We did it again, y’all. On Saturday, March 4th, we once again joined forces with our cronies at Goose Island and threw a block party on the frigid streets of the Ukrainian Village. To our delight, bout 2,000 well-behaved (subject to opinion) humans (plus a couple dogs and other mammals) came to party with us. In case you missed out, short recap below with pictures to boot!

Gates opened at 1pm, with the Goose Island beer a-flowin’. The inside of the Empty Bottle was a tropical paradise, complete with blow-up palm trees and cardboard tiki men. Lumpen Radio DJs were spinning throughout the day, starting with Sol Son, moving into Logan Bay, and closing out with SONORAMA.

Photo by: Christopher Alvarez

Chicago three-piece DIM took the stage first, captivating the crowd with their heavy, aggressive brand of shoegaze. SNEAKS, aka Eva Moolchan, performed next, bringing the unique blend of post-punk developed in her hometown of Washington, D.C. SNEAKS was like a nice shot of adrenaline on this chilly March day.

New Jersey trio SCREAMING FEMALES gave us a killer set, filled with wild vocal energy and raging guitar licks. Hell, we watched it from way up on the roof and it felt like we were front row center! After SCREAMING FEMALES came the unveiling of our surprise guest: legendary MC KOOL KEITH aka DR. OCTOGAN. For the true heads in the audience it was a welcome shock.  For those who have no idea who KOOL KEITH is, we can only assume they thought it was the strangest METZ intro they had ever seen.

The lovely Canadian gentlemen of METZ closed out the evening. By gentlemen, we mean blow your eardrums, strain your neck style noise-rockers. Couldn’t think of a better group of lads to close out our fourth Music, Frozen, Dancing block party.

Thank you to everyone who came out and especially to our neighbors for being down with this insane idea year after year. Shout out to Mike Broers, winner of the Synth-Chili Cook-Off, whose chili recipe we served at the fest via Bite Cafe.  Sales from said chili were donated to our friends at One Tail At A Time. We like dog. We like you.  Thanks also to Dark Matter for keeping us warm and jacked.  To our Goose Island people, we did it, let’s get lit.

Thank you Chicago, see you in the snowbanks in 2018.

-Empty Bottle Presents

#musicfrozendancing

(All photos credit to Sarah O'Neill unless otherwise stated)

Mark your calendars, boyz and girlz, cause it's that time of year, when we throw a new spin on an old favorite - it's the Empty Bottle Friendly Family Block Party, coming to you LIVE and just outside our front door. We're shutting down the stretch of paved road south of our building to welcome any and all for a summer bash unlike any this city has seen before. Last year, as you may (or may not) remember, we had a few bands and some food trucks outside our doors. This year there will be seven bands, all of which feature a staff member of the Bottle! We'll be serving up delicious street food, courtesy of Bite Cafe chef Dave Cooper, and Revolution Brewing will be providing folks with frosty brews. Unfortunately we had to scrap the overly-expensive dunk tank, so we might just get a kiddie pool for people to relax in...The programming for this event, much like a week spent at the Bottle, is all over the map. The party's lineup will run the gamut - from arty metal to messy garage, indie-pop to thrashy punk, all your rock & roll desires will be fulfilled throughout the day. Here's the lineup:YAKUZA ** RABBLE RABBLE ** CIRCLES ** PLANETSEXPLODER ** PET LIONS ** GUZZLEMUG ** NUDE INTEUDERThe bar will be open throughout the day and, of course, there will be non-alcoholic drinks for our more responsible friends. "Street food," for those who don't know, is basically anything you can eat with one hand - sandwiches and sausages and all that good stuff. There will be vegetarian options available, too, so anyone and everyone can grab some food while they're poundin' delicious bevs.For those who need a break from the summer sun for some cool AC, we'll have activities inside the Bottle, as well. There will be a face painter, duh, and a nail artist who can turn your fingers and/or toes into graphic wonders. We'll also include an area for people to play Corn Hole (or Bags, depending on where you're from). Stay tuned for more, cause we're cookin' up more fun for the indoors.Gates will open at noon and it's a $5 (suggested donation). We'll be planning some late-night shenanigans, as well, so stay tuned and get ready. And as with every suggested donation, the $5 is mandatory. No, seriously - we're serious.