Bomb the Burbs Release Show Proves A Success

The 5 band lineup rocked the newest DIY venue, The Liquor Store. 
By Nikki Roberts



On Saturday, March 25th, Bad Timing and Death of Self held a release show for their split EP, Bomb the Burbs, at The Liquor Store, a new DIY venue in Brighton Park. The show's lineup consisted entirely of suburban based bands, which drew quite a diverse crowd. It was encouraging to see such a large margin of age groups come together to support local music.

The show kicked off with Travesura, a 4-piece band from the suburbs of Brookfield and LaGrange Park, who was responsible for drawing much of the younger crowd. Travesura's sound is influenced by a mix of genres, including hardcore, ska, and skate punk bands. For this being the band's second live performance, the group was impressively put together and brought a lot of energy to their set.

Photo Credit: LEAP Photography
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"We had such a great turn out for a five band record release show," said Travesura's bassist Will Geisert. "We had a different group of people at the front of every band singing along to something."

Photo Credit: LEAP Photography
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After Travesura's set, Infinite Knottage took the stage. A folk punk duo, Infinite Knottage excited the crowd with intense vocals, harmonica solos, and rhythmic washboarding. The band closed with their single, "Crazies, Man." The duo's amped up set elicited a much more aggressive reaction than Travesura's smooth energy did, making them to perfect transition to The Electric Excuse Me's. 

"Holy shit, that show was absolutely awesome! There was a lot of people I knew and a lot I didn't know. The venue was pretty gnarly as well and the vibe there was nothing like I'd seen at any other DIY venue," said Zach Waswil, guitarist/vocalist of Infinite Knottage.

The final band to play before the premiere of Bomb the Burbs was The Electric Excuse Me's.  Self described as a "Lake Michigan Doom Surf" band, this 3-piece played a killer set. Unlike the variety of ska, punk, and rock bands that preformed, The Electric Excuse Me's brought their own unique garage-surf sound to The Liquor Store. 

Photo Credit: LEAP Photography
Michael Orellana of The Electric Excuse Me's

"The venue was pretty solid," said vocalist/guitarist Michael Orellana of The Electric Excuse Me's. "We've played at a lot of interesting spots, from a literal corn field to rich kids' basements, but never at a modified liquor store. The crowd was pretty cool, too. It felt like a more structured Jurassic Park kinda crowd. I wish I could have stayed longer."


After The Electric Excuse Me's exited the stage, Death of Self was the first to premiere their share of Bomb the Burbs. After playing a set consisting of songs from The Truth and a few new songs from their upcoming album, Look Elsewhere, the band played their half of the split release. Their contribution to the split includes two new songs, "Allseeing Eye" and "Newsflash," as well as a cover of Bad Timing's "Ugly." My favorite out of the two new original tracks is "Allseeing Eye." The song features a killer guitar solo and its lyrical content addresses Big Brother's constant surveillance. The band's set ended as usual, with guitarist Nick Feltes running out into the crowd. 

Photo Credit: LEAP Photography
Nick Feltes of Death of Self

"The turnout of the show was amazing for just a few kids like us running it. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and loved all the bands that played. It was great meeting a lot of new people and starting to make better connections with the scene. So far, we have received great feedback about our performance and our split with Bad Timing," said Death of Self drummer, Joe Ott. 

Bad Timing played a reversal of Death of Self's set by first playing their half of Bomb the Burbs and proceeding to end the show with crowd favorites from their EP Busy Doin Nuthin. The second half of the split consists of two brand new Bad Timing tracks, "Rant" and "Kill Your T.V." Of these two original songs, my favorite is "Rant," partly because the circle pit during this song was insane. In addition to being a great song to mosh to, "Rant" displays another side to Bad Timing's musical style because it is a bit out of touch with the sound the band established in their first EP. Omitting the danceable ska grooves, this song is angrier and more aggressive than their previous releases, blending ska with hardcore punk. Additionally, the band has always covered serious social and political concerns in their music, but the lyrics of "Rant" take this thematic content to another level. 

Photo Credit: LEAP Photography
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The 3-piece ska group also covered "Apocalypse Now" off of Death of Self's The Truth. I love seeing local artists cover each other's work, both live and in recordings. It's a great indicator of growing unity within the scene, especially within the music scene of the Chicagoland suburbs. 

Bad Timing and Death of Self will be playing on April 29th at The Weenie Hut in Logan Square. You can get more details about the show here. To read an interview with Bad Timing and Death of Self about their recording process, click here.


Listen to Bomb the Burbs below.