THE 69 EYES (2020) Live Concert Review

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Michael Juvinall in Chicago, Concert Review, Exclusives, Features // 0 Comments

Venue: Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, Illinois
Date: January 29, 2020
Special guests: WEDNESDAY 13, SUMO CYCO, THE CROWNED
Reviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Patch
All photos Copyrighted Michael L. Juvinall/Darkside Photography – All Rights Reserved

It’s a mid-week night of metal in Chicago at Reggie’s Rock Club as gothic metallers THE 69 EYES headline a show with the help of WEDNESDAY 13, SUMO CYCO, and THE CROWNED.

Helsinki vampires The 69 Eyes come to town after a long dry spell for the windy city. The band members admitted that it’s been about 12 years since they were last here and that it was great to be back. This veteran gothic metal outfit has been at it for quite a while. They’ve been around since 1989 and are huge in their native Finland with multi Platinum-selling albums. The band draws not necessarily the metalheads but more goths than anything else.

On this night, the headliners hit the stage at around 10:40 pm to a near-capacity crowd at the venue. The crowd had been eagerly awaiting the band with cheers erupting as soon as they hit the floor.

The band is tight as hell and knows how to handle the crowd. They’re fine musicians who are great at what they do. I was not the biggest fan of their sound but I totally respect them for their longevity in the business. To me, they seem like a wannabe Ramones clone. The ladies like these old guys for some reason. Someone even threw up their bra for the lead singer. I haven’t seen those kinds of antics since the 80’s hair metal scene. Their set lasted for 75 minutes.

3.5 out of 5 Pentagrams!

Setlist

Two Horns Up
Never Say Die
Black Orchid
Perfect Skin
Betty Blue
Borderline
Hell Has No Mercy
Crashing High
The Chair
Cheyenna
Wasting The Dawn
27 & Done
Feel Berlin
Brandon Lee

Encore:

Framed In Blood
Dance D’Amour
Lost Boys

The band I was really there to see was direct support group, WEDNESDAY 13. The North Carolina based metal outfit with a penchant for all things horror-related (like me) are a creepy bunch of dudes. Frontman Wednesday 13 wears a death mask that rarely comes off during a show. The rest of the band members are decorated with black and white corpse paint.

Even though these guys aren’t a pretty lot to look at, they sure can play. Wednesday 13 himself has more costume changes during a show than Celine Dion. It all makes for a pretty interesting set and the music is great too. The band is touring in support of their recently released album, Necrophaze, which they played three tunes from that album. The rest of the setlist consisted of songs from their vast discography.

I love these types of bands – ones who don’t take themselves too seriously and have a lot of fun on stage with costumes, props, and the like. The best examples of these bands are King Diamond, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, The Misfits, Lordi, Doyle, and several others including of course Wednesday 13.

Their music is great! Effectively heavy songs with some great riffs and obviously horrific lyrics mostly relating to horror films. All in good fun is how I take it. Their set lasted for almost 45 minutes. Great band to see live if you get the chance.

4 out of 5 Pentagrams!

Setlist

Necrophaze
Zodiac
I Want You… Dead
Scream Baby Scream
Serpent Society
Prey For Me
Decompose
What The Night Brings
Keep Watching The Skies

A huge surprise for the night was Canadian alternative metal gurus SUMO CYCO! This band was completely new to me. I had never even heard of them previously. But now they’re on my radar. The band is a quartet led by frontwoman Skye Sweetnam, who is like lightning in a bottle. She seems to have a non-stop attitude and is a nuclear ball of energy. During this show, Sweetnam asked for the audiences help to get to the bar in the back of the club, but she didn’t want to use the floor. She crowd surfed to the bar for a shot. Then on another occasion, she joined the audience on the floor for help singing “Free Yourself”.

The crowd loved Sweetnam, who was very relatable. In her early career, she opened for Britany Spears on tour when she sang pop music. The rest of the band were great as well. With Sumo Cyco, it’s not so much their music as it is their attitude. The music is a mixture of different styles including punk, alternative, metal, and more. They’re not insanely heavy, but they don’t need to be.

Sumo Cyco is a band to keep a close eye on because I feel they’re going to be a great band in the future in the same vein as Jinjer has exploded in the metal scene. Sumo Cyco coincidentally opened for Jinjer on tour recently. They played for 30 minutes.

4 out of 5 Pentagrams!

Setlist

Love You Wrong
Anti-Anthem
Run With The Giants
Sleep Tight
B.Y.O.B. (System of a Down cover)
Fighter
Undefeated
Free Yourself
Move Mountains

Starting things off for the night was Texas-based heavy metal band, THE CROWNED. They are a four-piece outfit led by frontman and drummer, Marc Coronado. The band has one album and has been in existence since 2013. They’re newbies in the game but have a decent sound and are fairly heavy. Their set lasted for 30 minutes.