Hwy 13 - Kenosha WI
Binky Tunny and the Farmland Chokehold - Milwaukee WI
Project 44 - Chicago IL
From just a short trip south of the home of Harley Davidson, Hwy 13 is just a good old-fashioned biker rock band. they describe themselves as “A bunch of old fuckers who just want to rock;" I think that explains it all. If you've never been to a summer festival in the Midwest, this type of music may just be lost on you. And that’s a shame. While not a genre that's going to generate a lot of income, these are bands that entire families enjoy. Think of George Thorogood meets David Allen Coe meets Lynard Skynard. That’s what biker rock is. And Hwy 13 fits the bill nicely. Playing everything from an original dedicated to the one woman who hasn’t let down vocalist Danno, his motorcycle, entitled “She’s The One,� to a kick ass cover of Judas Priest’s “Hell Bend for Leather�, Hwy 13 had one helluva time playing and made everyone else have a great time too. So what if they
are just a bunch of “old fuckers.�
Ahhhh tables are turned Miss Tunny. The next band was Binky Tunny and the Farmland Chokehold. Binky is a music writer for Intense Ink, a monthly tattoo and music magazine in the Midwest. Now it’s her turn. Had Courtney Love never become a drug-addled freak, she may have grown up to be Binky. Part cheerleader, part guitarist, part punk, part rock, Binky is a person who has to have fun dusting, and it totally comes across when she is one stage. One of the most entertaining performers to just watch, and the music wasn’t half bad either. From a little bit of the intro of Pink Floyd’s “Machine� to an AMAZING cover of the Misfits’ “Attitude� (and this is the real Misfits with Glenn, not the dark match Misfits people hear now) that I still am proud to have heard, Binky Tunny and gang is a band to see. I must say my favorite tune of the night was her “Poe-Em� entitled “Flower.� I think I have a new theme song to my days.
I am a delicate flower
I must be handled with kid gloves.
I will require your right arm and full attention
Do not drop me, for I am wafer thin
To prevent bruising; avoid squeezing
Keep me lily white and happy
I am a fragile thing
Closing their set with a fabulous cover of Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral,� Binky shows the world that not only is she definitely ready to play with the boys, but she is damned good at it. And for the record, although female, Binky had no issues with playing in a strip club, hell, she brought the girls up on stage.
Project 44 made a long trip to play at Heartbreaker’s, coming up from Chicago. After hearing them, I think we may need to make a few trips down south. Industrial music with a sample machine and electric drums, they were the heaviest act of the night. Aggressive and heavy, it was music that almost made you want to punch the guy next to you in the face. I do think the stage was too small for the vocalist, but damn it was a heavy as hell show. “Fall Down� was amazing and had an almost Nine Inch Nails feel to it. I also really liked the song “Warpath.� They were what I was hoping them to be and more. I just liked the pure aggression and force that this music infused. I never really seek out industrial music, but almost every time I hear it, I am blown away. Project 44 did that.