Filed under: Photos, Uncategorized | Tags: architecture, carousel, house on the rock, spooky, wisconsin
Since I’ve been neglecting my blog, I wanted to compose a giant “year in review” post with clips of all the shows I attended in 2019. It was going to be grand. Unfortunately, WordPress can’t host that many videos in a single post, so I’ll have to save that for another time (or perhaps if I get ambitious I’ll upload each of the 30+ ten second clips to YouTube). Who knows.
So, in place of that, I’ve decided to share some pictures and videos of my totally unsettling visit to the House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Maybe it was the fact that our car’s “check engine” light was on while we were in the middle of nowhere on a stormy day, or maybe it was the smell of dust, decay and just age, but this place just simply chilled me.
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows, videos | Tags: alk3, alkaline trio, chicago, dan andriano, goodbye forever, masked intruder, Matt Skiba, metro, sincere engineer
I started 2019 off right. Went to Metro to see Alkaline Trio on two nights of their four night stand, and was totally reminded what made me fall in love with this band over 15 years ago. Each set was a mix of throw backs as well as new tunes, and the openers, Masked Intruder (on 1/3) and Sincere Engineer (on 1/4) really impressed.
Masked Intruder
Alkaline Trio (on 1/3)
Sincere Engineer
Alkaline Trio (on 1/4)
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows, videos | Tags: brauerhouse, chicago, lombard, masked intruder, masquerade, masquerade ball, Naked Raygun, New Year’s Eve, New Years, nowplaying, nye, punk
I watched Masked Intruder (and Naked Raygun) play a masquerade ball at Brauerhouse in Lombard. Punk rock NYE in the books–here’s to more shows in 2019!
…because saying “yes” to live music is certainly still on the list.
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows, videos | Tags: alkaline trio, chicago, Chicago punk, riot fest, riot fest 2018, spitalfield, the bouncing souls
Once again obeying the NY resolution, I ventured out to Riot Fest this year.
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows, videos | Tags: 100 resolutions, banner pilot, chicago, metro, punk, the lawrence arms
My show attendance has been lacking over the last few years. I guess I’m getting OLD because I’m finding that sometimes I’d rather just hang at home (Dateline tho) vs venture out to the city for a concert (…and do you even KNOW what the parking is like in Wrigleyville?!). Well, that’s not very punk rock of me, so another one of my New Year’s resolutions was to say “yes” to more shows this year. I have an uncharacteristically high amount of posts on the Lawrence Arms, but hell, here’s another one. Saw them on April 12th at Metro with Banner Pilot (god, they were good), and here’s a clip of everyone’s favorite New Year’s Eve tune, “100 Resolutions.”
Filed under: books, etc, Photos | Tags: books, horror, new years resolutions, reading, sci-fi, stephen king
I know it’s a little late to talk about New Year’s resolutions, but I wanted to touch on one goal I was proud to meet in 2017. I strongly believe in the necessity to perpetually educate–to feed one’s mind in a variety of ways, whether inside or outside of a classroom. I primarily do this by reading–horror and sci-fi, mostly. I wanted to read a book a month in 2017, but I ended up reading 18! Below are the books–most interesting was definitely the “Silo Series.” Looking to hit at least 20 this year. 
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows | Tags: bottom lounge, chicago, larry arms, punk rock, the lawrence arms, war on christmas
Managed to catch the Lawrence Arms during night three of their “War on Christmas” shows. That is to say, I returned from my vacation to Cancun that night and went straight to the Bottom Lounge from O’Hare. Punk rock, right?
Filed under: Photos | Tags: horror, naperville, north central college, Owen king, sleeping beauties, stephen king
On September 29th, I was finally able to cross an item off my bucket list: to see Stephen King in person. The obvious rival to this would be to meet him or get an autograph, but hey–he’s a famous author, and you just can’t do that stuff anymore. He and his son, Owen, were doing a book tour in support of their recent release, Sleeping Beauties. It was amazing to be able to hear him discuss his writing process, how he and his son built off one another for this collaborative work and even his candid take on politics…
Below is the only photo I was able to take. A great experience.
Filed under: Photos, Sports, TV | Tags: Blackhawks, chicago blackhawks, comcast sports net, csn, hawks, hockey, nhl
When you finally make it into the background of the sportscasters’ commentary on CSN.
Filed under: Chicago, Photos, Punk, Shows, videos | Tags: chicago, menzingers, metro, punk, red scare, the menzingers
“We argued over which Bad Religion album was better…”
stefanie goliszewski. 