Neon Marshmallow Fest 2011 lineup! Dead Ghosts / Tyler Jon Tyler / Colleen Green photos!

First, three photos from that criminally underattended Hallowed Ground with :

Colleen Green :




Tyler Jon Tyler :



Dead Ghosts :



slushy opened. colleen green and her lady friend gave everyone the sunglasses'd doe-eyes, tyler jon tyler, 2/3 in the same shirt, showed you why tyler jon tyler still fucking kill a lot of pathetic attempts at pop music, and dead ghosts, not surprisingly finally got a half-way raucous whoop from the overly tired 20 people in attendance. as someone who, upon entering hallowed ground that night only to all but lay on the couch and finish a bottle of cognac for the strength to stand, it was the kind of evening where relatively chilled vibes ran throughout. that just meant there was more room when you wanted to get decked by some of dead ghosts bass lines. playing permanent the day before, then milwaukee, they sent their noise everywhere.


also, the NEON MARSHMALLOW FESTIVAL 2011 lineup has been announced!!

If you don't know, Acid Marshmwallow....well, get aquainted now. They have full sets from some local and non local greats, with video from the 2010 fest!

Neon Marshmallow Music Festival 2011
June 10th, 11th & 12th at the Empty Bottle in Chicago

featuring full performances by:

Morton Subotnick
Oneohtrix Point Never
Pelt
Bill Orcutt
White Rainbow
Rene Hell
The Rita
Pulse Emitter
Outer Space (John from Emeralds)
Spiral Joy Band (members of Pelt)
James Plotkin
Sword Heaven
Telecult Powers
Sickness
Leslie Keffer
Sick Llama
Dylan Ettinger
Mike Shiflet
Beau Wanzer

...more to come

*ltd. edition NMF pin to anyone that buys a complete pass

purchase pre-sale complete passes:

for more info:

NMF.....get ready!

Watch Dead Ghosts play Permanent Records, go see them at Hallowed Ground TONIGHT!!

Dead Ghosts played Permanent Records on Chicago Avenue, before heading to Milwaukee to play at Frank's Power Plant, only to come back TONIGHT!

Crystal Rock Presents: 3/27 LIVE at the Hallowed Ground

DEAD GHOSTS (Vancouver)
Floridas Dying, Bachelor, Goodbye Boozy, Milk 'N Herpes, Sunburst, BoomChick, CMRTYZ, Psychic Lunch, Southpaw, Yakisakana

TYLER JON TYLER (Slow Fizz, Rococo, Trouble in Mind)

COLLEEN GREEN (LA)
Hardly Art

SLUSHY (Slow Fizz, Trouble in Mind)


1542 N Oakley
8PM EARLY
ALL AGES
$7 Donation

Come out for what's sure to be a great end-cap to your weekend!

Treasure Town Art Show + Mortville GPK

On a lighter note, the last Treasure Town art show, related to No Era / No context seemed, to me, a huge success. Swarms of people, bands, and lovers of the weird attended the already twisted psychedelic vision that is the entity as a whole.

Treasure Town / Mortville already looks like the hideout of Hackers mixed with the hideout of the Turtles. When you had hundreds of pieces of paintings, sculptures, figures / other craziness, it only deepens the beautifully nightmarish scene.

One of the coolest art / music / madness installations i've ever seen.

Everybody I talked to enjoyed themselves, and with good reason...take a look :

NITETROTTER TV :


Photos :









UPDATE : 3/27 ::: PHOTOS :












...more to come.

Eugenics Council, old post deleted...

Original article deleted by "the internet"...

You can find what you're looking for..

This was just to tell the unwary about EUGENICS COUNCIL.

From Industrial.org :

"Anyone can pick up some powertools in the safety of a huge warehouse art space (and you will see some of that here) but it takes a special kinda artistic dementia cum fearlessness to move the body shop into some unwary kids basement rec room. We are talking real fucking commitment here, not just common and pedestrian externally directed hatred and distaste but an equal helping of no fear death wish that will knock the clove cigarettes and poetry books out of the hands of every faux intellectual within several city blocks upon airing. Screeching vocal feedback, resonant oscillators into tight digital delay, caustic scraping metal and the smash crash boom of a self-deconstructing car compactor. Relentless, unforgiving and the absolute butt ugliest of ugly American misanthropy.

