Live review: Naked Raygun and Friends live at The Metro

Chicago, IL – 21 Sep 2025

Naked Raygun proves they’re still the heart and soul of Chicago punk.

Ultimately, despite our better judgement, we couldn’t resist the chance to see Naked Raygun one more time. After three full days of Riot Festing, we headed to the Metro for the Sunday, September 21st official Riot Fest after show featuring the local legends along with UK first wavers Buzzcocks and punk drumming hero Marky Ramone. The marquee read “Sold Out”, and the line was around the block when we showed up about an hour before the 10 PM door time. 

The 10:30 PM start time was slightly delayed as they tried to squeeze everyone in. By the time Marky Ramone kicked off the show, we were packed in like sardines. (I’m not sure when he dropped the Blitzkrieg or Punk Rock Blitzkrieg from the name of his band.) Marky’s new lineup is pure Ramones cosplay. The singer is tall and thin, with Joey’s shorter ‘70s hair style. The bass player draws a strong resemblance to Dee Dee, except for the fact that he’s left handed. The guitarist looks a bit like a young Johnny, but I don’t ever remember seeing Johnny play a Gibson style guitar. Marky sits high above it all, like the honored ringmaster. 

The band tore through a set of mostly early Ramones’ songs. (The notable exception was the 2001 Joey Ramone solo cover version of “What A Wonderful World”.) If you suspended disbelief just a bit, you could almost imagine seeing the band at the same venue four decades earlier. It was really just about checking your brain at the door and singing along at the top of your lungs to “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “The KKK Took My Baby Away”, “Teenage Lobotomy”, I Wanna Be Sedated” and the rest. Even though our feet were aching, it was a great time. 

The Steve Diggle led Buzzcocks were next. While the legitimacy of a Pete Shelley-less Buzzcocks is questionable, the enthusiasm of Diggle is not. Since Shelley’s death in 2018, the other guitarist/singer has been running the show. His lead vocals can be kind of hit or miss, but ultimately the songs carry the day. He led the band through a set of mostly hits, with a couple deeper cuts thrown in for good measure. 

He urged the crowd on through stone cold classics like “What Do I Get”, “Ever Fallen In Love”, “Orgasm Addict” and “Promises”. By now the pain in our feet had spread to our legs and backs. Still we hung in there and enjoyed an extended version of “Harmony In My Head” to close the spirited set. Despite the late start, both Marky and Buzzcocks slightly exceeded their scheduled 45 minute sets. 

Naked Raygun is the most important punk band to ever come from Chicago. There is a connection between the band and city that’s hard for outsiders to understand. Fall Out Boy and Rise Against may have sold more records, but Raygun is the band that’s tied the whole scene together for more than four decades. The electricity in the air was undeniable. 

It was nearly one AM by the time Naked Raygun was ready to hit the stage. L ooming over the stage was a huge backdrop of deceased former NR bass player Pierre Kezdy, who died of cancer in 2020. Everything the band has been involved with for the last five years has officially been in Kezdy’s memory. Still, this night felt like it was all about singer Jeff Pezzati, who’s been struggling with Parkinson’s for two decades. It was billed as Naked Raygun and Friends. Would Pezzati be there at all? Would he be able to sing a couple songs? There was a lot of speculation, but not many answers. 

The band came out first, before Pezzati was led to center stage. After a long, boisterous ovation, he said, “I really missed you guys”. The band launched into fan favorite “Vanilla Blue”. While Pezzati’s footing might have been a little unsteady, his voice was strong. We were reminded that NR had perfected the “oozin’ aahs” long before Bad Religion made it cool. “Home of the Brave” was next, and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy. At this point, everyone in the audience felt like they had gotten their money’s worth. 

The “friends” came in the form of members of Smoking Popes, Violets, Methadones and, eventually, Bollweevils. With a little help from their friends may have been a better description. Pezzati still held center stage, and at least helped sing every song. It was mostly classics, (“Treason” was my favorite), but they did work in the powerful “Broken Things” from the band’s unexpected 2021 LP Over the Overlords. After nine satisfying songs the band left the stage, but the house lights did not come up. 

They returned with another Chicago favorite in tow, Dr. Darrell Wilson from The Bollweevils. Together they tore through “Rat Patrol”, before being joined by Pierre Kezdy’s daughter, playing her dad’s old bass, on “New Dreams”. It was a powerful, emotional, cathartic climax for the 1100 plus people crammed into the Metro. In the end, Pezzati and company delivered a show worthy of the Fireside Bowl or the Cubby Bear decades earlier. It was certainly a night most of us won’t soon forget. 

Confessions of a merch whore: I didn’t actually buy anything, but I did get some of the “free shit” typical at Raygun gigs. I got a patch, a koozie, and a couple stickers.