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Cleveland, Good Times, Live Shows, Music, Photography, Punk, Review, Rock, The Awesome

Concert Review: NOFX / Anti-Flag / Old Man Markley – House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH – 10/12/2011

15 October, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

There is nothing punk rock about the House of Blues at all. Sure they sell PBRs in those big cans, but it is not the typical place for punk rock bands to take over on any given evening. That’s not to say punk bands have never played there before, I am just saying when I think of a punk rock show playing a club, it is not HoB. Hell, there’s even a bathroom attendant who will hand you a paper towel after you just pissed away said PBR. I will say that the HoB is a clean, organized venue, a venue that hosts some kick ass shows at that.

Wednesday evening was the perfect example of this as the the place was filled to the rim of punk rockers of all types thanks to the popular independent godfathers of punk rock NOFX bringing their Eastcoaster Tour to town with special guests Anti-Flag, Old Man Markley and The Bombpops.

Thanks to an accident on Euclid Ave., it took me a moment to get parked and into the nearly sold-out HoB show. Apparently someone felt they were ok to cut off one of those giant RTA futuristic train-looking busses. Needless to say, there were lots of flashing lights and Cleveland’s finest Fire, Police, and EMT cleaning up the mess. Because of this, I missed the opening act The Bombpops. From what I heard, their female driven pop punk rock was actually pretty enjoyable not to mention the two ladies in the band are beyond cute. I will be checking them out soon.

Punk / bluegrass act Old Man Markley took to the stage just before 9 p.m. and showed Cleveland just exactly what they were all about. Having never been to Cleveland before, the band gave it their all while performing tracks from their Fat Wreck Chords debut Guts n’ Teeth. With seven members on stage playing their version of “Newgrass”, they proved Cleveland that they were not copying the likes of Flogging Molly or Gogol Bordello.

John Carey and Annie DeTemple took turns signing a whole slew of songs including “Do Me Like You Do”, ” Guts n’ Teeth” and the ever catchy “For Better For Worse”. The crowd clearly was loving what that heard and for the first time ever I witnessed a square-dancing circle pit . Ryan “Old Man” Markley played the absolute shit out of his washboard and Katie Weed (swoon) just about sawed her fiddle in half. Then there was Joey Garibaldi and his homemade washtub upright bass – impressive. The band decided to close their set with their unique rendition of Screeching Weasel’s “Science Of Myth”.

To say I was entertained by the band was an understatement. I have been wanting to see OMM live since I first heard about them a year ago and can not wait to see them again next month when they play an after show at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. This band performing live was right up my alley. I see good things happening with them in the years to come.

Up next was Pittsburgh’s pop political punk rockers Anti-Flag (and clean cut too) who welcomed to the stage by cheers and boos. Apparently some Browns fans just can not shake the fact that if a band hails from the rival team’s city that they suck too. I might as well admit that I am not the biggest Anti-Flag fan, or shall I say I have not been the biggest of fans for a while now, but these guys killed it on stage. Their stage performance was well-done and they had the crowd obeying every command. Playing what seemed a ton of songs with a few from 2006’s For Blood And Empire including “The Press Corpse”, “This Is The End” and “1 Trillion Dollar$”, the band rocked out throughout their entire set and played like the rock stars they have become.

At times it appeared that Justin Sane and Chris Barker were trying to outdo one another with stage kicks and jumps (Barker actually jumped from atop the bass drum at one time), but it was all in good fun for the foursome. Barker made the comment that the Cleveland stop was the “second best” show that he had played on the current tour and left it up to Cleveland to make it the absolute best by starting a giant circle pit. I think Cleveland earned the title of best show after they were just running in circles.

It was no surprise to me that the band started preaching politics and many of the young ears listened. Speaking of the whole Occupy Wall Street amongst other current political affairs, the bad knew what they were preaching and hopefully inspired one or two folk in the crowd to learn a little more about what goes on in this crazy country we live in. I was more interested in the rock and not the talk so once they started playing again I started paying attention again and good thing I did as they performed a cover of “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” and nailed it.

