cocksparrer3

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

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cock Sparrer – “Spirit of ’76” (MP3)

Cock Sparrer

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.

Riotfest

METRO SHOWS:

Wednesday, October 7 (Riot Fest 2009 Kick-off)
B**thole Surfers
The House That Gloria Vanderbilt

Friday, October 8
Naked Raygun
No Empathy

Saturday, October 10
Dead Milkmen
Teenage Bottlerocket
Teen Idols
Anxiety High

Sunday, October 11
C**k Sparrer
Lower Class Brats
Flatfoot 56
Fear City

CONGRESS THEATER:

Friday, October 9
Murder City Devils
Dead Milkmen
Riverboat Gamblers
New Bomb Turks
The Frankl Project

Saturday, October 10th
NOFX
C**k Sparrer
88 Fingers Louie
Youth Brigade
Shot Baker
Off With Their Heads

Sunday, October 11th
Screeching Weasel
Alkaline Trio
Pegboy
The Arrivals

COCK SPARRER – 2009 TOUR DATES
Aug 1 2009 Parkteatret Scene A/S Oslo, Oslo
Sep 12 2009 SKC – BELGRADE BELGRADE
Oct 3 2009 OKTOBER FEST – GIRONA GIRONA
Oct 10 2009 RIOT FEST @ The Congress Theater Chicago, Illinois
Oct 11 2009 RIOT FEST @ The Metro Chicago, Illinois
Nov 13 2009 The Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 14 2009 The Great American Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 21 2009 MELKWEG – AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM
Mar 26 2010 The Forum LONDON
Mar 27 2010 The Forum LONDON