Last Minute Plans: Titus Andronicus At The Congress

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 3, 2011 8:45PM

The last band to combine the Civil War and big guitars successfully was Guns N' Roses, until Titus Andronicus came along. The punk combo from New Jersey has been honing their stage show through relentless touring over the past couple years, transforming from a band seemingly unsure how to capture a stage the size of Metro's into a band entrancing thousands at last year's Pitchfork Music Festival. Their sophomore album, The Monitor, does indeed have a Civil War theme though it's loose enough to include odes to keggers rubbing up against songs proclaiming the hopelessness of the battlefields.

Titus Andronicus is bringing their impassioned stadium punk to The Congress tonight as they kick off another extended tour, this leg including opening slots for The Pogues. While we understand how this pairing looks good on paper we suggest The Pogues perhaps flip the line-up, because we suspect even those legends will find following Titus Andronicus a thankless proposition.

Titus Andronicus plays tonight, March 3, at The Congress Theater, 2135 N Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m., $40-$100 (WTF?!), all ages