Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Video Day #tzachill

Plants & Animals (one of my all-time favorite bands!) just released the first video for No Worries Gonna Find Us, off their upcoming album - out Friday!  My Bubba released their video for Charm - which is pretty incredible they were able to cast and direct those deer!  :-)  Drew Gibson just released his new video for the beautifully rollicking Bettie-Jane.

 

 

Bonus:  Jon & Roy have a found footage video for When I Rise.  Bizarre stuff.

My Gold Mask (4/22/16)

This past Friday night - there were a lot of shows to choose from.  The tough choice for me was between this show and the Thermals at the Grog Shop.  But recently I’ve spent more time listening to the My Golden Mask stuff.  Besides, I was looking forward to seeing how this played out at Mahalls.  It’d been a while since they’ve been here (2011), and unfortunately they (or Mahalls) wasn’t able to pull a very big crowd.  Still, they belted out their strong goth / garage pop sound and put on a great show.  I liked their amped up live show, and hopefully it won’t be so long until they come back around.

My Gold Mask (4/22/16)

Santigold (4/19/16)

This is my first of two times seeing Santigold on this tour (here and then tomorrow night in Atlanta).  She really takes her time between releasing albums, so I thoroughly enjoyed really going back and listening to her older stuff in preparation for this show - and I really started to love the new stuff as well.  She definitely has this fun, dancehall pop kind of sound about her.  For this show, I had all my usual House of Blues gripes - but she still put on a fun show.  I’ll be interested to see how this show will differ by being in a different venue - in a different city.

Santigold (4/19/16)

Santigold (4/19/16)

Erin McKeown (4/10/16)

I was hopeful that with Erin McKeown coming to the Beachland, that she’d have a new album coming soon.  It doesn’t seem that way - but I’ve seen Erin several times - and every time has been a treat.  Opening was Yes Lisa and Maryleigh Roonan.  It was a night of ladies with electric guitars!

I was captivated by Maryleigh Roonan.  She really had this effortless performance, with a strong distinctive voice, like the electric guitar she played.  I would gleefully describe her as having the voice of Gillian Welch with the soul of Bonnie Raitt.

Maryleigh Roonan (4/10/16)

Erin McKeown didn’t disappoint yet again.  It was a minimal show, with only her, a guitar and a piano.  Her quirky, folky (almost Ani-like) show was refreshing and intimate.  Now we wait for that next album.

Erin McKeown (4/10/16)

Erin McKeown (4/10/16)

Monday, April 25, 2016

Article: How Quicken Loans Arena became one of the world's premier concert venues

Not my favorite place to see shows, but anything that promotes Cleveland as a destination - I’m for it.

QuickenLoansArena

"The Q's evolution as a top-tier concert venue can be traced back a decade. Over the past 10 years, Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert and his ownership group have invested more than $40 million into upgrades at Quicken Loans Arena, including a new sound system, lighting, seating, scoreboards and more.

During that time, Komoroski and his team have put forth a major marketing effort to augment the arena's national profile.

'It's been our goal to have this kind of growth,' says Hallie Yavitch, The Q's senior director of events. 'There's been a lot of work to build our standing, such as making an effort to get on the first leg of the major tours.'"

(Via How Quicken Loans Arena became one of the world's premier concert venues | cleveland.com.)

Junior Boys (4/5/16)

Probably my biggest disappointment with my recent phone snafu is losing the videos that I took at this show (!!). These guys have been one of my favorite electronic / dance / pop bands for the last 10 years.  The show was phenomenal, and I think they even played everything I wanted - or it was so good that I didn’t know what I missed.   This met every (high) expectation I had.

Junior Boys (4/5/16)

Junior Boys (4/5/16)

Junior Boys (4/5/16)

Rivers & Rust (4/3/16)

There weren’t a lot of shows in San Antonio to choose from, when I was visiting  a couple weeks ago.  The best I found was this Rivers & Rust show over at Sam’s Burger Joint.  Not the kind of venue name I would expect for what turned out to be a decent size concert venue!  It was a Sunday night, so the show wasn’t all that busy - but it was nice being a visitor and not having that home town ego to be bruised with a bad turnout.  

