Friday in Chicago at the newest sweet spot in town, Ronnys Bar, come check out a rare variety of punk known to incorporate thick accents, cold stares, and bizarre arrangements among the electrifying bursts of prime underground noise. The sound Operation S conceives doesn't necessarily overlap in with rest of the Glue Wave currently festering in Strasbourg and Paris, yet still evokes a strong feeling of exotic desperation. With Nicus from Frustration along with Cecilia and Iwan previously of The No Talents, you can expect a furiously explosive set of songs that writhe and convuse with the best of the French Punque sounds, yet remain a sonic personality all their own. Some have said 'more accessible' and 'less weird' than their other wave-making bretheren, but with an exciting LP released on Broken Rekids to coincide with their last US tour, and a brand new 7" on Shit Sandwich you can pick up on this tour, it's easy to see why it all makes sense once you let yourself latch on to their striking collection of great songs. Top Ten are obviously reeling from their lively appearance at last week's Radio Heartbeat Fest, and with this being their first Chicago show, expect Tina Lucchesi's long-running fan base to come out en masse to shake their asses to the gum-snappin' fun times Top Ten delivers with ease. With two great 7" EPs out and with a punk pedigree that boasts the Trashwomen, Bobbyteens, Deadly Weapons, Zodiac Killers, among countless other Bay-area combos, it's a little slice of budget-rock heaven that you shouldn't miss out on. Opening up the show is the ambiguously monikered Shopping, who have been cavorting around the Chicago area for several months, but always tend to lurk in the shadows. Sharing somewhat of a musical kinship with their friends the Mannequin Men, Shopping's unique-sounding slop-take on post punk is a refreshing blast of cleverly executed noise with an enchanting pop angle that shows real promise. Seriously, check them out if you haven't already, and don't miss the wild and wooly sound of Lafayette's wildest musical morons, The Mans to warm up the non-stage at Ronnys like no one else.
