Busted at Oz Review

Last night at the Double Door in Chicago, Riot Fest 2010 commenced with a zombie line up of '80s Punk Rock legends to raise much needed funds for the Chicago Coalition For The Homeless. Since the announcement of the line up back in August, a few bands dropped off due to communication breakdowns amongst band members. The reunion of Strike Under and Da was a bust and The Effigies couldn't get their collective poops in a group so they were struck from the bill. No matter. Keeping in tradition of the Great Oz shows of the early 80s, the lights came on and the bands just played, for free, as if there was nothing better to do on a Wednesday night.

If you printed out one of the schedules from the Riot Fest website and planed to show at the published set times your were SOL as the line up changed on the fly the whole night. Rottenfinko and the Convicts where supposed to kick off the show but instead we had a bass and drum set from the likes of Steve Economou, drummer of The Effigies, on bass and Steve Bjorkland of Strike Under on drum machine and vox. It was as close to a Big Black set as we are ever likely to see and a fantastic start to a weird and wild night.

Next up, The program called for an outfit out of Chicago by way of The Bronx NY called Rottenfinko. I recognized the aged mohawk wearing singer Willie from Les Voyeurs but the other guys were half our age. It was a classic spit in your face hardcore set that lacked any real verve I am sorry to say. For a brief moment yesterday afternoon I contemplated shaving my pompadour into a mohawk for shits and grins but after seeing another forty something sporting that tired look, I am glad I applied an extra layer of Super Extra Hold Aqua-net on my thinning skull and stayed true to form. He might have been able to pull it off were it not for the safety pins in his ears. But if you wanted a picture with a rotten-nose-picking-punk he was all too glad to strike a Sid Vicious smile for you.

Five more bands still scheduled to go on and it’s already 9:30pm. I caught a glimpse of Riot Mike in the wings and he was as cool as his Adidas track suit. The show was well out of his hands by now. Camilo Gonzalez's short lived Toothpaste took the stage for a 20 minute set that he most certainly didn't rehearse enough for. I love this guy but I was disappointed and uncomfortable as he read the lyrics from pieces of paper he could hardly see in the dim red lights. We all bit the insides of our cheeks every time the band shook their heads when they couldn't remember the bridge. I wish I had my reading glasses tucked away in my skinny jeans, 'cus Camilo sure could have used them. The band was made up of a few members of Silver Abuse so it was confusing as to exactly who they were. If there was a low point in their night, this was it but Camilo would soon return to the stage and prove to us once and for all that he is still the best bassist in the punk rock business.

Silver Abuse! What can you say other than, Holy Shit! These guys were great and still have it after all these years. Billy Meehan is, hands down, the most punk rock looking SOB that ever dared to pick up a mike. The best way to describe his look is take Riff Raff from Rocky Horror Picture show, add a double chin that is as big as his head and dress him like Jerry Garcia going to jail and you have Poor Ol' Billy. A real horror show! With that said, Billy and Camilo, along with Liz Cox and a few others, hit the set smoking and didn't let up until all of their 40 year old gems were loose in the streets. They had long broken up by 1983 when I was old enough to see shows but I had their 7" from working at Wax Trax and loved on it like a kitten for years.

Billed as Steve Bjorklund with Articles of Faith I could only hope they meant Vic Bondi was in the house and sure enough he was. If you have any doubt that AOF is not one the greatest Hardcore bands that ever played, you only need to feel Bondi's buzz saw in your teeth to know this is true. They were rehearsed, tight and loud as fuck! The floor swirled into a viper pit as soon as they started playing and didn't let up until the 30 minute set was too hot to touch. Spot on renditions of Buried Alive, False Security, Bad Attitude and I've got Mine are all I can remember thus far. I am stoked to see AOF on Friday at Metro with the legendary Jello Biafra.

Subverts, an original band from the famous Busted at Oz LP reformed recently and were almost as good as their legendary performance. You could hear the classic Chicago Punk sound but the band seemed a bit shaky and the set was too short. Nonetheless, history was being recreated and I am grateful for that as punk shows seem to get harder and harder to enjoy these days.

Naked Raygun (Almost Original Line Up)? A few days prior to the show, Riot Mike announced that original drummer Jim Colao had broken his arm (collarbone) in a bike accident so Eric Spicer (current drummer)agreed to fill in. Jim later came out during the set and tearfully showed us his broken wing. I felt bad for the guy as I am sure he was really looking forward to playing one last time with his old friends. The set was true to the early period of NR but not exclusively Santiago Durango compositions. They snuck a few Haggerty gems in there as well. From Basement Screams we got; I Lie, Bomb Shelter and Tojo. From Throb Throb, their second album, they cranked out Rat Patrol, Surf Combat, Metastasis, On, No Sex and Managua. I think they might have also played New Dreams but it's hazy. NR is by far one of my favorite bands because regardless of what Jeff Pezzati's health issues are or what the line up is, they always put on a great show with sing along songs I will not forget the lyrics to. It has always surprised me how cultish their fan base is and wonder why they didn't blow up after years and years of tirelessly touring and putting out solid albums one after another. If there is a God, He must be drunk!