The Screaming Eagles (1/11/19)

Stella’s Music Club is a newer music venue located on E. 9th Street.  I’ve been seeing a lot of activity by this place, including starting a record label!  I like their momentum.  Not much has caught my attention in way of their bookings, but I wanted to just stop in and check this venue out.  I had a night free and the bands didn’t matter.  I took the train downtown, and after winning a quick $20 at the casino, I stopped in at Stella’s.  While I was never in  in previous iterations of the space, I was really happy with what I saw!  An open space, with a nice bar and great layout.  I stayed long enough to catch our own local rockers, The Screaming Eagles.  Let’s just say I felt like a true Clevelander being there.

Here are some shots of the venue:

Article: Where Stadium Concerts Are Concerned, It's Now A Pop World

"Those of us who grew up with rock tend to remember the stadium concert as a bastion of the legendary rock performers like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Black Sabbath among many others. While those bands and more from that era still manage to play stadiums (at least before they retire), that part of the concert business is now being dominated by a different genre of music. Would you believe that Pop is now #1 in the UK?

When I first started going to concerts, inevitably at stadium venues, it began with the likes of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Warrant, etc…(thanks to my big sister) but still… 

The BBC wanted to determine just who’s winning that particular music scene, so it looked back at every concert or event in Wembley Stadium’s history since 1980 and gave it a value as a ‘pop’ or ‘rock’ event. Shows with the same performers playing over multiple nights were counted separately. What they found was pretty surprising.

1980s Rock 61% Pop 39%

1990s Rock 54% Pop 46%

2000s Rock 58% Pop 42%

2010s Rock 20% Pop 80%"

and then there’s this little bit... 

"Interestingly Hip-Hop is the most popular music genre in the United States and accounts for 38% of all music streams, yet only 11% of the concert revenue. Except for Drake and Beyonce, the major hip-hop artists just don’t do the same amount of concert business as either the pop or rock acts, although they don’t seem to tour as much either."

(Via Where Stadium Concerts Are Concerned, It's Now A Pop World - hypebot.)

Video Day #tzaupbeat

This Claire Laffut video first caught my attention just by the image, but the song is great as well!  Django Django got beamed up and beyond for their new video.  BROODS have a new album coming out in February, and I ran across their second video / single off of it!

Bonus this week is going back and discovering the other single off the upcoming BROODS release, another retro-inspired piece.

Article: Study claims that attending concerts can add nine years to your life

Every time one of these articles comes out, I’m usually tagged on social media (hi Brooke!).  I love it.  And I hope it’s true.  😊

"Concerts can be daunting as you get older, what with late start times, a slew of opening acts, and the prospect of standing next to tall, sweaty people for several hours. A new study, however, claims that the effort’s worth it.

Conducted by O2 and behavioral science expert Patrick Fagan and reported by NME, the study finds that regular concert attendance can increase one’s lifespan by up to nine years. The logic here is that live music increases feelings of self-worth, closeness to others, and, especially, mental stimulation, all of which contribute to one’s sense of well-being. According to the study, there’s a ‘positive correlation between regularity of gig attendance and well-being,’ and ‘additional scholarly research directly links high levels of wellbeing with a lifespan increase of nine years.’"

(Via Study claims that attending concerts can add nine years to your life | Consequence of Sound.)

Tomorrow: Mary Gauthier, Gretchen Peters & Eliza Gilkyson @ Beachland Ballroom

I have such a soft spot in my heart for music by female singers of a certain age, particularly from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Nanci Griffith, and of course Joan Armatrading.  There’s something that’s relevant, timeless, and often poignant about it, as I know the music of these three women will be.  I’m casually familiar with Mary Gauthier & Eliza Gilkyson by name, both have had venerable careers.  As does Gretchen Peters, i’ve since discovered.  Should be a great night of stories.  I’m looking forward to it.

"Three women, three guitars and the words, music, and hard-won wisdom from three lifetimes spent in pursuit of the song. Three Women and The Truth is a trio of accomplished, richly talented, multiple award winning female songwriters whose songs cut through the murky layers of life's complexities. Writing from their own experience, these songwriters are skilled in balancing personal tales with classic underpinnings, which hint at the evocative idea that all our lives are full of events and incidents that touch on the mythic and the timeless."

(Via Beachland Ballroom & Tavern | Cleveland's most eclectic music venue.)

