Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Tomorrow: Lydia Loveless @ Beachland Tavern

I’ve been hearing quite a bit of buzz about this Columbus-based artist.  She gets comparisons to Neko and talk about her non-traditional route to her country-esqe sound.  That’s all enough to intrigue me to go see her live tomorrow night.  

NewImage

Writing from a new-found place of conviction, Lydia crafted 10 songs that are stark in their honesty, self-examination, and openness. Without ditching the ribald, spit-in-your-eye attitude of her previous recordings, Loveless travels into some parallel-universe, roots-bornExile In Guyville territory. These are songs that find her asserting stylistic choices, while baring themes of insatiable desire, unrequited emotion, and mistake-making on life’s crooked, fucked up path.

Here are two sides… I wonder which we’ll get (I hope both).

Video Day

This is quite the upbeat mix. CHVRCHES shows us their travel video (yay!). Next up is a smooth groove from Chromeo (feat. Toro y Moi!).  Then is POLIÇA with I Need $” // “So Leave” who I believe will be performing at the Grog Shop (in June?).  

 

This bonus is a true one… new Diplo with Biggie Bounce.  I would *love* to hang out on a Wild Wednesday with Diplo.

Rick Springfield (2/22/14)

This wasn’t my idea.  Sure I like Jessie’s Girl and Human Touch… but seeing aging rockers isn’t usually my bag.  What did surprise me though was how excited EVERYONE was to see him.  I guess he’s got quite the dedicated following… Don’t believe me?   

Rick Springfield (2/22/14)

Singer-guitarist Rick Springfield rocks hard at Hard Rock Live | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene

"At 64 years of age, Springfield still delivers a high-energy performance that makes it hard to believe that he’s really sixty-four years into this life. Tom Petty famously said in ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance,’ that if ‘you never slow down, you never grow old.’ The truth behind those words is highly visible, watching Springfield onstage as he continues to destroy bouquets of fan-supplied flowers and roses (during ‘Affair Of The Heart’ alone, a total of five bouquets met their demise) with limitless amounts of energy, shredding them across the strings of his guitar in a windmill fashion that would make Pete Townshend proud."

(Continued... Singer-guitarist Rick Springfield rocks hard at Hard Rock Live | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene)

Oh, and it was fun to see Cleveland’s newest music venue… (even if it is just a warehouse with folding chairs) ;-)

Rick Springfield (2/22/14)

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Video Day

Loving the new stuff from The Notwist, including this new video for Kong.  Next is a video for Lo-Fang who’s on tour now with Lorde and has a new album coming out soon.  I’m also excited to see Kickdrums are still kickin’ with a video for Brave Radar.

Bonus goes to a local Clevelander who’s starting to make some noise.

Article: Top concerts ... affirm Cleveland as a major tour market

We as Clevelanders have an inferiority complex at times - so validation is always great.

Top concerts featuring Justin Timberlake, Pink, Taylor Swift and others affirm Cleveland as a major tour market | cleveland.com

"'The Cleveland market is still considered, after all these years, a vibrant concert community,' says Michael Belkin, senior vice president for the regional office of Live Nation, which books acts at The Q and Blossom Music Center. 'We've gotten many A-level acts that surrounding markets didn't get the opportunity to see. Other than the Top-10 markets, we're right up there.'"

(Continued... Top concerts featuring Justin Timberlake, Pink, Taylor Swift and others affirm Cleveland as a major tour market | cleveland.com)

Friday, February 21, 2014

Brite Winter Festival 2014

Another great festival!  It was coooold this year, but with so much energy and so many people, you barely notice it.  Check out some photos:

Brite Winter Festival 2014

Brite Winter Festival 2014

Brite Winter Festival 2014

Brite Winter Festival 2014
Brite Winter Festival 2014

The person I was most looking forward to see perform was Rollergirl.  He was everything I was hoping for… 

Rollergirl (2/15/14)


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Article: Why Cleveland Radio Sucks

 Not sure I see it getting any better.

Why Cleveland Radio Sucks, the True Story Behind 87.7 Cleveland Sound, and the Future of Radio Innovation | Features | Cleveland Scene

"'There's no innovation happening here [in commercial radio],' says John Gorman, who pioneered the Adult Album Alternative (AAA) format as program director for WMMS in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually turning it into one of the most popular stations in the U.S. 'The direction they're going is to more syndication, more network programming.'

And yet others argue radio retains local flavor, guided by listeners. (You can probably guess where those people are employed.)

Tom Herschel, market manager for CBS Radio Cleveland, says playlist decisions are made based on careful research into consumer behavior. 'The bottom line is that people want to hear songs they know when they tune in,' he argues. 'That's how people use radio these days.'

