The Magnificent 8 Concert Capsules
Since my October concert calendar I've been to eight shows, pushing my totals for the year to 32 gigs and 60 bands. Let's break it down.
1- Nikki Lane had a pretty good album come out in 2014 that was produced by Dan Auerbach, but I didn't get to her show that year. When she came back on Sunday, November 8 I made sure to check it out. First I waited through an opener called Clear Plastic Mask who I have already forgotten, than Nikki walked on to the Beachland Tavern stage with her band and played a solid country set. It was more than good enough for me to see her again, and I happily bought her album.
2- Two days later I saw Dear Rouge at Mahall's. They are a very average Canadian indie rock band who did very little for me or for the scant few other attendees. Fortunately, they were not the reason I went to the show.
Rah Rah is a band I've played on my show in years past, but this year they put out a new album called Vessels that blew me away. I played at least half of it on my show and it is probably my favorite album of the year. When they made their first Cleveland show I had to be there. Sadly, I was one of maybe ten people in attendance, but I got to see a first rate show. I hope they'll be back, because if they do return I'll drag all of you with me. Needless to say, I bought the new album.
The first opener, Diverge, had three crazy people doing rock and roll for all of five people. They weren't good, per se, but they were an awful lot of fun and I give them props for getting the point of rock & roll.
3- Years ago I was wandering through the radio station's vinyl and I found a late 1980s psychobilly album by the improbably named Elvis Hitler. I like that sort of thing, so I played it on my show occasionally over the years. I never expected to actually get to see them, but they scheduled a reunion tour. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to be there, so I was in the Beachland Tavern on November 14.
First off I got Cult of the Psychic Fetus, who are consistently excellent weirdo rockers. Then Elvis Hitler took the stage. It was a fine reunion show. The band was nothing special but lots of energy and happy rockabilly fans in their full regalia there to cheer them on. As onabus put it, if you like women in leopard print it was the night to be there! Fun side note: Elvis Hitler couldn't legally sell their own albums because originally they were all released on vinyl and the record label that has the rights won't let them do a CD version. What's a band to do? Why, sell illegal bootlegs of their own albums, of course! I declined the offer to spend money on a burned CD, but I did buy a big jacket patch which is now hanging on my fridge.
4- Mephiskapheles is a 3rd wave ska band with one good album, God Bless Satan. I never thought I'd get to see them because they more or less broke up in 2001, but an improbable reunion tour was booked into Lakewood on Sunday, November 15. Emily was interested, so we hit Roxu for dinner and Ice Cream Joy for dessert before heading to The Foundry. We got caught one opener, local Brazen Rogues, who played loud hardcore, and then it was time for the main event.
It was a good show. I got to skank in the pit with a bunch of other like minded individuals. I heard all my favorite Mephiskapeheles songs, and I had some cheap beer. Sure, the band wasn't fantastic, but the energy level was there, and for one night nostalgia reigned. Huzzah!
5- My friend Judie and I caught The King Khan & BBQ Show at the Beachland Ballroom on Thursday, November 19. I'm more more familiar with King Khan's other project, The Shrines (Idle No More was good), but the BBQ Show was a lot of fun. Take a Canadian of Indian descent, slap him into some bondage gear that was a few sizes too small for his frame, give him a cape, a mask and an electric guitar, and have him play with a similarly attired gentlemen who is playing guitar with his hands and drums with his feet, and you get high energy rock & roll. The crowd went nuts, leading to my first mosh pit in many years. I had a good time and would go again.
The first opener was local Archie & the Bunkers, whose album is really good. Milk Lines played between them and was clearly bored with the show. They were too cool for us, apparently, and more importantly not very good.
6- My current cohost Colleen turned me on to Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, a rock band from Detroit. She and I and her husband and my coworker Dave and Dave's relative drove down to Akron to check them out on Friday, December 4. After an excellent dinner at Crave (at which I saw Kelly & Ryan) we went over to Musica.
First we had a Canton based opener called White Buffalo Woman. They started playing out some soul music that was actually really good. When they switched to rock, it started to be boring. Stick with soul guys! After that Jessica Hernandez and company came out, and I've got to be honest: it was pretty boring for the first half of the set or more. The energy was low and things just weren't working for me. They started to wake up toward the end, and the last 4-5 songs were great, including a closing cover of Le Tigre's Deceptacon (sweet!). If the whole set had been as good as those last 4-5 songs, it would have been a show of the year candidate, but alas, it was not. I might try them again, but not if I have to drive to Akron.
