A Short Trip into the Unknown

I’m really late on this (and thus have forgotten many details), but I’ll give it a shot anyway. Back in late April, Matt (who can chime in with the lost details) went down to the always interesting Southgate House to see the enigma that is Unknown Hinson. The man who is tatted across the arm of Hank Williams, III has been one of our points of interest since we found out he was the voice of Early from Squidbillies.

We made our way down to Newport on the Levee and were looking for a little pre-show drink and grub. A failed attempt to find a spot at the Hofbrauhaus (thanks to drunks from the Reds’ day game – including one, um, handicapped fellow who fell into me in the hallway) led us to Bulldog’s. It’s a pretty typical sports bar, but a highly functional one at that. A large circular bar with lots of TVs and a decent selection of draft was a pleasant welcome as we walked in. We decided we just wanted some appetizers as we weren’t that hungry… well, we could have split one at this place. Little did we know that our order would yield the largest plate of nachos and quesadilla that we’ve ever seen (along with some damn good onion rings – I’m pretty much a health nut). Drink wise we tried something that the bartender sold as being “pretty much like Blue Moon”. Uhhhh no. IT was a lemony weizen. Which was fine, but didn’t pair just right with what we were eating (Mexi-ish food & German beer together… not so much). After that we went with a bucket of “Meeler Lite” (inside joke). So why all this info about the meal? 1. I love food. 2. Trying to take down those nachos combined with the inhaling of the beer led to stomach cramps only comparable to those brought on by the “double-pork chop incident” at Spagio. It pretty well ruined the next few hours for me. Constantly needing to stand up to help ease the pain.

At any rate, we made it through the torrential rain over to the Southgate House. Unknown brought in an even more eclectic group of misfits for people watching pleasure than normal… and if you’ve ever been there you know it sets a pretty high standard on a normal night. The thematic appearance of weirdness carried over from the crowd to the stage as well.

The opener was a completely drunken ball of awesomeness named Scotty Karate. So awesome at drunkenness that he has a beer named after him. He stumbled onto the stage dawning an over-sized “Loyal Order of Water Buffalo” hat, complete with horns. Mr. Karate had a very interesting set-up that included him sitting in a chair with his guitar while also playing a kick drum and a hi hat… not to mention covering the vocals as well. A true Honky-Tonkin’ “one man band” indeed. He proceeded to rip off a set of very similar sounding, yet individually hysterical songs. Some gems of lyrics that I only wish I could recall. Between each song he would rattle around the stage to find his set-list that he had thrown just minutes earlier. His combination of drunkenness and blindness required him to hold the list within inches of his face to make out what the next song was to be. The end of his set presented an opportunity to grab a Jack & Coke to help me burp out the remainder of the uncomfortable feeling that the pre-show activities had left me with.

The break was short before Hinson’s backing band came out. A sharp dressed couple of throwbacks to the 60’s that were solid throughout the whole show. Then to the stage came the man, the myth… the self proclaimed “hillbilly vampire king of country-western troubadours”. With a token Early Cuyler “Wheew!”, the crowd was ready. I’m honestly not terribly familiar with all of Unknown’s songs and it was difficult to understand the lyrics from the spot we were sitting up in the highest part of the balcony. I will tell you that Hinson can freakin’ shred it on the guitar. I would go see him again just for that. He absolutely tore it up on a cover of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”.

The night closed uncharacteristically as we left a little early. Being beat down tired and dealing with the still pouring rain just made it a necessity. Still troubled by the damage done to our stomachs the next day, our first thoughts were of breakfast. We hit the Original Pancake House in West Chester to find what would be the biggest omelets in the world… 4 eggs! Oh, and you get a side of short stack pancakes. I ate about a third of it and had the rest for lunch the next day. Definitely worth the $10 price to cover 2 meals.

Brett Dennen singing Citizen Cope... are you kidding me?!?!

Brett Dennen » Citizen Cope from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

Marc Broussard Review - 9/23/08 "What he said!"

So for those of you who were curious, here is the review of the Marc Broussard show last week... for those of you who aren't curious, well, you probably aren't reading this.

To start, the show was at the fabulous 20th Century Theater in Oakley (Cincinnati). A beautiful little place with a very nice sound and an intimate feel. It's definitely my favorite indoor venue. I've never seen the place as packed as it was for this show.

