LIFE IS BRIEF, PUNK RULES: A Recap of STRESS POSITIONS Fall 2025 Tour
Contributed by Ben Rudolph, guitarist in STRESS POSITIONS
The first show of our fall tour was at Cobra lounge in Chicago. A nice and early all-ages gig on a beautiful, late summer Thursday. I pick up Steph and we head down to the venue. We are chronically on time to pretty much every gig we play. Jono, Russell and Danny are there to meet us for load in. After an hour or so of mulling around and hanging out with the other bands, people start showing up. Mostly young-ass kids who are stoked as hell to see the headliner. Our friends in the band LATTER are celebrating the release of their new EP tonight. A small cluster gathers in front of the stage trying to secure their spot for the show. I love this energy. It’s refreshing to see people giddy and ready to dance rather than jaded and drunk. It’s gonna be packed in here soon. KILL MOVES opens the show. They play a sort of mix of emo and noise rock. Changeover takes a little longer than ideal, but now it’s our turn to play. The lights on the stage are bright as hell and it’s hard to see what’s going on out in the sea of people. It seemed like people had fun even though half of them looked confused for the lack of mosh parts. Play fast or die! We rush off stage sweaty as hell. SNUFFED is next. They get better and tighter every time I see them and the kids go absolutely bonkers. Hell yeah. Everyone sings along as their vocalist Carly screams “ITS MY LOBOTOMY DREAM”
LATTER is next. They’re a somewhat newer band but have been hitting it hard this last year. They play a down-tuned medley of noise rock and punk. Hard to compare to anything in particular, but it’s powerful. Their stage show is wild as hell and the crowd is buzzing. Hell yeah. It’s so great to see a room full of sweaty young people hanging on to every word. The show ends at 11 and we’re all home by midnight. Tomorrow we hit the road for Cincinnati. The tour is just quick, six-day run through Appalachia, the final destination is Richmond where we will be playing Dark Days Bright Nights Fest.
The next day everyone meets at my place at 11. We all dote on my new pup Harley, an old anxious pitbull. She’s sad to see us go. We hit horrible traffic leaving the city, but once we get through it’s about as uneventful as a drive could be. We arrive at The Comet (again chronically early for the show) and realize no one is there for the gig yet. A few of us find a forest preserve nearby and go for a hike. My favorite pre-show ritual. We meet a friendly black cat along the trail. Must be a good sign. Steph and Danny later decide to go and do the quick hike and again meet the black cat. Definitely a good sign.
Back at the venue we are all killing time by playing pool. The Comet provides free food for bands and we all stuff down burritos. Some people hate all the waiting around you have to do on tour. I love it. It will always beat going to work. BUTCHERS DOG is the first band to play. I heard their record “Purists Piss Codes” a while ago and hadn’t seen them live yet – they did not disappoint. I met Landon and Jodie a few years back with another band. They’re immense sweethearts who are absolute punk lifers. RAZORBLADE from Pittsburgh played as well. They’re fun as fuck. Punk AF thrash stuff. They did a medley of “Come Feel The Noise,” it was fun. There was a somewhat solemn note to the evening as we found out the owner of The Comet had recently passed away. He seemed to be beloved by the community for helping create and maintain an all-ages space in town. These places are precious and not always owned by people who have good intentions so we're very happy to be able to celebrate the life of someone who contributed so much. Keeping the gigs going through grief seems like it’s exactly what they would’ve wanted.
Our gig in Roanoke the next day was unfortunately cancelled as the basement venue we were supposed to play had flooded. It’s a bummer to lose a show on such a short tour but these things happen. Finding a replacement last minute is easier said than done. We do the 10 hour drive to Richmond. It’s at least a beautiful winding route through Appalachia to help pass the time. We finally get to our hotel at around 10pm. I grabbed us some cookies from the Subway next door and we surf the TV for a while and end up watching queen of the damned. We all pass out by midnight. Hell yeah. Getting good sleep on tour is a high commodity.
We wake up early and smash the free breakfast at the hotel. A few of us use the gym. Coffee and then more coffee and it’s time to head to the venue. Load in is at 2. We get there at 145 to make sure we can snag a good parking spot. There are like 10 bands playing today so we’d rather make sure things are easy. The venue is called Studio Two Three. The building is reminiscent of an old schoolhouse. The first floor has a screen printing shop. The show will be upstairs in what seems like an old school gym/assembly hall.
At this point in my life I’ve been doing punk shit for longer than I haven’t. The buzz I get showing up for a fest is the same as it was 20-odd years ago when I first got into touring. I love scanning all the tables for merch, records and zines. I love seeing people I haven’t seen in years and reconnecting as if it’s only been a week. I owe so much to these experiences and friendships. The bill today is absolutely stacked and filled with friends. A musically very eclectic bill as well. SLOW HOLE, EYE FLYS and GREAT FALLS all blew me away.
The venue had a giant projector. All the bands got to pick what they wanted to have playing behind them. We chose a compilation video of dogs just doing cute dog shit. Who doesn’t love that?
IRON LUNG played late in the evening. They were pulverizing. Less stand up comedy in between songs than other times I’ve seen them, but that added to the vibe of today’s set. It was relentless and punishing. REVERSAL OF MAN closed out the night. It was so cool to finally see them. The four of us grew up in Florida and never had a chance while they were still active. They were fantastic and full of the same energy that all of the lore speaks to. A bucket list band for me and Jono especially. A great way to end an epic day.
We set off for Asheville early the next morning. Again, another beautiful drive winding through the mountains.
We arrive at Static Age, again early, and find coffee. This was our first time playing here with this band so we didn’t know what to expect. The small record store filled up quickly after the doors opened. A lot of really enthusiastic young punks showed up which is always a good sign. MOCKERY played right before us and they fucking ripped. Nine minutes of raw D-beat. A killer first set for them. Look out for recordings soon. This was probably my favorite performance for us on this run. I love playing a small room. Steph and I are constantly dancing around each other trying to not knock the other over. It never gets old. The kids went bat shit, side to sides and slamming the whole time. The room was electric and we were all buzzing after. Hell yeah.
Another beautiful drive to Louisville. Tonight’s show is at warehouse spot called Camp Spaceman. The whole place reminded me of one of the big squat venues in Germany. Wall-to-wall graffiti and a sick professional PA. The stage is just high enough to dive off but not too high to where you feel far away. The gig starts promptly at 7. TOTAL FLESH were one of my favorite bands of the tour. They play fast, 80s-style American hardcore. No bullshit and catchy in all the right ways. DEADY headlined. Another band I’ve been itching to see for a while. A truly unique and refreshing band. They sounded immaculate. Their last song of the set involved inviting everyone in the crowd on stage to dance and bang on the drums. People went nuts. Good vibes all round.
We headed back home to Chicago the next day. The news that the National Guard is supposedly being deployed to our streets sets in. We’ve been reading about and hearing from friends all week about the massively increased ICE presence and their kidnapping of people in our home. For now we have a few hours in the van to contemplate the last few days and savor how lucky we are to get do this stuff. Life is brief. Punk rules.