Music | Kate's Queen City Notes

September 9, 2014
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Midpoint Music Fest Must-see: The Ravonettes

David Lynch would listen to The Ravonettes. Are you ready for some darkness? The dark is here.

Their harmonies and sound roll out of the 50’s, but dig just beyond the surface and there’s a bleak, dark hole were the Leave It to Beaver love stories should be.

And like David Lynch movies that explore the darkness in suburbia and ordinary life, I also love these bright and shiny melodies with their coal black lyrics. They will play the stage at Christian Moerlein tap room on Saturday September 27th at Midpoint Music Fest.

It’s an accident that I’ve only discussed bands that are booked for Saturday. But this does illustrate that this is the year for conflict. More that other years, there are bands playing that I want to see across town at the same time. Really, this is a pretty great problem to have.

September 8, 2014
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Midpoint Music Fest 2014 Must-see: Milagres

You never know when you want to re-live all those sport coats in 80’s videos. Especially, the sport coat with pushed-up arms look. Don Johnson’s got nothing on these guys.

And then there’s this. Watching this video makes me feel like I should be watching MTV in 1986. It’s not any one thing, but a collection of attributes. The style of the music is 80’s throwback, with the prominent synth sounds and the falsetto crooning on some of the tracks. It’s also the strange subject matter coupled with the casting and wardrobe. The actors are all middle-aged and ordinary. They are dressed like people would have been in an American Legion Hall in Canton in 1987. And then there’s the muscle-bound man dressed as a woman. For an 80’s video with seemingly unrelated subject matter watch Safety Dance.

In hindsight, music videos were probably a huge opportunity for aspiring film makers. Because the videos were short and had small budgets relative to movies and shows, untried creative artists could experiment. And because they were making these for musicians, their videos would have a guaranteed audience in the band’s fans. I am guessing that goes a long way in explaining why the creative content of the videos was so diverse. I digress.

I’m curious to see what Milagres sounds like live. They are playing Midpoint Music Fest on September 27th, at The Drinkery. I don’t know how the people that create the MPMF schedule manage to book bands in venues that seem to suit them, but damn. They really excel at that. Seeing Milagres in that sweaty, packed venue seems totally appropriate. I can’t wait.

September 7, 2014
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Midpoint Music Fest 2014 Must-see: OK Go

The last time I saw OK Go perform, it was a free show at Fountain Square at least five or six years ago. They have been busy in the meantime. Such as.

The visuals are really clever. But, man, is that a dark song. The first time I heard it, I thought it sounded like a New Order song. I thought that because it does. So much so, that I’m pretty sure they are referencing this New Order song on purpose.

I have no real sense of why they’ve linked these songs together melodically. Maybe OK Go are New Order fans. Maybe they just liked the sound of the song and wanted to take a shot at their own interpretation. But their lyrics seem too thoughtful for the nod to be that superficial. I think that both of these songs are about disappointment in relationships.

Disappointment in relationships, what a prickly subject. It’s the thing that goes unspoken except in song lyrics like these. And yet every single person on this planet who has been romantically involved with another human has experienced it.

I know I won’t be disappointed in this show. OK Go plays Washington Park on Saturday Sept. 27 at Midpoint Music Festival. If you love experiencing new music live and you live close to Cincinnati, you must check out this fest.

September 6, 2014
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Midpoint Music Fest 2014 Must-See: Wussy

Months ago I agreed to take a weekend road trip to Nashville. I’m sure it will be fun. But Cincinnati seems to be at her best in the month of September, and any weekend away means missing some fun events. I just realized that I will be missing Wussy’s show at Motr on Sept. 12th. Balls.

While I have been listening to my Midpoint Music Fest playlist, I’ve really connected with one of their songs of Strawberry. Connecting with music for me usually starts with the sound, a good melody. At some point after listen number 10? Maybe it’s 12? I don’t know the exact number. I notice a turn of phrase in the lyrics that piques my interest. At the end of this rabbit hole, sometimes I find beautiful writing. It’s that beautiful writing that brings me to buying album after album. When a Death Cab for Cutie or National album drops, I purchase those without a single prior listen. I want the writing. It’s the writing that I come back for.