The opening act was Theresa Anderson who comes to us from New Orleans via Sweden. Her "style" was that of recording and looping... ala Mr. Howie Day. Her sound was a kind of funk-soul. Her set started a little rocky with some rough transitions from one recording to another and a little bit of bitching at the sound guys. She was able to smooth things out as she went along however, while impressively playing about 8 or so instruments throughout the set. She did a little skit where she sang 3 separate background vocals in setting up a song that was mildly entertaining. Her stage presence was a little rushed and uncomfortable, but worth checking out just based on the talent and variety of her sound. (She will be at Canal Street in Dayton on Oct. 29th)

2nd up was the folk string quartet "Hoots and Hellmouth". Instrumentally there were 2 acoustic guitars, an upright bass and an a mandolin. That combination along with the harmonizing vocals produced an invigorating sound. Don't let the statement about "harmonizing vocals" fool you though, these guys fucking rocked! One of the guitarists/lead vocalists had an incredible look. A slightly pudgy red-head with hair everywhere including covering his face. (For those of you who know him, picture Yoke plus 40 pounds and 5 pounds of hair.) He had a unique way of screaming out vocals while pounding the SHIT out of the strings on his guitar. I swore he was going to break them every strum (and he finally did break 3 on his last chord). I'm not sure that what they do translates to recorded musical enjoyment... however, they are a MUST SEE live. (Unfortunately, they aren't scheduled to be back around here anytime soon)

And now on to Mr. Broussard.

As much as some individuals are musicians, Marc Broussard exemplifies the description of a PERFORMER. The crowd rode the waves of emotions throughout the show... from rocking blues to smooth balladistic soul. I can't say I'm a fan of Marc's SOS (Save Our Soul) album, but I thoroughly enjoyed every track from that record he performed on this night.

There were some distractions however in the form of a (80's style) seductively dancing blond cougar in a leopard print top... an overweight amoeba-like moving pair of lesbians... and a black dude still living in the 70's with a huge ass 'fro that danced with all of the afore mentioned ladies. Oh yeah, and came up to me at one point and screamed "WHAT HE SAID! WHAT HE SAID!"

Anyway, that did not stop me, nor anyone else from enjoying the show we came to see. As is the case when an artist is touring a brand spanking new album, I was unfamiliar with about half of the selections on the evening. He did a good enough job though of mixing in the new with the standards. Of what I was familiar with, there was an appreciative energy to "Rocksteady". Conversely, you just wanted to close your eyes and feel the saloon-ish keyboard on "Lonely Night in Georgia". The night ended on an encore kick-ass version of "Home".

All in all I left just as impressed as I thought I would be. My only disappointment was the exclusion of the bluesy acoustic "Let Me Leave". He's saving that for next time I suppose... 'cause I'll definitely be seeing him again soon. (Haven't seen him since... bumma)

Matt Nathanson - September '07

Matt Nathanson CBus Concer Review

So, my wife (ex-wife) and I checked out the Matt Nathanson show at The Basement in Columbus over the weekend. Here's my review of the sights and sounds.

The Venue:

Where to start with this place. It truly is a basement to another bar. The awesome thing is the main bar on top is called the House of Crave - naming rights purchased by White Castle (Now A&R Music Bar)... that in itself is redonk. The place was small, and hot, and dirty. Which I thought made it kind of cool, sans the presence of any seating that wouldn't transfer an STD directly to you if you sat on it. But the drinks were reasonably priced which is always a plus. The stage set-up was interesting with it being elevated from it's own ground level, but that was lower than the rest of the bar. Kind of a pit in front of the stage. Definitely not an optimum set-up for ease of view for the entire crowd... large columns were an issue as well. They did have Closed Circuit viewing on 2 TV's at the bar, but the picture was not very good at all. The sound was acceptable when you were close to the stage, but it wasn't pumped into the back of the bar. In fact, there was also a band playing at the HoC (A&R) upstairs and the sound was filtering down in the back of the bar where an internal open air staircase was present. Overall, it was dirty cool, but I wouldn't go back unless I REALLY wanted to see someone there (Been back multiple times unfortunately). The inability to enjoy the main act and have accessibility to the bar was a downer.

The Crowd:

This was an interesting mix of folks. From preppy college kids to greasy guidos. Quite some range. The show was sold out btw. It was a very participatory crowd, which Matt was appreciative of. As anyone who has been to his shows know, it's a sing along. Due to a young fan (about 9 years old) right at the foot of the stage, Matt tried to keep it PG... but he's just not capable of that for long. There was also a crazy older lady who put her hand up for an entire song like she was in elementary school needing to ask a question... Matt acknowledged her in between songs and she replied "You and I will meet!" It was pretty creepy. OH YEAH, there was a guy there in a derby hat and a RUSH t-shirt!

Opening Acts:

Kate Voegele opened. She really did have a nice un-unique sound from what I could hear in the back of the bar. However, she talked between EVERY song. She attempted to create dialog with the crowd, but it was very uncomfortable. She tried telling stories, but she rambled like a junior high cheerleader... really brought down her show.

Cary Brothers followed. Couldn't hear him much... again taking advantage of my opportunity to drink... and trying to watch the West Virginia v. South Florida game between listening to my wife (ex-wife). Sorry honey. The only thing I took from him is that he called The Basement a "dark, dirty little place". Somewhat funny, true observation.

