Fall out boy fireside bowl11/21/2023 ![]() Bigger shows included NOFX, Screeching Weasel, and Face to Face. We also drove to punk shows all over the city and suburbs of Chicago – from VFW Halls to church basements, to punk houses.Īt the Fireside, I saw local Chicago punks like Apocalypse Hoboken, Oblivion, The Bollweevils, and No Empathy. We practically lived at the Fireside and rarely drank or did drugs. We were definitely overwhelmingly the minority as there were probably only five or so of us in a school of 1,400. We hung out at the Fireside every weekend. My punk rock friends, several from different schools, teamed up and served as a bedrock for my social life. In the 90s, you couldn’t actually bowl there. Punks sported colorful mohawks, and silver-studded motorcycle jackets. It was a smoke-filled room with a beer-soaked carpet. ![]() You couldn’t actually bowl there and the ceiling felt like it was going to cave in. It was a rundown bowling alley in a rough neighborhood with a small stage in the corner. The Fireside Bowl was the CBGB of Chicago. After that Rancid show, I was handed flyers for upcoming gigs at what would become Chicago’s legendary Fireside Bowl. I also had the opportunity to see The Ramones on their final tour before leader Joey Ramone died.īut it was the punk underground that truly saved my teenage life. It was their reunion Filthy Lucre tour in 1996. ![]() I met my best friend from high school at a Sex Pistols show. In the UK, a burgeoning scene grew with bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols, both of whom injected political lyrics into their fast and loud jams. The Ramones - who had a decidedly saccharine take on the punk formula - were CBGB’s poster boys. But some say it started at CBGB, a hole-in-the-wall that opened up shop in 1973 and became a rundown relic of gritty old New York when it shuttered its doors due to unaffordable rent in 2006. It’s unclear which was exactly the very first punk band. And if you are a musician, they say all you need to play punk is three chords and a bad attitude. It is also about pointing out hypocrisy in politics and standing up against politicians who wield too much power and influence, and are racist, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic.Įveryone is welcome under the umbrella of punk rock. Punk values celebrate that which is abnormal, which was a lot like me. It’s about sticking up for the little guy, empowering the youth, lifting up the poor, and welcoming the ostracized. It’s about grassroots activism and power to the people. Punk isn’t just a style of music, it’s a dynamic idea. Part of my collection of ’90s punk and ska 7-inch vinyl records. Then I let it all hang out.Īnd while I no longer have rubber-duckie yellow bleached hair, skateboarding sneakers, or a hoodie emblazoned with band logos, it’s a movement that lives inside me. I didn’t belong to a social clique like everyone else. I was the quiet kid who had barely any friends. Freshman and sophomore years in particular I did not fit in. And I was experiencing bouts of depression inside the halls and walls of my Catholic high school. I now realize that I was in fact different from the others. As someone who struggles with bipolar and communicates with many others like me, I know it’s a common reflection when looking back in time. ![]() I’ve always felt like a bit of an outcast. They say “once a punk, always a punk” and it’s true. It all started for me with punk and as a recovering bipolar addict, I owe this music a salute on my punk rock 25th anniversary. Show flyers from the Chicago punk scene in the late ’90s.įor me and many others with bipolar and/or addiction, music is an essential and extremely helpful refuge.
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