Chicago’s three-day, punk-rock carnival was host to Slayer, Jawbreaker, Raconteurs, Patti Smith, Rise Against, Bob Mould, Rancid, Bikini Kill, Lucero, the Struts, and more. Here are our favorite guitar-related moments from the 15th annual gathering.
Bob Mould
The former frontman/guitarist for groundbreaking punk trio Hüsker Dü brought the fury during his solo set that was anchored by a bevy of 1987-’89 Fender Strat Plus models, with late-’80s Lace Sensor Blue pickups in all three positions. In a 2016 interview with PG, he said this about these particular Strats: “I have four more—grey, black, seafoam green, and sunburst—that are almost identical. They’re all pretty much late-’80s Strat Plus factory gear, but I’ve swapped out the pickups for the Lace Sensor Blue pickups because I prefer the original Blue ones.
Now that they’ve got so many variations, I can’t keep up. I just bought one of the newest hot Blue ones, which I think are supposed to sound like Hüsker Dü. I think it actually says that in their catalog, but we’ll see [laughs]. They’re a little fatter and gnarlier sounding, and those are in one of the two guitars that I used on the record. The green Strat has the new hotter pickups, and the grey one is exactly like the blue Strat—same pickups, same wires, and everything.”
