Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Tomorrow: BoomBox @ Beachland Ballroom

I’m not quite sure where this nu disco / fun / jam band came from (technically from Alabama), but I’ve really been enjoying all their music lately.  The danceable elements are what really captures me.  This should be a great show!

"The band is known for not using setlists, instead improvising and changing their set's direction based on the crowd's energy. According to NUVO, "BoomBox plays a unique blend of psychedelic rock and electronica," and also incorporates elements of funk, soul, R&B, and... This channel was generated automatically by YouTube's video discovery system."

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy95iVVkZe4RkZmyz4icgQA/about)

Boombox

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Moon King (1/29/18)

Detroit-based Moon King swung through the Mahall’s downstairs Locker Room on a wintry Monday night, on the last night of his tour.  He ended up performing in the middle slot, and luckily some people started showing.  That still didn’t get me out of having to dance amongst just a few up front, but the music made it easy to do.  He was really cool guy, who showed some interest in the idea of a house concert - something to consider.

Moon King  1 29 18

Moon King  1 29 18

Ending the night was Cleveland’s moody synth Key to the Mint.  Not entirely sure what to make of this band, but their 80’s inspired sound is definitely intriguing.

Key to the Mint  1 29 18

Key to the Mint  1 29 18

Opening was Kiernan Paradise.

Kiernan Paradise  1 29 18

Monday, January 29, 2018

Yoke Lore (1/26/18)

I arrived at the Beachland early to grab some seats and the bar and grab a bite to eat, but realized they messed up the door time on the website.  I was left hanging outside waiting for the soundcheck to finish as a group of spirited young folk started to gather around and line up.  I could tell they were thrilled to be there, some having seen Yoke Lore multiple times, and I can see why.  He was so warm and personable in person, and on stage he was reflective, poignant and can throw down the 80’s dance moves like no one’s business.  He might have been a little long on the banter, but his songs really start to stick with you.  After the show, he hung out in the house and talked with just about every person who was willing.  Such a great guy, and what a great performer!

Yoke Lore  1 26 18

Yoke Lore  1 26 18

(also be sure to check out his cover of Savage Garden’s Truly, Madly, Deeply on my YouTube Channel!)

Vita and the Woolf returned to the Beachland for the opening slot. Her sound was as powerful, dense, and yet sometimes soft, as like her her songwriting and general presence.  I was able to have a nice little interaction with her after the show and she was quite lovely.  Go Vita!

Vita  the Woolf  1 26 18

Vita  the Woolf  1 26 18

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Tomorrow: Moon King / Key to the Mint @ Mahalls

Two great bands performing at Mahalls tomorrow night! Detroit-based artist Moon King and then Cleveland’s own Key to the Mint.  Never having heard of either of these bands before, I instantly fell in love with their respective dance/pop/punk sound!  I found this quote in Moon King's PR material that sums up his sound nicely: “Daniel (Moon King) put together a completely new band with a sound drawing from dance music's early days, from synthpop, disco and house music up through the more pop-oriented songcraft of the Bee Gees or Prince.”  Yes please.

Moonking

Check out the videos...

Local band Key to the Mint calls themselves a post-punk.  I’m mostly getting some amazing 80’s retrowave sound from these guys, and can’t wait to see them live.  They’ll also be at Brite Winter Festival this year too!

Keytothemint

Video for One Version of the Truth:

Friday, January 26, 2018

Hear For The Homeless - A NEOCH Benefit Concert (1/25/18)

What an incredible night. Wesley Bright & the Honeytones, Carlos Jones and many others performing for to support the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless at the Beachland Ballroom and sponsored by MOCA.  The sets were short, and interspersed with the music were speakers from the organization and the streets.  Very compelling.  We as compassionate people can and should be doing so much more.

Wesley Bright  the Honeytones  1 25 18

Carlos Jones  1 25 18

Also, if you ever see this paper being sold on the street… BUY IT!

IMG 1366

Finally, we were also about to check out the show happening in the Tavern last night and I caught this little gem by the Ben Miller Band.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Tomorrow: Yoke Lore and Vita & the Woolf @ Beachland Tavern

Friday night is going to be SO MUCH FUN.  Yoke Lore first caught my attention when I saw his EP was getting remixes by the like of Blackbird Blackbird, Yeasayer, and Chad Valley (what an incredible list!).  After listening to his stuff, I could appreciate why.  He has this large indie pop sound to him, which kinda makes sense being that he split off from the band Walk The Moon.  Watching his videos (below), I like him even more.

Yokelore

Opening the night is Vita & the Woolf.  I’d be going back to the Beachland tomorrow night if it were only her again!  Glad this time I won’t be sharing her time with Hurray for the Riff Raff.  Still enjoying her EP, but I’m still waiting on that full album. 

Vitawoolf

He also made Scene’s Band of the Week.

