Punks, Kids, Dogs and Derby Girls Come out to Play at Metronome

Despite the chilly weather...

and intermittent showers over Saturday and Sunday,

the first year of Metronome Celebration was a success. We spent the evening there both days and heard some excellent bands like:
Saturday

8:30 John Vanderslice

7:00 Here We Go Magic

5:30 Apostle of Hustle

4:00 Kid Congo Powers

Sunday

7:30 The Methadones

6:30 Three Blue Teardrops

5:30 The Del Moroccos

We ran into old friends, new friends and school friends, and captured some of the local color.



















We hung out with my husband's old roommate, Anna, that he rented from for years, before we married. We even saw our friend Cheri (Revolution Tattoo) whom we've known for over a decade, and Billy (stand up bass player-formerly of Torturing Elvis & Rockin' Billy) who played at our wedding 9 years ago tomorrow. He was there with his son, Brent, who is right between our kids' ages. We even saw some familiar dreads--our new friend Katie (Mom to River) whom we met at Summer Camp a few weeks back. Sagezilla bought a cool glass necklace from her.

There were plenty of children rockin' out among the colorful punk masses.


















The official fest PR said all ages, dogs welcome. People took it to heart and showed up with pups en mass.


Our two took it upon themselves to photograph all the dogs, and make a computer print out book project at home. They had a blast doing it. I'll post an all DOG BLOG later, featuring the kids' photography.















They also had fun counting shoes. Saturday, Du-Jay had Vans on and Sagezilla had All Stars. I challenged them to run through the crowd and get a point for each shoe that matched their own type. Zilla won by a narrow margin of two shoes. But Sunday, Vans were in the lead.

We also had another group Derby girl sighting,
to add to the list. We saw hoodies for
Nancy Pagan and Anita Bier, and lots of
Derby skully logos.

























We also met our friend, Violet's, guitar teacher, from Girls Rock Chicago. I got their info 2 years ago at Pitchfork and have been eagerly waiting for Sagezilla to hit 3rd grade so she can join.


The kids enjoyed two free
inflatables, a moon bouncer
and a dragon slide. And we came
home with two more cloth bags
filled with fest swag like
stickers and beads,
much to my husband's chagrin.




We fervently hope Metronome Celebration becomes a yearly tradition.

It's Fest Season, Ya Know...Keep the Beat at Metronome

Ahhhhhhhh. That season is upon us at last. That lovely time of year in Chicago, when we recall why we tolerate the insufferably long, cold winters. Chicago streets open their arms wide, crank up the live music and everyone comes out of hibernation, to play. Every weekend there are too many options. It's fest season, ya know.

The Raven Fest is goin' on, there's a giant art fair on the south side, and innumerable neighborhood events. But brand newbie fest, Metronome, is where we'll be hangin' Saturday after Lit Fest and Sunday. The fest runs from noon till 10pm daily and will have a green hue--no not necessarily the hair at the punk stage...but the sustainable, eco-vendors and kinder-gentler-recycle your empties bent.

How can we resist? It's in our hood for one thing. 'Bout time Logan got a decent street party. Saturday, Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps/Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds) is on at 4pm. And there's a whole Punk stage Sunday! It's our chance to continue the littles punk rock 101 education with The Effigies, The Methadones and Deals Gone Bad.

 If your punk kin are young enough to get you arrested if you leave them home alone, and you're tired of dropping more on a sitter than the cost of a punk show, to get your live music fix, then Metronome is where you wanna be. For a $5 donation and with all ages welcome, you can't beat it.