During the last song of their set there was some commotion on stage and suddenly Pat Thetic jumped in the crowd and was handed some of his drum set by Sane and Barker. In a moment’s time, with help from the fans in the pit, Thetic assembled his set and started playing his drums with fans holding on to it preventing it from moving while the rest of the band played on. I’m pretty sure they played “Power To The Peaceful” as the closer, but to be honest I was too busy jumping up on the barrier between the stage and crowd so I could take some pictures. It was a pretty awesome site to witness.

Finally the band that everyone was waiting for all night was to take the stage. The curtains rose and there was El Hefe standing there by himself admitting he had no idea where anyone else in the band was. Smelly soon jumped behind his set and did not have a clue either where Fat Mike or Eric Melvin were. 11 minutes later the missing half stumbled onto the stage. Fat Mike, sporting two drinks in hand, took a few moments to sip out of each cup and made faces that clearly proved whatever he was drinking could fuel a car.

Within the first two songs, the band signaled out a the-die wearing hippie dude in the crowd and started maxing fun of him. The hippie dude took this opportunity to crowd surf to the front and Fat Mike yelled “dude, you don’t even shave your legs?”

I loved that they played one of my all time favs, “Linoleum”, as well as “Franko Unamerican” and even “Seeing Double At The Triple Rock”. I also enjoyed hearing “Arming The Proletariat With Potato Guns” as well as watching the people dance around me during El Hefe’s horn playing. Honestly that may have been more entertaining. NOFX also played Rancid’s “Radio Radio”, a version I almost prefer more to the original.

During “Lori Myers”, the two girls from Bombpops came out to fill in for female vocal duty after El Hefe called their band “Kids-bop” and sang the part pretty much perfectly followed by a well deserved stage dive into the crowd. As much I wanted NOFX to play “The Decline”, they did not as they played it at the HoB in 2006 (the only time I missed them), but they did play “Murder The Government”, “Don’t Call Me White” and “Dinosaurs Will Die”, a couple other favorites of mine.

15 years ago I got to see NOFX play a Warped Tour in a gravel parking lot and then later that year with the Bouncing Souls and Hi-Standard at the Agora. In those 15 years, they have put out 6 albums and toured the world god knows how many times. A lot of songs played that night spanned throughout their almost 30 year career but they played pretty much the same songs that they have the last two times I have caught them live. I would have loved to have heard more songs off White Trash, 2 Heebs, and a Bean as well as Punk In Drublic, but I guess there is always next time. El Hefe seemed to be the sober man of reason that night while Melvin was in his own little work of happiness and Fat Mike, who admitted he was not on pills to the crowd that night, was half way to black-out land.

For a band that never signed to a major label or ever has their songs played on commercial radio, they filled up the HoB with no problem. It was a good night of music from all the bands on a Wednesday night. People young and old were all over the place having a good time and sang along at every opportunity. Based on the condition of the crowd by the end of the show, I am guessing many called off work the next morning or went in with a severe hangover. That’s punk rock right? Regardless it it was or not, it was tons of fun thanks to all of the bands played to Cleveland.

Cleveland, Live Shows, Music, Music News, Punk, Rock, The Awesome

Tomorrow: Punk Rock Sunday Night @ The Grog Shop

8 October, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

You know what’s not cool? Two great shows on the same night across town from each other. It happens a lot actually. In fact, this Sunday there were supposed to be two awesome shows, one at Now That’s Class and one at the Grog Shop. Both shows featured bands I really wanted to see. I did not know which to attend.

The Menzingers were to play one side of town with the Holy Mess on the westside while Strike Anywhere and Dead To Me were to play the eastside. Choices, choices…

Then something amazing happened. The shows combined.

Like a Captain Planet of punk rock, all the bands (well most of them) combined their powers and jumped on the same bill making for one kick ass night of punk rock music. Rumor has it that the guys in Signals Midwest, who are opening the night, had something to do with this…well done guys.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show. Don’t be lame on a Sunday night and get your ass out to the Grog. Doors are at 7pm.