"Talk about how this tour came together. Peters: We’re all good friends. We love and admire each other’s works. Mary and I had done some touring together, and Eliza and I had done some dates together. We shared a booking agent, and when we started talking about it, we said we wanted to team up with the three of us. We enjoyed the format of it. People seem to love it. We had to come up with a title for it. We did that based on the old Harlan Howard quote about country music being three chords and the truth. Gilkyson: I think all three of us really decided to be more out in the world with our careers late in life. We were all over 50 when we made that decision. I didn’t start touring until then. That’s very unusual. That’s when women are supposed to not be seen or heard. We felt the calling to be out there. We confirm it in each other in a really respectful way. We’re all really respectful of each other’s artistry. One of the things we see again and again is that once you have become famous you can break the rules about your place in society. But for every famous woman, there are thousands of not-famous women being told that they can’t do this. Most people deal with a lot of prejudice."

(Via Unique Songwriter-in-the-Round Tour Lands at the Beachland Next Week | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog.)

Moonbeau (1/4/19)

This was the first Friday of the new year, and Mahall’s was HOPPIN’.  Shows were happening at both stages and both bowling alleys were full!  I was fully expecting this show to be on the main stage, but didn’t mind at all to be in down in their locker room stage.  I sensed this band would be fun, but I was also happy to see how many people knew the words to the songs of this up and coming Cincinnati band.  I like their newest album, and look forward to see what else these guys do!

The Modern Electric (12/23/18)

As usual, The Modern Electric hosted their North Coast Christmas party at the Beachland Ballroom.  What a brilliant idea.  A local band with a great Christmas song, throwing a party before everyone goes into the holiday craze with family.  The Ballroom was full and everyone was having a great time.  I hope they keep this going!

Morgan Page (12/20/18)

A dance party in Cleveland!  I was excited to check out this new-to-me DJ at Magnolia, especially having the following Friday off.  Unfortunately it was one of those situations where the openers were better than the headliner.  The mix by Morgan Page this night was jagged and too reliant on the bigs ups and drops that come with a lot of modern, popular DJ’s.  Still - I danced.

Article: RuPaul’s Drag Race Has Lost Its Free Queer Spirit in Its Lip Sync Songs

In the spirit of the RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars being in season, I thought I’d share this little nugget.

"As a result of this expanding platform, it has become increasingly clear that the song choices are made with less concern for queer authenticity. They have begun to serve the larger goal of appealing to new demographics, capitalizing on the show’s popularity with, for example, young straight women. In the past three seasons, we’ve seen lip sync battles set to hits by Trainor, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, and Nicki Minaj—none of whom are inherently unwelcome on the show, of course. But oftentimes the songs have nothing to do with the queer community, or the songs (like Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” or Lovato’s “Cool for the Summer”) actively trivialize them. One could easily imagine Rita Ora’s recent controversial song “Girls” appearing next season, presented uncritically and heralded as an easy, breezy, queer-friendly hit to lip sync to. There is simply something strange about this concerted effort to include evermore current chart-toppers while simultaneously drawing down the number of club classics or diva house ballads that not only define the earlier seasons of the show, but also the musical lives of many queer people."

(Via “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Has Lost Its Free Queer Spirit in Its Lip Sync Songs | Pitchfork.)

Friday: Moonbeau @ Mahalls

After what feels like a long stretch from seeing shows, Moonbeau pops up out of nowhere as this fun, Cincinnati-based retro-pop outfit.  They’ll be a perfect fit for Mahalls on Friday night, and cap off what will be an All-Ohio lineup at Mahalls 20 Lanes!

"'Moonbeau’s live appearances have been what has made the band a popular draw in the Cincinnati area and earned it a loyal local following. It’s part dance party, part mood elevator, as the mix of dance beats, the musicians’ joyous performance and the music’s colorful exuberance combine to create the kind of experience that is hard to leave in a bad mood.' - Mike Breen, City Beat"

(Via Moonbeau, Summer School, Jaite | Mahall's 20 Lanes | Music Around Town, On Tour, Rock & Pop | Cleveland Scene.)

Check out this fun studio performance of Lover / Fighter from WCPO, also out of Cincinnati.

The middle band is Summer School out of Toledo, OH. Catch one of his most recent videos…  Should be - interesting.  I can honestly say that I’m cheering on his forthrightness, and I’m hoping it’ll be a good performance. 

As best I can tell, it’s this Jaite who will be opening the show.  I grabbed this EP off Bandcamp and looking forward to seeing how it plays live.