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One of the most exciting things about living in a major metropolitan area such as Chicago is to see how the culture of that area evolves, shifts, cycles, and recycles over time. History has shown us that no cultural movement ever truly dies. Instead, these movements or styles go underground, kept alive by those that truly loved that moment in time and were not simply following it as they would any other trend or fad. They hibernate, waiting for the next generation of taste-makers to find it appropriate to bring back elements of the past, while adding their own modern twist.

June 12th of 2009 marked the 30th anniversary of the famous (or infamous, depending on which side of the line you stood on) Disco Demolition, an uprising against Disco music and culture staged in our own Camiskey Park by local Disc Jockey Steve Dahl. Many believe that night struck a death blow to Disco, a movement which at the time was the prevailing influence on all aspects of pop culture from clothing styles to music to movies and television. Of course, Disco did not die, it merely went underground, it’s influence spawning a myriad of new sub-genres such as House, Techno, and Electro that went on to take on a whole new life of their own and drew in a whole new generation of music fans.

Now, over 30 years after Dahl’s war on Disco, we are seeing a new generation of local promoters, DJ’s and Producers embracing Disco, along with the classic house music that was directly influenced by it, and working to bring it back to the forefront of Chicago’s indie dance scene.

While the word “disco” has been showing up on promotional flyers quite a bit over the last few years, it is most often used more as a euphemism for a bawdy party rather than a descriptor of the music. Not so with this latest crop of party makers. Rather, they are taking the term at it’s most literal – and they are doing their homework, drawing on classic disco imagery in their promotional material and scouring the local used record stores for forgotten pieces of music from that era and resurrecting it on local dance floors either in it’s original state, or edited to add that modern twist.

As I was writing this post I got the idea to take a look at what the cultural climate was like in the 70s – the last time Disco truly was king – and what I read may give us an idea of why it makes sense that so many are finding this music appealing of late. During that time America was in the middle of a foreign war that many disagreed with and was polarizing the entire nation, there were 2 oil crises that made gas not only expensive, but difficult to come by, and the economy slipped into an extended recession. Sound familiar?

Whatever the reason, Disco is poised to make it’s presence felt in a big way in the coming months. If you think this trend is a good thing and want in, here are a few parties you will want to check out:

All Systems Go! @Smart Bar

SoSoDisco @Between Lounge

Trick Disco @Subterranean

Get Get Down @Berlin

WHATCKG? @Level

While I’m understandably biased toward All Systems Go! since it’s a CWG event I’m really looking forward to the next Trick Disco party with Mike Simonetti, the founder of the excellent Italians Do It Better label. Mike gave me permission to pass on a couple of edits off of his recent “I Love It When a Plan Comes Together” 12″. I have seen the B-52s track blogged before, but as far as I know this is the first time the Delta 5 edit has been available digitally. Hope you enjoy these tracks and hope to see you at the show!

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The B-52s – “There’s A Lot Of Ruins (Mike Simonetti’s Version for Fred) MP3

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Delta 5 – Do You See What I See? (Mike Simonetti 1982 Edit) MP3.