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\u201cYou mean the Revolting Cocks?!\u201d He exclaimed and then laid down everything I needed to know about the band, of Richard 23, Paul Barker, Jorgensen, and how if it wasn\u2019t for Ministry or RevCo, I would not see the likes of Nine Inch Nails and everything afterwards. Shored up with some knowledge and additional input from my editor, I hopped on the Red Line and found myself amid a crowd of mean-looking forty-and-fifty somethings all dressed in black, tatted up with grungy clothes sporting familiar names like \u201cMinistry\u201d, \u201cKMFDM\u201d, and \u201cThe Jesus and Mary Chain\u201d. They all talked about how great the Chicago scene was in the eighties, with derelict venues hosting riotous DIY punk shows and of course, the greatness of Wax Trax records, the famed Chicago label that I unfortunately, was as unfamiliar with as the Revolting Cocks. When I made my way into the Metro, many people told me what a great show this was going to be and as it began, nothing prepared me for the musical onslaught I would hear when Frontline Assembly and the Revolting Cocks took the stage.<\/p>\n
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The show opened with a performance from the band Cubanate. The English trio lit the stage with their angry, heavy metal-style take on the industrial sound accompanied by a number of searing visuals in the background. As I watched everything from the balcony, the crowd went nuts, with several people trying to start a mosh pit once the boom of the drums hit and the singer snarled, roared, and growled his way across the stage like a lion. However as their set went on, their rough and messy sound all blended into one mass of booming drums and unintelligible growls, therefore making it tough for me to pick a song I enjoyed. Luckily, \u201cJunky\u201d proved to be the fix I needed, since the infectious chorus meshed well with the redundant drums and has since become a song to which I often return. Essentially, Cubanate began the show well, readying everyone in the crowd for the chaos that would play out when Frontline Assembly took the stage.<\/p>\n
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Their set over, I left my perch at the balcony and made my way into the crowd below since I felt I was missing out on the full brunt of the sound when they played. Weaseling my way to the stage, it was not long before Frontline Assembly emerged in a blinding haze of purple light. As the music swelled, the crowd roared and several people pushed each other around anticipating the mosh pit that would soon erupt. Sporting the strangest haircut I\u2019ve ever seen, a tuft of blond hair that looked like a set of aborted dreadlocks, the singer Bill Leeb walked onstage and unleashed one of the best sets I\u2019ve seen and heard at the Metro. Although looking more mature than most rockers today, he rocked and swaggered across the stage like a panther. He played the drums one moment during the instrumental interludes and then would start rapping or singing at that cool, leisurely tempo over a relentless and hypnotic techno march that had everybody dancing and quite literally brought the house down. People hurled themselves into each other with increasing fury, some crowd surfed across the audience, and the rest, like myself, danced to Frontline\u2019s thunderous, apocalyptic funk. As this was going on, one guy even crouched down and lit up a joint. It was mayhem in the best way.<\/p>\n
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After Frontline Assembly, came the Revolting Cocks sans Al Jourgensen to my dismay. However, instead of Jourgensen, Richard 23 took the stage along with Paul Barker, a Ministry alumnus and the bassist for the band. Bluntly, the Cocks\u2019 set began uneasily and was hampered by the fact that Richard 23 danced around like a drunk uncle at a wedding across the stage. The music first set from the group\u2019s debut album Big Sexy Land<\/em>, was a stark contrast to Frontline Assembly\u2019s volcanic set. The music was indeed good, with a similar danceable and funky beat, but from the nonplussed faces around me and the lack of moshing, it was clear the audience was not feeling the music it did before. As Richard 23 began singing \u201cUnion Carbide\u201d things began to improve especially with Barker\u2019s chugging bass melody. Suddenly then, Richard 23 left the stage, telling everyone to go home because the show was over. Just as I was about to do so, I noticed that the rest of the band remained and so did the audience. Before I could understand what was going on, the music began again and a different singer emerged from the stage who was tall and lanky with a cowboy hat and a pink tank top. At first I thought it was Bill Leeb, letting his hair down, but in fact it was Chris Connelly, another veteran member of the band and currently the front man of the local Bowie tribute, Sons of the Silent Age.<\/p>\n Once Connelly got onstage, the whole band pulled off the most dramatic and only volte face<\/em> I\u2019ve seen in my life. The uneasiness at the beginning gave way to confidence, embodied by Connelly\u2019s lively stage presence. When the band burst forth with their take on the cheesy eighties song \u201cLet\u2019s Get Physical\u201d, the greatest and only version of the song that should exist, the sound was relentless, the bass thundered, the drums boomed, and the crowd moshed again. It was all brilliant, and surpassed Frontline\u2019s set completely. While the two bands before were mired in dark, heavy, and brooding melodies, the Cocks let loose with their exuberant, tongue-in-cheek character even with the devastating drums and sampled beats, commonplace in the genre. From Connelly\u2019s leg of the Cocks\u2019 set, \u201cLet\u2019s Get Physical\u201d was great, but \u201cCracking Up\u201d a song from the album Linger Fickin\u2019 Good<\/em>, was the best song from their set. The frenetic pace and punchy, danceable beat of the song buoyed by Jason Novak\u2019s great guitar skills brought their set to a blistering climax. Finally, the band closed their set with a 70’s cover of Rod Stewart\u2019s \u201cDa Ya Think I\u2019m Sexy\u201d during which Richard 23 returned to the stage wearing a flag for the Belgian national soccer team. All the members of the band danced across the stage as everyone in the audience sang along to the industrial send-up of Rod Stewart.<\/p>\n Seeing the Revolting Cocks and Frontline Assembly, proved to be a fantastic introduction to the industrial scene and also to the Wax Trax roster. While Cubanate opened the proceedings well, Frontline Assembly and the Revolting Cocks stormed the stage in one of the best shows at the Metro I have attended. After the show, I feel comfortable saying that I am now a fan of the Revolting Cocks, Frontline Assembly, and heck, even industrial music.<\/p>\n For more on Revolting Cocks, click here<\/a><\/p>\n For photos from the Revolting Cocks show at Metro Chicago, click here<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Revolting-Cocks-live-in-Chicago-at-Metro-11-17-17-36-1024x683.jpg\")
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