Headliner:

I must say right off the top that this may have been the BEST Nathanson show I've seen... and I've seen him 6 (more like 11 now) times now. If you would have given me the set-list before hand I would have sighed, but it was really entertaining. He played all but 1 track (Sooner Surrender) off the new album. He started with "To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts" which had a convenient opening for him to come in after the band started.

Let me just get out of the way that the band was absolutely solid. They kept making gestures to the soundboard to adjust volumes, but it sounded great from where I was (Center stage about 20 feet back, on a stair). It was very loud... which I like.

Matt was his usual comedic self, having constant dialog with the crowd. No mention of a musical orgy though... may have been too hot. Everyone in the pit area (including the band) was drenched with sweat, which while it was completely disgusting, was kind of cool. Matt read from a trashy romance novel that he had picked up in Cleveland. He also thanked the crowd several times for their vocal efforts.

As I said, the set was mostly the new stuff. He also played "I Saw", "Suspended", "Pretty the World", "Lucky Boy" and "Sad Songs" off of .... Beneath These Fireworks. The only other old stuff he played was "Princess", "Laid" and "Answering Machine", which was the semi-encore because he forgot to play it. Those are obviously staples of every show. There was no traditional encore. I was crushed that I didn't get to hear "Church Clothes", but such is life. Oh, he also played "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey... another MN show staple.

Overall the show just had a great energy and a great sound. The crowd vocals were actually really good... especially on "Come on Get Higher" and "Bulletproof Weeks", which you could tell Matt really got off on because I think those are his 2 personal fav's from the new album. Anthems fo sho.

Old School

Due to a lull in my concert going schedule, I feel I should fill that void (and give me further reason to delete my MySpace account) by moving over some of my old concert reviews to this blog. Over the next few days I'll be moving them over one by one (with some edits). If you enjoy them, that's great. If not, I will.

Awesome Vampire Emoji Weekend

The concert whirlwind continues with a trip to see the ever nerdy Vampire Weekend. The evening started with us being picked up by my good buddy Matty O. (and wife) in the Silver Bullet. After a failed attempt to visit the Thirsty Ear (they’re closed on Mondays), we hit up Harrison’s on Third. Can’t beat $2 Magic (read “stinky”) Hat #9 draughts! Their appetizers that served as an early dinner were just marginal though… they brought the heat with jalapeños though to make up for the average taste. We continued our pre-show preparation down at the A&R Music Bar adjacent to the LC Pavilion where the show was at. A&R was ok. You pay full concert price for beer in plastic cups. They definitely figured out how to start gouging you early.

There was a long line of kids wrapped around the LC waiting to get in for what was probably hours upon hours. I, in my elder wisdom, signed up for Decibel Club the night before which put us right at the front of the line (As much as I can take credit for that move, I have to slap myself for not doing it long ago). With no desire to get stuck in the front without access to the bar or bathroom, my plus one and I headed to the top and nabbed four seats right on the corner… (my shitty IPhone camera makes it appear much further away. C’mon Apple! Give me some zoom capabilities!)(PS – I know the pics on these blogs suck because of that. Deal with it.)

After an elongated wait, the opener (named “Abe Vigoda” after the old ass actor) took the stage. Their genre is described as “tropical punk rock” on Wikipedia. I would describe it as “unlistenable”. And thanks to their skinny jeans, they were “unwatchable” too. Seriously people… cut it out with the skinny jeans fad. They look horrible on EVERYONE. It makes nice bodies look bad and bad bodies look worse. Just stop it!

Sorry. Back on track… Where were we? Oh yeah – Abe Vigoda sucked. The vocals were low and mumbled. The mix was bad. The only saving grace was Matt impersonating the Jamaican sound engineer behind the board while they were on – “Ja like how I gots da slidaz all lined up in a row ‘mon? Flat mix is where it’s at ‘mon!”

Mercy was provided when they finished their rather short set. Only to be followed by another lengthy pause in the proceedings before Vampire Weekend came on. They however made the wait well worth it! Not a lot of specifics stick out from the show. They just flat out performed. Giving the crowd everything they wanted. I can’t recall a song off the self-titled album they didn’t play while working in the best tracks off of the new “Contra” CD (sans them playing the very annoyingly T-Pain-ish “California English”). The unblemished sounds they provided served as a engaging soundtrack to the visual entertainment of stupid drunken frat-boys dancing and high-fiving (and spilling drinks on patrons below) in the reserved seats in front of us. The encore ended with a elevating recital of “Walcott” to effectively close the evening, at least as far as the concert was concerned.

It was extended in the kitchen by the best damn grilled cheese and jalapeño (“jes”, more jalapeños) in the history of the world on the afore mentioned Cuban bread. A delicious way to end the evening followed by a firey anus to greet me in the morning. A trade-off I’m far to familiar with.