Cleveland, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Punk, Review, Rock

Concert Review: Cobra Skulls / Nothington / Signals Midwest – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 10/05/2011

6 October, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

I need to be honest with you on a couple of things. First, I have not been that kind to my teeth for years and neglected to take them to the dentist for a long while. Second, I have never been to a punk show at the Beachland Tavern. Both are true statements, and both were taken care of yesterday.

After I had the pleasure of getting the shit drilled out of my teeth for a couple of hours after the paying gig, I headed out to the glorious Beachland Tavern to take in my first ever punk rock show in the Waterloo District featuring Cobra Skulls, Nothington, and Signals Midwest. For the record, there have been plenty of punk rock shows at the Beachland ever since the venue opened its doors in 2000, I just never made it to one.

Why?

I have no freaking idea and I kind of hate myself for it. Enough of me beating myself up over missing countless good and wholesome punk rock performances by one of my favorite Cleveland venues. Let’s talk about last night.

Local punk/indie/rockers Signals Midwest opened the night with their fine and technical style. 1/2 of this band are homies of mine, and I am pretty sure I will charm the other 1/2 soon. Rocking out to songs like “In Tensions” off their latest release Latitudes & Longitudes, the band had no problem warming up the crowd and other bands, for that matter, all who of which gathered around the stage to hear these guys out. This has to be said: This band has the ability to be the next best thing to come out of Cleveland, OH. If you have not heard these guys yet, do yourself a favor and check out their Bandcamp page.

San Francisco’s Nothington followed shortly after and hand down blew me away with their performance. Having just gotten into these guys a couple of weeks ago, I was beyond impressed with their sound. It reminded me of all of the good things about 90s punk rock that surrounded me growing up. Already familiar with their recent release, Borrowed Time, I was treated to some of their older material and really liked what I heard.

Primary vocalist Jay Northington actually took a moment from their set to give praise to the local openers Signals Midwest saying that they were “the raddest local band” he’d heard in a long time. He was dead serious too. Later Northington commented on his last trip to Cleveland with his former band, Tsunami Bomb, when they played the old Grog shop years ago…or so he thought. Apparently he had been to Cleveland since but was too messed up to remember.

The band cranked out a ton of foreign tracks through their set but I did manage to pick out a few I knew like “Stop Screaming” and “Far To Go” with Chris Matulich taking over vocal duties. At the end of their awesome set, Northington and their drummer hung out on stage where he played a very old song of his that he said “validated” what he’s been doing on the road all these years. The entire crowd basically stopped what they were doing to listen to the song. I was unable to catch the name of it, but it was pretty damn awesome. Their set seemed short-lived, but luck for me they are playing a Fun Fun Fun Fest after show and I will be there.

The headliners of the night, Cobra Skulls, took to the stage and were more of a comedy act than a punk rock band. The band, that’s been around since 2005, cranked out old and new tracks and made every effort to throw in a joke or comment that resulted in tons of laughs though out. I know I kept cracking up when Adam Beck congratulated the entire crowd multiple times and then congratulated his band for being so professional and playing two songs in a row.

“Hot Sand”, “Faith Is A Cobra” and “Solastalgia” were a few of the many tracks they played that kept the crowd going. I want to say they covered Bad Religion’s “Give You Nothing”, but I honestly am not 100% sure – I know, I am a bad reviewer. I do know that Devin Peralta killed it singing “¡Hasta Los Cobra Skulls Siempre!” to the crowd as well as one of my all time favorite Cobra songs, “Muniphobia”. The band seemed to play an endless amount of songs and when they tried to finish up their set with Phil the merch guy on banjo (which was amazing), the fans still begged for Cobra Skulls to play more.

