“Punk Rock Saves Lives:” Soul Coughing at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, Illinois - December 12, 2025
Soul Coughing took the stage as Q101 wrapped up their fourth and final night of Twisted Xmas 2025 on December 12th at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom along with co-headliner Sublime and opener One for The Ditch. The early 90s four piece alternative rock band, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Mike Doughty, keyboardist Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gaba, recently reunited mid last year and have been on a roll since. Just a month ago, they released a remix album of their first release, Ruby Vroom, and had toured the United States this past fall. Chicago fans were truly spoiled, having them perform twice in only a few months.
Not only was the love for the band felt, but so was the holiday spirit throughout the show. Although it was absolutely freezing, the crowd was so packed that the cold wasn’t on anyone’s mind. Tis the season of drunk and jolly people! A very gruesome version of the Grinch roamed the crowd as tube lights given out by the team were waved in the air all night. The crowd was quite diverse: young and old. Lovers and families. The beauty of older bands reuniting is the ability for people to not only relive those old tour moments, but also having the chance to now share that your loved ones, especially during the holiday season.
One For The Ditch, Chicago’s very own Irish rock band, did a fantastic job warming up the crowd. Before the set began, the Q101 hosts riled everyone up. After some friendly banter with the crowd, Soul Coughing hit the stage with their song “Bus to Beelzebub.”
They had so much energy on stage. Everyone could feel Sebastian’s upright bass fill the air. Mike’s vocals sounded nearly identical to their studio recordings and despite being partially hidden by their equipment, Yuval and Mark killed it on the drums and keys, respectively. The way the band incorporates elements of jazz, electronic, hip-hop, and other experimental tidbits definitely makes it such a fun experience live.
Despite how large the crowd was, the band made sure to interact with and speak to their sea of fans. The band has a clear love for Chicago. Mike Doughty proclaimed how Chicago’s crowd was “full of beautiful people” numerous times during their set. One really profound moment was a speech Mike gave about the importance of rock. He stated twice "punk rock saves lives,” which the crowd no doubt agreed with based on the cheers. The sentiment feels a lot more powerful thinking of the fact they reunited after years of being apart.
They wrapped up their hour-long set with two bangers: “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago,” the lead single from Ruby Vroom, and the iconic “Super Bon Bon”, ending a truly eccentric night thanks to Soul Coughing.
