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Rise Against / Mad Caddies / The Real McKenzies

live in Chicago (2003)
Tours

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Greg
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on March 21st 2003

Wow, on a sunday night, I was finally ready for the big fat wreck tour. I had very high expectations, considering that Rise Against's "The Unraveling" had been in my cd player for about 4 months. It was a very cold night in Chicago, and my friends and I arrived just in time for it to start.

First up were the Flipsides. This is a female fronted band on Pink and Black, I guess like all their other bands, and I think they only have one cd out thus far. Basically it's very predictable punk music. Just guitars, bass and drums, no real personal style. Though they didn't get much of a crowd reaction, there was a small group of kids who seemed really into their set. I thought it to be just "okay". Though I will say after the show, when I listened to the free Fat Wreck sampler, their stuff wasn't half bad.

Not expecting much out of Honest Don's contribution, next up were the Real McKenzies. As they set up, they looked terribly aged. I suppose it's from all the whiskey and beer they sing about. They started with a bang, and sang about the Lochness Monster. You got to hand it to the Irish/Scottish bands, they all have a ton of energy (Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Tossers). This band was just great. The lead singer had a real preference, and their style was similar to the Dropkick Murphys. In fact, a few rowdy guys in the back sang "Barroom Hero" for no apparent reason. The lead singer spit a lot on the stage, and he talked a lot about how he loved to drink. Halfway through the performance, he called the people on the balcony bastards, and mooned the crowd. Yes, they were quite amusing. The bagpiper, who looked like a horse, often stomped his feet and drank beers. When he threw a bottle cap into the crowd, I caught it. He drank a lot, and threw a lot of them out, so i'm sure a lot of people got bottletops. Another memeber of the band, gave a beer to a guy in the crowd. The guy he gave it to couldn't have been older than 18, but nobody seemed to mind. The only scary thing that happened during their set was that their singer hunched over, and started to pound his chest. I thought maybe he was having a heart attack, and he left the stage, only to return several minutes later. Great live band. You have to see these guys.

Oh yeah, the Mad Caddies. These guys, I was expecting a lot from. This was to be the only show where they weren't headlining, because Chicago is Rise Against's hometown. These guys have an intersting ska sound. They sort of have a latin-American ska style. First off, their lead signer is 180 degrees from what I thought he'd look like. He didn't really intereact with the crowd much. I was shoved up against the barrier in the front, but i'm sure a lot of slam dancing was going on in the back. They played a lot of good songs like: "Monkeys", "Leavin", "No Hope". Though their set soon got old fast, the lead singer had the stupidest dance too. He did a very pathetic John Travolta type dance. Also, the lead singer needs to stop drinking, he has a horrible gut. Horrible. They could have played with more energy, and at the end of the day, their first songs were good, but my opinion of them would have been much higher had they only played like 5 songs.

Rise Against, before they started, Tim said his voice was a little weak, because he was sick from their show in Canada. But oh, they got off with a bang. It all started with "Alive and Well". The crowd was full of very muscular, guys, most of which smelled. I got kicked in the head by way to many crowd surfers. I'm sure a lot of the bruises are from me getting rowdy from Rise Against's fast energetic, self-confident music. They really have a good message, about being yourself, and just not caring about other's opinions. I kept wondering what Tim's shirt meant during the show. It said "One Day Savior", and later I laughed at my own ignorance. It is actually The Killing Tree's label. At the time, I thought Tim was trying to make some type of statement about his religious views - which would have been cool with me, I mean that stuff is important to a lot of people, myself included.

But anyway, their set was amazing, and of course they ended with "Six Ways Til Sunday." Then, they came back to an encore to play one more new song. Their new stuff sounds amazing. D/l "Heaven Knows", or buy the new Atticus cd, to hear it. It really might be their best stuff yet.

The show was worth it, but I think Fat, could have had a better lineup - I mean, they did just sign Against Me! and None More Black, and a lot of people are interested in them. Not to mention other notable great bands like - Dillinger Four, Lawrence Arms, Propagandhi, Anti-Flag and Avail. Well, thats my two cents. Now you can all tell me where I was wrong (like I care, haha). Go to the show if you can with friends, it won't be amazing, but you'll have a good time with people you care about.

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Anonymous (January 22, 2005)

Mad Caddies>you

Anonymous (March 26, 2004)

You guys arent open to different styles of music. The Mad Caddies change it up a bit, theres not a ska band that sounds like them. Are there any ska bands that sound like reel big fish? I think so.

Saying the caddies suck means you are an idiot

Anonymous (May 14, 2003)

the mckenzies rock, canada is the worlds asshole THERE I SAID IT NOW SHUT UP ABOOT IT,real mckenzies oot and aboot ,may 20 and DROPKICK MURPHYS,BLACKOUT JUNE 10TH

Anonymous (April 5, 2003)

I saw all of these grps live as well.
The Real McKenzies rocked the house as did Rise Against!

Anyhow I think the same of the mad caddies. I saw them 4 years back, I thought they sucked ass before they even played, lets face it SKA does suck... but when they played live and I loved them...

that was 4 years ago...

BUT since this new album I honestly dislike them, wow soft ska music on a punk label...yippie hippie.

