{"id":58726,"date":"2025-03-10T11:59:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T16:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=58726"},"modified":"2025-03-10T13:48:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T18:48:05","slug":"whoring-is-up-at-sleeping-village-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=58726","title":{"rendered":"Whoring It Up At Sleeping Village In Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kyle Decker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHORES., while not being the most shocking band name out there, is definitely a word that carries weight. A t-shirt would certainly require explaining in most circles. When I told my bandmate about this gig, he put it in his calendar as \u201cShow @ Sleeping Village\u201d, not wanting the uninitiated to glance over his shoulder and see \u201cMarch 8th-WHORES.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, as Lenny Bruce -who I need not remind you is not afraid- once said \u201cThere are no dirty words. Just dirty minds.\u201d And he used \u201cwhore\u201d as an example, saying something to the effect of, \u201c\u2018Whore\u2019 doesn\u2019t necessarily mean a sex worker. Anybody can be a whore. A writer can be a whore. Most of them are.\u201d Granted it\u2019s been about twenty years since I read How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, <\/em>so I\u2019m probably paraphrasing -or even misattributing. But he\u2019s right. Dig past the first couple definitions in the dictionary and you\u2019ll find things like: \u201ca person who is willing to compromise their integrity or principles for personal gain or in pursuit of something\u201d or \u201csomeone who debases themselves by doing something for unworthy motives- typically money.\u201d That certainly fits the definition of writers. Or musicians or graphic designers or photographers or anybody trying to make a living with the creative arts. Hell, every one of us taking part -willingly or unwillingly- in capitalism seems to fit the definition. Survival, for most, has always necessitated a certain level of exploiting oneself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHORES. hails from Atlanta, Georgia and formed back in 2010. The three piece band is best described as \u201cnoise rock\u201d and \u201csludge metal.\u201d An adequate description as their list of influences very much draws from the Amphetamine Reptile Records catalog. There are absolutely traces of The Melvins, Helmet, and God Bullies at play here. If we\u2019re talking FFO (For Fans Of\u2026), the Oklahoma band Chat Pile and Pennsylvania\u2019s own Pissed Jeans would definitely be contemporaries. It\u2019s fuzzy and heavy and the fact they\u2019re well known for their \u201cintense, cathartic live shows\u201d is what made me throw my name in the hat to cover this show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over WHORES.\u2019s fifteen-year history the one consistent member has been vocalist and guitarist Christian Lembach. The rhythm section moved through a revolving door for the first few years (I can relate), but bassist Casey Maxwell has stuck around for a decade at this point, and drummer Douglas Jennings Barrett has been hitting the skins for WHORES. going on six years now. Although they\u2019re not the most prolific band in terms of recording -releasing two EPs in 2011 and 2013 and two albums, Gold<\/em> and War<\/em> in 2016 and 2024 respectively- they\u2019ve proven they\u2019re about quality over quantity. Rolling Stone<\/em> listed War<\/em> in their top 24 metal albums of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a writer (see also: whore<\/em>), I\u2019m always interested in lyrics. Or rather, overarching lyrical themes. It should come as no surprise that there\u2019s a lot of anger here. Both to outside forces and people, as well as self-loathing. Grief, regret, betrayal, feeling stuck, that moment when ennui becomes impotent rage. It\u2019s all on play here. The name WHORES. isn\u2019t so misogynous, as it is misanthropic. But, like all true misanthropy, it includes the self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Now, on with the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIntense\u201d and \u201ccathartic\u201d are certainly apt descriptions. Sleeping Village -a bar\/club on Belmont a block east of Milwaukee in the Avondale neighborhood, if you are unfamiliar- was packed. Any attempt to go get a drink or use the bathroom would lose you your spot. The music itself was loud and heavy, but mixed well. Sleeping Village gigs, in my experience, are really good with this. It\u2019s not a huge space -only a 300-ish person venue- so sound carries without excessive volume. Of course, after years of going to shows, I\u2019m at the stage where I need to wear earplugs, which honestly should have been all this time (tinnitus is real, kids). But you could feel the bass through the floor if you were standing close enough. I\u2019m not at the point in my familiarity with WHORES. that I know all the song names, but I immediately recognized the opening song as \u201cBaby Bird\u201d off of Clean<\/em>. The first stanza being \u201cI\u2019m going out tonight