It took longer than expected to get here. A handful of near misses, scheduling conflicts, and those frustratingly inevitable “life happens” moments had kept me from seeing Yada Yada before now. A band I'd heard about, listened to, meant to see. One that should've already been in my archives, yet somehow wasn't.
But maybe that made the anticipation sweeter.
For weeks, their newest track, “Emoticon,” had been on repeat, a hyper charged burst of indie-punk with enough edges to keep perfect balance with Meagan Hoch's vocals.
And then there was “Bleach,” a past favorite, a track that makes you want to capture a band in their element, to see if their live energy matched what crackled through my headphones.
So when I finally got to Cobra Lounge, on International Women's Day no less, it was a little victory. A long overdue moment. Though really, isn't every day International Women's Day? Especially in punk, where carving out space is a necessity worth celebrating. And in Chicago, where every new punk band counts as a small rebellion, Yada Yada ignites another spark within our vibrant scene ⚡️