Ghosts and Vodka reunite (again), this time onstage in Chicago

Ghosts and Vodka @ Ronnys, Chicago, Il
July 2,2010
by Derek Walker

Cross another off the list. This January it was emo pioneer Cap’n Jazz reuniting in Chicago, and on Friday it was another band in the Kinsellaverse, Ghosts and Vodka. Though missing one of its founding members, the math rockers were able to pull it together for a brief 15-minute set at Ronny’s Bar.

The concert was in celebration of drummer Scott Shellhamer’s 35^th birthday. Erik Bocek played bass, Victor Villarreal played guitar and Frank Hryniewicz filled in for the absent Zurick on guitar. No more than 75 people were in attendance for the reunion set, which was previously unannounced and sandwiched between sets from other Shellhamer bands American Heritage, Spirits, Heaving Mass and Exorciser.

Hryniewicz looked comfortable taking over for Zurick, while Shellhamer and Bocek seemed to have a great deal of fun playing the old tunes once more. Villarreal looked more relaxed onstage than he did a year prior at his first ever solo show, held at DeKalb, Illinois’s House Cafe.

The reunion comes months after the band released its first new track since breaking up in 2001. “Gameshow Buzzer” appeared on “Joan of Arc Presents: Don’t Mind Control,” released earlier this year on Polyvinyl. There were plans for a full-scale reunion in 2009, but things fell through soon after the announcement.

Shellhamer and Bocek are still making music in American Heritage, while Villarreal is working with Cap’n Jazz for the band’s first tour in a decade and a half. He will release his second solo album later this year, and a split 7-inch with Loose Lips Sink Ships sometime over summer.

View video of the full set below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zyCg4bEXY (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7khF-wizfeY (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td6mnojsdHw (Part 3)