I gotta say, having the "Cro-Mags" playing in the basement of Preserving Underground is cool and all, but it really shows where the local music scene has been heading in the last few years (especially when it comes to this genre of music.)

A year or two before the pandemic, Harley Flanagan came here with his solo band - which is pretty much the same as the Cro-Mags these days. Anyway, they played the second floor of the smiling moose down on the south side and it was PACKED and a ton of fun and a ton of energy. What you would expect from a show of that calibre.

Now, Harley finally has the Cro-Mags name again, and he's playing the basement of Preserving Hardcore. A 20 minute drive outside of town. No way that venue can hold as many people, and it's not really that big. Not complaining, but a LOT of the good venues have shut down of the last few years. I appreciate Preserving Underground doing what they can to step up, but I hope we see some others popping up soon. Honestly surprised this show is not at Cattivo - or even Sprit, where Jon Joseph's version of the Cro Mags played once with eyehategod.