7- Speaking of both Akron and Dan Auerbach, he has a new project called The Arcs. I liked his previous solo project Keep It Hid, and The Arcs album Yours, Dreamily is similar sonically. I enjoyed it enough to head down to Akron for the second time in five days. EJ was gracious enough to drive me, and after a quick dinner at Barleyhouse we went into Akron Civic and were in our seats just in time for... a mariachi band?
Yes, a four piece group called Mariachi Flor de Toloache who bill themselves as "New York's first all woman mariachi band" came out in front of the curtain and played a brief six song set, including a wicked Nirvana cover. Their connection to Auerbach became clear when The Arcs took the stage with three of members of Mariachi Flor de Toloache as backup singers. The entire stage was set up like the set of a 1970s variety show, complete with potted plants. Since the music feels very 1970s garage rock, that fits. I won't say I blown away by the show, but I certainly appreciated the music and the set design and the whole experience. I was sort of hoping that Auerbach would pull out all the stops for an Akron gig, but alas, he did not.
8- I was never hugely into Sleater-Kinney back during their heyday, but the new album No Cities to Love made me explore their back catalog, and I liked what I saw. I wasn't the only one, so after dinner at Korea House gieves and I headed to the House of Blues (switched Cleveland Masonic at the last second) on December 9, along with many other friends including EJ, Ed, Brandt, Judie and Teddy.
Waxahatchee opened, and didn't do much for me (sorry Brandt!). Sleater-Kinney came on. Everyone else was talking about "show of the year" and oh my god, and... I had a good time, but I wasn't super impressed. It turns out that most of their songs kind of sound the same, even with the extra fourth musician kicking in on a few tracks. I'm not unhappy I went by any means, but either they are just ok, or the curse of the House of Blues (terrible acoustic every time) kicked in, or I should have stood somewhere else in the club, or a crowd of mostly forty-year-olds trying to reclaim past glory isn't conducive to crowd energy... or something. Hell if I know. Sorry to be a downer, but it just didn't do much for me.
And bonus #9:
I had a ticket for Calder Quartet on November 16, but my car tire died at work that day (ironically, I already had an appointment to get new tires a scant three days later) so I it went unused. Next time. If I'd made that, I would hit five shows in twelve days.
1- Nikki Lane had a pretty good album come out in 2014 that was produced by Dan Auerbach, but I didn't get to her show that year. When she came back on Sunday, November 8 I made sure to check it out. First I waited through an opener called Clear Plastic Mask who I have already forgotten, than Nikki walked on to the Beachland Tavern stage with her band and played a solid country set. It was more than good enough for me to see her again, and I happily bought her album.
2- Two days later I saw Dear Rouge at Mahall's. They are a very average Canadian indie rock band who did very little for me or for the scant few other attendees. Fortunately, they were not the reason I went to the show.
Rah Rah is a band I've played on my show in years past, but this year they put out a new album called Vessels that blew me away. I played at least half of it on my show and it is probably my favorite album of the year. When they made their first Cleveland show I had to be there. Sadly, I was one of maybe ten people in attendance, but I got to see a first rate show. I hope they'll be back, because if they do return I'll drag all of you with me. Needless to say, I bought the new album.
The first opener, Diverge, had three crazy people doing rock and roll for all of five people. They weren't good, per se, but they were an awful lot of fun and I give them props for getting the point of rock & roll.
3- Years ago I was wandering through the radio station's vinyl and I found a late 1980s psychobilly album by the improbably named Elvis Hitler. I like that sort of thing, so I played it on my show occasionally over the years. I never expected to actually get to see them, but they scheduled a reunion tour. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to be there, so I was in the Beachland Tavern on November 14.
First off I got Cult of the Psychic Fetus, who are consistently excellent weirdo rockers. Then Elvis Hitler took the stage. It was a fine reunion show. The band was nothing special but lots of energy and happy rockabilly fans in their full regalia there to cheer them on. As onabus put it, if you like women in leopard print it was the night to be there! Fun side note: Elvis Hitler couldn't legally sell their own albums because originally they were all released on vinyl and the record label that has the rights won't let them do a CD version. What's a band to do? Why, sell illegal bootlegs of their own albums, of course! I declined the offer to spend money on a burned CD, but I did buy a big jacket patch which is now hanging on my fridge.
