920 E ROOSEVELT RD WEST CHICAGO IL 60185
6
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT IN THE WESTERN BURBS !
FRI , MAR 8
BACK TO THE ‘ 90S TRIBUTES TOO FIGHTERS FOO FIGHTERS
FUNKY MONKS CHILI PEPPERS
SANTERIA SUBLIME
SAT , MAR 23
FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS
ELIJAH VERSUS ME
SAT , APR 6
BONGINATOR
DEMSFIGHTINWORDS
FRI , APR 19
KRIZZ KALIKO
FRI , APR 26 ENTERPRISE EARTH INFERI CROWN MAGNETAR TRACHEOTOMY ORINOCO
SAT , MAY 11
PSYCHOSTICK
ALL METAL BEE GEES TRIBUTE
TRAGEDY
www . thewcsocialclub . com ★ facebook . com / TheWCSocialClub / illinoisentertainer . com march 2024
FRI , MAR 22 WEEPING WOUND SUREFIRE GLASSWAVES TANZEN VAPID SOUL DREAM ALAZIA
FRI , APR 5
AKTAR AKTAR
FRI , APR 12
UPON A BURNING BODY THE BROWNING VCTMS HOLLOW FRONT RUPTURA
SAT , APR 20
PROJECT PAT
TUE , MAY 7
LITTLE MISS NASTY
SAT , MAY 18 CATTLE DECAPITATION CARNIFEX RIVERS OF NIHIL HUMANITY ’ S LAST BREATH + MORE
GREEN DAY Saviors
( Reprise ) Thirty years after sending punk to the top of the charts with breakthrough album Dookie , erstwhile upstarts Green Day return as power-pop elder statesmen with Saviors . With the band ’ s familiar friend and producer Rob Cavallo back at the helm for the first time in a decade , Saviors ’ 15 tracks find frontman Billie Joe Armstrong , bassist Mike Dirnt , and drummer Tré Cool fighting fit and keen to cement a legacy beyond age 50 by crafting an album that measures up to snotty-yet-smart benchmarks including 2004 ’ s punk-rock opera American Idiot . The album may not quite attain that lofty standard , but Saviors is short of neither fire nor attitude . It defiantly raises the bar after the subdued reception for 2020 ’ s Father of All … With a galloping swing , “ The American Dream is Killing Me ” includes audible callbacks to the indelible 1994 single “ Basket Case .” The song makes an overt thematic connection to political anthems like George W . Bush ' s broadside “ American Idiot ,” complaining that the American Dream excludes certain members of society . The song shares a riff with ska-punk band The Interrupters ’ “ Broken World ,” which was co-written with Armstrong . “ Look Ma , No Brains ” follows with a sharp blast of self-deprecation . “ I ’ m with stupid , and I ’ m all by myself ,” quips Armstrong . Mike Dirnt ’ s bass rumbles through “ Bobby Sox .” Armstrong couches gender-neutral romance within a skyfaring chorus stacked against a whisper-scream counterpart a la Linkin Park and a loopy countermelody reminiscent of Weezer . The heavy swagger of “ One Eyed Bastard ” echoes The Clash ’ s “ London Calling .” Armstrong ’ s lyric gleefully takes the low road , exulting in long-sought revenge . “ Bada-bing , bada boom ,” goes the band ’ s mob chorus , tailor-made for singalongs at summer stadium concerts . The chugging “ Dilemma ” is a portrait of chaos and disruption due to addiction . “ Here ’ s to all my problems ,” toasts Armstrong . “ I just want to drink the poison .” The Bay Area trio ’ s arrangements throughout Saviors are punchy , potent , and tight . Cool ’ s whiplash snare drum is primed to perform chiropractic adjustments via caffeinated drumming on “ 1981 ” and should spark frenetic airdrumming by fans . Armstrong ’ s guitar and vocal passages during the song whiz by like an adrenalized take on Foo Fighters ’
“ Monkey Wrench .” Dirnt ’ s propulsive bass line locks into Cool ’ s hammering toms and machine-gun fills on “ Coma City ” as the song laments complacency amid the decay caused by the ruling class ’ s rampant plunder . Armstrong sings about everyday people who “ board up the windows and drink lemonade ” while billionaire CEOs take joyrides into space . “ Goodnight Adeline ” was a leftover from prior work on garagerock outing Father of All … with producer Butch Walker and includes Walker ’ s acoustic guitar . The band attains peak power-pop with the tuneful escapism of “ Corvette Summer ,” fusing AC / DC-styled power-chord crunch and cowbell rhythm borrowed from Twisted Sister and glamrock pioneers The Sweet while swiping the occasional Beach Boys lyric . “ Take me to urgent care or the record store ,” sings Armstrong . The record shop probably offers the more dependable cure . The equally nostalgic “ Suzie Chapstick ” mourns an old friendship that slipped away when one party found success abroad , and the other remained stuck in the same old hometown rut . “ Ever since Bowie died , it hasn ’ t been the same ,” sings Armstrong during “ Strange Days are Here to Stay ,” rattling off a litany of things that are irreparably wrong with the world and contemporary culture . Musically , it ’ s another song angling toward the blueprint of “ Basket Case .” Armstrong ’ s most withering and pointed criticism arrives in the muscular and pissed-off “ Living in the ‘ 20s .” Spilling fury about gun culture and radicalized social media , the song ’ s drive , melodic bent , and simmering disdain connect to fare like Bad Religion ’ s “ 21st Century Digital Boy .” The tone turns sweeter during the emotive acoustic strummer “ Father to a Son ,” growing to powerballad grandeur and backed by dramatic orchestral strings reminiscent of the Beatles ’ “ I Am the Walrus .” It ’ s Saviors ’ closest counterpart to “ Good Riddance ( Time of Your Life ).” “ I never knew that love could be scarier than anger ,” sings Armstrong . The slashing guitars and harmony-laden chorus of the title track , “ Saviors ,” suggest that Green Day may have been spinning their dog-eared copies of Cheap Trick ’ s Live at Budokan . “ Will somebody save us tonight ?” sings Armstrong , apparently weary of living through all of the troubles described on the album so far . The answer to that question is apparently no , there is no ready-made valiant knight riding a steed toward anyone ’ s rescue , because Armstrong ultimately decides to check himself back into the loony bin from the “ Basket Case ” video and dis-
Continued on page 14