The Kikagaku Moyo guitarist/vocalist delivers a woozy psychedelic rock burner with an accompanying book titled Dream of the Egg. Those who haven’t yet discovered the work of the […]
Chicago in the 1990s: Watch Labradford, Tortoise, Melvins and more onstage at Lounge Ax

In the 1990s, there was no better club in America than Lounge Ax in Chicago. Located across the street from where John Dillinger was killed in Wrigleyville, the club had a capacity of about 500 and booked hundreds of phenomenal shows over its decade-plus run through the 1990s: Galaxy 500, Faust, Sonny Sharrock, Yo La Tengo, Laddio Bolocko, Low, Uncle Tupelo, Melvins, Mekons, Tortoise, Liz Phair, Sun City Girls, Unwound, Hum, Codeine, Tortoise, Silver Jews, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mecca Normal, and Pavement among them. Even Phish was a regular presence in the early 1990s.
A few days ago the algorithm served us up a phenomenal artifact: Tortoise performing at Lounge Ax in early 2000. The sound is kinda iffy, yes, but once your ears adjust, what follows is a snapshot of a singular moment.
The Tortoise prompted a deep dive that uncovered dozens of killer sets from Lounge Ax in the 1990s, one that underscores the range and quality of the club’s booking. Here’s a Labradford gig from ’99 that’s worth your time:
Unwound was a regular presence over the years. Here’s an Unwound live audience tape from 1995.
King Buzzo of the Melvins tore through their ear-busting epic “Boris” in 1991, about the same time that their friends Nirvana were blowing up with the newly released album Nevermind. Step back.
Neutral Milk Hotel usually gigged Lounge Ax when they toured. Here’s a fantastic audience tape of Jeff Mangum and band from 1997.
Step away from your speakers. The below recording of essential Japanese noise rock band Zeni Geva documents a moment when underground Japanese rock was finally starting to earn attention in the US.
Another frequent presence was New York band Codeine. Here’s them performing “Jr.” in 1993. The band had recently released the Barely Real EP, which features the song.
A search on Jeff Tweedy’s various projects at Lounge Ax — he’s married to Sue Miller, who booked the club — reveals deep tapes from Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Golden Smog, and solo.