Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, None More Black, Teenage Bottlerocket, Smoke or Fire, Dead To Me, The Flatliners, and Cobra Skulls are playing the Fat Wreck Chords CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 23rd. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Land of Talk show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Tallest Man on Earth show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Tom Tom Club show at Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets are also still on sale for the Santos Party House show.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the English Beat show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are no longer going on sale at noon for the Rogue Wave / Midlake show at Webster Hall. Stay tuned for more info.

Tickets are on sale for a GBH show at Highline Ballroom.

The Matador 21 Fest, Devendra Banhart, Of Montreal, Scissor Sisters, Ratatat & other tickets went on sale at noon too.

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cock Sparrer - "Spirit of '76" (MP3)

First of all, Riot Fest Chicago is not a celebration commemorating the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention. There are no cops in attendance (unsympathetic ones anyway), and no one is there to "set the record straight".

In 2005 Mike Petryshyn started Riot Fest... With one eye on the legendary Chicago punk scene and the other on the bands that inspire them, he started building the festival, with an ambitious multiple show/venue format despite his inexperience. He put special emphasis on reuniting influential punk and underground bands who hadn't shared the stage in years and Chicago's rich punk history has always been a huge part of the Riot Fest roster, this year 11 bands from the area are confirmed so far.

Year five of Riot Fest in Chicago is systems-go from Oct 7th-12th and with an enviable punk rock lineup of Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Murder City Devils, NOFX, 88 Fingers Louie, Screeching Weasel, Pegboy, Off With Their Heads, and many many more. Full lineup and flyer (with New Bomb Turks not listed) is below.

Besides the obvious awesomeness of Naked Raygun, who played their first reunion gig at Riot Fest in 2006 (and who are playing NYC soon, tickets on sale), and a few key others, one exciting band on the lineup is the UK's Oi! pioneers Cock Sparrer:

Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) are a punk rock band formed in 1974 in the East End of London, England. Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, the band is considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands in history, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. Their style was influenced by pub rock, glam rock and raw 1960s beat music as delivered by bands like The Small Faces and The Who. Their lyrics mostly dealt with topics related to the daily lives of working class people.

Cock Sparrer recently played Chaos in Tejas. Riot Fest and a two night stand at The Great American Music Hall in San Fran are currently the only US dates that the band has lined up for the future (dates below).

Cock Sparrer just released their first album in 10 years, Here We Stand, which washed up on US shores last month via Pirates Press. The 14 track LP was recorded by Pat Collier (The Vibrators) and mixed by Lars Fredriksen (Rancid) and includes "Spirit of '76" which is downloadable above.

Meanwhile, Riot Fest is also spreading it's wings out west to bring Los Angeles it's own taste from November 12-14. Lineups are to be announced, but look for those bands at the participating stages of The Palladium, The Wiltern, Key Club and The Roxy. More details are to come.

Continue reading "Riot Fest Chicago - 2009 lineup (Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Murder City Devils & more) "