I was already planning on going... but now I'm
telling everyone and their brother!
I
double checked and Ticketmaster already has them listed at $2, but screw that...
just let me know and I'll ride my bike up to the box office and pick them up for
you. If you're nice, I might not even ask you to pay me
back.
From Cain
Park:
5 Concerts at $2 each
at Cain
Park!
CLEVELAND,
HTS - High price of gas keeping you on a tight budget? Looking for something
inexpensive and exciting to do this summer? Cain Park’s answer to the
tough economic times is a hip series of five concerts, each of which costs less
than a gallon of gas!
Cain
Park’s $2 Tuesdays series starts Tuesday July 15 at 8pm with Blue Lunch.
This Cleveland-based eight-piece band plays 50s-era swing, classic R&B,
doo-wop and jump blues and is backed by a powerhouse saxophone, trumpet and
trombone section! the fun of a great outdoor concert for only a fraction of
the price!
Upcoming concerts
in the $2 Tuesday Series
are: Over the Rhine, July 22.
Post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art
pop. Gandalf Murphy and the
Slambovian Circus of Dreams, July 29.
Punk-classical-hillbilly-Floyd JP
and the Chatfield Boys, August 5. Bluegrass fused with jam, reggae and modern
folk. The Teeny Tucker Band,
August 12. Spicy R&B an hot melting
Soul
Tickets for all Cain
Park events are available at the Cain Park Ticket Office, in person, by mail, by
phone at 216-371-3000 or by fax at 216-371-6995 (please include full name,
address, phone number, credit card number, and signature). All major credit
cards accepted. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets.
Ticketmaster Charge-By Phone at 216-241-5555 or 330-945-9400 (Akron), and online
at www.ticketmaster.com.
Posted at 07:10 AM |
Dan Bern (6/11/08)
I've
seen Dan
Bern probably around 6 or 7 times, with the first experience being
back in 1997 at The Junction in Bowling Green, OH. He was AWESOME. And he's
continued to be great over the years, particularly with the work he's done with
the IJBC. This was the first time I've seen him in a couple years, missing his
last show because of
school.
Opener wasn't great.
So while looking around and taking in the crowd I saw Dan at the bar during his
set and remembered thinking he looked kinda rough. He walked on stage,
accompanied by a guy with an electric violin. THAT seemed cool. That was until
they started. Something was off... It seemed like they had barely practiced,
or that this was their first time playing live together. I dunno. Also, a lot
of his songs were changed up, but not for the better (and I typically LOVE
varied live versions).
Then the
unthinkable happened. We left early. While not uncommon when seeing most other
artists, I never expected to leave a Dan Bern show. He left the stage for a
"intermission" and we slipped out the
front.
I'm not giving up on the man...
we've had too much time together. But c'mon. Step it up.
While
I'm still not convinced that anyone is regularly checking this blog (I never
bother checking the stats)... it does serve a great personal need. I see a LOT
of shows and can't always remember who, when, why and what I thought about them.
I was looking for a show on this
particular night, and checking the Barking
Spider website as usual. I remembered seeing Red Headed
Stepchild before and remembered enjoying it, but it was nice to go
search my blog and read what I wrote about them over 3 years ago. Sweet. I was even more
exited to see them this time.
The show
was good. I saw "the van" again and they just seem like some of the coolest
people to meet. I had kinda forgotten about all the instruments the female
counterpart plays... the woman definitely has a fire in her. The night was
gorgeous and they are definitely a great act to see on a casual night out at the
Spider.
The new Helio
Sequence album has become one of my favorites of the last year...
easily. This made seeing this show of the utmost importance. The excitement
had been building for weeks!
Concert day
I get there early enough to catch the two openers. Good Touch / Bad Touch were
okay, though it seemed like tonight was their first night performing together
(maybe it was), but they seemed cool enough guys. The next band was Houseguest.
They sounded a little better, but were pretty obnoxious. They were on stage,
performing like rock stars to a crowd who was not convinced. They even continued
to hang around and be obnoxious while the Helio Sequence was
performing.
