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Review Wed Nov 19 2014
Modern Baseball, Knuckle Puck, and Foxing Take Over the Bottom Lounge Nov. 15
Phrases like "emo revival" have become buzzwords often used to describe this current generation of bands who grew up listening to Taking Back Sunday, used Hawthorne Heights lyrics as away messages on AOL Instant Messenger away as proto-subtweets, and were thoroughly obsessed with almost anything that Equal Vision Records released. I really don't think that's accurate, though.
The mainstream may have lost its infatuation with the genre in the mid to late 2000's, roughly around when Sonny Moore transformed himself from the screamo savant of From First to Last to the EDM messiah Skrillex and when Fall Out Boy found themselves taking a quick break before going on a self imposed quest to "Save Rock and Roll," but the genre lived on as new brands emerged and older bands took on mentorship roles. This past Saturday at Bottom Lounge, I was able to see several of these emerging bands.
Foxing
Foxing, who are named after the browning spots which appear on vintage archived paper documents as they age, sound weathered and full of longing. This was at its most apparent as they ended their set with "Rory" from their recent album. "I swear I'm a good man," lead singer Conor Murphy croons completed defeated about a doomed relationship as simple piano chords and soft forbidding drums swirl around him. Suddenly, he screams out in frustration, "So why don't you love me back?"as the sound of guitars fill the air. It was a powerful moment and I'm anxious to see what they come up with next.
Knuckle Puck
I discovered Knuckle Puck in Alternative Press magazine earlier this year when Alt Press posted a stream of their single "Gold Rush" from the split 7" they released while on tour with Neck Deep. I really dug it and noticed that they were local, from the southside of Chicago; so I made a mental note to try to catch them whenever they were back in town. A couple months later, I was able to do so at Bottom Lounge.
Knuckle Puck sound like aimlessly driving around with the windows down, listening to the best of Drive-Thru Records at inappropriately high levels of volume. Performed live, songs like "Bedford Falls" and "Everything Must Go" sound tremendous; clearly inspired by New Found Glory while sounding like they picked up where bands such as The Starting Line left off.
Modern Baseball
Modern Baseball headlined the night and they revisited most of what I saw a few months ago at Riot Fest, playing most of their newest album You're Going to Miss it All while acting charismatically sardonic. "What do you call someone who calls you out on DIY ethics you don't embody as he drains his dad and mommy's monthly data plan? An asshole with an iPhone." they mused to the crowd. As they played the Blink-182 inspired "Your Graduation," I smiled to myself and thought the future of the genre looks bright.