Maybe you Mad Caddie fan boys can go to MTV.com and chill there, I hear thier recruiting sellouts...err I mean punks, now with The Ataris, Good Charlote and Sum 41 in a nice heavy rotation for yous.

10 for RA

Anonymous (March 27, 2003)

i scrolled down to your review of the caddies performance, cuz i love them. you said some shit like 'stop drinking' and 'big gut' ....you are a sack of fucking shit, where i'm from, drinking and big guts are cool as fuck you pussy ass bitch, fuck you, go listen to rainer maria more you little emo skinny fuck with one of those baby cupie doll haircuts and black hair dye, fuck you fuck you, ska rules getting fucked up rules and you my friend....do not rule.
cawknocker
ps. fuck off. 10 score for the caddies.

Anonymous (March 26, 2003)

proof that all of you are little asswipe fruits who have nothing better to do than trade inane insults on a message board: see comments below

Anonymous (March 26, 2003)

proof canada produces gay men: pretty much the whole cast of KIDS IN THE HALL, BRYAN ADAMS, and that arab lookin kid in SUM 41...top that shit kiddies

Anonymous (March 26, 2003)

Fuck canada

The_Killings (March 25, 2003)

Proof that america produces shitty music: Count the Stars, American New Found Glory, 90 % of what they play on the radio these days.

Proof that Canada Produces shitty music: Somehow Hollow, Avril Lavine, The other 10% of what they play on the radio these days.

Proof that The UK produces shittier music that all other countries combined: Snowdogs.

It works with every country if you try. You can also prove that most countries produce good music, because theres some good bands from every country.

It's a stupid argument. One of those "Makes everyone look dumber for being involved in something so childish" fights.

Everyone should shut the fuck up & go outside.

1000_good_intentions (March 25, 2003)

Proof that Canada produces good music: Stompin' Tom Connors.

I have been waiting and will continue to wait for a punk band to do a cover of "The Consumer."

evildeadalive (March 25, 2003)

Proof that America produces shitty bands - Good Charlotte. You lose. Top that one, and no Simple Plan won't do.

Anonymous (March 24, 2003)

more proof: sum 41, Alanis Moiresette, propagandhi and hell simple plan can be mentioned twice they suck that bad

Anonymous (March 24, 2003)

Proof that Canada produces shitty bands: Simple Plan.

Anonymous (March 24, 2003)

Some of you people bitch way too much. And 99% of it is based on your opinion, not facts.

FortyMinutesWest (March 23, 2003)

Propagandhi, Choke, Kataklysm, One Shot Left, SNFU...Canada has great music.

Anonymous (March 23, 2003)

the new rise against album is fucking awesome. i cant wait for the fireside shows next month.

Anonymous (March 23, 2003)

no i do not stand corrected.. canada has produced shitty, shitty bands... and yes i even think propagandhi are on the slide as well... i am ashamed i own SNFU Cd's.

Anonymous (March 23, 2003)

Their is Latin-American Ska, however, it sounds nothing like the Caddies. I'd say they're more of a Pirate Carnival on fire somewhere in the Bayou.

sickboi (March 22, 2003)

This tour is bad. I missed the McKenzies, but the Mad Caddies are fucking horrible now. Everytime they play they are so wasted and have no energy. This is the 4th time I've seen them, and this time I fucking left half way through their set. Stay for Rise Against, but thats it.

at_the_drive_in_21 (March 22, 2003)

Maybe they're playing celtic influenced music because they like the style? Just a thought...

And to the guy who said Canada has been producing shit bands besides Jersey (and Avril, but I know sarcasm when I see it), you're sadly mistaken. What about Marilyn's Vitamins? Moneen? Closet Monster? Dayglo Abortions? Propagandhi? Flashlight? SNFU? Just to name a few. I lost a whole lot of respect for Jersey when I saw them last. They're fucking sponsored by West 49 for god's sake. They stopped their show for 15 minutes so their sponsor could do a dance competition for free West 49 t-shirts. There's a "mighty" band for you. Just fucking play!

Anonymous (March 22, 2003)

Mad Caddies have a "Latin-American ska style"? Since when? I hear dixieland jazz, ska, punk and reggae, but what the fuck does latin-american ska sound like?

Mikeshitter (March 22, 2003)

Thanks for missing my original point completely, but to answer your question, of course he's fucking asian.

And to address the point you thought I was making, I actually think the Celtic music scene is being completely undermined by these gimmicky 'Irish/Scottish' American bands. There's plenty of American musicians with Irish and Scottish heritage who don't feel the need to shove the fact down our throats every five minutes, Dave Smalley being the best example.

My original point, incidentally: aforementioned bands North American, reviewer wrong. Seems kind of trivial now.

evildeadalive (March 21, 2003)

Are you gonna tell me that Mike Park is not asian now Mikeshitter?
Just because they were born in different countries does not mean they completely forget their heritage. Some people are raised to remember where they came from. Just because you were not, does not mean there is anything wrong with it.

Mikeshitter (March 21, 2003)

OK, apologies, didn't know the lead singer from FM was Irish, but does having one member in a (seven? eight piece? who cares?) band make you Irish? And I always knew the RM were Canadian.

So, based on some people's argument, because the Clash played ska music, you can argue that they are Jamaican?