Night 3 of 3. At first listen, I knew that Mandolin Orange would be a great show to see live, and they were! Super clean, clear vocals and audio, along with the audience playing their role (silence), made for an excellent night of folk & americana music. Check them out.
Opening was Kate Rhudy, who’s new to me but I’ve really been enjoying. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for her future releases.
In what was my 2nd of 3 consecutive nights at the Beachland, I showed up to see Cold Cave in the Ballroom. Surprisingly, they’d been moved to the Tavern! Not so great for them, but a score for those of us there to see them! Very heavy 80’s synth wave music, as I was expecting - and of course that goes along with a notoriously difficult show to shoot & record. Hopefully they’ll be touring on an album soon (which may help concert attendance - fyi).
Opening was Ritual Howls. I can see why Cold Cave had them on tour.
While I’ll admit to have collected their albums (there’s some decent stuff there), I’ve always been a little skeptical about seeing The Lone Bellow live. I didn’t have to think about it much since I was able to run into some free tickets. We got there early and checked out Mt. Joy who wasn’t half bad!
There was a simultaneous show happening in the Tavern that we split from Mt. Joy to see (The Midnight Slander), which we finished that set (so good!). Came back to The Lone Bellow and unfortunately none of us were really moved by this band. PLENTY of people were moved (very drunk straight cis men hugging and being affectionate). It was almost like a religious-less revival of sorts. Just not my thing, but maybe it’s yours! Check it out…
While I was having a mediocre time over at The Lone Bellow show, we popped over to the Tavern. I’m so glad we did! I caught one of my new favorite local bands, The Midnight Slander. The voice, the energy, it was mesmerizing. Oh, that reminds me I need to go like them on FaceBook! Enjoy.
IngenuityFest was back again, this time at The Hamilton Collaborative. A cool space, which I think really aided the festival this year. Our visit was more of a breeze through to check things out, and it was cool enough to keep me interested and still considering attending next year. I hope this event makes it back to a must-attend status in the future!
A random series of events brought me to Now That’s Class to see the sold out Dead Boys show (I’m still not sure how we got in). Still, I could tell this show was something special by the energy of the crowd.
"Formed in Cleveland in 1976, the Dead Boys were one of the first American acts to play what would come to be known as hardcore punk. Young, Loud and Snotty, their 1977 debut, featured the blistering underground hit ‘Sonic Reducer.’
The band broke up in 1979 but reunited for a few shows in the 1980s. After the death of singer Stiv Bators in 1990, the band members have rarely played together.”
(Via Reunited Dead Boys to Bring Their Anniversary Tour to Now That’s Class | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog.)
I’ve been excited for this show for MONTHS. I first caught wind of Helado Negro coming to Cleveland, which I was thrilled about. I was over the moon when I found out he was opening for Sylvan Esso! They’ve been such a solid band with elements of pop and dance, with folk sensibilities. Check out the video!
Helado Negro was just as good - such a great stage show and an excellent pairing for Sylvan Esso.
On this long stretch of concerts, I couldn’t think of a better way to end it than with Ben Sollee. I’ve been a long time fan, and his stuff is always upbeat and insightful. Always a delight.
Wolf Parade is coming back to Cleveland tomorrow! They’ll be at the House of Blues, but it’ll totally be worth it. Check out their new video below!
!!! (chk chk chk) is one of those party bands that you should always see live. Well, I used to think that. A very high energy show, but their sound/effort felt a little forced. I understand that can be the case when you’re putting out that level of party night after night, I’ll give them that. Next time they come around, I’ll need a surprisingly good new album that drives me back to their live show.
I will say that one of the parts of this night was getting to see Mourning A BLKstar again, as well as Algiers.
