📷 : Tina Mead / ✏️ : Aaron Pylinski

Many a-traveler came from far and wide to see the rare occurrence of a Dune Rats show in Chicago. Cobra Lounge was the setting for high energy, mosh pit inducing, crowd surfing worthy music. The show was put on by Riot Fest which booked some great local flavor. The evening included Telethon, our five-piece brethren from Milwaukee and Chicago’s Devon Kay & the Solutions, who were opening, and that’s where the real fun started.

Devon Kay & the Solutions (playing their first show of the year) opened the evening and immediately took the room by storm. They opened with “Oh Glorious Nothing” and the crowd went from beer-sipping relaxed to hands-in-the-air-hell-yeah excited. But that’s what you get when you see them live. They blow hair back with fast tempo ska punk that takes the likes of The Aquabats! and spins its fucking head around at a million miles an hour.

Fans who were expecting a three piece pub-punk vibe, were pleasantly surprised with the deluge of dynamite tunage complete with a deep horn section. Having that depth was well received by the crowd. As Kay swung around his ax and the horns bellowed away, Joram Zbichorski was pogoing behind the keys and adding vocals while Jake Levinson worked the bass with precision, and Ryan Scottie blasted away on the drums like he had extra appendages. They all had the fans skanking and bouncing along with every song. It seemed like in the blink of an eye, the next band was on stage and ready.

The last time we covered Telethon was just before the pandemic hit. They headlined at the GMan Tavern; awesomely enough with Devon Kay & the Solutions. How nice to have these bands come back full circle for us. And what Devon and crew gave us to start, Telethon took it and ran with it. They lit the fire by opening with “Modern Abrasive” and the crowd got the full feel of Telethon. Kevin Tully is lead vocals and plays guitar, his voice piercing the din of the room while Alex Meylink and Nate Johnson slammed away on bass and keys, respectively. Drummer Erik Atwell was tight like his kit and Jack Sibilski swayed and slayed on his guitar. Sibilski traveled the stage and played to the crowd with magician-like prowess.

They played through the depth of their discography, jamming hitters like “Self Starter A.E.” and “Manilla” serving up the entirety of Telethon from drums to keys. The crowd couldn’t enjoy it more. Just like with the opening band, there wasn’t any shortage of smiles up front and dancing and moshing all around the room. Closing with “Shit (Jansport)” left everyone in the room with smiles on their faces and hands in the air. As Telethon left the stage, a tidal wave of Dune Rats shirts made their way to the front for the headliner.

Dune Rats are from Brisbane, Australia and sling pub-punk in the form of a three-piece band. It’s few and far between to get them here in Chicago, and people traveled from Ohio, Indiana and beyond just to get a chance to see this rare occasion. I knew mischief was afoot when drummer BC Michaels was bringing arm loads of PBRs and an empty recycle bin to the stage. They opened with “LTD” and got the crowd frothier than a double whole milk cappuccino.

That was the pace for the entire set. Stage invasions, dives, and crowd surfing was a normal occurrence for the remainder of the evening as they plowed through song after song, stopping only for more beer and Michaels surfing the entire crowd on the aforementioned recycle bin. Impressively, they carried him all the way to the bar at the back of the room and returned him to the stage as he carried an armload of beers. He even drank one along the way.

“Up” was a banger and got a shit load of audience participation. They closed with “Bullshit” sending the place into a fury. There’s nothing better than working up a serious sweat on a Saturday night in Chicago. Whether it’s local ska, Wisconsin punk adjacent power pop, or Aussies throwing down pub-punk, you’re never disappointed in this city.

As always, Chicago, tell us your stories. If you’re interested in contributing words, photos, or videos, let us know. We want the people to tell Chicago’s music story. Keep surfing, y’all! 

-Aaron Pylinski