Friday, July 10, 2015

Video Day #tzachill

Heartless Bastards bring out Bushwick Bill (Gheto Boys) to sell their sound in this video for Hi-Line. Cayucas popped out of nowhere, but I’m loving their stuff - and this new video for Moony Eyed Walrus. Things get weird with Son Lux’s chilling new video for You Don’t Know Me.

The bonus this week is a wacky new video from the upcoming Gardens & Villa album dropping in August.

Dave Matthews Band (7/8/15)

One thing I have found since mentioning to people that I was going to this concert is that Dave Matthews Band is a polarizing figure.  Either you love him or you hate him.  This was a little surprising to me, as they seemed rather innocuous enough to me.  I really hadn’t paid much attention to them since college - but I know they tour all the time and have dedicated fans - so I figured - what the heck.  It was a slow concert week this week, and had some friends going (and I also had a $15 Live Nation coupon).  

Dave Matthews Band has recently been taking this two set approach to their shows, first going acoustic and then going electric (with no openers). Without a strong knowledge of their catalog, particularly their live catalog, I really was there just to enjoy the company of my friends and the array of interesting people around me. The music provided a great soundtrack for that.  I can’t say I had any real strong feelings about the show - other than “damn, some of these jams are long.”  But they didn’t bother me either.  If I ever had another group of friends going - I’d go back.

Dave Matthews Band (7/8/15)

Dave Matthews Band (7/8/15)

"Under overcast skies, Dave Matthews Band delivered another terrific summertime gem at Blossom last night. To my ears, the band outdid their 2014 show (despite last year's awesome Bela Fleck sit-in) mostly via Jeff Coffin's spellbinding brass and woodwind work and Tim Reynolds' electric guitar madness. The band was on-point all night."

(Via Dave Matthews Band Delivers Old-School Trip at Blossom | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene.)

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Morrissey (6/29/15)

Free tickets, why not. I'd say I'm a Smith's fan, but just about as minimally as possible - I like a couple songs. I can't even tell you what albums they're on, or how many they have - let alone how many solo albums Morrissey has. Still, why not.  If anything, it’s worth seeing the level of dedication this man commands.  Overall, I liked the show.  It has me wishing I knew these songs better…  It was a big band and a big light show, which I wasn’t expecting.  His voice and the energy is pretty great. If I hadn't known to look for cantankerous behaviour, I wouldn't have known otherwise. 

Morrissey (6/29/15)

Morrissey (6/29/15)

"The 90-minute concert opened with an cappella rendition of the Pretenders’ ‘Talk of the Town’ before Morrissey, who admitted later in the show that he was rather pleased to be playing in the town that Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde once called home, and his bandmates took a quick bow to one another and launched into ‘Suedehead,’ an early solo song that could pass as a Smiths tune since it retains the self-questioning lyrics and falsetto lyrics that distinguish Smiths songs. Throughout the set, the band alternated between dark and moody sonic textures (a particularly gritty guitar solo distinguished ‘Istanbul,’ which was made all more dramatic with some dark red lights) and folk-inflected pop (‘Staircase at the University,’ which concluded with an acoustic guitar solo). Morrissey’s voice sounded terrific and his backing band capably kept up with the mood shifts and delivered a spot-on rendition of the careening Smiths tune ‘Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before.’"

(Via Morrissey Shows Why He's a Singular Talent | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene.)

The Helio Sequence (6/23/15)

The Helio Sequence really takes their time between shows, and albums.  But thankfully, their audience or their passion doesn’t wane with time.  I hadn’t seen them since they were here back in 2008!  Opening was Lost Lander.  Nice, emo-indie pop rock - appropriate to be opening for the Helio Sequence.

Lost Lander (6/23/15)

  

The Helio Sequence, still just the two of them, bring a phenomenal energy to the stage - and does so with just about as few words as possible.  The music speaks for itself.  Despite being 7 years since I’ve seen them - they were still thrilling.  DAKS 9.5.

The Helio Sequence (6/23/15)

The Helio Sequence (6/23/15)

Imagine Dragons (6/22/15)

I love hosting concert nights for out-of-town friends & family.  Not normally on my radar, we hit up the Imagine Dragons show at the Quicken Loans Arena with my sis.  I was surprised to see there were 2 openers!  Halsey was up first and sounded pretty good (I’ll have to check her out!).  I knew Metric would be there, and have some favorites by them.  While they had a really good light show (for an opener!), they were struggling in other ways.  I felt like they were giving it all, but the sound was a little blown out and they felt distant.  Would have loved to see they back at the Grog Shop.

Imagine Dragons had the same blown out music sound to start, but their big bombastic drum heavy his towards the end worked just fine.  They were incredibly nice and guys (seemingly from this distance) and that really made them like me even more.  Good stuff.  I’d rank them like 8 on the DAKS.
 
Imagine Dragons (6/22/15)
 
Imagine Dragons (6/22/15)

Summer Solstice 2015

Another Summer, another Summer Solstice at the Cleveland Museum of Art!  This year I opted for the membership to the Art Museum - and the early entry time!  It always seems like the time flies when you’re having fun.  While the music tends towards the eclectic, it adds a certain je nes sais quoi.  Always a great time!

Summer Solstice 2015

Summer Solstice 2015

Summer Solstice 2015

  

More on the event… 

"CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Things were steaming up inside Cleveland Museum of Art Saturday as more than 6,000 guests came together to celebrate the seventh annual Summer Solstice.

The indoor and outdoor event featured two stages where seven bands gave a live performance of cutting-edge world music. Visitors were also encouraged to tour the museum's exhibits with the help of CMA's new smartphone app. Watch the video above to see highlights from the night as everyone celebrated the kickoff to summer."

(Via Summer Solstice 2015 at Cleveland Museum of Art celebrates hottest party of the year (video) | cleveland.com.)

Larchmere Porchfest 2015

What an excellent day.  It started off with a long walk with the dog down to the Larchmere area for Porchfest 2015.  This idea is still amazing after all these years.  There’s something to be said about the masses of people ambling around the whole neighborhood and camping out in front of random people’s homes.  It’s evident by the neighbors out on their porches filming the crowds outside their doors!
I didn’t get a lot of time in this year, but enough to catch Morgan Mecaskey & Maura Rogers.
Larchmere Porchfest 2015
Larchmere Porchfest 2015
Larchmere Porchfest 2015

Jacco Gardner / Calvin Love (6/19/15)

I had a hard decision to make this evening.  The Grog Shop was hosting the Heartless Bastards (LOVE her voice!), but the Happy Dog ended up winning my attendance with their dual headliner (in my mind) with Calvin Love and Jacco Gardner.  Sure, I’ve seen Jacco before, but he was worth seeing again - and Calvin’s hazy pop/dance sound is intriguing - and has really grown on me.  I was glad Calvin was up first, because the Happy Dog is notoriously late with their shows.  Calvin was dapper and had a nice groove to him…  Check him out:

Calvin Love (6/19/15)

Calvin Love (6/19/15)

By the time Jacco was taking the stage (1am??), the night was over for me.  I stayed long enough to catch some shots - but would have loved for this to be earlier for me to catch more of his show.

Jacco Gardner (6/19/15)