Going to the Grog Shop this night was as much for me to show off the venue to a visiting cousin, than really for the bands. I'd seen Gauntlet Hair before and knew they'd be decent. What surprised me though was how much I liked A Lull. I had seen them before too, at Case - but it was nice to see them at a real venue.
Gauntlet Hair was fine, but honestly, by this point of the night, we were just being social.
Make sure you catch A Lull returning to Cleveland (the Beachland) on July 25th!
I also squeezed in a trip to Buffalo for a long weekend - primarily to see Ani DiFranco in her "home" venue (Babeville). Also, just to check out another rust-belt city that I've never been to before. Having to do this cheap, I found myself a hostel! The city was pretty great, though I have to admit that it did make Cleveland seem pretty cosmopolitan. :-)
It was also being in a place where everyone actually knows who Ani DiFranco is - and acknowledges her without an immediate judgement of "oh, that angry lesbian" (which is so off the mark). The old church venue was gorgeous.
Ani was great as usual. This performance was just her on stage, playing a lot of new stuff as usual. It was such a great time/space/place to be for me (except no damn cameras allowed).
Well this is embarrassing. I saw Tanlines over two months ago! So let's move along quickly so I can get caught up… I got to the Grog early this night, wanting to catch this new local band called Wild Orphans. These guys have a LOT of potential… the beats were slick and they sounded pretty good live.
Here's one of my favorite songs, of which you can download their entire album for free on SoundCloud.
I was pretty excited about seeing Rewards, but have to say they fell kinda flat. They're cute and all, but meh.
Thought I would drop a line here, letting you know that on Thursday I'm heading out West for a week! I'll be visiting some friends in San Francisco as well as seeing some shows (and of course Amoeba music!)… I'm hoping I'll be working on my blog while I'm there, but honestly - no promises. It is vacation after all...
Here's what I'm seeing:
(there's also a last-minute possibility for seeing Best Coast in Oakland… hmm…)
Some favorites here... New MEN with Make Him Pay. And thanks to JD (of MEN) I had discovered Lovers - who I'm anxiously waiting on new stuff, but I'm happy with a new video for one of my favorite songs, Igloos for Ojos. Finally, a new GRIMES video for Nightmusic. And don't forget to stick around for the bonus.
Finally, I lost track of Bodies of Water for a while, but glad to be reintroduced. Artsy video!
Sorry for the late notice… I first saw Oberhoferopen for Tapes N' Tapes, and they were awesome. So glad to see they have a new album (buy it at insound!), and they're headlining at the Beachland Tavern! Some further deets:
Live Review: Oberhofer At Bowery Ballroom - March 21, 2012 | CMJ
"Oberhofer’s always been exciting to watch live, but this performance was something different. This was by far the most polished, most professional Oberhofer performance I’ve seen. This is a new Oberhofer: not necessarily altered in DNA, but more confident, more seasoned, and perhaps a little tighter. Brad Oberhofer moves more than he used to, his floppy hair grown out to resemble a poodle. The band as a whole is more muscular than it’s ever been. The members play like they’ve been around the block, as if a blazing performance of early hit “o0Oo0Oo” is as natural as drinking water. For a band on the verge of breaking big—it signed to Daniel Glass’ hotshot indie label, played Letterman the same night, and will release its Steve Lilywhite produced debut Time Capsules II next week—Oberhofer has the tunes and chops to play as many shows as it needs."
(Continued... Live Review: Oberhofer At Bowery Ballroom - March 21, 2012 | CMJ)
I'm so glad I took a couple minutes to listen to Andrew Jackson Jihad when deciding if I should go to this show… a couple minutes is all I needed to see how much talent, humor and insight these guys have. Sure it's a bit curt, but it's amazing at how it can be poignant at the same time. I can't wait to see these guys...
The first video is for Marathon Runner by Yellow Ostrich one of my new favorite songs by a new favorite band. Next up is another stunning video for tUnE-yArDs' My Country - brilliant. Finally is the new Feist for Bittersweet Melodies
The bonus this week doesn't really have kids in the video, but does have youth in the tire… Youth Lagoon's The Hunt
This should be a great show for the Grog Shop tomorrow night. Tanlines, with Rewards and Wild Orphans opening. I first posted a Tanlines video on this past Video Thursday. Here's a clip of them performing for KEXP…
I think the openers should be great too. Check out Rewards for yourself:
Finally, check out some stuff from the local openers: Wild Orphans
Let's get right to it, starting of with a Mad Decent 1-2 punch. First is the always bootylicious Diplo w/ Nicky Da B for Express Yourself. Next up is a… weird… video from Major Lazer - the song is superb! Finally is a pretty haunting (& lengthy) video from Spiritualized. Stayed tuned for the bonus.
An alternative look at the current Detroit situation these days.
