On Friday, November 1st, Los Angeles-based band Militarie Gun took the stage at Aragon Ballroom.The alternative-hardcore band had the first slot opening for Knocked Loose on their fall 2024 tour alongside Drain, and Danny Brown. While Friday night’s show had an interestingly diverse group of opening acts, Militarie Gun’s balance between emotionally charged melodies and ruthless hardcore punk started the intensely energetic night with a bang.
The band kicked off their set with “Pressure Cooker,” a grunge track with a steady backbeat and a solid bassline, which provided a surprisingly tame start to the lively performance. Due to the band’s spot on the bill, the crowd was slow to get moving, a staple element at most Militarie Gun’s shows. However, after a few songs, the crowd was quick to follow frontman Ian Shelton’s directions of jumping up and down, as well as starting multiple different circle pits throughout the set. While Shelton talked the talk about getting the crowd moving, he also walked the walk by energetically pacing in a frantic manner, as well as jumping at heights that I am convinced only Spiderman himself can reach.
In between songs, Shelton mentioned how this was their seventh eighth time playing in Chicago during this year alone. As someone who has been to the majority, if not all of these Chicago shows, I can confirm that this statement is not an exaggeration but a fact. In addition to the band touring nonstop, this year they released an EP called Life Under the Sun, as well as two new singles. Their latest single, “Thought You Were Waving,” was a standout moment in the set. When introducing the song, Shelton described it as being “about drowning.” The track had a great crowd response, with fans waving their arms in the air back and forth, and a few young fans on the barricade singing along to the lyrics as well.
Some additional highlights of the set were the tracks “Disposable Plastic Trash” and “Let Me Be Normal,” which both appear on Militarie Gun’s project All Roads Lead To The Gun. These tracks brought a level of intensity and roughness that contrasted the ballad-like nature of “I Thought You Were Waving.” The songs also proved why they were opening up for Knocked Loose with their hardcore roots and punk nature. Another special moment of the band’s set was when they played “Will Logic,” which originally appeared on their debut album Life Under The Gun; however, they played an extended outro that appeared on the acoustic EP, Life Under the Sun. It was really interesting to hear the outro that was originally written for the acoustic EP translated into an electric set and played live.
With a few minutes left in their set, Shelton screamed the words “Do It Faster” into the mic, and the band launched into their most popular song with the same name. While this was the seventh or eighth time I have seen this band, one thing is for sure: I will never be tired of seeing this song live. While the recording of this song is great, the band’s energy and stage presence during this song escalates it to a whole new level. Another amazing part of this song is the harmonies, which don’t exactly translate in the studio recording; however, are highlighted in the live performance. During this song, the band captured and mesmerized the audience with its catchy chorus, distorted guitars, and upbeat tempo.
Militarie Gun’s set came to a close with “Gun Under the Gun,” which was written to be one of the entrance songs for Post Malone’s character in WWE 2K24. The heavy-metal influenced instrumental consists of Shelton’s yells and the band’s signature ad-lib which is a bark-like “Ooh ooh.” This song initiated multiple circle pits among the audience and got them fired up for Drain, who was on next.
Militarie Gun’s set at Aragon Ballroom kicked off Knocked Loose’s stop in Chicago with a powerful and dynamic performance that captivated the attention of the crowd and warmed them for the rest of the night. The band’s performance and ability to translate their evolving sound on stage proved why they are a force to be reckoned with in the hardcore and punk scenes.