The instrumentation these folks use is definitely worth mention. Besides the various drills and grinders which had my labourer roommate clutching his digits against his chest in phantom pain, you get the odd quarter stick of dynamite made into a make shift cannon by being tossed into an open oil drum, tear gas, you know, the usual boring stuff (yeah right). My personal fave however is the mig welder. In case you don't know what that is, a mig welder works by creating a high current electrical short, something you normally desperately avoid happening. They use a similar principle to melt aluminum - think really high current and molten metal hot. Put your wet little dinky into the 220V dryer power outlet for 3 months and you will kinda get the idea. I honestly kept expecting riot cops to come running in, guns ablaze for every one of these gigs, they get that crazy at times.

The first gig on the tape is definitely the standout though. Again, fearless inappropriateness makes its debut in some judgement challenged roommates second floor apartment parlour room. You can smell the nervous anxiety dripping off the walls as the chaos and vitriol starts ramping up and away out of control. Rosemary Malign wanders aimlessly about screeching incoherently about some Whitehouseesque bedtime story while the Eugenics Council gang go all Ranxerox on each other with spark shooting grinders, then the crowd, then each other again until a few well timed explosives blow out the windows and send everyone running away in search of unpolluted oxygen. Getting shit kicked by the band members is the very least of your worries, you are lucky not to end up needing eye surgery and a blood transfusion after one of these gigs. Even SRL is safer since at least you are off in the bleachers and they certainly don't want to lose their corporate sponsorship. It is 100% totally fucking nuts. And about the purest form of the industrial genre you are likely to ever lose your hearing to."
-------------

Interesting take.

They were smack dab in the middle of the bill, I saw it labeled EC.

In the end, peoples shit got blown up. Apparantly an audience member picked up those pipe bombs, and threw them. away? back? He didn't want live explosives near him in a small room?

Musically, It was a pretty great and brutal show all around. Each band was great in their own respective rights. Commited. NOISEY.

Our stance?

Censorship rots. In the name of performance, do whatever your heart desires to yourself and your own things. Hell, if it stupidly comes to that, even gear can be replaced.

However, even GG warned people...to lay that on some unwary twisted kids is a nightmare...

I contacted the band and told them they should warn people, if they don't.

I guess DN himself kept it the simplest, with a link to a youtube video in a comment on the deleted article.

Here's our own.  "A warning" : 


Oddly enough I now want to order tapes.

Brainwashed.

"THE LAST MOPERY SHOW" live documentary gets DVD treatment...OUT NOW!!!

*UPDATE : TRAILER BELOW* 3/21



TRAILER :




The Mopery.

Reading that name, thinking about it...did anyone else get 30 degrees warmer?

The Mopery was a DIY warehouse space that ran for years, not months. It hosted the likes of every band in that poster, and hundreds more.

Ironically, when I had first moved here with my now ex-girlfriend, I stood outside of Pearle Vision while she bought glasses. Vans were outside. Someone came to the grey metal door I hadn't even noticed, with beer. "Ah, you bought me beer!" I said with a smirk. He replied...."No, but what are you doing tonight? I have some bands playing upstairs. We live in tents in a warehouse." I had planned to go to the Empty Bottle for something...don't remember what...but my ex-girlfriend bailed on going out...so I decided to change my plans as well.

I went to the Mopery....alone....

I vividly remember the first time. You entered through a seemingly invisible grey door, on the side of a grocery store! Went up the stairs, through a small hallway, into another heavy metal door with ragged metal for a handle. In the summer, the heat hit you first. I walked in to smiles. Nods. Someone told me to put my beer in the fridge...yeah...that big one over there with the sliding doors. Nobody took it. While this may not be all of your experiences, I'm almost positive a single beer of mine was never taken at the Mopery.

Five bands played in three different spots that night. One by some couches, then in the back corner...in the kitchen...near the industrial sized slop sink...and out in the open. Where the masses shoved and swelled.

I went back over 50 times, half of them alone. It didn't matter. Everyone was nice. Shit got crazy! People gave you booze, threw water on an exhausted crowd, and stories about what was happening. They were respectful. It felt like my own personal Ninja Turtles or Hackers hideout. We all smoked cigarettes and got our eardrums blown out by crazy shit. I met Alex White. Travis and Michael P. So many wonderful folks that to this day have shown nothing but appreciation, dedication, and love for creating a collective music scene.

It was the Mopery's gloriously disgusting charm that made me fall in love with this city's underground scene.

This last show...this was a madman marathon that when explained, would make people laugh.

