Concert Review: About The Mess July 22, 2011 Cobra Lounge Chicago, IL

Some bands are better on CD than they are live. Some bands are better live than on CD. And then you have bands who play great on albums, and when you see them live they just blow you away with how great they sound loud and live. The latter is what you get with Chicago's own About The Mess. For a band who only been around a few short months, they guy's have the chops live that some bands can never get over the course of their career. And they proved it at the Cobra Lounge on July 22.

The band, singer/guitarist Joe Mizzi, guitarist Mike Carlson, bassist Jackson Dee and drummer Mark Gustafson, hit the stage at 10pm sharp and blasted through 10 songs in a half hour. They started their set with a new song called oddly enough "Song 4" before jumping into a hard rocking version of "Ahab" from their live EP "Give Me The Mic, I'm Drunk Already". They had me going right out of the gate. Mizzi and Carlson have a way of playing off each other that makes you think they've been playing together for years, not months!

The set also included songs off their forthcoming debut studio EP "Anthem Of Imperfection", due out in August on Whoa! Records, including "Story To Tell" and "Janie". Both of which are just modern day classics. The band isn't afraid to pull out a couple covers either. They whipped through The Box Top's classic "The Letter" (also on their Anthem...." EP) as well as Pegboy's "Still Uneasy" without butchering the originals. Instead they take them and make em their own.

I'll admit, I was taken aback by the fact that these guy's were opening for a metal band (The Infected). But they stood their own ground among long haired metalhead's and played their hearts out. I gotta give these four guy's credit for that. I know they will be big. I can see it in their passion, hear it in their songs and feel it in their playing. I have no doubt that ATM will be headlining the Cobra at some point in the near future. Do yourself a favor, and check out any of the bands upcoming shows. You won't be disappointed.

Set list:
Song 4
Ahab
When We Were Young
Still Uneasy
14
Story To Tell
Shitty Beers And Pissing On Bedroom Floors
Anthem Of Imperfection
The Letter
Janie