The Hot Half Life Rocks Out... And Keeps It Local!

What's great about Chicago? Well, I could name alot of things because there's hundreds, or more likely than that, there's thousands, but at the very top of my list must be the music. I'm a Detroit girl, born and raised, but I must admit that some of the finest venues and, in turn, my best concert experiences have been in this city. Whether the acts are local or national, Chicago's always hoppin' which actually has become quite a drawback -Theres more shows than I have the time to go to and with bands I hold near and dear constantly touring, I'm missing out on someone almost weekly. So this time, kids, I kept it cheap and local.

Monday the 10th at the Soundlab in Mokena, I caught the Chicago based Dead Town Revival play with my pals, the Ottawa, Illinois bred Fickles Lot.

I'd never heard Dead Town Revival before but they won me over big time with their energized and gritty sound, in the same vein as Rise Against and Against Me!, two bands I've always held quite a soft spot for despite my indie leanings (Once a punk always a punk? Perhaps. Or maybe I just haven't tried hard enough to wash the filth of Agnostic Front from off me.).

Local from Chicago and quite awesome, they were high energy and at least ten times better live than their recording lets on - Which is saying something seeing as they weren't playing for the most enthusiastic crowd, nor is their recording by any means less than stellar. Plus, whenever a band gets on stage and delivers a super solid set in front of a bare bones audience, how can you not give them props? Any band deserves some hand clappin' for that but in the case of Dead Town, it's most certainly deserved because they rocked and then when they were done rocking, ladies and gentlemen, they rolled.

Fickles Lot headlined the show, despite what the lead singer Joe lead the audience to believe by saying there was another band playing afterwards, and even though I do have a slight emotional investment in the band (Seeing as I do know and quite like the fellows), I must say they delivered a pretty great set, albeit a too short one. There wasn't a ballad in sight and with a short set, that's just the way I like it. Keep the rock comin', kids! I've gotta live up to my nickname of Amber 'Rock and Roll' Valentine and to be honest, ballads just don't assist with that.

Previously only seeing Fickles Lot play one acoustic set, their full band set up, all plugged in and rock and roll, was a welcome change, allowing them to actually deliver the full range of charisma and liveliness they display on their EP, which they mostly steered clear of playing tracks from, instead going for relatively newer stuff including the standout Samadhi Please Save Us From Fearing the Last Cat In Hollywood Without A Pen, although a definite solid number was my personal favorite off the CD, Boom Crash Bang Pow, which is a total sing-along pop gem. Definitely the type of song you want to dance to. And we all know how The Hot Half Life feels about dancing! (Sidenote : If you don't know how Amber 'Rock and Roll' Valentine feels about dancing, it's quite well. I feel quite well about dancing.)

Fun rock music played by cute guys? If you want to hear what'll be played on the radio as soon as these guys get signed, check out Fickles Lot and be ahead of the curve. And if you're too cool for pop music, check them out anyhow as a personal favor to your favorite music blogger.

Check out Dead Town Revival on Myspace!

(And if you're Chicago-local, like me, come chill with me at their CD Release party on the 26th! Like usual, just look for the brunette in the black miniskirt who may or may not look like she just rolled out of bed.)
And then listen to these awesome tracks...

Johnny
Hail To The Chief

Check out Fickles Lot on Myspace!

(And if you're near ISU, clear off your schedule for the 20th because they'll be playing another acoustic set as part of Hot Topic's Local Static program. So like usual, come chill with me - This time at the ol' workstead! - and look for the tiny brunette in the black miniskirt.)
And listen to these awesome tracks...

The Sky Is Falling
Boom Crash Bang Pow

I've made it!

Well kids, I've finally made it in the blogging world.

What happened to my latest post about bar music? About how I'd prefer to listen to The Hold Steady and the Ting Tings whilst drinking Jager Bombs as opposed to remixes of Katy Perry and Fifty Cent? About how frequenting Detroit's finest concert venues in my younger and more vulnerable years has ruined me for the local bar scene because nothing will ever be as cool as seeing Karen O. pour beer all over herself whilst clad in a neon leotard?

Well, blogger ate it!

I should be upset. You see, I was enjoying flying under the radar, getting away with posting illegal tracks for your enjoyment, but you know what's kind of cool? Being noteworthy enough to get a post on my little ol' blog deleted.

I'm not the only one. Google's been cracking down and it's sad. It's sad and it sucks and it's really, really ruining alot of good blogs. I know that this medium will prevail - There are too many of us to just roll over and stop posting because of fear of copyright infringment. I don't know about other bloggers, but I love what I do. I love music and I love writing about it, sharing it with others, spreading what I like to refer to as 'the good word'.

I don't care how many of my posts Google deletes. I will post a new one every day. I will keep up my album reviews, my song postings, my lyrics and melodies, my cinemascope and my various ramblings.

New concert review Monday? Oh, I do think so, children. I do think so.