"For the live show, Galvin says he plays with a drummer. 'It's easier having less people, and it's more focused,' he says. 'I think that because it's a solo project, I want to keep as much of it me. I know that sounds super controlling. But it's what this project is about for me. It's about indulging in my instincts. People have laptops on stage, and I really find that unattractive. I work hard with samples and loops and triggers to stay really involved in the playing of it. I also have enough elements, so it feels like a full experience.'"

(Via Band of the Week: Yoke Lore | Band of the Week | Cleveland Scene.)

I thought I’d also throw one more Yoke Lore photo I found for good measure. 😏

DSC 0239

Helado Negro (1/20/18)

While Cuco was technically the headliner on this night, Helado Negro was really the stand out performer - by far.  You could really tell he’s the seasoned performer of the artists there that night, both in song and in production.  The lighting was a delight, as are his ever-present tinsel mammals.  I’m flabbergasted that I haven’t been able to see him in a headlining slot yet.  Check out the video below.

Helado Negro  1 20 18

Helado Negro  1 20 18

Opening the night was Polaris-prize winning Lido Pimienta.  While I’m able to really appreciate her music, her on stage personality was rather off-putting.  It wasn’t any one particular thing she said, I don’t want to dissect it, but it really kind of eclipsed the music for me.

Lido Pimienta  1 20 18

Lido Pimienta  1 20 18

Cuco was the headliner, but we had somewhere to be after this show so we didn’t stay long.  I’ll admit that the more I listened to his music, the more I liked it.  Both seeing him talking to fans in person, and seeing him on stage - he has more of the at carless, slacker vibe going.  Not my jam, but as long as keeps putting out some good music.

Cuco  1 20 18

Gus Dapperton (1/19/18)

Expectations were pretty high for this show, and I’m glad they were met!  Gus Dapperton was quirky and fun.  The synths were delicious, as was his dancing. Great show! Looking forward to hearing more from him.  Check it out below.

Gus Dapperton  1 19 18

Gus Dapperton  1 19 18

Opening was Exotic Fruit Club, a local band who’s friend is the father of one of the former band members.  Follow that one.  Their live show was pretty decent.  You can tell they really love what they’re doing.  (btw - I’m not sure where the flame in that picture came from).

Exotic Fruit Club  1 19 18

Article: 25 Cleveland concerts to spend your money on in 2018

Cleveland.com just put out their list of big shows here in 2018.  You won’t be finding me at any of these, except maybe the Big K.R.I.T. show.  But Kid Rock had to be listed?  Really??

Clevelandcom

"This time of year typically features big announcement after big announcement, and this year hasn't disappointed. Recently announced shows featuring Dave Matthews Band, Jack White, Justin Timberlake and others join an already loaded 2018 schedule.

Here's what you should spend your ticket money on."

(Via 25 Cleveland concerts to spend your money on in 2018 | cleveland.com.)

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Saturday: Cuco, Helado Negro, and Lido Pimienta @ Grog Shop

This is such a powerhouse of a night at the Grog Shop!  Opening the night is the 2017 Polaris Prize winner, Lido Pimienta!  I recently saw her in the video from A Tribe Called Red I posted on a Video Tuesday

Lido

"'It's pretty amazing what you can do when people are not watching,' said the classically trained, Toronto-based, and Colombia-born singer and producer Lido Pimienta of the creative process behind her album La Papessa, the freshly named winner of this year's Polaris Prize. The prize, which includes $50,000, is intended to recognize the 'best Canadian album of the year based on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation.'"

(Via Lido Pimienta Takes The Polaris Prize Over Leonard Cohen, Feist : The Record : NPR.)

Then up next is Helado Negro, who I’ve been following for some time - and was recently thrilled to catch him opening for Sylvan Esso back in September (at House of Blues).  I would have thought he’d be headlining this show.  Still, I’m even more excited to be seeing him up close and personal.  Also make sure to check out his Tiny Desk performance!

Helado

The headliner on Saturday is the artist I know the least about.  Still, his albums sound pretty good - besides, I would have already gotten my money’s worth by this point of the night.  It’s all gravy from here.

Cuco

"The 18-year-old Chicano’s two EPs, Songs4u and Wannabewithu, are dreamy compilations of cosmic love from someone seemingly untainted by the toxic machismo that often plagues Chicanxs. Cuco’s music recalls lowrider classics like Ritchie Valens’ ‘Donna,’ at the same time evincing Tame Impala’s psychedelic daydreaming. Cuco’s two EPs reject rigid genre boundaries, as mariachi trumpets blaze over 808s and reverbed vocals evoke Morrissey’s weary romance. Cuco’s tracks are sometimes sung in English, sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in Spanglish – but they’re always tinged with a touch of humor and tenderness."

(Via Meet Cuco, the 18-Year-Old Making Cosmic Chicano Love Songs.)

Friday: Gus Dapperton @ Grog Shop

I hate to admit it, but it was the bowl cut that first caught my attention in the Grog Shop newsletter.  Since then I’ve been lured into the art/music world of Gus Dapperton.  He has these smooth vocals are in line with Sondre Lerche and Josh Rouse, but throw in some synths and a whole lot more style.  I’m dying to catch the live show this Friday at the Grog Shop.  Videos and article clips below.  (Note the videos are both at over 1.5M views on YouTube!)

