If there was one band from 2023 to watch out for that somehow went under everyone’s radar, it’s Magazine Beach from Washington, D.C. Admittedly, I also dropped the ball here as I didn’t hear of them until it was the end of 2023 even though their debut album, Constant Springtime, came out all the way back in April! So much time wasted not listening and relistening to what is now my favorite emo record of all time. I might even go so far as to say it’s perhaps the best pop punk-driven emo record ever made but I don’t want Third Coast to start receiving hate mail and letter bombs from angry American Football fans. My utter love and spiritual enjoyment of their music didn’t fully click until I reacquainted myself with their debut album after learning they were stopping off to play a show at the Gman Tavern with OK Cool and thought hey, why not? I’ve never been to Gman Tavern before and remembered liking Constant Springtime enough the few times I listened to it last year to go to a show. I never expected to fall in love with them as much as I did only in the span of a couple of weeks. Suffice it to say, the show last Saturday night did not disappoint.
The night began with a set from Chicago punk rock locals Damager. I was not expecting to love their set as much as I did when I got more of a classic rock than punk vibe from their first song but by the end of it, I was fully onboard. They played with such sheer will, prowess, confidence, and swagger that it was truly impossible to resist the Damager charm. Although their sound was much more rooted in '80s classic rock than I expected it to be, their punk edge thoroughly sealed the deal with a sound reminiscent at times of The Clash if the band was fronted by the hefty vocals of a Bob Seeger or a George Thorogood. They played like a well-oiled machine that’d been running for years on nothing but Old Style, cheeseburgers, and cigarettes and it was a sight to behold. Numerous songs put a smile on my face such as the impossibly catchy “8 Bus Fiasco” oozing with a summery arena punk flair. However, the pinnacle of all punk rock was seeing the lead singer smash a beer can against his head during a performance of their aptly called song “(Wanna See Me Do A) Cancrush?”. Now that’s art.
Next was Known Moons from Milwaukee playing their first-ever show as a band in the history of the known universe. They recently released their debut EP entitled Everything Is just a couple months ago and are already fortunate enough to be playing shows with bands like Magazine Beach and OK Cool. For a first show, the band sounded as tight as Damager and had a good collection of beachy indie rock songs at their disposal. With a sound akin to The Strokes shipwrecked on a deserted island, the vocals soared, the guitars flew high on reverb, and the drums crushed all in its path. However, the vocals, at times, sounded a little weak and timid but only intermittently which I’m not sure was due to the mic, my tinnitus, or maybe show jitters but still far better than I’d do at my first show. I’ll also say that not too many bands would possess the inner strength and sheer willpower to cover a Radiohead song at their first show so Known Moons offering up a cover of “No Surprises” was a welcome surprise and impressive feat.
OK Cool, the penultimate act of the night, hailing from right here in the great plains of Chicago, is a band I’ve been waiting to see for some time especially since I missed them opening for Palehound in November. Their wildly fun and dynamic 2023 debut album, fawn, was a late addition to my favorites of the year with riffy songs like “normal c”, “soaked in”, and the irresistible gloomy charm of “nissanweekends”. I discovered the album towards the end of fall (aka the end of good Chicago weather) and the album definitely helped with the transition from moderately chilly to cold. The performances of each song were fantastic as could be expected but the real highlight was seeing their frantic energy shining through in between songs that really let their personalities shine through which is truly why I go to shows in the first place; getting the chance to laugh and relate to bands that you admire on stage helps, in no small part, to pull you closer to both the band and their music itself.
Magazine Beach somehow managed to fit 6 people on Gman’s intimate yet cramped stage and played a rather short but nonetheless energized and brilliant set for their second-ever Chicago performance. They opened with the one-two punch of “Vacuum” and “Turnaround”, their two new singles released towards the end of March. Both songs offer up a sound that’s a little different than what we’ve heard so far from the band with Constant Springtime and Friendless Summer by taking their emo-soaked pop-punk sound into a more shoegaze-y direction with heavy amounts of reverb, distortion, and moodiness. For the rest of the set, songs from their debut album Constant Springtime buzzed through the audience with an invited sense of urgency and glee.
The quick pace of “I Can Feel You In The Sky” was a fun change of scenery from their two newest singles while “Sunflower Seed” and “Summer Hits” took zero feet off the gas and instead went full throttle into lyrics your high school self would have flipped shit over. “Totally Cool”, the penultimate track of the evening, pushed the night along and I was so happy to hear that one live. It’s rare you come across a song that you hear once and immediately think to yourself how big of a hit this is going to be in ten years' time. It’s no surprise how the song has managed to climb its up to being their most popular song and all I hope is that it helps take them all the places they want to go as a band.
“Totally Cool” was going to be their last song but we peer pressured them into a shortened version of “Grizzly Wintergreen”, the nearly ten-minute-long magnum opus and grand finale of Constant Springtime and the only other song they practiced for the tour that was outside of their main setlist. I was shocked to hear any of that song live so it was a welcome surprise although I would have killed to hear “Bitter Sun” or a couple of songs off their Friendless Summer EP like “How Many Bees? (3 Pounds)” or the title track “Friendless Summer”. If I had one critique of the show, it would be that. Maybe next time!
All photos by Lorenzo Zenitsky.