Thu 12/26: Macabre at Reggie’s Rock Club
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The Yuletide cheer doesn’t have to end yet. Chicago’s most metal holiday tradition is Macabre’s annual Holiday of Horror party, which happens tonight. “The holiday season can make anyone feel a little bit murderous, which is why Macabre’s annual December party is such a welcome and necessary tradition,” says Monica Kendrick. “This Chicago ‘murder metal’ trio—founded in 1984 and likely the world-record holder for longest-running metal band without a lineup change—specializes in songs about serial killers, and its Holiday of Horror show is always a sing-along spectacular of unfairly, grotesquely hooky killer tunes. This year the evening begins with a screening of John Borowski’s new documentary, Serial Killer Culture, which focuses on artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers fascinated by humans who hunt other humans; the band features prominently in the film, alongside painter Joe Coleman, Serial Killer Coloring Book creator Rich Hillen Jr., murder-country duo the World Famous Crawlspace Brothers, and many more.”
Local noise rockers Making Ghosts will be appearing at the Empty Bottle on Friday. Kevin Warwick says, “Chicago four-piece Making Ghosts aren’t putting up a front. ‘We make noise rock,’ they declare on their Facebook page, and their logo incorporates what looks like a diagram of the wiring inside a Big Muff—the almighty, burly fuzz pedal immortalized in the title of Mudhoney’s first EP. These dudes drop cinder blocks of chugging, evil guitar noise atop stomping, swinging drum rhythms that lean hard on the crash cymbals. The first half of their only release so far, the 2011 EP 001, contains the highest concentrations of metal-inflected heaviness—the later songs dip into more experimental postrock territory, with wan clean vocals instead of red-eyed screaming.”