Lechuguillas
Running
Loose Dudes
Paper Mice
Bad Drugs
Unmanned Ship
Sunsplitter
Ono
Mark Solotroff
Jason Soliday
Battleship
Sunglasses
and Tiger Hatchery

8:30 - Forever

Having a cooler, and being there since 9 p.m....I remember getting a little hazy around 1 a.m., after Paper Mice played. It was basically the half-way point. The air started to get hot. You could see waves. I don't think we were even breathing anything except hot, gaseous fumes at the end of the night. We all drank the kool-aid, and stumbled out from 4-6 a.m., wondering if this really was the end...

Really though, it was the music that won. If you don't care, that's fine, but you can't say it wasn't important. My friend Brian brings up the times we went there on a monthly basis. It left a deep impression. It was a dirty, hot, disgusting mess...but it was ours. Never have I felt so comfortable walking into a dark warehouse with not a single person I knew surrounding me. It sparked something.

Naturally, there were many, many cameras.

I know a lot of you have footage. You should hit me up and we should collect it all.

Victor Spatafora took it upon himself to bring a completely ridiculous 1080p camera into that last show...and the end result is amazing. Footage by 90% of the bands. I think EVERYONE missed filming ONO for some reason.

I gave him a few videos I had, and the end result is 38 minutes of stories from all of you...mayhem...blood...endless amounts of every type of liquid, scream, and noise you can imagine.

so HOW DO I GET THIS, you ask?!?!

If you would like one, e-mail me @ hotmetaldobermans@gmail.com. If you'd like to donate a buck or two for materials, feel free.

There are a few copies of this at Reckless Records, right now, for $6. Permanent on Chicago Ave...call them before you go, they're going in and out.

Victor is asking $5 suggested donation, whatever's in your pockets, hugs, whiskey, whatever. the materials are well-done and rad. Good artwork! I actually bought mine at Reckless just so I could come home and make this post. Best $6 i've ever spent.

We should compile footage. Maybe one day a full 9 hour version can be released. Just kidding. Pretty safe to say I don't think anyone needs to see the intricate details of how this played out.

I can honestly say, I was blown away by how great it ended up. Instant classic!

DVD :





These are some I took of the last night :

SXSW 2011 : Rabble Rabble VL0G #1, Trouble In Mind Showcase streams LIVE Friday....

From Tyler Jon Tyler : "SXSW! We’re not playing, but Rebecca and Jenn (OG Tyler) will be working at the Trouble In Mind Records Showcase at Shangri-La from 12-6pm on Friday! We’ll be streaming the entire showcase LIVE on the internet on TIM'S U-STREAM Becca will be doing some interviews and also probably some drunk dancing on camera."

In other news :

Rabble Rabble "VLOGGED" their first SXSW entrance, and they've got Netherfriends, White Mystery, and Ornery Little Darlings alone with them! From Loud Loop Press :



In breaking news :

GET WHITE MYSTERY ON CONAN IN 2011!!!!!

Don't ask me why we didn't do this before, but, I think it's pretty bleeding obvious we need to get White Mystery on CONAN...in 2011!!!!

JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP!!!!

"Ferocious red-head brother/sister Chicago duo White Mystery are tearing up Chicago stages. Help them get some national exposure and combine their super red haired power with Conan O'Brien before the end of the year. The world will rock, peace and tranquility will be achieved by the combination of Alex's and Francis' curly locks with the casual flip of Conan's Man-do."

TEAM COCO also profiles a fan each week who replies to their status updates, reply to each one with " REDHEADS UNITE! WHITE MYSTERY ON CONAN IN 2011!!!!!"

Let's do this...

Listen to Obits play "Moody, Standard, and Poor" at the Empty Bottle...

Sadly, last night, I missed Hozac's People's Temple and the sloppy fun of Loose Dude's. I was a bit bummed, but bopping around to the always entertaining, fresh Subpop signee's Jaill...it made me happy that I got there at least to catch them.

The mighty OBITS, consisting of Rick Froberg, Greg Simpson, Sohrab Habibion, and Scott Gursky, tore apart the Empty Bottle last night with a ton of scathing cuts from "Moody, Standard, and Poor" , launching into the stratosphere in a mere two weeks.

I regaled them in stories of interviewing and filming Handsome Furs, in which Dan Boeckner told me Obits singlehandedly turned him around on SXSW, and how it was insane he even got to meet Rick Froberg.

Make no mistake, the fellows in Obits are extremely nice. Downstairs in the green room of the Empty Bottle, I asked Sohrab if he was the one that agreed to let me record it. He smiled, stretched his hand out, and excitedly introduced himself...later, Greg Simpson gave me a shirt and a fresh copy of "Moody, Standard, and Poor" for the price of a record. Swell folks.

