Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
BRMC played the album in full, followed by some of their hardest rock songs, lighting up a crowd packed “like sardines” into the Summit Music Hall in Denver on Sept. 28.
The band, singers and multi-instrumentalists Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes and drummer Leah Shapiro, impressed at every turn.
Read more: BRMC return with a 'Howl'
The Damned
The Damned brought their “Black Album tour” to Dallas for an exhilarating show at the Granada Theater on May 18.
Although they did not play their 1980 masterwork in its entirety, they had all four members from the album’s lineup on board, including drummer Rat Scabies, who recently rejoined the band after too long a time away.
The Damned, along with TV Smith’s The Adverts, transported concertgoers back to the early days of UK punk.
Read more: The Damned go back to ‘Black’ in Dallas
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The Faint with Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather
The Faint, a band instrumental in putting Omaha on the musical map, swung through the Midwest to close out their first US headlining tour in years with a show at Wooly’s in Des Moines on April 5.
They had also played other select cities, including their hometown, where they put on a sold-out concert at the Waiting Room on April 3. They capped a roster that also included fellow Nebraskans Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather.
Although the Omaha show was a sight to behold, the Des Moines concert was the best of the two. Later in the year, the band was back at it, playing Omaha again, with a standout gig at the Admiral on Nov. 9.
Read more: The Faint bring homegrown tour to Des Moines
Cold Cave
I finally got the chance to see one of the newer bands I have been obsessed with the last five years, Cold Cave, and they didn’t disappoint with their show March 28 at the Gothic Theatre in Denver.
The opening artists, Buzz Kull and Kontravoid, helped build up the intensity with their heavy EDM beats. Then Cold Cave took the stage and played fan favorites from throughout their discography, like “Glory,” “Confetti” and “Underworld USA.” They leaned heavily on their latest album, Passion Depression, playing songs like “Shadow Dance” and “Blackberries” as well as tracks from the EP Fate In Seven Lessons in the encore with “Prayer From Nowhere” and the powerful show-ender “Promised Land.”
Be sure to check out Cold Cave, a band that records and distributes their own records and CDs via their label, Heartworm. —Christopher Windle
The Effigies
I was lucky to see The Effigies, a fantastic punk band out of Chicago, on May 16 at the Slowdown in Omaha. I have been a huge fan of theirs for a long time.
While their lead singer, John Kezdy, passed away in 2023, their current singer, the energetic Geoff Sabin, helped make the show not only powerful but also a straight-out blast. The band played crowd favorites like “Below The Drop,” “Quota,” “Haunted Town” and “We’ll Be Here Tomorrow.”
If you’re a fan of punk music and have not heard of The Effigies, do yourself a favor and listen to them. Out of the many great Chicago punk bands, they’re one of the best. —Christopher Windle