and I don\u2019t care who knows\u201d is a good way to kick things off to a room full of people who have gone out tonight and, presumably, don\u2019t care who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The crowd must\u2019ve been feeling the aggression. Given the current political and economic climate, it\u2019s not hard to believe that a room of 300 people would have at least one -if not a dozen- things to get out of their system. Lord knows I\u2019m leaning closer to that dozen. Which made jumping into the meat-grinder of a mosh pit extremely tempting. If I’d had a few drinks in me, I probably would have. But I am not a young man anymore and the last time I hopped into a pit like that was for Viagra Boys at the Metro. Doctors had to glue my face shut. The scar is still there. But honestly just watching Christian Lembach rage through the mic, guitar, and a small army of pedals was absolutely worth the cost of admission -or would have been had I not gotten in on a press pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It wasn\u2019t all anger and frustration though. Lembach and bassist Casey Maxwell would occasionally waltz up to the edge of the stage for some audience baiting, and while Maxwell\u2019s stage demeanor was fairly stoic, Lembach would occasionally engage the audience in light-hearted banter. During one of his trips to the stage\u2019s edge, an audience member reached up and stroked his guitar. Lembach responded by placing his hands on his hips and, with a wry smile, asked \u201cDo you mind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At another point some started smoking weed. Lembach commented, \u201cYour weed smells like shit.\u201d He went on to joke, \u201cWeed is for teenagers. Try heroin, or at least methamphetamine.\u201d A short time later he stated, \u201cI was kidding about the weed. Do whatever you want.\u201d Another audience member shouted something out, though I couldn\u2019t hear what. \u201cI wasn\u2019t talking to you, dipshit.\u201d Lembach shot back. \u201cI got the microphone. So I\u2019m gonna win every time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Meanwhile, in the back, drummer Douglas Jennings Barrett poured some water on his floor tom and snare, causing bursts of water to splash up through parts of the set. The whole time he was smiling like he was having the time of his life. It was infectious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When the band came back on stage for the encore, Lembach demanded \u201cOnly ladies, or people who identify as ladies, in the front row.\u201d Saying they shouldn\u2019t have to push their way up through the pit for a good view. He related a quick story about how his better half had come to Chicago to visit him while he was on tour. So he\u2019d gone to the store to get flowers only to notice a lot of people were buying flowers. \u201cI wondered why,\u201d he said, \u201cthen I checked my calendar\u2026\u201d (March 8th is International Women\u2019s Day).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking of, the opening act was Chicago\u2019s own Latter – an experimental noise rock band fronted by sound artist Meredith Haines with Beach Bunny\u2019s Jon Alvarado on drums. Haines had a ton of stage presence and her performance was down right theatric. Her songs about past relationships and living with chronic illness were also \u201cintense and cathartic.\u201d She even walked off stage right before the last song and came back dressed in a hospital gown, carrying a saw and performed \u201cMy Body is My Sickness.\u201d She writhed on the floor in her gown, and cut the gown to taters with the saw as the final notes rang out. They did a great job as the local act opener for the touring bands. I will definitely be keeping track of Latter, and Haines\u2019s future projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facet, from Oakland, are WHORES.\u2019s tourmates. I can definitely see the match. While cut from the same cloth as WHORES. Facet\u2019s music had a bit more speed overall and was slightly less fuzzed out, giving their sound a more youthful quality. I also had the immediate thought that there was a bit more \u201cpop sensibility\u201d -whatever that means- in the vocals. Theri sound is cleaner and quicker, but it is noise rock through and through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, another great night out at Sleeping Village. Though it\u2019s getting harder for me that all their shows start<\/em> at 9pm. But they keep the bills at three bands and run a tight ship in terms of running on time. I was home by midnight. Which I can appreciate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kyle Decker WHORES., while not being the most shocking band name out there, is definitely a word that carries weight. A t-shirt would certainly require explaining in most circles. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,39,20],"tags":[199,995,296,992],"class_list":["post-58726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-music-news","category-reviews","tag-chicago-music-news-live-venue-interviews-reviews","tag-sleeping-village","tag-tour","tag-whores"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}