevant fact is that listening to 22 songs of glitchy synths, galloping rhythms, and what occasionally amounts to Nintendo-based dubstep—the title track has its fair share of “drops”—is like parking in front of an orchestra of strobe lights for nearly 80 minutes. But that’s the idea, of course. A band that develops an instrumental pop sound based on digging into a Game Boy and deforming its insides probably isn’t concerned with mass appeal so much as with developing and mastering its own eccentricities. That’s not to say Endless Fantasy doesn’t have some catchy numbers—my favorites are the too-fun “Meow,” which takes its name from the sound it cartoonishly mimics, and the clubby guest-vocal jam “Prom Night.” Think of them like power-ups to help get you through the album’s seriously schizo levels. —Kevin Warwick Chrome Sparks, Infinity Shred, and Sharpless open.
$12
Gorod, Kamikabe, Vale of Pnath, Inanimate Existence, Wet the Steel, Epitasis
Mon., May 27, 6:30 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
Tigers Jaw, Pianos Become the Teeth, Sainthood Reps
Tue., May 28, 8 p.m.Rock, Pop, Etc
I’ve long assumed that Scranton band Tigers Jaw would be one of the acts to help boost the emo revival from the basements and lofts of the DIY scene into the big time. Their sturdy punk combines the shameless hooks of power pop with lyrics about existential woe and romantic entanglements, pitting washy, soothing keyboards and swooning male-female vocal harmonies against pent-up riffs that sometimes erupt into huge, blissful melodies. The 2009 slow burner “Spirit Desire,” which sounds like a Pinkerton B side with a reggaeton beat, has an especially powerful pull, evoking the nervous energy of love—it’s easily one of my favorite songs from the past five years. So when Tigers Jaw announced that three members quit back in March and the remaining two would be taking one last tour with some “talented friends” before putting the band on hiatus, I was more than a little bummed. Boston labels Topshelf and Run for Cover recently released a final track from the band, “Fake Death” (on a four-way split seven-inch with Code Orange Kids, Self Defense Family, and the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die), and it’s as bittersweet as the thought of what could’ve been. —Leor Galil Pianos Become the Teeth and Sainthood Reps open.
$12
