Thursday, July 31, 2008

Shame Club / Pontiac Café

JULY 19, 2008 - Despite an inexplicable sudden fever, Shame Club frontman Jon Longhair put on a brave - if sweaty - face and powered through what was, all-in-all, a pretty strong set and a massive improvement over their last Chicago visit (April, Quenchers Saloon). The hard-rock-you-could-cuddle-to quartet hails from St. Louis, Missouri and has a knack for bringing a metaphorical cheeky wink to classic rock & roll douchebaggery.

The boys would do well to learn that the size of their testicles is readily evident within their solos and picture-perfect rock stances, not in their overall volume. Sure, the full stacks are a cute aesthetic, but for a bunch of guys who are too old for MTV and too young for VH1, it seems they've really relaxed into the idea of losing what little is left of their hearing. Resident complainypants and Pontiac Cafe owner, Buddy, interrupted mid-set to demand they turn down from 11, and despite the fact that he was right, the band finished the night a little disheartened.

In reality, the volume adjustment allowed the vocals to come through (something most all-male-all-thirtysomething bands seem to be terrified of) and the pop roots of Shame Club's songwriting became appealingly obvious. Perhaps if they hadn't blown out their ears playing through the most excessive set up any dive bar has seen, they'd learn to mix themselves on stage and subsequently become one of the strongest rock bands currently touring the Midwest.

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