Local music advocates don't agree, saying Cleveland's needs more diversity on the dial. It jumps out as ironic that the city with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn't have a contemporary rock station. Larger market cities like New York and L.A. have greater radio diversity, and even Columbus has CD 102.5, an alt rock station that promotes local music. Few semi-comparable options exist in Cleveland. (We'll get to the ones that do momentarily.)

'We need more local programming happening anywhere on the dial,' says Karoline Kramer-Gould, Music Director for The Heights, voicing a familiar frustration among Cleveland music lovers. 'Not one song playing every two hours until you feel like you're banging your head against a wall.'

Welcome to FM radio: No need to reach for the dial, it's all the same anyway."

(Continued... Why Cleveland Radio Sucks, the True Story Behind 87.7 Cleveland Sound, and the Future of Radio Innovation | Features | Cleveland Scene)

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Video Day

Finally… Dr. Dog shows us a Distant Light.  Tristen (who’s album I just keep appreciating more and more) has a new video with Catalyst.  Lastly is Elizabeth & the Catapult who is having what looks like a fun party with More Than Enough.

Bonus.  St. Vincent who has a new album out on Feb. 25th and will be on tour in Cleveland at the House of Blues on April 10th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (2/13/14)

These guys are so fun… When they were here last, opening for Atlas Genius, they really filled the stage & room.  They squeezed that show into the Grog Shop.  But first, Chad Valley opened, but unfortunately only ended up catching his last song.  It was a rare early night for the Grog Shop (I think the show was over by like 11:30!).  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. played a lively, and *bright* set, to a packed in crowd.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (2/13/14)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (2/13/14)

Tegan & Sara (2/7/14)

Tegan and Sara played a satisfying show at the Masonic Auditorium | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene

This headline about sums it up.  I’ve admitted being slow to adjust to Tegan & Sara’s new pop sound, but I get it now… kinda.  Everything about the show was good, I think I just wanted to be able to dance to it.  It’s still a full-sounding pop delight, but it’s just missing the dance floor.  Still - no regrets here. More from the Scene article below…

Tegan & Sara (2/7/14)

"Fans cheered just as loudly for new songs from Heartthrob as they did for tunes from older albums such as The Con, So Jealous or Sainthood. The duo sounded especially sharp on tunes such as ‘Drove Me Wild,’ ‘Back In Your Head,’ ‘Walking With a Ghost’ and the recent hit, ‘Closer.’ What sets a Tegan and Sara concert apart is an atmosphere that could capture anyone’s heart at any moment. It’s at the center of what they do and it shows. During the show, the sisters remarked, ‘The one thing that doesn’t change over the years is the audience.’ They have mastered the ability to show genuine individual love to an auditorium full of people."

(Continued... Tegan and Sara played a satisfying show at the Masonic Auditorium | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene)

Tegan & Sara (2/7/14)

Tegan & Sara (2/7/14)

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Austin Craig House Concert (2/1/14)

My first house concert of 2014!  I was so excited to find Austin Craig, and that he was willing to come and play for a bunch of strangers in my living room.  I ended up with a decent turnout for a cold Friday night in January.  Not technically a full house, but just the right number of people to keep everything manageable.  

Austin Craig (1/31/14)

Austin’s voice just soared in my living room…

He also really seemed to enjoy the format, and having the time to play a longer set for people.  We liked it too, turning out some gems like Springsteen’s Atlantic City.

I’m ready for my next one…  I think Oslo enjoyed it too.

Austin Craig (1/31/14)

JD Samson & MEN (1/29/14)

Man I was psyched for this show.  I’ve been following MEN since I first heard JD was starting them.  This new album is the best yet, and I had high expectations for this show, particularly with The Very Knees and Blisse opening.

The Very Knees (1/29/14)

 I felt terribly for Blisse because her set fell apart with technical difficulties - but from what I did hear - I wanted more.

Blisse (1/29/14)

JD & MEN ended up coming on a bit early - playing their oft-over sexualized pop, such as this…

I enjoyed the show, I really did (maybe they could have been a little tighter), but I have to say the best part of the night was having a big group of friends there…

The Strumbellas (1/28/14)

A great night at Wilbert’s with this upbeat, fresh and fun Canadian band called The Strumbellas.  It wasn’t much of a crowd on this cold winter night downtown.  We chatted with them and asked why they chose this particular venue (which seemed odd for them, being a folk/americana type band) and they admitted they had no real knowledge of Cleveland.  We politely suggested they might check out the Beachland Tavern as a venue to perform at next time.

The Strumbellas (1/28/14)

The Strumbellas (1/28/14)

The Strumbellas (1/28/14)