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Rise Against / Mad Caddies / The Real McKenzies

live in Chicago
2003
live show

Review by: Greg
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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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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 22, 2005 at 9:57 PM (EST)
My Score:

Mad Caddies>you

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 26, 2004 at 6:10 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 7:02 PM (EDT)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 5, 2003 at 10:28 AM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 2:49 AM (EST)
My Score:

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.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 3:50 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 12:04 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 12:02 PM (EST)
My Score:

Fuck canada

Posted by The_Killings on 2003-03-25 17:14:15
My Score:

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.

Posted by 1000_good_intentions on 2003-03-25 15:46:00
My Score:

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."

Posted by evildeadalive on 2003-03-25 00:03:47
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 24, 2003 at 8:30 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 24, 2003 at 7:41 PM (EST)
My Score:

Proof that Canada produces shitty bands: Simple Plan.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 24, 2003 at 2:30 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-03-23 22:29:07
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 4:49 PM (EST)
My Score:

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

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 2:55 PM (EST)
My Score:

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.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 2:49 PM (EST)
My Score:

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.

Posted by sickboi on 2003-03-22 16:28:39
My Score:

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.

Posted by at_the_drive_in_21 on 2003-03-22 15:13:18
My Score:

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!

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 3:12 PM (EST)
My Score:

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?

Posted by Mikeshitter on 2003-03-22 07:22:28
My Score:

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.

Posted by evildeadalive on 2003-03-21 22:54:39
My Score:

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.

Posted by Mikeshitter on 2003-03-21 19:21:23
My Score:

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?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 4:21 PM (EST)
My Score:

Wow, I knew I should've written a review of this show, cause now you guys are stuck with this one. That sucks.

-El Vaquero

P.S. What is Rise Against rising against? I dunno, what is Minor Threat a threat to?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 4:08 PM (EST)
My Score:

Am I the only one that noticed in Greg's rebuttal he said "lunachicks" not "the flipsides." I think the first guy's response is legendary and no other replies shall matter.. Scott, what's with the Real Mckenzies from Scotland nonsense? Give Canada some loving, we need it in the punk world.. what a bunch of shit we have produced, except the mighty JERSEY and ultimate AVRIL (who i am sure greg thinks is cool.) im out.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:20 PM (EST)
My Score:

I've heard that None More Black is going to play with Rise Against at the two Chicago shows in April.

Now won't that be kickass!

Posted by inagreendase on 2003-03-21 15:19:11
My Score:

lol yeah the singer of the mckenzies (at the farmingdale show) goes "we got some nice lassies here tonite" or some shit like that, and then he looks right at some cute little 7th or 8th grader in a plaid skirt that even my 17-year-old mind felt guilty for glancing at.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:11 PM (EST)
My Score:

Flogging Molly is from California, but Dave King(lead singer) was born in Ireland and lived there for quite sometime. So he could in fact make Irish babies and kickass Irish music

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:05 PM (EST)
My Score:

Mad Caddies sucked plain and simple there were even kids in the crowd chanting Reel Big Fish songs.

Rise Against was good BUT will be alot better next month at the Fireside when they play 2 nights in a row.

Tim and Todd need to get there asses off the Rise Against tour and let Killing Tree tour more often because indeed they blow RA out of the water.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 2:54 PM (EST)
My Score:

Dave King (lead singer of Flogging Molly) was born and raised in Ireland.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 2:25 PM (EST)
My Score:

I don't know how to get this so that it says "Greg", but I did write this review. Let me say this about Rise Against,

They have a very good message, about being self-relient, and not being held down by other people's opinions.

Maybe you think their overrated, and thats fine, but don't hate them, ust because so many people like them.

Rise Against, is awesome, in my opinion.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 2:16 PM (EST)
My Score:

I can't hold this back anymore. I think I'm the only person in the world who thinks that Rise Against is not only overrated, but they straight up suck. What are they rising against anyways? Seriously, I don't mean that in a condescending way, but really!