Finally Helio Sequence took
the stage and I was quite surprised to see it only consisted of 2 guys and a
laptop. The drummer was stunning, so much so that I captured a little video of
him. The sound kinda sucks and you don't quite get the energy, but trust
me.
I
have to say it was a good show, though something was missing that night. I
think they would have been better suited for the Grog Shop. Anyway... they
sounded great and I'll go see them again in a
heartbeat.
Here's
another show where I've heard about a band, go see them, and THEN really fall in
love with their music. Granted that a great live performance (such as this)
really helps grow the love, but it's the post-show adoration that really makes
you want to see them again now that you know the music so much better. But with
a sold-out show at the Beachland, I guess I should have realized I was already
late to the Avett Bros.
bandwagon.
The Avett Brothers were
awesome. After watching O'Death, I realized how the hillbillies could
rock, but the Avett brothers took that rockin' in a whole different direction.
Very clean, modern, and a dancin' good time. Actually, very much like Old Crow Medicine Show. And with this being a
sold-out show in the Ballroom, I was quite proud of Cleveland making a strong
showing for a great performance!
Have
you got your tickets yet?? I can't believe how June is flying by... and before
you know it, Pitchfork will be here! I really need to start listening to some
of these bands I haven't heard of... and what better way than a free eMusic sampler. (You don't even need to be
an eMusic
subscriber).
Here's the track
list:
01 Mission of Burma: "Academy
Fight Song" 02 Boris:
"Ibitsu" 03 Cut Copy: "Lights &
Music" 04 Jarvis Cocker: "Don't Let Him Waste
Your Time" 05 Spiritualized: "Soul on
Fire" 06 Extra Golden: "OK-Oyot
System" 07 The Dodos:
"Jodi" 08 High Places: "Sandy Feat" (7"
Version) 09 Mahjongg: "Those Birds Are
Bats" 10 Atlas Sound: "River
Card" 11 Bon Iver: "For
Emma" 12 No Age: "Neck
Escaper" 13 Times New Viking:
"Drop-Out" 14 The King Khan & BBQ Show:
"I'll Never Belong" 15 Jay Reatard: "My
Shadow" 16 Dizzee Rascal:
"Sirens" 17 Fuck Buttons: "Bright
Tomorrow" 18 HEALTH: "Glitter
Pills" 19 Animal Collective:
"Grass" 20 Boban Markovic Orkestar: "Balkan
Fest" 21 A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun
Hangar Ensemble: "Serbian Cocek" 22 Les Savy
Fav: "The Equestrian" 23 Elf Power: "Never
Believe" 24 The Apples in Stereo:
"Energy" 25 Dinosaur Jr.: "Almost Ready"
O'Death. Wow.
This show was a complete surprise. My ultra-cool co-worker told me about this
show and suggested I go. Thankfully I
did.
I have to admit, I was a little
stoked telling people that I was going to a "kind of" death-metal folk show
(regardless if that were an accurate description), but I wasn't prepared for
what I was about to witness. The energy of the show about busted the roof off
the place, or was about to send us through the floor... one of the two. The
quirky vocals, the shirtless band members, the tattoos, and the long hair all
brought their own special part to the performance. All together it worked.
I've never seen an electric violin take
so much abuse (by the blurry guy on the
right)
It was definitely a romp-stompin'
good time, and I would see them ANYTIME.
Posted at 01:46 PM |
Thu - June 12, 2008
Article: Album covers could be lost art
Lately i've been thinking about collecting vinyl
instead of CD's... Album art being just one of the great reason
why.
Album
covers could be lost art Posted
by Greg Sandoval [LINK]
Before
the emergence of digital music, album covers were an integral part of music
buying.
As people thumbed
through record racks, eye-catching album art could prove to be a deciding factor
on whether people bought. The cover could convey something about the music
inside or whether the act was creative or
cool.
Jimi Hendrix's
Axis: Bold as Love, Led Zepplin's Houses of the Holy, Peter Gabriel 3, The
Rolling Stones Let It Bleed and The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band are just a few classic
works.
