Summer is coming to an end folks, but that does not mean it is over just yet.
Tonight the very talented Indiana rock/country act Murder By Death will be playing a FREE show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. This show will take place outside in front of the Cleveland staple and is open to everyone who attends.
I just checked the weather and it looks like it is going to be the perfect evening for an outdoor show. I have been getting in to Murder By Death over the years after being introduced to them through some friends of an ex of mine. At first I was not entirely sold, but the more and more I listen to them, the more I really appreciate their style. This is a band that I have been wanting to check out live for a while now. Looks like that will happen tonight.
Local rockers The Buried Wires will be opening the night off around 7pm. Make sure you get there in time to see this up and coming act. Named by Scene Magazine as a “Band To Watch” in 2010, it is safe to say they will be putting on a great show.
The FREE show is part of the Rock Hall’s Summer In The City Series and sadly, this is the last one of the year. Summer in the City is sponsored by Ohio Natural Gas, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Amtrak, KeyBank and Jim Beam.
I just learned today that Melbourne, Australia’s Wagons will be returning to the states this September! After missing my chance to see Henry Wagons and his band at SXSW, the band announced that they will be back in the US touring in support of their soon to be released album Rumble, Shake and Tumble. They are even making a stop in Cleveland on Sept. 11th at the Beachland Tavern.
I caught Henry playing a solo last year when he opened for Those Darlins at the Beachland Tavern and I became an instant fan. He told me later that night that he could not wait to bring the rest of his band back to the states and started telling me about all the American food he was digging. He was a funny and genuine guy. If you like your music a little bit of country rock a’la Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and are just looking to be rowdy and have fun, you should not miss this show.
Check out the video for “I Blew It” off of their album that should be dropping on August 16th:
I plan on not missing this show. Of course this will be taking place the day after Warrior Dash which I have decided to attempt… I think I will be fine…
What the hell am I thinking??? Stay tuned for the results on that one.
Yeah, I am a couple years late jumping on the bandwagon on this one…
Recently Rob Coe, front-man of The Enablers, emailed me a link to a kick ass T.I. cover that his band did a few years back. I had heard of his Gainsville, Florida, punk act before but for whatever reason never got to check them out.
The Enablers actually are made up of other bands you may have hear about. Rob Coe is from Fay Wray and their bassist was in some band called Dashboard Confessional. They sound familiar…
The cover of “Whatever You Like”, originally written by the currently incarcerated rap star T.I., is brilliant. I have listened to it over and over and just can not get enough of it. One might be fooled upon hearing it not thinking it is a cover. Here, check it out for yourself:
This cover does sound more like Lucero, but the rest of The Enablers is more like a Social D, Husker Du sound with a little Springsteen vocals added to the mix. Not as fast and furious when it comes to the punk sound, but not exactly to be considered rock.
Here are a couple other songs I found online if you want to hear some of their original material. I know I am digging it.
I am going to be searching for their material online. I believe there is an EP out there waiting for me to purchase. This is stuff I need to have in my vinyl collection. I am not sure how active they are these days but I know Rob Coe did play the Suburban Home Records anniversary show last summer.
I guess there is only one way to find out… Let’s see if Rob wants to do an interview. Stay turned.
You know, it’s been a while since I mentioned the southern bell brat pack also known as Those Darlins… Might as well pimp them out now for a moment while I have your attention.
Many Cleveland fans were bummed to learn that Those Darlins dropped off the bill last June. They opted to do so in order to perform a benefit show, so I guess we can not be too mad at them.
Regardless, they have yet to make a stop in Cleveland in 2011 and it looks like this Fall will be the next time they drop by.
On October 12th, Those Darlins will be playing a show at the Grog Shop with Peelander-Z. Can you say awesome!?!?
Stay cool Cleveland. The girls and Lynwood will see you in a few months…
Speaking of awesome… Looks like the girls and Lynwood are getting some well-deserved attention:
Too bad I would never drive that toaster in public.
I have been digging Old Man Markley‘s self-proclamed genre of “Newgrass” for quite some time now, but it appears that I forgot to let the rest of the world know. The band released Guts N’ Teeth on Fat Wreck Chords back in January and I guess I enjoyed it so much that I failed to talk it up a bunch. So, 5-months later, without further au-due, ladies and gentlemen, Old Man Markley…
So, wait – what is this “Newgrass” genre I speak of? It is a fine mix of punk, folk, and bluegrass making for one catchy sound. Think old school country jam meets folk rock / punk rock fueled by countless rounds of draft beers at your favorite drinking hole with friends.
If having a good time could be put in music form, “Newgrass” is probably what it would sound like.
Back in 2007, the band started off in LA jamming out in a bluegrass fashion as well as took countless bluegrass favorites of theirs and covered them in a much different way based upon their own punk rock standards. After a couple years the band, containing up to nine people currently, took all they knew musically and pushed out their debut album Guts N’ Teeth. The result is one of the best CDs I have heard in 2011 and I am not just saying that. Put it this way, the moment I heard the opening track, I placed my order for the vinyl because I had to have it in my collection.
“For Better For Worse” was that catchy track I heard. I was an instant fan. It was a mix of all the current types of music I have been digging lately – Folk, country, punk, and bluegrass. The song was full on energy even if singing of a girl that can’t be had. Resembling something sounding like Tumbledown meets Dropkick Murphys, the song made you want to throw a foot to the ground a few hundred times while tossing back drinks. Does it sound to you as if I liked this track? You bet your ass I did.
Following was “At The Bottom”, a banjo-heavy track full of group vocals backing up singing about passing out at the bottom of a bottle. “Running Weight” was a fiddle frenzy track that was more like an adventure if anything about getting from point A to point B without getting caught.
“Do Me Like You Do” was an entertaining cover of the 1924 song written by Gene Austin and Roy Bergere. Covered usually by jazz artists, this mean bluegrass version was full of fun a quarrel at the same time. Slowing down things a bit was “Song Songs”, a song about all the songs that many members of this band have probably written for others throughout the years.
Another track that caught my ear was “Letterman”, a song of an angered escape surrounded by some amazing folk rock music, especially the harmonica playing. With harsh lyrics like, “so now your hiding in a sad song, we don’t want to sing along”, it’s clear that the song is not aimed for good feelings one bit. “Lowdown Blues” was a prime example of what the Stray Cats would have sounded like if they ditched the whole rockabilly feel and moved to the mountains.
I would not have been surprised if Tim Barry and the Avett Brothers had something to do with “Living and Learning”. Hell, even Slobberbone hints throughout this track. I guess it’s that time where I tell you if you need to listen to one track on this album it’s this one. Seriously, good shit right here.
For a bunch of punkers from L.A. who used to be in bands such as Youth Brigade and Angel City Outcasts, Old Man Markley is downright impressive. Mandolins, banjos, fiddles, autoharp, harmonica, washboard, and high spirited singing full up this album of non-stop folk/punk/rock goodness. Like I said before, this is one of my favorite albums of 2011 and to think, it came out in the beginning of the year. I dare anyone out there who says they like folk or country to tell me that there is not at least one song on this album that made them thing “damn, them boys is good”, because as a pretty solid fan of those genres, that is exactly what I said.
Old Man Markley will be touring with NOFX and Anti-Flag this Fall and as luck would have it, they are hitting Cleveland. I know I will be in attendance that night. Something tells me I will not regret it.
Can I just comment on the above video? Best. Video. Ever.
