ISSUE #73 / August 22, 2019

Thunderpussy / all📷 : JCB

Strap in, readers. I’m on a time crunch and I don’t know where this will go. Reggie’s Rock Club is a venue that until Friday, I’d never had the pleasure of experiencing. I’d been to the normal bar for some Busch Light tallboys and BLTs, and I’ve actually done a photoshoot in their stairwell, but for an old metal guy – it’s surprising that I’d never ventured into the side room for a show. The setup is pretty nice, with a gradually slanting floor for optimal viewing positions everywhere, a decently sized stage to give the band ample space to shred, and a pretty solid sound system. If I were reviewing the venue alone, I’d say it’s worth the trip for bands you don’t even know. As it happens, I was there on Friday night for two bands I didn’t know, and two bands I love to watch.

First up was Los Black Dogs, a Mexican rock band from Chicago that is about to release their first album. Unsurprising given the rest of the lineup, the band is heavily influenced by blues rock of old, with these guys pulling from Sabbath and Zeppelin, with vocalist Juanito Valdez doing a pretty good Plant impression all over the stage. Psych and crunchy rock permeate the band’s sound, with a nice mixture of Spanish and English to add substance to the Latin undertones. No release on their first album, but it’ll be worth a listen when it’s ready. Keep it tuned here for updates.

The second opener, Mystery Actions, consistently puts on a live show that I never forget. Not that I needed to, but I told guitarist Lucy Dekay while paying my tab in Reggie’s proper that I knew it would be a hell of a show. Surprise, I was right. Singer Nikki Beller is still front and center, blasting your eardrums out with fishnet ferocity, Mary Rose beats the living hell out of her drums every time I see them, and new-ish bassist Dom D'Amico is a welcome addition to the crew with thunderous lows. I typically get lost in the show every time I see them, and this time was no different. I could try to piece together it for you, but instead – just dig out your trusty leather jacket and go rock the fuck out. I also realized during their set that I had access to backstage, and could watch from the sidelines. So, yeah. Not humble brag. Mystery Actions is fierce and they’re playing Reggie’s again on Sept 12 and Liar’s Club on Nov 9. Get your life together and go see one of Chicago’s best punk bands.

About this time, I was getting keyed up for the main event. Whitney and Molly were wandering around the venue, and I was debating tracking down the girls from Mystery Actions to fanboy out. I also wanted a fresh beer and was fighting the urge to pop out for a smoke. Needless to say, my mind wasn’t on a band I had never heard of before. But, for you, dear readers, I stuck around and did my job. And I’m glad I did. Hollis Brown, out of Queens, has a true modern classic on their hands with their latest album Ozone Park, which I have been repeat listening since the wee hours of Sat morn. Guitarist Jonathan Bonilla is a classic rock riffmaster straight out of Tom Petty-ville and has one of the best solo faces since the Haim sisters. And even when singer Mike Montali is screaming into a megaphone, he’s got a unique voice that’s made for retro-rock with a bit of country thrown in. It was about this time that in addition to stageside access, I became aware of the private viewing area above the stage, so I could get an even better look at Bonilla’s O-Face. There’s a lot of fuzzy rock in Hollis Brown’s sound, and a proper Black Keys fan like me can 100% get on board with them. Thunderpussy seemed to love them too, watching and cheering from the crowd during their last show of the tour, so that should be good enough for all of you.

And with that, I left Reggie’s and had an ok evening. No, sorry – not accurate. I gave into that smoke quickly and then ran back to the rail to watch one of my two favorite live bands of this decade shred my face off. I’m not completely wild about recapping specific scenes from a show, but when Whitney came out with a fucking bow – I was done. If not for Page, definitely for Jonsi – I love bowed guitar. It’s ethereal and evil at the same time. The bow completely transforms the electric guitar into a new instrument. And when you’re standing solo on stage, covered in harsh shadows from the strategically placed spotlights, dragging out harmonics with aggressive pushing and pulling of a traditionally classic instrument accessory – you’re a rock god. You’ve made it. Whitney put in a god mode cheat on Friday night. Twice. I saw it right in front of me and then later from above. Where was I? Oh, right. The ladies of Thunderpussy still live up to the hype. Theirs is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and it only gets better. Molly is up there with the greats for fronting bands with a killer voice, but she tops almost every singer in terms of flexibility and sheer tenacity. She’s determined to wrench every ounce of bad vibes out of the crowd, while bringing down the sound system with vivacious pipes. Leah is the unsung hero of the crew. She’s the backbone, corralling the bombastic personalities of the former two into a cohesive mix. Highlights for me were the cover of “Sweet Emotion”, “Speed Queen”, and watching the other photographers absolutely shred the 3 song rule into pieces. I would have been jealous, but I was to the side of the stage rocking my face clean off. 

And then I went to my favorite bar and did a shot of high quality bourbon out of an inflatable sheep’s ass. Which is a thing.

-JCB