1982 «On this day in Metro history: Northwestern University’s WNUR welcomed emerging new talent R.E.M. to Chicago which NY Rocker Called “Band to Watch in ‘82.”
The very first production at “Stages” which would soon be known as “Cabaret Metro.”
Oneohtrix Point Never Live Preview: 4/23, Metro, Chicago
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Synth-heads rejoice! Daniel Lopatin, aka experimental music producer Oneohtrix Point Never, brings his always stellar live show to Metro tonight. His most recent album is last year's Again (Warp), a reflective collection of aesthetics you wouldn't normally associate with OPN's spirituous electronica: shoegaze, alt-rock, prog. Then again, Lopatin similarly mashed together otherwise dissonant sub-genres on 2015's Garden of Delete, the nu metal entry in his vast and ever-expanding catalog. Lopatin's versatility is certainly one of the most impressive things about him, not just in his own work, but in his ability to elevate others, whether R&B star The Weeknd (Dawn FM) or indie rock luminary Soccer Mommy (Sometimes, Forever).
Technically, OPN has two new EPs listed this year on streaming services: Scores and Ambients. The former is a collective of songs from Lopatin's soundtracks to Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring and the two Safdie brothers features he's scored, Good Time and Uncut Gems. The latter consists of six of OPN's more, yes, ambient-adjacent tracks, including the bookends of 2013's monumental R Plus Seven (with a shorter mix of the choral "Chrome Country" renamed "CC"), Again's "Gray Subviolet", the title track to 2018's Love in the Time of Lexapro EP, Replica's "Sleep Dealer", and the minute-and-a-half "Lovegirls Precinct", included on 2009 compilation Rifts but originally released as part of a split cassette with Cleveland drone duo Outer Space. Take the opportunity to listen to the songs anew, together; to my ears, that's always been the best way to experience Oneohtrix Point Never, finding resurfaced commonalities among the different stages of his brilliant career. And it's also how he'll likely play live, finding a cohesive set list by placing Zones Without People and Russian Mind songs next to Age Of and Magic Oneohtrix Point Never material.
The show is presented by CHIRP Radio. New York-based singer and modular synthesist Arushi Jain opens. Doors at 7:00 PM, show at 8. Tickets still available at time of publication.
THE LATE, GREAT SLUGGO OF B.G.K. LAYS DOWN ALL THE DIRT ON THEIR '86 U.S. TOUR WITH MDC -- IT'S A HOOT!!
PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on a show/gig/punk flyer for MDC, BGK (BALTHASAR GERARDS KOMMANDO), & CHEETAH CHROME MOTHERFUCKERS (who reportedly cancelled/didn't play), performing live at the Metro, Chicago, IL, September 6, 1986. Plus a live shot of bassist/Dutch hardcore legend Tony Slug playing bass in BGK during their heyday.
DIRT ON MDC: "Furthermore, to our surprise, M.D.C. had seemingly abandoned their squathouse/anti-commercial/anarchy antics, and now demanded $1000 guarantees per show. Plus plane tickets, that is, maybe conveniently neglecting to mention certain members drug habits, arguing "we're far from home, we got rent to pay, we got kids, and have been doing this for a long time," etc...
Which totally made sense seeing as how we were about 10 times farther away from home, also had kids and rent to pay and had been doing this as long as they had. Not to mention the B.G.K. album they released on their R Radical label that we hadn't been paid for, the European tour we set up for them, and all the Euopean shows we did together and gave all our money to them. It wouldn't be the first (or the last) time they dicked us, but I have to be diplomatic here."
-- TONY SLUG (1963-2023), former bassist with Amsterdam '80s hardcore punk band B.G.K. on MDC's shady touring antics in the mid '80s