Screeching Weasel

When Screeching Weasel broke up for the third and ostensibly final time after 2000’s forgettable Teen Punks In Heat, fans had a right to be dubious: The seminal Chicago pop-punk band had a long, tumultuous history of lineup changes and breakups—but it had always reconvened. As the ’00s progressed, it looked like this breakup might stick, especially once co-founders Ben Weasel and John “Jughead” Pierson engaged in a protracted legal battle. But in 2011, Weasel reassembled the band and eventually recorded a surprisingly good album,First World Manifesto. Released in mid-March, it’s easily the band’s best album since its early ’90s heyday, which makes the band’s much-publicized lady-punching implosion at SXSW this year that much sadder. Only Weasel remains, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who he’ll have backing him at this show.

Updated 10/19/2011