When I was in high school, my friends would come over to my house, and we would plug our instruments and amplifiers into the outlets of my parents' garage and play loud music, pretending to be rock stars.

Wednesday night at Chicago's City Winery, the Boxmasters reminded me of those days.

The Boxmasters are the brainchild of actor Billy Bob Thornton, who founded the group in 2007 in Bellflower, California - a town he mentioned multiple times during the evening. Seventeen albums later, the group continues to tour, bringing high energy and guitar-heavy three-chord rock wherever they go. It did not seem to bother them that the small club was less than half full. They performed for nearly two hours, with Thornton occasionally pausing between numbers to tell stories about his family, his life, his friends, and the band's past.

The "Bad Santa" star has assembled a group of first-rate musicians (two guitars, bass, and drums) while he handles the lead vocals. The solos of lead guitarist Kirk McKim were particularly impressive.

While low-resolution videos projected to the side of the stage, the Boxmasters performed almost exclusively original compositions, each with passion and energy. They closed the evening with their only cover song - a deep album cut of the Kinks that fits Billy Bob Thornton and his band.

I totally made up the story about my high friends playing music in my garage, but in my fantasies, that is how I spent my teenage Saturdays, and I sounded just like Billy Bob and the Boxmasters.