| With the recent deaths of venues such as DePaul University’s Mcgaw Hall and The Waiting Room in East Roger’s Park, the void left in the Chicago Hardcore community won’t be filled right away, there are however, still some places to turn to if you want to see an All Ages Show in Chicago. Whether you want to catch local or touring bands, mainstay venues such as The Knights of Columbus Hall in Arlington Heights or up and coming venues such as The Humility Gallery in Pilsen are an increasingly viable option for a good show. Such venues are often cheaper than going to larger The House of Blues or The Metro, and often cheaper than going out to a bar as well. The cover usually ranging from 5 to 8 dollars, and one can almost always find a better time at a local all ages DIY show, along with better bands, people and atmosphere than bigger shows. One of the more obvious advantages to these types of shows is that you don’t have to deal with Ticketmaster on any level whatsoever, and that is always a good thing.
The Humility Gallery is located right off the 18th street exit of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Pilsen. It’s a small art gallery with show space in the basement. The first show that has taken place in this venue happened recently on 12/30, From the Chest, Left Hand Path, and Dead City played amongst a couple others played, and it was a fun show with lots of people coming out and packing the basement, I remember it being particularly crowded for Left Hand Path who played last. On the first floor there are a lot of interesting paintings hanging up; those are the first things you notice as you walk in the door. The basement has a small corridor and then a fairly sizeable room that fits just enough people for a good show. Though the space is still in it’s infancy, one can hope good things will come of this space. We in Chicago can never have too many places like this one. Food options include a gas station down the street towards the Dan Ryan Expressway, and in the opposite direction lies a hotdog stand called "Ken-tones", I cannot however, vouch for the quality of this joint, but when you become depleted after a show, you can look to the left and see the Ken-Tones sign suspended in the air like a beacon of light (I always opted for Flash Taco instead).
The Knights of Columbus Hall in Arlington Heights has been having shows for years now. And is one of if not the best All-Ages venue in the Chicagoland area right now. So many good bands have played Knights and the annual Arlington Heist Festival is something to look forward to all year. Shane Merrill from Scene Chicago has been in charge of booking shows there so if your band wants to play here he would be the guy to contact. The venue is All Ages but there is a bar for people of age in the back so you can have a beer between bands. The bartenders are cool and the drinks are reasonable priced. Recent shows here have included Terror and the Dave Tayag Memorial/Benefit Show, both were extremely well attended and the benefit show managed to raise the tremendous sum of over six thousand dollars! The venue is located right next to the downtown area of Arlington Heights. The proximity to cheap food isn’t exactly ideal, but there is a convenience store within a short walking distance as well as a grocery store that’s about a 10 minute walk away.
Albion House is one of the few existing houses in Chicago that have shows on any kind of a consistent basis. The atmosphere is great here because of the fact that shows have a house party vibe here albeit a toned down respectful one. Unfortunately at a recent Social Circkle/No Slogan/Chronic Seizure show on 1/5, two records were reportedly stolen from one of the 3 music distros in the house at the time. This shitty incident is causing the owner of the house to reconsider having shows there entirely, and it sucks how the actions of one asshole have the potential to ruin things for everyone else. At Albion House, bands play in the basement, but one of the cool things is that you can find awesome records for reasonable prices at one of the numerous distros around at shows here. The bands which play here are usually of the hardcore punk variety but not necessarily always as poppier bands such as Canadian Rifle have played here as well. This place has a laid back atmosphere and the people who attend shows here tend to come back for future ones because it’s such a nice place and everybody has a good time. The proximity to food and beverage is pretty good, with a couple diner type restaurants in the area along with a liquor store and various smaller ethnic restaurants.
Pulaski Park District Field House on Blackhawk off of Ashland hasn’t been used in a while, but should pick up during the hotter summer months. A few years ago, the Auditorium was used for Chicago Fest, which was a success with people and bands from all over the country showing up and having a good time (despite the awful smell at times which could be described as patchouli mixed with rotten veggie burrito) Last Summer and Fall, some good touring bands played the upstairs of the building such as Justice, Think I Care, Bracewar and others. The sound at this venue can be questionable at times, but it’s nothing that detracts from a show too much. The Pulaski Park District Staff have always been courteous and understanding as far as can be told and honestly any venue is a good venue. I heard they are going to start booking in different albeit smaller rooms, so the sound problems that plague the usual upstairs room could potentially be diffused.
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To conclude this article, I’d like to reiterate my statement that any venue is a good venue and that all of the places above should be commended for supplying a place for kids to have fun and do something constructive with their time instead of running around causing trouble. It would be nice if more people recognized that music has the potential to be such a really positive thing, something that transcends a lot of other boundaries that have been set into place in the past. By the way, I’m not leaving out the 21+ bar venues either, I just wanted to write about All-Ages venues because they are the bread and butter of punk rock music in Chicago. Look for a write up of all the rest soon enough…..
Contacts:
Justin at Underground Communications Records:
Humility Gallery in Pilsen: 564 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL (312) 243-7451
Arlington Heights Knights of Columbus: 15 N. Hickory Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Pulaski Park: 1419 W. Blackhawk Chicago, IL 312-742-7559
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