Smashed Plastic vol. 1
October 1, 2022
📷 : Tina Mead / ✏️ : Aaron Pylinski
Saturday was something special. The weather was warm and clear like only a fall Chicago afternoon can really be. The perfect atmosphere to check out live music and Smashed Plastic was on the radar.
Smashed Plastic makes vinyl for local record labels and musicians to help put out Chicago music for the masses. Furthering their work to showcase the beauty of our fair city’s music scene, they’ve given us Live Vol. 1, a one-day festival focused on local labels and artists. The fest was at 4200 West Diversey and gave off a swap-meet mixed with Chicago street fest vibe.
They are the kind of vibes that are a real pleasure cruise for the senses. Right as you walk in, there was a hint of food-stuffs, important for making it through the long lineup of music acts and DJs. You could also catch whiffs of ganj emanating from the cannabis vendor tents and the coach bus, offering a spot to chill and just an overall sense of industry meets art sprinkled throughout the venue. Bright flashes of colorful light were prevalent as fans were led to the loading dock where the live music was staged. And that’s why we were really there, the sounds.
ONO went on first, blasting a hole in the afternoon hustle and bustle with an intentional wave of sound. The entirety of the room was echoing hard surfaces; three brick walls, cement floor and an open raftered ceiling. As the sound traveled throughout, it ricocheted off the walls blasting the body in an all-encompassing blanket of noise. It was the perfect place for ONO to showcase their heart pumping industrial jazz fused with deep bass, defying all things traditional.
They weren’t the only artists taking advantage of the sound cave scene at Smashed Plastic. There is no genuine way to describe Fire-Toolz in such a short account. It is a perfectly blended concoction of Vaporwave, industrial metal, and bass and drum. Fire-Toolz is a creative project from Angel Marcloid. The set on Saturday was a white knuckle, multi-sensory experience that was a real treat to the senses.
Between the slick 80s-esque metal riffs, undulating lyrical dynamics, and killer projected visuals, it was a choose your own adventure style set. So much awesome, so little time.
On this boomerang ride of music and talent, our journey next landed on Bev Rage and the Drinks. They brought in their signature surf punk style at exactly the right time and lovingly dedicated the set to Baby Jessica.
Bev and crew punched through their set but still managed some jokes and to promote their new album, Exes & Hexes.
They came out hitting the riffs with a sudden and intense vigor; and bubbles, let’s not forget the bubbles. Was it a good set? Oh my fucking gawd! Yes!
The stage was tense with friendly anticipation as Tar took the stage. Not surprising since they hadn’t played together in five years. They have a certain element of savage poetry in their music, which is delivered in a soundscape of guitars akin to chainsaws ripping through felled trees. It harkened back to the post punk days of Rollins and Hüsker Dü. It all pulled together like a scrap yard rock sound and set the rest of the evening up nicely.
Rookie followed Tar and delivered their always amazing classic rock. Once the riffs started, the crowd was transported to another place and time.
As with most bands playing this venue, the room made mincemeat of the vocals, but amplified the hell out of the guitars and bass. At the end of the set, it was what it was, a bitchin' block of rock n roll.
Setting up the closer was Chicago alt hip-hopper Serengeti. In a sentence, Serengeti is as Chicago as it gets musically. His delivery was somewhere between grimy and bashful, playing to the crowd and getting everyone fired up with the hit “Dennehy.” And though he ducked off stage ten minutes early, the crowd got a great glimpse into the catalog of music Serengeti brings to the table. And in a super classy move, he took his empty water bottles with him when he left the stage.
The evening ended as hardcore as it started. Though there was a technical delay, Pixel Grip’s set was totally worth the wait. Every beat and lyric hit ridiculously hard and made great use of the environment. The lights, hard pounding bass, and tripadelic cartoon pyramids on the projections were all perfectly powerful and engaging. As vocalist Rita Lukea screamed to the heavens, it felt like the room would explode. It was a great way to end the evening.
This was the first of hopefully many more volumes from Smashed Plastic. It felt like a personalized trip through time and space with a wide array of vendors, food, weed, and live music. Though the brick walls did eat some of the vocals during the live sets, the sound altogether was dynamite! The lineup was complimentary and wonderful and the Chicago collective of talent showcased throughout the event was beautiful in every sense of the word. Looking forward to Vol. 2.