It’s true. Rap pioneers Public Enemy are coming back to Cleveland on Sunday June 27th to the House Of Blues.
That right there deserves The Awesome.
Having seen them for the first time ever at the 2009 Bonnaroo I can tell you this – they put on an amazing live show, even at 3 in the morning. Age aside these guys are kings of what they do. I am more than thrilled to see them come back to Cleveland and will be making sure I am in attendence that night.
According to my pal Matt over at that Addicted To Vinyl site (who I should add was there with me at that amazing Bonnaroo performance):
Public Enemy featuring Chuck D, Flava Flav, Professor Grif, DJ Lord and the S1W
Sunday, June 27
House of Blues
From their multiplatinum 1987 debut, Yo! Bum Rush the Show!, to seven records later, Public Enemy’s influence on hip-hop and rap shows little sign of slowing down. Arguably the most frequently sampled rap artists of all time, they proclaim, “We got a right to be angry.” They’ve been channeling that anger into articulate, revolutionary lyrics, as much to educate as to entertain. They use deep Funk basslines with layered rhymes from Chuck D interspersed with funny quips from Flava Flav (notorious for wall clocks hung around his neck). The beats, rife with police sirens, screeches, and heavy sampling, speed each tune to a cathartic release. Anyone who thinks that racial equality has been reached in the U.S. can think again, and let Public Enemy do the talking.
Tickets go on sale on 03/31/2010 and I am positive this will sell out.
Prices:
$32.50 – GA- Standing Room Only – Advance
$35.00 – GA- Standing Room Only – Day of Show
$45.00 – Reserved Seats
The band will be releasing their 3rd full length release June 15th on Side One Dummy Records. Expect a tour to follow in support of this highly anticipated release.
Track Listing:
1. American Slang
2. Stay Lucky
3. Bring It On
4. The Diamond Church Street Choir
5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Orphans
7. Boxer
8. Old Haunts
9. The Spirit Of Jazz
10. We Did It When We Were Young
Saturday night I conquered new territory, saw a show, and got to hang out with old friends. It was a very quick and triumphant evening full of laughter, new faces, and 80’s/90’s sitcom references sung in the key of The Electric Grandmother (TEG).
Let me explain because I am sure you are scratching your head right now…
TEG, aka my great friends Pete and his awesome wife Mary Alice (MA), decided to grace the city of Canton, OH with their presence and play a show at a place called Old Glory (more on OG in a moment).
So what kind of music do they play? The answer is Sitcom-core. Take one part 80’s & 90’s sitcom love and add it to freaky beats and a roller-coaster of vocals that are pure raunchy yet hilarious. That is Sitcom-core. I should also add TEG has been doing their thing before Nerd-core was even fathomed – so no haters please, they are pros at this and honestly, it is way more entertaining.
The two person team is musically and visually entertaining with Pete belting out the singing and creating the beats while MA takes care of a slide show like no other that coincides with the music. It is like nothing you have ever seen or heard and you need to have an appreciation for cheesy ass television to even remotely have a clue. It’s fun and meant to be fun and they are also my friends so I guess that makes it even more special to me every time I get to see them.
Photo by Allison Edwards
Aside from them making what TEG is, I have known Pete for half my life now and he along with Mary Alice are two of the most genuine people I know. Sadly I do not get to see them as much as I would like to as they reside in Columbus but we still communicate quite often. Needless to say when they told me they were going to be performing at a venue in Canton I was most than pleased and canceled all zero plans I had that evening to go and see them.
Now I am not familiar with Canton at all but thanks to my trusty GPS I was able to find Old Glory, at least I thought I did. The sign on the building said Old Glory Tattoos and for a quick moment thought I found the wrong place and was about to give the bird to my GPS. You see, I have a bad history of GPS’s taking me through the ghetto of different cities. I have driven through the projects of Baltimore once on account of a GPS thinking it knew the quickest route to a venue so once I learned that Old Glory Tattoos is now Old Glory I just laughed.
Old Glory is basically a DIY house. They are working on getting a liquor license so they can sell beer during shows and turn into a business but until then they open their doors to all who want to attend free of charge. Until that happens the venue is BYOB and smoking is welcomed (not a fan) since technically they are not a business. The owners of the place were super awesome and I wish I was able to remember their names but to make a long story short the place was a tattoo shop in a not-so-good part of town so he decided to close the shop up and open up something fun – a place where bands could play music.
Photo By Allison Edwards
There was no cover for the show as mentioned before but donations to the venue and the bands was accepted. Supposedly there were to be 5 bands all together that were to play that night but only 3 showed up and stayed. I guess one band showed up called Hollywood Lies (no link necessary, I am not going to promote them) and said they would be back but never came back. Apparently they played the Warped Tour and they were too good for OG. Kinda of a douche move if you ask me… It’s ok though because I did not want to see them play if they were going to have that type of mentality.