Lucky for the fans, most of the band was done, but Beck wasn’t and started playing 80s cover songs to which the entire crowd san along to. Admitting he was a huge fan of Eddie Money, Beck broke into “867-5309 (Jenny)” followed by aHa’s “Take On Me” and Cutting Crew’s “Just Died In Your Arms”. In all the year of going to live shows, I have never seen people most of 80s pop rock, but last night that happened. Beck promised his performance was not affiliated with Cobra Skulls and he just kept playing covers. In fact, I am not sure how much longer he went because I left during Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”. I wanted to stay, but had to venture on home.

For my first punk rock show at the Beachland Tavern, I must say it was the best one I have ever been to there. Signals Midwest impressed, Nothington stole the show, and Cobra Skulls brought on the fun. It was definitely a good night to be out and about with good friends and great music.

Acoustic, Cleveland, Country, Folk, Good Times, Live Shows, Music, Outlaw Country, Review, Rock, Rockabilly

Concert Review: Wagons / Dirt Daubers / Heelsplitter – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 09/11/2011

14 September, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Well Cleveland, I hate to say it, but you all missed out Sunday night on one hell of a show. I am not one to usually say things like that, but Sunday night was an amazing night of music and chances are, you were not there. For those of you who were though, I am sure you can all agree that Wagons, The Dirt Daubers, and Heelsplitter all put on a memorable show.

Sunday night was all about Americana, folk, and outlaw country inside the Beachland Tavern. Making a triumphant return to the best little venue in Cleveland, Henry Wagons and his band Wagons traveled all the way from Melbourne, Australia making sure that Cleveland was one of their stops. About a year ago, Henry Wagons came to the states without his band and played a solo set at the Beachland Tavern. Later that night Wagons told me that he would bring the rest of his band back soon and play Cleveland again. The man kept his word.

Local openers Heelsplitter wowed me instantly with their “Frankenbass”, a homemade upright bass with the body being a drum and one string bolted to neck of the instrument. The two bearded males and cute female act played some awesome songs and had me actually question myself at one time, “are these guys really from Cleveland?” The band reminded me of Split Lip Rayfield, a band I really adore, but did not completely rip them off. Frankenbass, banjos, washboard, and no drums provided for a great start to the night. I loved it when the trio all switched up their instruments and played more tunes. I witnessed various Frankenbass playing styles from plucking to beating the hell out of and must say, marveled at its creation.

Up next was the husband / wife act The Dirt Daubers. Featuring JD Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers, the duo, normally a threesome, admitted that they were missing their bass player and Jess would be filling in on the kick drum. Their set was full of rockabilly, blues, country goodness and it was just two people on the stage playing the music. Never mind the fact that Jess was dressed in quite the adorable dress, she kicked that drum all through their set in high heels as if she had done it many times prior. Laughs were shared by the duo and crowd she Jess admitted a couple songs in that “this is fucking hard” and soon said that if she kept playing the kick drum she was going to have one Popeye leg.

JD looked like Buddy Holly in a way with his banjo and harmonicas strapped to him. Throughout their set, they played songs from their upcoming new album titled Wake Up Sinners. I could not help but be amazed when JD would rip a harmonica out of one of the holsters attached to him and would play it. I was more impressed when JD grabbed his washboard and showed the crowd his secret to not using a strap to secure the washboard – he stuck the legs in his front pockets.

The duo played a few more songs and covered Elvis as well as Gene Autry. Towards the end of their set played a fast paced jam featuring a kazoo. It was the best kazoo playing I have ever heard.

I wanted to hear more from the couple, and I think they wanted to play more, but had to kindly exit the stage and make way for the headliners.

It turned out a lot of people came to see The Dirt Daubers over Wagons and I thought for a moment some people might pick up and leave before the main act, but Jess told the crowd how amazing and fun they were the other night. She even stated that Henry dedicated each of the seven songs on his set to each of the seven people that were in the bar the night before. I would estimate that there were about 20 people in the tavern by the time Wagons took stage.

