Pygmalion Preview: Lord Snow, My Dad, Smoke Coke, Old Fox Road
With Pygmalion on the horizon, you may have been wondering if Error Records - the local hotspot for underground vinyls, cassettes, CDs, and live music - was going to take part in the festivities.If you thought yes, then you thought correctly!On Friday, September 27, Error Records and Pygmalion Music Festival will be hosting one of the most rad shows of the whole darn-tootin' festival, featuring a variety of Illinois-based acts that are bound to make you reconsider the punk rock life.
Starting off the show are a couple of more local acts. Be sure to catch Old Fox Road kick off the festivities at 6:30. They are coming up from the small town of Arthur to play you some of their fabulous folk punk tunes, hopefully playing stuff off of Pathetic and Dumb, their brand new EP! Smoke Coke, a Champaign-based darkened hardcore/crust outfit, is back for more after their hard-hitting set at Error back in August, and they are sure to get some slams going. The band shares a guitarist from Laughboy, so you know things are going to get wild.
Coming from the Windy City is My Dad. Despite how fun it is to tell people that "My Dad is playing a show on Friday", the band itself is actually an incredibly impressive math rock outfit. Nnamdi Ogbonnaya - who is notorious for his involvement with Swerp Records and for playing in several other Chicago-based bands, including Itto and Pisces at the Animal Fair - drums for the band, but he is not the only drummer. I first came across the group back in March when they played in Springfield at the Black Sheep Cafe, and their stage setup blew my mind. Their two drummers set their kits up facing each other and for the duration of the set played in perfect unison, with the guitarist and bassist following along while controlling their sea of foot pedals and noodly grooves. Needless to say, My Dad is the coolest
Also hailing from Chicago, the main attraction for the night's endeavors is Lord Snow, a female-fronted skramz band that comes complete with vicious, speedy attack and a gratuitous helping of raw attitude. Back in April, they surely brought the energy for the crowd when they played mid-lineup at Skeletal Lightning here in Urbana. After cramming onto the corner stage at the Red Herring, they delivered a chaotic, emotion-ridden set that was among the talk of the festival. Be prepared for the paint on the walls to melt come time that Lord Snow takes the stage. If you like what you hear, be on the lookout for a new LP that the band is planning to release sometime soon.Overall, expect this show to be a true gem of Pygmalion Music Festival. The show is only five dollars and is all-ages, with doors opening at 6 and the show starting at 6:30. I hope to see you there!