1981
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Notable Chicago Punk Events in 1981
- January 24, 1981 - Naked Raygun, Strike Under, and Silver Abuse play a loft party at 180 N Wacker. The show is discussed at this CPP thread
- January 31, 1981 - Special Affect plays its final show at Stages; Strike Under and Western Front open
- February 19, 1981 - Naked Raygun plays the Club 950 Lucky Number
- February 20 and 22, 1981 - Oz is raided by Chicago's finest, and owner Dem Hopkins is briefly jailed
- March 1981 - Touch and Go releases their first record, a 7" by The Fix
- March 7, 1981 - Bauhaus plays Space Place with Naked Raygun opening
- March 9-11, 1981 - Busted at Oz is recorded at Oz's North Broadway location. It would be released on Autumn Records later that year.
- March 23, 1981 - Black Flag plays Space Place; Husker Du plays the after party at Oz (the infamous "blue paint" show)
- April 1981 - Wax Trax releases Strike Under's Immediate Action 12"
- April 1981 - during Northwestern's spring break, Steve Albini records Big Black's first EP, Lungs
- April 10, 1981 - Effigies play Oz. A bootleg of this gig exists.
- April 11, 1981 - Strike Under, Naked Raygun and the Effigies play Space Place
- April 15, 1981 - Da releases their first 7", Dark Rooms
- April 17, 1981 - WZRD sponsors a free show at Northeastern Illinois University with Strike Under and the Effigies
- April 18, 1981 - Naked Raygun plays Minneapolis. Marko Pezzati's final gig with the band.
- April 25-26, 1981 - D.O.A. plays Oz with the Subverts, part of the Hardcore '81 tour
- May 2, 1981 - Strike Under, Naked Raygun, and the Effigies play Space Place
- May 9th, 1981 - Oz closed for good.
- June 29, 1981 - Naked Raygun plays O'Banions
- July 4, 1981 - Strike Under plays the 4th of July show at O'Banions
- July 15, 1981 - Black Flag plays Tuts with the Effigies and DV8. Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski beats up a bouncer.
- July 16, 1981 - The Fall plays Tuts; Naked Raygun opens. For their encore, Raygun plays "Libido" with all the band members completely naked
- August 3, 1981 - Minor Threat plays O'Banions with Youth Brigade and the Necros
- August 6, 1981 - Husker Du plays the Club 950 Lucky Number. The show was reviewed in the Coolest Retard
- September 1981 - Minor Threat guitarist Lyle Preslar relocates to Chicago to attend Northwestern. The band temporarily broke up, but would reform less than a year later when Preslar dropped out and returned to DC.
- September 5, 1981 - Strike Under's first anniversary show, at O'Banions
- October 9, 1981 - Strike Under and Naked Raygun play Gaspar's
- October 16-17, 1981 - Benefit concerts for O'Banions. The Effigies refused to play, claiming the club owners cared more about making money than supporting the punk scene.
- October 31, 1981 - TSOL plays O'Banions with Naked Raygun and the Subverts. There was a costume contest.
- November 1981 - Autumn Records release The Effigies Haunted Town EP
- November 1981 - C.O.D. hosts a "punk weekend" with the Effigies, TSOL, Tom Verlaine, and the Professionals. A review in the Chicago Reader terms the Effigies "the best band in Chicago when it comes to opening the floodgates for manic release."
- December 1981 - Strike Under breaks up
- December 5, 1981 - Effigies play O'Banions with Six Feet Under. It is the Effigies final local show before leaving on their West Coast tour
- December 12, 1981 - Direct Drive plays O'Banions--probably one of their final shows before changing their name to Articles of Faith
- December 31, 1981 - Naked Raygun and Trial by Fire play O'Banions. Perhaps Trial by Fire's first show.