Rivers & Rust (4/3/16)

Rivers & Rust (4/3/16)

Judah & the Lion (3/29/16)

This show was not originally on my calendar, but this Spring has been such a drought for shows that we were really looking to just get out.  I saw Tom Evanchuck was opening (a house concert alumni!) so I was happy to stop out and see this show.  While Tom was great as ever, the crowd was a challenge.  They seemed there more for the party than for the music… and that’s kind of how I felt about Judah & the Lion.  I hadn’t spent much time with their music - and I always try to be positive here - but their show felt kinda douchey.  I wasn’t much into the folk/rap/rock sound, nor the crowd they drew…   We didn’t stay long after Tom left the stage...

Tom Evanchuck (3/29/16)

Judah & the Lion (3/29/16)

Chad Valley (3/26/16)

I was really looking forward to this show… I’ve been loving both bands, though Blackbird Blackbird has really been hitting my buttons lately.  I wish I had more to say about this show - but it was fine.  Maybe I was expecting too much on the dance side of things - but it wasn’t terrible.   I also had a phone issue and lost some videos I had stored for this show.  :-/ 

Blackbird Blackbird (3/26/16)

Chad Valley (3/26/16)

roeVy (3/25/16)

Sonic Sessions expands their diversity scale a bit more by bringing in the likes of roeVy, a heavy dance, electronic group out of Columbus, to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.   Now as usually is the case with DJ’s - it’s hard for me to walk into a show and know who is exactly on stage.  With that being said, here’s a photo - but I don’t think it’s of roeVy and would be one of the openers… Slave, Sean 2:16 and Blackbird  (let me know if you know!).

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn’t the easiest place to start up an early evening dance party - but the crowd pushed through the awkwardness to do just that.  A great warmup to Movement!

roeVy (3/25/16)

Maura Rogers & the Bellows (3/19/16)

While I see a quite a few concerts, some of my favorite experiences is when I can get my family to join me.  My sister has really been enjoying seeing Maura Rogers the few times we were lucky enough to catch her playing randomly around town.  This was the first time that she was able to come up to the Beachland for the total concert experience.  This also happened to be her new EP release show as well!  It was a really fun night… 

Maura Rogers & the Bellows (3/19/16)

Friday, April 22, 2016

Video Day #tzaupbeat

And speaking of the weekend… HUMANS gives us a day in the life of one of their jacket in Water Water.  I’d totally take home Oberhofer home - with his new video asking someone to do just that.  Bloc Party is color blocking in their new video for Virtue.  

The bonus this week is a true bonus… I’m in love with this song and video for Hugs Not Drugs (Or Both) by Brendan Maclean.

Tonight! My Gold Mask @ Mahalls

I was able to catch My Gold Mask back in 2011, and loved it, so I’m very excited they’re coming back to town.   I’ll be curious how much they’ve changed in almost 5 years.  But if this isn’t your cup of tea, there’s also the Thermals at the Beachland tonight (TOUGH CHOICE between these shows), as well as Cabinet at the Beachland, if you’re feeling a bit more folky…  The weekend is just getting started.

My Gold Mask Hi Res saveforweb 1500

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Article: The Rebirth of Touch Supper Club Revives a Hotspot for Cleveland's DJ Scene

More dancing in Cleveland!!

Touch supper club

"When Touch reopened, longtime fans were greeted by major updates throughout the place. In particular, the newly remodeled basement featured a nice zinc-topped bar and plenty of additional seating. Always home to special events, the basement at Touch had suddenly become a chic addition to the westside's musical offerings. 'The basement is all about dancing,' Petty says."

(Via The Rebirth of Touch Supper Club Revives a Hotspot for Cleveland's DJ Scene | Features | Cleveland Scene.)

Friday, April 8, 2016

Video Day #tzaupbeat

Man Made Mountain have me ready for Summer with this smooth groove and video for Cachaça ft. Tom Scott.  Speaking of Summer, let’s go tropical (and SEXY) with Bomba Estéreo's Somos Dos.  Next up is Milky Chance who I’m just now discovering, thanks to oWOW Radio!  How did I miss this album when it was released??

Bonus:  Years & Years are back with another great video, albeit a little more risqué this time.  I’m looking forward to seeing them open for Ellie Goulding at Jacobs Pavilion (moved from Wolstein!)