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2003-04-20, showreview
The Lawrence Arms, Rule22, and Thisday, Lake Villa VFW April 4th
Although the venue was rather small, the bands that played this night made a big impact. The bands proved that they sure could rock out, just like the banner above the stage area read. Northern Illinois hardcore band Thisday played their set well and loud. The vocalist/guitarist was able to pull off screaming the song lyrics without overdoing it, like some bands tend to do when they use that kind of vocal talent. The three band members each put their all into coming off with a powerful performance.
But when it comes to stage presence, the band that had the most energized set was definitely Rule22. This punk band makes music in order to address political issues and government wrongdoings. Anybody who listens to Anti-Flag would probably love Rule22, because the bases of both bands are very similar. These guys had a crazy set and really riled up the audience. Part of the credit for this band's awesome show goes beyond the musicians to the guys behind the scenes. Dressed in a professional business suit, a man came out wearing a President Bush mask and danced. Making fun of the president went along well with the general theme of the band. The person who runs the Rule22 website was there, and is called "naked Andre", as he goes through the shows in the buff. The band had energy, talent, and was highly opinionated. They were great and will probably gain momentum and popularity as far as underground bands go.
Headlining the show was The Lawrence Arms. This band is probably the second biggest band to come out of Chicago lately behind Alkaline Trio. This show was what they called the second and last show of their tour, which has started in a South Side bakery earlier that day. When they performed, the fans went crazy. They played a lot of songs off of their newest album, but partway through the show Brendan (bass and vocals) made a special dedication to a sixteen year old girl fan who was rocking out like mad right in front of him. A very big guy was crushing the small sized girl, so they played the one song she had been shouting for the entire show. "Detention" was played, which is a song off of an earlier album that The Lawrence Arms do not usually play anymore. The girl was ecstatic to have Brendan dedicate that song to her. The Lawrence Arms put on a great show, and tour a lot, so make sure to check them out if they come to town.
Written by: Kat Vallera
- Hars Magazine
Discography
"No More Waiting" (2000) Demo LP -12 Tracks INDEPENDENT
"Almost Emo" (2001) EP -4 Tracks INDEPENDENT
"Same Old Stuff" (2001) LP -10 Tracks INDEPENDENT
"Food For Thought" (2002) LP -22 Tracks INDEPENDENT
"Turkey Vulture Records: Volume 3" (2003) CMP - 1 Track TURKEY VULTURE RECORDS
Pirate Audio: Volume 1 (2004) CMP - 1 Track INDEPENDENT
Throw Up Records: Volume 2 (2005) CMP - 2 Tracks THROW UP RECORDS
"Soundtrack to the End of the World" (2006) LP -15 Tracks INDEPENDENT
Rule 22/She Likes Todd (2006) LP SPLIT - 5 Tracks INDEPENDENT
"Give me Santa or give me Death!" (2006) CMP -1/20 Track DFT RECORDS "One In Five"
Riot Fest 2005 (to be released) CMP -1/20 Track RIOT FEST PRODUCTIONS "The Blind Lead the Blinder"
"CCFA Benefit Compilation" (to be released) CMP -2/20 Tracks SING FOR ME RECORDS "Pollution, Maybe Someday"
"Ghost Records Compilation" (to be released) CMP -1/21 Track GHOST RECORDS "Homeless Not Hopeless"
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Bio
Obnoxiously nasty and chock full of more hooks than a disney movie, Rule 22 has made ears ring since 2001. With a blend of punk ska and rock/death combined with a political edge and an extremely high-energy set, Rule 22 has sharpened their own 'Hattori Hanzo' blade of punk-rock destiny.
Tom and Dave set out to create the 22 after a conversation at a show about the 2000 Presidential "election"...Chris played drums on the first two cd's until they parted ways late 2001 after recording "The Same Old Stuff" and the "Almost Emo" E.P.. Tom and Dave held auditions and Quinn took the throne. VFW halls and basements are where it all began, in the northern burbs of Chicago. They began to play shows out of state more and more creating an ever growing fan base. To date they've played shows in Chicago at venues including The Metro, Double Door, Congress Theatre, Fireside Bowl, The Note to name a few...
Some bands we've played with: The Suicide Machines, Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag, Big D and the Kids Table, The Dickies, The Dead Kennedys, Thought Riot, Pipedown, The Lawrence arms, The Methadones, Less Than Jake, The Code, Intro5pect, Dead to Fall, Spitalfield, The Vacancy, The Honor System, Knockout, The Loved Ones, August Premier, Avoid One Thing, Go Betty Go, No Other Way, Mummy the Peepshow (from Japan), Blueprint 76, Mothers Anger (from Israel), New Black, Street Brats, Angry Samoans, Local H, Much The Same, Catch 22, Explode and Make Up, The Spunks (from Japan) and many more.
In 2003 Rule 22 released the 22 track album "Food For Thought". The trio was Tom, Dave and Quinn until 2005 when Quinn left the band to pursue a career in audio engineering. Josh, formerly of Kill Whitey, took over the drums for Rule 22 in November of 2005. After not even a month they began recording their next album. When Josh joined the group they accelerated quickly, playing extensively and spending alot of time on the road including a tour with Canadian punk gods No Other Way, in the U.S. and Canada in the summer of 2006.
After releasing three disks, having a spot on a number of compilations (U.S. & International) and playing all over the place, Rule 22 released "Soundtrack to the End of the World" on July 28th 2006. They continue to spit politically incorrect lyrics about Governments, Religion, and sing stories of personal strife all over the States. Rule 22 will be releasing a split with fellow Chicago trio She Likes Todd in the spring of 2007, with a 23 date west coast tour to follow... After having sold their souls to Satan for punk rock genius, expect to keep hearing the name Rule 22.
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