Local H Spend A Week Playing Every Song They Ever Recorded

anthonyjmiccio | May 14, 2008 4:30 am
It’s possible you didn’t even know that Local H has released six albums, but enough people in Chicago care that they were able to perform an album a night leading up to yesterday’s release of their new album, 12 Angry Months–with an extra night of B-sides and outtakes thrown in for good measure. While the best songs I’ve heard from them since 2001’s Here Comes The Zoo are their Britney Spears cover and their TV On The Radio cover, they’re still doing a damn good job of claiming the title for Most Underrated “Post-Grunge” Band. Sure, Cheap Trick and Wilco have done this kind of career survey before, but would they have thought to have the reunited Fig Dish and Pegboy as opening acts? I think not.

With Billy Corgan and Jeff Tweedy regaled as auteurs for their conceptual turns and twists, Lucas is Chicago’s bare-knuckled rocker, slugging it out on stages from small bars to large clubs to outdoor festivals and releasing a steady run of albums that stand up against fickle pop trends. The week of shows forced a new look at a band that can often be undervalued here but whose music is consistently packed with depth, craft and true grit.

Despite playing a different album per night, the shows did not pause for reflection, especially since a significant segment of the audience looked like they didn’t have their driver’s licenses when the band released its 1995 debut. Opening slots provided a survey of Chicago punk past and present, including Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer and reunions of old-school punks Pegboy and power-pop contenders Fig Dish.

More Local H videos!

“Cynic”

“All The Kids Are Right”

“Half-Life”

“Wolf Like Me/Toxic (live)”

Local H jam 13 years into 7 nights [Chicago Tribune] EDDIE VEDDER – local h [YouTube] Local H – Wolf Like Me / Toxic (Live) [YouTube] Local H – All The Kids Are Right [YouTube] Local H – Half-Life [YouTube] Local H – Cynic [YouTube]