The Importance of Dark Wave Disco, Kuroma, and Primal Scream: An Essay

Over at le chateau de darkroom demons, we are in full recovery mode. It seems that every day it gets warmer, we are getting busier and more squirrels are terrorizing little old ladies. As Sir Reeves coddles his body back from the supernova rockstar shock that was SXSW, I have begun to re-learn how to shoot with these infernal contraptions known as "Kameras". I have been in the warm lull of my wife's delightful pampering and a heavy pharmaceutical hum for four months now and need to break the habit of doing nothing. I figured its time for a little introspection about the importance of three bands that were at the Metro last Sunday.

Darkwave Disco

DJs Greg Corner, Mark Gertz and Trancid have been part of our blood lines for as long as we've taken pictures in Chicago. Kill Hannah took me on the road when I didn't even know how to shoot. (The only thing that has changed is now I have bigger cameras that I don't know how to use.) I knew the night at The Metro was going to be mentally misappropriated by all parties involved when the first words upon Darkwave's arrival were "What are you drinking?" and "We're going to go out on the roof next to the marquee and shoot a picture."

'Wonderful.' I thought. 'I haven't taken a picture in 3 months and now my boys are gonna hang me over a ledge 16 feet off the ground." Friends like these, indeed!

In fact, if it wasn't for an off-hand remark from Greg years ago, I would still be shooting douchebags in Ed Hardy and Affliction for some small local nightlife pamphlet.

On a dark and stormy night outside Crobar in 2006, Mat Devine, Greg and I met up and he said "You just missed The Cobrasnake. You need to do something like that." (Until then, I had always thought a Cobra was just a fairly lethal reptile in India or Sylvester Stallone character lost in time.) Obviously, I didn't follow his advice directly , but I heeded his words and soon went on to blackmail Sir Reeves into becoming the better-dressed half of our demonic endeavors and embarking on this indulgent photographic sojourn.

KUROMA

Reeves called me from Austin to tell me about this amazing group fronted by former Whigs founder Hank Sullivant. Widely considered the brother of MGMT, this alternate universe 1960's pyschedelia scorcher quickly has become my remedy for the Kings of Leon fever from last year. Their appearance at the Metro was preluded by a deafening silence and muddled confusion from the audience waiting for Bobby Gillespie and his sonic screamadelica. So I took it upon myself to walk over while they we greeted by the silence to tell them I heard they lit Austin on Fire. Hank looked at me and a nostalgic "pfffft" came out. behind a smirk of satisfaction. They looked at each other and began whispering "Austin was just sick." "Man, you have no idea." By the end of the set, the crowd had shifted from mild appreciation to full blown frenzy, screaming their heads off for a band that is proving to be the one to watch in Rock and Roll this year. Not since the late great Wolfmother's only album have I been so intrigued by Kuroma's first effort "Paris". (Fact: Hank Sullivant had recorded the album before putting the band together. Wow.)

Primal Scream

On July 2nd, 1994 my parents threw a lavish dinner party for myself and my college mate in honor of his first trip to Chicago. After the yorkshire puddings, rare roast beef, beet salad and sorbet, my buddy quietly slipped me a hit of the year's best LSD, "Jesus Christ". It would be an evening of unforgettable firsts: It would be the first time I would attend a concert at the Metro in Chicago; It was the first time I had taken acid; It was the first time I would see my then favorite band, Primal Scream; and most importantly, it would be the first time I would see a T-rex in my rearview mirror. While I could wax on how Bobby Gillespie turned into a 6 -foot reptile and the crown moldings of the Metro are actually living and breathing creatures, its more important to know that I will never forget the day I fell in love with the Metro. And to be invited to shoot Primal Scream 15 years later is a feeling of such serendipity that I can finally ignore all the terrifying Jacob's Ladder moments that have haunted me ever since.

Thanks to the Metro, Dark Wave Disco, Oliver Thomas, and SmartBar for a seriously amazing night.