They began their set with new cuts off their soon-to-be-released sophomore Subpop outing...peppered in some classics like "SUD", "Widow of My Dreams", "Milk Cow Blues", and "One Cross a Piece".

It can take quite a bit to engage with new songs noone has heard, but these new tracks, as you can hear below, have all the bite and hooks of anything Rick Froberg and his band of cohorts has put out. A completely engaging, sweaty, brutal set with a few heart-felt ballads, and slow-jams by Sohrab in the mix. This was their third time gracing the Empty Bottle's stage, and by far the strongest.

Now I just have to fix my record player...


OBITS Start their destruction of Chicago's Empty Bottle with a slew of new songs, "Run", and another cut off "I Blame You"

Enjoy :


Raging on with "Widow of my Dreams" , "One Cross a Piece" , "SUD", "I Can't Lose" , and more new jams off Moody, Standard, and Poor! Out in two weeks on Subpop!


They end their reign of fire on the Empty Bottle in Chicago with ripping new songs "Killer", "Shift Operator", "I Want Results" , and end with a double encore of "Milk Cow Blues" and "Talkin' to the Dog". INSANE!!! Thanks to the OBITS!

...and please watch this space on April 4th for some big news

TONIGHT : Celebration of Mike Destefano - Mayne Stage

Tonight, aside from Obits at the Empty Bottle...there is a special celebration of the life of Mike Destefano, who passed away from a heart attack March 6th.

"Please join me (Christopher Ritter) for a celebration of the life and work of Mike Destefano. We will be screening his last Lakeshore Theater performance, interview footage, my favorite you tube clips and reading selections from his book. Chocolate milk will be served!"

8PM
Mayne Stage
1328 W. Morse Ave.
Chicago, IL

PHOTOS : Human Eye @ Permanent Records / Close Hits + Snacks @ Palmer Attic

WILD day yesterday!

Human Eye played a great set at Permanent Records at five p.m....which left me a little time to recollect myself and head over to "pauly zee's" attic on palmer to let all these crazy bastards do their thing. What a blast. The line-up was :

SNACKS
http://dothesnacks.tumblr.com/

CLOSE HITS
http://closehits.tumblr.com/

STRYCHNINE
www.myspace.com/strychninechicago

CHELSEA BOYS (mpls)
http://www.myspace.com/chelseaboysmusic

SPYDER BAYBIE RAWDOG (mpls)
http://www.myspace.com/spyderandmuck

Marnie Stern tore up Subterranean, made a dude shove a pick up other dudes ass...

"Why did I film this?!"

I still don't know.

The Subterranean is one of my favorite places in Chicago.

Tera Melos opened, and people loved it. They were good. I didn't know who they were! I saw Reinhart up there....cool tour, as he played with Zach Hill at Beat Kitchen the last time they were in town.

So, dudes...what exactly prompted you to get on stage and do such a thing? I guess now you have 500 photos and this video to remind you of how awesome/gross/brilliants/stupid you are. I'm not saying you are one or all of those things, but you know....take your pick of the previous words depending on how you feel.

It was an all ages show, complete with "that guy" up front who wouldn't stop asking me for some of my beer, kept telling me how many drugs he was on, etc. He has never heard of Marnie Stern.

I bet she blew his mind, because the set was great. Some different songs than the last time...stage divers....general debauchery. A strong, wild set at the Subterranean.



Here's a pic from my buddy Lee Klawans :

Video + Photos : Menomena @ "Music. Friendly. Dancing." #1

Portland's MENOMENA headlined the first of many free monthly shows ran by the Empty Bottle entitled "Music. Friendly. Dancing."

As a "thank you" to customers, the Empty Bottle crew are holding these free shows on a free, first-come, first-serve basis.

There was a small line around 6:45, when I quickly got in to discover there was no re-entry.

I left and picked up a box of greatness from my brother, and then headed inside.

Absolutely Not, from Chicago, opened. They were good! There's a short HD test video from the weekend of TNK of some of them in a different band who's name escapes me. Distractions? I go to too many shows. Some wicked fuzz with warped keyboard lines and a hint of Blue Meanies style yelping and mood.

Menomena were great, missing an original member, which cut out a bunch of really, really good songs entirely. I missed those, but the set was tight and energetic. radley love. newer songs were played with a fervor of just wanting to play music.

...so at 8PM on a Monday, they did just that.

No re-entry was the only negative to an otherwise perfect, flawlessly executed night.

An early, short, free set by an Empty Bottle favorite....on the same night you've been going there to see great free shows anyway...

As if we needed another reason to look forward to summer.



Photos :