Chicago’s Pegboy showed the Bottleneck they’re not just a nostalgia act

July 14, 2025

Nick Spacek,

Pegboy. // photo by Nick Spacek

Pegboy
with the Whiffs and Local Darling
The Bottleneck
Friday, July 11

It’s the weekend after the Fourth of July. It’s been a sweltering mess of a week recovering from three days of blowing shit up and drinking too much. You do not want to be outside at all, so what you do to get the hell out of your house?

Old people punk show! Reasonable start time, plenty of air conditioning, and a quality selection of local acts playing before a legendary band which definitely took the stage at the Outhouse back in the day who will be done well before midnight, if not 11pm.

I kid, I kid. Kinda. Sorta. In a just and kind world, this show would have kicked off with me buying a beer for the late Mike Blur, a walking talking repository of local punk rock lore, and hearing a great story about them playing a show in their heyday, because while I was pretty sure I saw Pegboy play the Jackpot something like 15-20 years ago (and given the way I was living back then, I probably went, got very hammered, and left three songs into their headlining set), but it turns out that was the Effigies and the last time Pegboy came through was them playing Day on the Hill in the early ’90s, making Friday’s show pretty damned special nonetheless.

While there were a lot of folks trading stories about seeing shows back in the day (and I was among them), it was a great set from the Chicago punk rock legends. While not as well-known as their compatriots in Naked Raygun, for whom the band’s John Haggerty once played guitar, Pegboy’s sound is vital to the evolution of punk rock. While landing somewhat more on the hardcore end of the spectrum, their sound bridged the ’80s to the ’90s, and they haven’t lost a step.

Vocalist Larry Damore spent a good portion of the show in front of the monitors and in the crowd, and while I was shooting the rest of the band, occasionally used my shoulder to brace himself as he belted out lyrics. It was intense and yet friendly, with the band knocking out every song you could’ve asked for in a furious set (including, yes, a cover of Naked Raygun’s “Treason”). For all my joking about this being an old people show, the band certainly didn’t act like they were a legacy. It still feels vibrant.

The Whiffs. // photo by Nick Spacek

The Whiffs are never not worth seeing. Pure power pop joy. Their set Saturday night felt a little more raucous and rough-edged than that with which I’m familiar. Whether it’s been the direction in which they’re currently heading or just matching the energy of the band with which they’re playing, it felt more like the foursome were playing for themselves than the audience, in the absolute best way. That said, melodies and harmonies found their way through the Whiffs’ ragged set.

Local Darling. // photo by Nick Spacek

Local Darling is, essentially, the Sluts, but with Chris Maddox’s bass adding a low end to Ryan Wise’s guitar and Chris Dover’s guitar. Their ’90s-indebted sound set the tone for the evening, with guitar fully in the forefront and a sense of respect for the sounds on which they grew up, but not worshipping the past.

Pegboy

Pegboy setlist
Not What I Want
My Youth
Walk On By
Field of Darkness
Witnessed
Never a Question
Dangermare
Through My Fingers
That’s When I Reach for My Revolver (Mission of Burma cover)
Locomotivelung
Time Again
Treason (Naked Raygun cover)
Strong Reaction
Hardlight
Superstar

The Whiffs