But in the digital
age, people hunt for music on computer screens, and an album cover is often
reduced to a thumbnail print if it even accompanies the music at all. Wired.com
has a couple of stories on how designers are trying to keep up with the changing
times.
"We've been
looking at a few technologies (for digital album art) and have been trying to
bring these to Apple, to encourage them to bring that level of experience to the
iPod," George White, Warner Music Group's senior VP of strategy and product
development told Wired. "A very simple demonstration that we've done takes the
Gnarls Barkley liner notes and does a fly-through (using Adobe Flash Lite).
You're actually moving through the lyrics and artwork...It's really cool-looking
on an iPod."
I think Matthew
Ryan has to be one of the nicest / coolest guys in the music business,
hands down. I first saw him perform (solo) at the Beachland, in the Round with
Michelle Malone, David Mead, and Thad Cockrell back in 2006. It was a great show and left me
wanting to see him
perform
as a solo headliner. Luckily I "recently" saw him tour on his new album, Matthew Ryan vs. the Silver State at the
Beachland Tavern and it was a great
show.
Opening was Jon Dee
Graham. He was definitely a veteran performer, older than I was
expecting... and quite the character. So much so that he has a
documentary being made about
him.
Matthew Ryan took the stage and you
could tell he was troubled by the bright lights. He asked to have them turned
down so he could see the crowd, explaining how he likes to make music that
connects with people, and like to be able to see them when he performs. On
stage the comprised a 5 piece band, sporting an amazing violin player. He
played a lot of songs from the new album (which I really like), and was even
giving away copies of his album with the purchase of a ticket. His banter was
great, and you can tell he's very open to every kind of person and every walk of
life - but his Philadelphia Irish roots really
show.
His encore began with just him
walking out to the middle of the Tavern floor, completely unplugged, and took
requests and chatted with people. Rarely have I enjoyed a performer so
thoroughly that I just wanted to be their best friend. I smiled throughout the
show and can't wait to see him again.
Posted at 07:47 AM |
Tue - June 10, 2008
Liz Stahler & Brianna Lane as Boston to Austin (5/8/08)
I
was going to see Liz Stahler at the Barking Spider, but was
surprised to walk in and see Brianna Lane performing with her! I've seen
them both, separately, at the Barking Spider - but seeing them together was
even a bigger treat. And so was their welcoming me as I walked in...
:-)
This was an early show, starting at
6:30, so we didn't get there until after the first couple songs. It was a
gorgeous day out and a perfect day to see a show at the Spider. Both women are
solid songwriters and performers, but together they were a rare treat. Well, I
guess not so rare, as they have a new MySpace page branded as Boston to
Austin a name of a tour, which resulted in extra t-shirts, which
became their band name (giving purpose to the spare shirts). Hopefully this
means we'll be seeing more of them
together.
Being such an early show, I
asked the ladies if they had plans later. Would love to hang with them and show
them some cool parts of the city. Unfortunately they did have plans, but
hopefully next
time.
I
was terribly excited when I got an email from Lucy Wainwright
Roche, announcing the continuation of her 8 Songs EP, called 8 More
Songs. I've truly loved the first collection and couldn't wait to hear the new
stuff.
The first couple listens, I have
to say I didn't think it was as good as the first. But as with some of my
all-time favorite albums, the truth of the songs aren't revealed on first
listen. Now I think it's every bit as good as 8 songs. Buy them
both.
The video is a little strange, but I'm LOVING
"Blind" by Hercules & Love Affair (featuring
Antony):
Posted at 07:26 AM |
Fri - May 30, 2008
Article: Digital Music: A Conversation with The Ethicist
Sharing some interesting articles with you - until
I can get some time to catch up on my concert reviews... Click the image to get
the article and the audio stream. Quite
interesting!
OMFG! - $2 Tickets for Over the Rhine
Dan Bern (6/11/08)
Free Pitchfork Festival Sampler on eMusic
rm
as a solo headliner. Luckily I "recently" saw him tour on his new album, 