Opening with “Shake & Tumble” off the bands brand new release, Wagons turned the heads of anyone who was not looking at the stage. It was not all business for the band as Henry talked to the crowd throughout songs confessing he knows “what a big deal primetime television is” and admitted that he has been powered by buttered vegetables for the last couple of days.

Henry mentioned Cracker Barrel quite a few times. The man loves his American cuisine. He even took a moment to ask the crowd where he could get some bacon ice cream and seemed disappointed when someone screamed back IHOP.

While playing “Save Me”, Henry left his band behind and jumped into the crowd headband and all. Masking the best of his surroundings, he joked with the crowd how the band was probably sick of him and soon returned to his brethren and played “Never Been To Spain”. I heard Henry play this song last year at his solo performance, but when the band backed him up this time, I was just floored with how awesome it sounded. The band then moved into Wagons’ version of “The Gambler”, where Henry told the crowd that he wanted to be the next Kenny Rogers.

Before the band broke into “Driving Home” Henry asked for tips on getting to Chicago. Someone mentioned toll booths and, of course, Henry found humor and asked “tall boobs?”

The rest of the band was included in discussions as well and props were given to This Way Out, the sweet shop that lies below the Beachland. Once of the band members actually bought a shirt there prior to the show. They did not say why, but after the show I found out he did that because he was wearing a Cincinnati Bangles shirt. He was not trying to be crude, he seriously had no idea. Apparently someone yelled at him before the show started.

Hoping to hear more songs by Wagons, they played more personal “Moon Into The Sun” and then closed the night with “Willie Nelson”, a track about, you guessed it… The soon crowd was all singing along “he likes some salt and pepper with his evening meal” with the band and soon after the set came to an end.

There could have been two people or two hundred in the tavern Sunday night. The band did not care one bit and played their hearts out to all those who attended. The people that were lucky enough to witness that which is Wagons showed their approval throughout the entire set. Ironically one of the guitarists told everyone that he had played a ton of shows and Cleveland was one of the best shows he ever played. He was dead serious too. After everything was said and done I was chatting with the band and it was either Mark or Chad that told me he was dead serious about what he said. He loved the tavern that he just played in and was glad to have been able to do so. They all told me they would be back again one day to rock out. I know that is not a lie either. I see big things coming from this Aussie outlaw county band.

Acoustic, Cleveland, Country, Folk, Interview, Live Shows, Music, Music News, Outlaw Country, Rock

Henry Wagons Checks In…

8 September, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

It’s no secret, Broken Headphones loves Henry Wagons and his band Wagons (two consecutive posts might hint at that…). The guy beyond hilarious and his band dishes out some of the best outlaw country/rock I’ve heard in a long time.

I just hammered out a review of the latest Wagons release the other day for your reading pleasure and decided I might as well touch base with Henry through the magical forces of email. Currently Henry and his band are touring North America in support of their new release titled Rumble, Shake and Tumble. Here’s what he had to say:

Henry, what brings you back to the states?

My global brainwashing mission is in full effect! I eventually want to take over the world with one of those swirly patterns on a TV transmission. Playing music with my band is the first step.

Were you able to bring your band along this time?

I have brought 3 stinky dudes with me.

How has the tour been so far?

It’s been great. Pretty much Seattle and Canada so far. I’m still bracing myself for the rest. I want to try as many weird burgers as I can.

I understand you flew to Toronto Monday night in a small plane with old men. How did that go?

It was a little bumpy and a little grumpy (old men).

How’s the tour been this round? Did that stupid hurricane affect you at all?

The only hurricane style event we have faced was the powerful massage shower in our Toronto hotel room.

What can someone expect to see at a Wagons show?

A lot of pent up energy expressed from many hours in the van and in airport customs queues. All the bodily fluids that are retained within our bodies from a aeroplane pressurised cabin come out on stage in the form of blood sweat and tears.

Most importantly, are you rocking the headband?

You know it.

Wagons are actually playing the Beachland Tavern this Sunday! Tickets are only $8. As I have mentioned previously in posts, Wagons are already big deal in Australia. 8 bucks…do it!