Maybe it's just my bias against Chicago music.

You figure, people bring the hate for other bands, but NO ONE touches Rise Against. Hell.

- BITTER

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 12:39 PM (EST)
My Score:

Real McKenzies from Canada
Flogging Molly from California
Dropkick Murphys from Massachusettes

I would disagree that these bands are not Scottish or Irish (influenced).Just because they're not from the homeland doesn't mean they can't create a style of music representative of a country. Any musician can make Irish music, just not Irish babies.

Posted by at_the_drive_in_21 on 2003-03-21 12:32:22
My Score:

I caught this show in Guelph Ontario and also thought that Rise Against put on a better show than the Caddies. I never got into them, I like some punk/ska stuff but these guys have this cheesy sound in a number of their songs.
If you don't care what the kid thinks, or his personal views, don't read the review. That's what reviews are for - getting someone's opinion about the show and what their feelings were about it.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 12:00 PM (EST)
My Score:

greg shut the fuck up. and learn the difference between "your" and "you're". and don't forget the shut the fuck up part

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 11:59 AM (EST)
My Score:

Oh yeah, the Real McKenzies are actually from CANADA (Vancouver) nice try though Scott.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 11:56 AM (EST)
My Score:

I thought Flogging Molly was from California?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 10:35 AM (EST)
My Score:

Your going to make fun of me because of my review. Look, I write from my perspective, so I am going to share my feelings.

Yes, the One Day Savior comment I made, I knew people would have things to say about it, good or bad, but to make it more personal, is a good thing. I didn't say:
Lunachicks - bah
Real McKenzies - rockin
Mad Caddies - okay
Rise Against - amazing

I thought this was one of my better reviews. So if you want to make fun of me fine, but it reminds me of that great song by Rise Against, Six Ways Til Sunday.

"Your the new revolution, the angst filled adolescent, you fit the stereotype well."

Posted by maverick on 2003-03-21 10:31:19
My Score:

To mikeshitter:

Actually, the Real McKenzies *are* from Scotland.

And I'm pretty sure Flogging Molly is from Ireland, too.

Nice try, though.

-Scott

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 10:14 AM (EST)
My Score:

I agree with the first post'er

No one gives a SHIT how religion ESPECIALLY the religious views of your favorite band affect you.

I saw this tour last night in DC. It was a great show, but boy do I feel old.

Hey what's your name little girl want a lolly?

AND the guys in the real mckenzies have to stop fooling around with underage girls... that was just gross

Posted by Geetarchick on 2003-03-21 07:28:05
My Score:

Hahah One Day Savior.. statement on religion. nice. anyway this was great. rise against has never ceased to amaze me life. their new stuff is amazing. mad caddies was better that one time they played here in chicago with rise against at the fireside a couple decembers ago.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 7:24 AM (EST)
My Score:

Whoever the hypocrit posting in response to the reviews is, don't type the word "we", because it is "you" that feels it necessary to make fun of people not everyone. But keep me informed when you decide to post a review so I can pick it apart to make me feel better about myself.

Posted by Mikeshitter on 2003-03-21 05:47:48
My Score:

It's been said 100,000 times before, but Dropkicks, McKenzies and Flogging Molly aren't Irish or Scottish. You deserve the bottlecap for that twattish comment.

Posted by turdcorn on 2003-03-21 03:57:13
My Score:

Most of your good bands stay away from traveling festivals and package tours. Note, I said "Most"

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:56 AM (EST)
My Score:

third!

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:22 AM (EST)
My Score:

guts are punk rock.
deal with it.
wyzo

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 3:04 AM (EST)
My Score:

Greg, you're a fucking dumbass. Usually I don't like making fun of people on here, but for some reason, your review just asks for it. No one gives a shit about you and how religion affects you. We also don't care that you caught a fucking bottlecap. Don't be such a fucking fanboy. You might get aids or some shit from that. Try a little harder on the next review.