101X Presents with Alkaline Trio, Cursive, The Dear & Departed

Alkaline Trio’s pop-punk legacy got started in 1996, and they have been on a collision course pretty much ever since. Their live shows are reportedly raucous, which suits their hard-core fans just fine. Alkaline Trio signed with Epic Records to produce their latest album, 2008's Agony and Irony. Alkaline Trio has embodied the spirit of independent punk since its aggro 1998 debut, Goddamnit! Led by charismatic, fury-filled vocalist Matt Skiba, the group is one of the cornerstones of an incestuous Chicago hardcore and punk scene that includes the Smoking Popes and the Lawrence Arms. The trio's seventh studio album, This Addiction, takes the project further by releasing it on a new imprint, Heart & Skull, via Epitaph. The album has sold briskly since its February release, and straightforward songwriting, like the blistering title track and catchy Misfits salute "Dine, Dine My Darling," has kept longtime fans engaged.

Ever since Cursive burst onto the scene with their 1997 debut album, the band has consistently and continually churned out heady albums heralded by critics and fans alike. Their latest album, Mama, I'm Swollen, was released in 2009 on Saddle Creek and led to their network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman. After all these years working in the business the quartet remains one of the most exciting and inventive rock bands today. Still informed by a sharp lyrical pathos and a wise, road-tested sense of dynamic interplay, the songs groove and dart with brash swagger, interspersed with hints of gospel and skewed blues. The rhythm section, heavier, tighter, and more propulsive than ever, drives the songs forward while horns careen over dueling vocals and interweaving guitars.

Door: $20 / Doors at 7p