Downers Grove, IL – 17 Jan 2025
Chicago punk rock returns to the lanes!
Punk rock bands in a bowling alley?The thought of such an event might seem strange to some. If you were in the Chicago scene in the 90s then you could not avoid stepping foot inside the legendary Fireside Bowl on Fullerton. Countless local and touring bands still tell tales of performing at the Fireside. I couldn’t even begin to create a list of every show I was fortunate to attend or play with my band at this now historic venue. I strongly urge anyone to look up the well documented performances online. Everyone from My Chemical Romance to AFI had their earliest Chicago area gigs at the Fireside.
Fast forward to 2025 and punk rock is back at the lanes! The Tivoli Bowl in Downers Grove (a west suburb of Chicago) is currently playing host to well attended gigs. It was announced in December that local legends The Smoking Popes would be performing at Tivoli Bowl on January 17, and tickets for this historic event sold out in a matter of hours, making this one the talk of the town! For those unfamiliar, the bands perform in the bar / game room in this bowling alley making for a cozy and intimate setting. There are a good number of active machines for those punk rockers who also moonlight as pinball wizards. It should also be noted that for this show there was no support act.
The Smoking Popes promptly hit the stage at the advertised 8PM start time. The band kicked it off with “Simmer Down” which is the lead off track of their last studio album Into The Agony. The buzzsaw guitar riff in the intro makes for a perfect set opener. “Midnight Moon” from Born To Quit was up next and met with high praise from the sold-out crowd. The next hour and fifteen minutes consisted of a career spanning set that focused primarily on their two major label albums Born To Quit and Destination Failure. To please the purists, Born To Quit was originally released on the fabulous Chicago label Johann’s Face and later picked up by Capitol.
The crowd rocked along hard to “Rubella” and “My Lucky Day” just like they did at the Metro in the 90s. “Double Fisted Love” from their debut album Get Fired is always a crowd pleaser. The Popes also went mid-tempo with their well-known ballads which feature the amazing crooning of frontman and guitarist Josh Caterer. The crowd roared upon the first guitar chord of “Megan” from Destination Failure. Josh even asked the crowd; “Oh you know this one?” This track went effectively right into “Pretty Pathetic” that featured mass crowd participation. There are a few other highlights to point out. First was the performance of “Golden Moment” from their upcoming full-length coming out this year. A personal highlight was “Sandra” from their 1991 EP entitled Innoculator. I am fairly certain I have never seen the band perform this live. The set ended with “I Know You Love Me” from Destination Failure. The band performed an extended version with Josh taking off his guitar and going into the crowd and having folks sing along.
This was indeed one of the most unique Smoking Popes performances I have seen. I was very fortunate to be able to procure a ticket to this intimate performance. I should also note that for this show the band featured both Matt Caterer on guitar and Eli Caterer on bass, who have been absent for various recent performances. The band recently announced an upcoming tour with Off With Their Heads. I strongly recommend catching that show if it comes to your area. Also keep your eyes peeled for the new album coming out later this year.
I am mostly known in cyberspace as a vinyl junkie and punk rock bassist! Fair assessment. I am the bassist of the Chicago area power pop / pop punk band SPACE AGE ZEROS.
