Look out Chicago, legendary Detroit rock'n roll legends The Gories are coming to town to jump all over you baby and stain your dress! After remaining dormant throughout the later portion of the 1990s and 2000s, this Crypt Records standard bearer has regrouped and formed into a version of itself even more powerful than when it originated. This weekend at Double Door in Chicago, HoZac Records will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with one long, LONG (as in Daylight Savings Time kicks in at 2AM, extending the night til 4AM instead of 3AM) night of rock'n roll revelry, and who better to headline this crazy night than one of their most-adored bands of the 1990s who sadly never really stepped foot in Chicago until recent years. So revered in fact, that Mick Collins' band The Dirtbombs, were the headliner of choice back in 1998 when the very first-ever Blackout was planned (and subsequently canceled). But The Gories were always this elusive band that you just never got to see, and along with the Devil Dogs (who I've still never seen), still remain one of the greatest bands to ever grace Crypt Records catalog, and that's really saying something.
The video clip we have for you today is a ripper, taped for a live TV show "Garageland" in Ann Arbor, MI in 1989, and it's a prime slice of the untouchable primitivism this band based their sound upon. Unconventional reality side, The Gories were breaking a mold upon their mere existence, that being a rock'n roll band comprised of mixed race members and, gasp, a woman on drums! What seems like such a normal thing now in the great melting pot of underground music, wasn't always the case. The Gories were real pioneers in the underworld in more ways than one, they became legends quite quickly and their releases all became instant classics, as it should be.
Yes people in Chicago who are of the show-going persuasion are very, very spoiled with the amount of quality live bands that pass through here each week, but this one is really one not to miss. The last show was on New Year's Eve and since most smart folks tend to avoid Amateur Night, this Saturday's showcase is just about perfect. The Gories headline a stacked bill with the likes of other Midwest legend Mike Rep (Columbus, OH DIY legend) as well as Heavy Times, The Sueves, The Yolks, Julian Leal Band, COZY, The Jeanies, 1-800-BAND and Beastii, so it's a clear shot to your mental sanity to make sure you connect yourself with this wavelength of purity, posterity, and punishment. No one can save you now, except The Gories, and you've only got one day left to fulfill your destiny, don't screw it up.