The neat thing about DIY houses is that there are loyal attendees that will always come out and see what is going on. Rather than have TEG play just to a handful of folk the owner of OG kept asking them to hold off and kept making phone calls. By 10:30pm there was a nice collection of music and beer lovers in the house.
TEG took the stage and immediately wowed everyone in the place with “The Day I Pretended To Watch Airwolf”. Those in the crowd who were there to see TEG knew what to expect but for all of the people that just came in unknowingly they were all very accepting of Sitcom-core to their virgin ears.
I admit I get nervous for my friend’s bands sometimes when they get on stage to a new crowd but I don’t ever need to worry about Pete. He is one of the punkest kids I know in life and he could really care less what you think about his music. He is there to have a good time and just do his thing. The folk in OG Saturday night really did get a kick out of TEG as they played though the night with”England-man American”,”New Coke Rap”, and also fan favorites “Car Phone” as well as a song dedicated to The Golden Girls. Throughout the songs MA kept the projections moving along with hilarious pictures that reminded all how corny yet memorable television and culture was in the 80’s and 90’s.
By set’s end the place was having fun and that is exactly with TEG came there to do. Giving away free CDs and making fun of the bands that did not show up to OG that night TEG was all about having a good time. TEG is not a gimmick by any means and what they do is for the love of performance, gratitude, and plain old generosity.
How generous? Well TEG is offering all of his synth heavy albums for free download. Yes, free. The following are a couple links to download his most recent albums. Check them out and honestly if you don’t like them delete them but I can guarantee that at least a couple of the songs will crack you up and who knows, you might just become a fan of The Electric Grandmother. It’s ok, I won’t tell your friends…but you should because it’s ok to like them.
Today Foxy Shazam released a new video today that pretty music takes Peter Pan, The Darkness, and hot chicks wearing knee high tube socks making for a fun time all in a black & white format. The lead singer who looks like V from V Is For Vendetta guy is hyper awesome and I just see good things happening with this arena rock band.
Check out the new video for “Oh Lord”:
Front man Eric Nally had this to say about himself and what Foxy Shazam is:
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was one of two white boys in an all-black high school. The band name Foxy Shazam came from a saying in my school meaning, “cool shoes.” If you had cool shoes kids would say those are “foxy shazam.” Because of this we have a lot of soul, and try to let it bleed through our music as much as possible. Mom and Dad were pretty poor as I was growing up but always supported my musical interests nonetheless. In the early years they bought my band cheap guitars and amps and drove us to shows in the family Thunderbird. I owe them big time and will someday repay them.
When I listen to a Foxy Shazam record I think of Evel Knievel, Bruce Springsteen, my childhood, Van Morrison, my old friends from high school I don’t talk to anymore, Elton John, the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond, Iggy Pop and my first kiss. One of my favorite things to do when listening to my music is to close my eyes and picture a crowd of six million people all chanting “Foxy! Foxy! Foxy!” The lights go out and my band walks on stage. It gives me goose bumps. It all makes sense to me. When you listen to our record, think of your favorite things and it’ll make sense to you as well.
Foxy Shazam is not concerned with what category it falls into. We want to stand for our generation.
We want to be the biggest band in the world.
We are the Michael Jordan of Rock N’ Roll.
I have the feeling Eric will be repaying his folks in no time. He has such a positive and energetic attitude about what he is in and loves to do. This band is going to be getting a lot of attention in 2010, or so I think.
Being an Irishman myself I have to confess that St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite time of the year. Forget the winter holidays, the turkey dinner, or the fireworks. I like my day to be green and I am not talking about Earth Day.
I remember the days when I would drink the day away with my brother and friends. We would start the day early, 4am early, and pretty much try to destroy our livers. I would sing, ok attempt to sing, Irish songs while spending ridiculous amounts of money on liquids that would guarantee in a disturbing hangover. Boondock Saints would be played on repeat as we took naps to try and sober up for the rest of the evening for another round of debauchery. One might think it is stupid and a waste but some of the best days I ever had were with my friends just being stupid.
As the years pass by though I am not the drinking machine I used to be and the thought of green beer does nothing for my taste buds. Kegs and eggs is something of my past and I feel old admitting it. Pour me a pint of Guinness just like any other day for me and I am perfectly contempt.
I still love the day and I always will. I love everything about being Irish and I especially love my Irish punk rock music.
To help celebrate the big day I have decided to post some videos that the Dropkick Murphys have been posting around the interwebs. Almost makes me want to relocate to Boston…
If you are wondering where some of this footage came from I might as will let you know that today, March 16th, the Dropkick Murphys released a live CD/DVD for all to see.
Six shows in seven days were thrown into the release that is more like a party like none other. That is what Live On Lansdowne, Boston MA is all about, fun. If you like all that you saw on here you should make sure you pick up this ultimate St. Patrick’s Day party favor – after all every day is St. Patty’s Day. Pint glasses not included and aspirin highly suggested.
