Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Trap Them go on first, and judging by the group’s 2008 triumph Seizures in Barren Praise (on Deathwish Inc., the label run by Converge singer Jacob Bannon), the five-band bill may very well blow its load with the first set. Blending the ferocity of Tragedy with the punk attitude of Black Flag will never be a bad idea, and Trap Them carries on the tradition of both with devastating metal riffage, blistering drumming, and absolutely balls-out vocals.
Louisville-based trio Coliseum have the unenviable task of following Trap Them. Singer and guitarist Ryan Patterson (brother to Evan Patterson of Young Widows) never gets too fancy with his fist-pumping, in-your-face tunes, which strike a nice balance between angsty and anthemic: Coliseum sticks to the straightforward brutality of hardcore both musically and in mind-set.