4- Mephiskapheles is a 3rd wave ska band with one good album, God Bless Satan. I never thought I'd get to see them because they more or less broke up in 2001, but an improbable reunion tour was booked into Lakewood on Sunday, November 15. Emily was interested, so we hit Roxu for dinner and Ice Cream Joy for dessert before heading to The Foundry. We got caught one opener, local Brazen Rogues, who played loud hardcore, and then it was time for the main event.
It was a good show. I got to skank in the pit with a bunch of other like minded individuals. I heard all my favorite Mephiskapeheles songs, and I had some cheap beer. Sure, the band wasn't fantastic, but the energy level was there, and for one night nostalgia reigned. Huzzah!
5- My friend Judie and I caught The King Khan & BBQ Show at the Beachland Ballroom on Thursday, November 19. I'm more more familiar with King Khan's other project, The Shrines (Idle No More was good), but the BBQ Show was a lot of fun. Take a Canadian of Indian descent, slap him into some bondage gear that was a few sizes too small for his frame, give him a cape, a mask and an electric guitar, and have him play with a similarly attired gentlemen who is playing guitar with his hands and drums with his feet, and you get high energy rock & roll. The crowd went nuts, leading to my first mosh pit in many years. I had a good time and would go again.
The first opener was local Archie & the Bunkers, whose album is really good. Milk Lines played between them and was clearly bored with the show. They were too cool for us, apparently, and more importantly not very good.
6- My current cohost Colleen turned me on to Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas, a rock band from Detroit. She and I and her husband and my coworker Dave and Dave's relative drove down to Akron to check them out on Friday, December 4. After an excellent dinner at Crave (at which I saw Kelly & Ryan) we went over to Musica.
First we had a Canton based opener called White Buffalo Woman. They started playing out some soul music that was actually really good. When they switched to rock, it started to be boring. Stick with soul guys! After that Jessica Hernandez and company came out, and I've got to be honest: it was pretty boring for the first half of the set or more. The energy was low and things just weren't working for me. They started to wake up toward the end, and the last 4-5 songs were great, including a closing cover of Le Tigre's Deceptacon (sweet!). If the whole set had been as good as those last 4-5 songs, it would have been a show of the year candidate, but alas, it was not. I might try them again, but not if I have to drive to Akron.
7- Speaking of both Akron and Dan Auerbach, he has a new project called The Arcs. I liked his previous solo project Keep It Hid, and The Arcs album Yours, Dreamily is similar sonically. I enjoyed it enough to head down to Akron for the second time in five days. EJ was gracious enough to drive me, and after a quick dinner at Barleyhouse we went into Akron Civic and were in our seats just in time for... a mariachi band?
Yes, a four piece group called Mariachi Flor de Toloache who bill themselves as "New York's first all woman mariachi band" came out in front of the curtain and played a brief six song set, including a wicked Nirvana cover. Their connection to Auerbach became clear when The Arcs took the stage with three of members of Mariachi Flor de Toloache as backup singers. The entire stage was set up like the set of a 1970s variety show, complete with potted plants. Since the music feels very 1970s garage rock, that fits. I won't say I blown away by the show, but I certainly appreciated the music and the set design and the whole experience. I was sort of hoping that Auerbach would pull out all the stops for an Akron gig, but alas, he did not.
8- I was never hugely into Sleater-Kinney back during their heyday, but the new album No Cities to Love made me explore their back catalog, and I liked what I saw. I wasn't the only one, so after dinner at Korea House gieves and I headed to the House of Blues (switched Cleveland Masonic at the last second) on December 9, along with many other friends including EJ, Ed, Brandt, Judie and Teddy.
Waxahatchee opened, and didn't do much for me (sorry Brandt!). Sleater-Kinney came on. Everyone else was talking about "show of the year" and oh my god, and... I had a good time, but I wasn't super impressed. It turns out that most of their songs kind of sound the same, even with the extra fourth musician kicking in on a few tracks. I'm not unhappy I went by any means, but either they are just ok, or the curse of the House of Blues (terrible acoustic every time) kicked in, or I should have stood somewhere else in the club, or a crowd of mostly forty-year-olds trying to reclaim past glory isn't conducive to crowd energy... or something. Hell if I know. Sorry to be a downer, but it just didn't do much for me.
And bonus #9:
I had a ticket for Calder Quartet on November 16, but my car tire died at work that day (ironically, I already had an appointment to get new tires a scant three days later) so I it went unused. Next time. If I'd made that, I would hit five shows in twelve days.