Dapperton

"Until then, Dapperton had been an athlete, on the lacrosse and the diving teams. ‘I was making music at the same time, and painting my nails and dying my hair and cutting it myself, then all of a sudden said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to play lacrosse.’ Upstate New York is very conservative, they weren’t really hyped about that. It was a whole thing.’

After high school, Dapperton’s career began to take shape fairly quickly. Last August, he released his debut EP, ‘Yellow and Such,’ a gauzy and whimsical, synth-heavy pop album that earned a lot of attention from hipster tastemakers. His hard-to-make-out lyrics were parsed and pored over. He started dating a model (Barbie Ferreira, who appears in one of his videos). He took a semester off from his studies at Drexel University. He booked an American tour, then a European tour. His younger sister, on a gap year between high school and college, joined his band. He began working on another EP, to be followed, he hopes, by a full-length album."

(Via Gus Dapperton is more than a bowl cut and a few tracks - Chicago Tribune.)

 

"He's handsome, he wears great glasses, he's got a killer voice — Gus Dapperton has got us all excited in the way that only a new music discovery can. Inspired by world class cinema and heartache, the Warwick, New York-based artist has been quietly putting out very good music, very sporadically, for the past year. Lucky for you, you caught him right before he appears on everyone else's awesome radar."

(Via you’re gonna wanna meet hot new nyc music talent gus dapperton - i-D.)

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Ben Caplan (1/11/18)

The worst part about the Holidays are the lack of good concerts, but things are starting to ramp back up!  It was great to get back to the Beachland Tavern to see Istvan Medgyesi!  He was the main reason I was making it out, he was opening for Harrow Fair and Ben Caplan.  I checked these bands out, and while I wasn’t blown away, nothing really deterred me.

Istvan was great as usual, which is fitting as he’s such a cool guy.  He has this seemingly normal folk music sound on top of some expansive electric and acoustic guitars, but just wait for when things get really expansive when he starts turning the dials.  A superb guitarist.  He’s great to watch.

Istvan Medgyesi (1/11/18)

Harrow Fair was up next.  They kind of reminded me of seeing The Accidentals where I generally like the upbeat folk sound, but it just got laid on a little too heavy.  They are some super sweet Canadians who were so close to getting it right. If they could tighten things up a bit, I’d give them another chance.

Harrow Fair (1/11/18)

When Ben Caplan took the stage, he seemed to fall right into the over-doing it category as well.  Maybe he just plays poorly on the DAKS scale, but I think the level of energy needs to be matched with a quality of voice that I just wasn’t getting at the first couple songs.  So we bailed and headed down the street to the Millard Fillmore (hence no video).

Ben Caplan (1/11/18)

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Video Day #tzaupbeat

The Hundred In The Hands have a new video out for their new track Red Eyes Rising.  Troye Sivan just got sexy with his uninhibited video for My My My!  Car Seat Headrest released a new video for Nervous Young Humans from their reworked 2011 album called Twin Fantasy (out 2/16).

 

Bonus: Black Eyed Peas dropped a new song and video, but no word on a new album yet.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Article: 10 Things You Need to Know About Cleveland Music in 2018

A nice write up by Cleveland Scene for Cleveland in 2018!  Includes details on remodeling of the Agora and Rock Hall, a festival lineup, as well as some movers and shakers in the area (both on stage and off!).

Fitz & the Tantrums (7/6/11)

"At the beginning of each year, we usually profile about a dozen bands that are worth checking out in the next year. Maybe they've got a new album coming out, or they're headlining some interesting event at Nelson. Maybe they're just so darn interesting that it would be irresponsible not to write about them in our pages.

This year, though, we're changing things up a bit. We'd like to present to you a more conceptual outlook on 2018, in hopes that we can corral even more good music into this annual endeavor. With that, we'd encourage you to keep an ear tilted toward these 10 things you should know about Cleveland music this year."

(Via 10 Things You Need to Know About Cleveland Music in 2018 | Features | Cleveland Scene.)

Video Day #tzachill

SZA just put out a Solange-directed video for The Weekend. A thoroughly enjoyable video (and song) by Tourist for Hush.  Sufjan Stevens has a new video out for his song Mystery of Love for the movie Call Me By Your Name.

Bonus: The video for Yung Lean’s Red Bottom Sky caught my attention.  While his sad boy aesthetic isn’t totally my thing, this song and video are rather compelling.

Article: Cassette tapes make a comeback

I’m still not believing it.

Cassette

 

"'We still put out tapes because it's an affordable way to put out music, for an artist in a climate of increasing and excruciating vinyl costs,' said Matt Flag from the record label Beat Concern. 'I think they look nice, they sound great and they can be made in small quantities for very little cost,' he said."

(Via Cassette tapes make a comeback.)