06 Jan 12

...some people don't know what to do with us... ~ I Attack

Hey, blogspot readers, welcome the 1st of many weekends of 2012! Tonight, SouthSide's rockin' a Dollar ($1 US) show ...that's it only cost her one whole buck to rock at Wicker Park's hippest (and oldest) music spots around - Double Door. There punkers, rockers and metalheads converged to jam the night away to such performances by I Attack and her friend, Cenobites opening for Eat That Plastic.

Hailing from Little Village/Pilsen areas of Chicago's vibrant Hispanic neighborhoods, this local band packed a lot of venomous heat not into their songs but also in the music too. I Attack kicked off their short set with a rousing, heart-stopping punk sound that had metalheads banging heads. SouthSide's skin crawled (in a good way, blogspot readers) when hearing that raw primal scream being poured over the microphone ...literally melting the poor instrument with his venomous vocal heat even while performing a love song, I Attack style. It wasn't pretty or poetic full of flowering words ...no this band had the audience feeling every ounce of his spiteful lyrics and the hardcore music to match. It was hot and fiery, blogspot readers, with the blood curdling screams and gritty feel of the guitars flowing in her veins. The type of sound perfect for slam dancing/moshing but not tonight - observant Double Door security was watching. I Attack did incite a bit of riot feel during one song in which they urged the audience to "...take city back..." with refernces to Mayor Rahm Emanuel ...a true Occupy Chicago theme amidst the gritty guitars and spiteful screamo on the mic. Despite the shortness of set, this reviewer highly recommends letting your punk side shine with I Attack at their next show. For more information about this band, visit http://www.myspace.com/iattack312.

Even Pinhead and his Hellraiser henchmen have a band named after them, blogspot readers ...and these Cenobites will tear your soul apart - musically. SouthSide's local friend painfully rocked the stage with pleasurable screamo angst vocals mixed with hardcore guitar punk sound. And it wasn't just one vocals screaming that raw primal animalistic voice - it was three which could make the blood curl in a heartbeat. Yes, blogspot readers, SouthSide got chills from the raw vocals off the mic. Add that to the tempo and speed of the "wham bam thank you ma'am" music, Cenobites cranked up the Double Door monitors full blast. Enough sound and music for headbanging action that you could rock out to the flying furious riffs and thundering percussion beat. Check Cenobites' long list of tunes like In The Vault or They Say They Care to Ray's Piss Jugs and more - all featuring plenty of guitar chills and vocal thrills ...heartpounding music to boot packed into this tiny set. Yet Cenobites also do something else that's special. They incorporate a bit of the classic rock sound like in their new song which brought out the eclectic feel and intensity within the band's hardcore sound. As special set closer, Cenobites treated the audience to their homage to the one and only Frank Zappa ...oh what a rockin' way to end after performing Brain Wash and Everybody's Fucked. Don't be afraid, blogspot readers, these Cenobites are quite friendly and this reviewer highly recommends checking them out. Visit them at http://www.myspace.com/thecenobite.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide