Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (11/23/24)

I’ve been waiting for just the right show to finally see the Goodyear Theater in Akron, and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings was it!  I knew it had been awhile since the last time I saw them, 2011 to be exact, which really got me even more excited for this one.  Both the quality of the performance - and the still stringent restriction on photos and video - hence the minimal media.  Still, this is some top quality performance and musicianship.

"It had been too long since Welch and Rawlings set foot in Northeast Ohio (if setlist.fm can be believed, the last time the pair played in the area was at the Kent Stage in 2011), and the singer/songwriters made up for it by treating the capacity crowd to two hours of tunes spanning the myriad projects they collaborated on over the past three decades.

While their brand of folk and bluegrass-indebted music is deceptively restrained and mild-mannered, the show was engaging from the moment the pair launched into ‘Orphan Girl,’ their voices and guitars (and occasional banjo) melding together as if part of a single organism."

(Via Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Hold Audience Rapt With Beautiful Folk Music at Akron Concert | Cleveland | Cleveland Scene.)

Tall Heights (11/15/24)

I’ve seen Tall Heights plenty of times.  Part of the motivation tonight was the opener, DUG, and also getting to ride my bike to the venue (taking the train back home).  Tall Heights always have some good stories and some good camaraderie.  They also reminded the crowd how lucky we are to have a space like Mahalls in our city.  I didn’t stay for the whole show - had to get back on my bike to catch the train home.

DUG only has two songs on Apple Music.  Those, along with some live videos on their website, were enough to have me psyched to see these guys.  And speaking of camaraderie, they have it as well - despite only being a band for 1 year.  As they both noted, they’re in their 30s and know what their doing. They even took a moment to announce that all all people named Doug will be granted free access to their shows - and that they haven’t been overwhlemed - yet.  :-P  Hope to see these guys headlining soon.

The Mynabirds (11/1/24)

Having not seen The Mynabirds in concert since 2012, I was thrilled to see they were doing a house concert tour - with a stop in Shaker Heights!  What a great space and a great show.  The intimacy of it all makes taking photos and video a little uncomfortable, hence the poor quality.  But the show was anything but.