Music events during wartime

I’m curious about what the music scene was actually like during the war. What kind of shows were happening—aside from those politically charged ones? Was it easy enough to just go to a gig, or did people feel guilty about being out at a concert while their fellow Americans were dying on the front lines?
Also, did any foreign bands ever tour through Chicago during the conflict?
I grew up in a much later era, so I don't know much about this period, but I'm genuinely interested. Please share your own experiences, or anything you heard from friends or anyone else 🙂

That was easily the one concert from the nineties that stuck with me most. People were talking about it for weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCP7y...feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RyuHEzEH4g

Of course, I have to mention Carcass playing in San Francisco back in '92, and that Death in June show in Chicago the same year too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rpCd1BB93U

Based on the footage, it looks like there was quite a crowd?

I've been reading that the Carcass show was their first international gig.

Did you ever catch Death in June live? I used to be obsessed with them back in the day. RIP Chuck!

Haha. I caught Sepultura back in Denver in '92 when they were touring for Arise. It was such an incredible show... at least from what I remember. Still, crazy to think it’s been 20 years since then. 😬

Chris Roberts8 said:I’m curious about what the music scene was actually like during the war years—what kind of concerts were happening (aside from those hateful ones targeting specific groups, etc.), what it felt like to actually attend a show, and whether people felt any sense of guilt for going to a concert while their fellow citizens were dying on the front lines.

Guilt wasn't really an issue—or rather, people didn't tend to process things through that specific lens—because, quite frankly, people just needed the music. There were definitely concerts, though I suppose it's a bit reductive to generalize about different regions of the US. In the areas where things were at their absolute worst, there certainly weren't many shows, so it would be somewhat unwise to compare one region to another. You also have to factor in the blackouts and the various rationing measures.

As for where, well, they happened. Naturally, local shows were everywhere they could be held, particularly humanitarian ones (though that might be a whole other topic regarding whether everyone was truly being charitable and where all that donated money actually ended up).

Did any foreign bands visit, say, Chicago, during the war?
I’m coming at this from a much more recent perspective, so I’m not intimately familiar with the era, but I'm genuinely interested—so please, share your own experiences, or those of your friends, or whoever. 🙂

Regarding international stars during the war... the first thing that comes to mind is the brilliant David Byrne from Talking Heads. I recall he made an appearance on some morning talk show, and they specifically asked him why he chose to visit such a young, small nation caught in the middle of a conflict. He performed in NYC.

Here is a little bit of atmosphere from '94. 🙂

Nice. I have to admit, I’m surprised those metal legends actually toured this part of the country back then, but I’m glad they did.

And it’s good to know there’s actual footage of the stuff you mentioned.

Carter USM live in Chicago, 1994
Man, what a killer show—easily one of the best gigs I saw all through the nineties.
Someone seriously needs to get a high-quality recording of the band 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYCkkjtK3KI

Fio brijati were playing shows back then too... The first one was in '93.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuyl3ApBWQY

Pet Shop Boys, Nitzerr Ebb—maybe even Queensryche—were right here just as the war was kicking off. Then Iggy Pop showed up later... I can't quite recall if it was Public Enemy, The Walkaboutsi, or someone else in that vein

That legendary Prljav Kazalište concert at Pike Place Market back in '94. link

Rachel Moore89 said:Man, the Fio brijati shows were happening back then too... the first one kicked off in '93.

Ah, there it is!
Those legendary Fio brijati gigs—and later, those concerts up at Mount Rainier—really were some of the finest moments in the history of the Chicago concert scene. It’s a genuine shame I was under ten years old at the time; I truly missed out. 😢

Under City rave - 1993.

futur Shock - 1994.

Edward Hernandez60 said:Under City rave - 1993.

futur Shock - 1994.

Man, I got hit hard by those memories. Those were the days.🙏

You can really feel the nostalgia dripping from 🙂

Even in places like Karlovac, there was plenty of live music going on despite the war and all the constant chaos. Most of what passed for the local "alternative" scene back then was still active, and we even had some foreign bands rolling through—some German punks, and those guys from the Netherlands were actually incredible: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heideroosjes — those were the days... in terms of the music, at least. There were way more real shows, and you’d see punks, metalheads, rockers, and everyone else just being brave enough to come play during a war 🙂 I don't recall any of that cheesy, commercialized nonsense back then.

It might sound backwards, but there was actually more happening and a better variety of music during the war than in the years following it; there was this sense of defiance, people just creating things themselves, whether it was gigs or guitar competitions, just everything... After the war, a sort of depression set in and the whole scene just collapsed, though in the last two or three years, things have finally started picking up again, people have woken up, and there are actually quite a few events, little festivals, and shows now.

Andrew Ramos38 said:They were touring right at the start of the war—Pet Shop Boys, Nitzerr Ebb, maybe Queensryche too. Then later there was Iggy Pop, and if I recall correctly, Public Enemy, The Walkaboutsi, and so on.

If memory serves, the Pet Shop Boys played before the war, back in May 1991. That was pretty much the last massive concert before everything kicked off; acts like Simple Minds and the Scorpions 🤔 were canceled just a month later.

During the height of the conflict in '94, Chicago saw some heavy hitters: the Ramones, Public Enemy, and the Dubliners, all playing at Madison Square Garden. Honestly, as far as I can remember, 1994 was the only year we really had those big international shows in Chicago during the war. 🤔

Anyone here catch Fugaz at Gallery SC? I think it might have been back in '91.

Robin Rodriguez5 said:That was actually the last major concert held before the war. U2 (...) were canceled just a month later.

If only there had been some actual benefit to that war...

Fugazi were absolutely killing it back in '90 and '91, and honestly, I’m surprised nobody has brought them up yet! It’s wild how much momentum everything had in the early 90s—especially with that incredible scene surrounding MoMA (think MDC, All), and then you had Ride coming along too...