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Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … Or Astro-Man? Give Chicago Hope At Touch And Go Bash

Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Didjits, Enon, Killdozer, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Negative Approach, New Year, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Shellac, Steve Albini, Supersystem, Ted Leo, Touch and Go on 02/20/2023 by korzeck

… And here’s my review of the Touch and Go Records’ three-day anniversary concert from September 2006.

(Go here to read interviews with Steve Albini, David Yow, Rob Crow and other indie-rock immortals ahead of the legendary event.)

CHICAGO — Touch and Go’s three-day anniversary bash wasn’t just a lesson in the history of the seminal record label. It was a Cliff’s Notes-like recap of the last 25 years of indie rock itself.

Underground granddaddies Big Black, Scratch Acid and Killdozer spit forth a lethal dose of abrasive, confrontational brutality, while !!!, Ted Leo and Enon courted the crowd with dance-rock appeal. And therein lied the clear distinction between the challenging approach taken by yesterday’s bands and the sheer accessibility of their successors.

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Looking Back: Steve Albini, David Yow, Rob Crow Chat About Touch and Go’s 25th Anniversary

Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Steve Albini, the Jesus Lizard, Touch and Go, Yeah Yeah Yeahs on 02/20/2023 by korzeck

Now here’s a blast from the past. A blast from the past from the past, actually.

Touch and Go Records 4 eva.

(Go here to read my review of the Touch and Go’s legendary, three-day 25th anniversary bash in Chicago in 2006.)

Before Fall Out Boy, before the Academy Is … — hell, even before the Smashing Pumpkins — there was Touch and Go Records. Like those bands, the trailblazing record label’s reach has extended far beyond its Chicago base of operations, but come September, it’ll be enshrining its 25 years of influence with a massive anniversary gala designed to dazzle indie rock’s shrewdest scholars.

Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … or Astro-man?, Killdozer — while they’re not exactly household names, the underground goons that shattered eardrums and tore punk rock a new one decades ago will be wreaking havoc once again in commemoration of the label that sustained them. Think of it as “A Mighty Wind” for the indie-rock masses.

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