Schubas is quite probably my favorite venue in the city. The bar up front serves a solid variety of beers, their mixed drinks are great, and the crowd is always a friendly one. The greatest feat of the venue however, is how great they can make the box of a room in the back sound for the shows. Just the other night, Schubas hosted a highly anticipated bill consisting of Cel Ray, Cruel, and Stuck. Cel Ray put on yet another awe filled performance to a packed house. I stood towards the back of the room since there was no way for me to get any closer! They sounded incredible and brought the energy to get the crowd moving and warmed up for the bands following.
Cruel took the stage next and commanded the crowd fully. Their aggressive yet melodic style asks the question, “do you want to dance, or do you want to mosh?”. High energy guitar riffs pair nicely with Michael Schrieber absolutely shredding their voice, such a good voice to really set the group apart from others. The rhythm section brings these songs together, while bassist Jen Ashley holds down much of the rhythm, drummer Brent Favata draws comparisons to Animal the Muppet as he tears apart the kit.
Shortly after their killer performance, Stuck finished off the warmed up crowd with incredible musicianship. While not as heavy as the prior bands, their dancy guitar melodies paired extremely well with simple drum beats and basslines that absolutely fill up the room. Vocals sounded incredible over the top of all of this, and really had me baffled that the band was only four members. It sounded as though there were at the very least three guitars on stage, and I think the almost dueling guitars and their funky key signatures are to blame for this.
As far as that kind of almost sour yet fun post-punk sound goes, these guys nailed it. Super interesting yet simple rhythms with a throbbing bassline set the stage for the best kind of weird sounding guitars. Greg Obis has the perfect voice for this band as well, keeping the energy up while not sounding too shrill or forced; just a solid, belting, wide open sound to complete this amazing band. If you have yet to see any of these groups, stop reading and buy a ticket to their next show. All three bands are spectacular reminders that rock is not dead, but alive and well in Chicago, Illinois.