The line that caught my attention in “Waiting Room” was as follows.

Stand for the silent bride
Maidens in crimson drapes
Bottle it up inside til it explodes and washes over rows of everyone attending
Sad Midwestern baptist girl writes sorry on the mirror
Crying in the bathroom on the first night of the honeymoon
It numbs you like the colors in the waiting room

Then later I found this.

Out on a great crusade
Under a million stars
Focusing on your face with the lines increases coming on like US Grant to Richmond
Bona fide but trapped inside a shell that says to hell with you
You pour it out and hope that someone notices before it’s through
It rides you like the silence in the waiting room

Beautiful. Note that I couldn’t find any of their lyrics online, so you are reading what my ears could pick out. I could have made a mistake in there. What a gorgeous song about the quiet desperation in ordinary lives.

Under different circumstances I would be standing right in front at Motr watching these guys play on September 12th. Since that can’t happen I will be standing in front seeing them play at Washington Park on September 26th, as part of the Friday line-up of Midpoint Music Festival. If you are a Cincinnati native and you like experiencing new music, you won’t find a better event in the city. GO. If I ever move away, I will gladly come back every year for this weekend. You can read about my experience last year here, here and here.

September 4, 2014
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Kishi Bashi and The Ridges

After enjoying Kishi Bashi at Bunbury, it wasn’t a difficult decision to get tickets to see him play at The 20th Century Theater. That venue is a nice intimate space. As an added bonus The Ridges opened for him. I haven’t seen them in about a year. Shame on me for that, as they have played numerous times around here. They’ve really amped up the energy in their live show since the last time I saw them. If their purpose was to get the crowed excited for Kishi Bashi, I say job well done.

Just before Kishi Bashi came out, the merch guy came out to quote what I think was Shakespeare. I don’t know why this felt completely appropriate, but it did. One of the band members handed over a remote control to girls to my left. It controlled the lighting in the body of the banjo. I enjoyed this little bit of audience participation.

The band looked great, and put in an energetic performance. It was standing at a place in the theater that made it difficult to judge what the sound was like. I was hearing quite a bit from the monitors on stage and even the acoustic sound from the instruments themselves. I do know that it was hot. There was dancing, and I had fun.

Violas. It’s a thing.

The Ridges

Everyone sing along. Or should I say, everyone in the back shut yer pie holes.

That some stuff, stuff that I don’t understand.

Tattooed banjo?

Kishi Bashi. It was hot as satan’s taint in there. That jacket came off quickly.

Because you never know when you need to banjo while straddling someone doing push-ups.

Big finish with The Ridges on stage for “Bright Whites”

July 17, 2014
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Bunbury 2014: The Day I Learn Why Music Fests Are Three Days

Sunday at Bunbury started sideways. The skies opened up in the middle of Brick + Mortar’s set, which was also the first act of the day. They said that they would pick-up after the rain let up. After some time spent in the VIP tent throwing back a couple of beers, music resumed. The delay was probably about and hour and fifteen minutes. I was expecting them to just start where they were in the original schedule, but instead they issued a new schedule ensuring that all the bands that were booked that day would in fact play.

The main victim of this new schedule was Young the Giant. I had originally planned on seeing them, but after the reschedule, I couldn’t get across the park to hear more than one and a half songs from them. I feel happy that one of the songs happened to be “My Body”.

The first band up after the reschedule was The Lighthouse and the Whaler. They sounded good, but I was distracted by the threatening sky and my need to keep my very expensive camera gear from getting soaked. I wanted to stay for more than three songs, but the rain chased me away.

I trotted back to the VIP tent to see a short performance by The Kopecky Family Band. It was covered, so that was the only location to retreat to. They sounded great. They were really engaged with the people in the audience. They wanted to do an acoustic song in the center of the tent with everyone crowded around them, but they got shot down by the sound guys. I’m a little bummed that didn’t happen, but I think they were concerned that the music was starting on the main stage.

I checked out ZZ Ward at The Main Stage. Her backing band is pretty spectacular. Her vocals were great. But her music felt wrong for a festival. I want to see her in a dark club. If she comes back to The Madison Theater, or The Southgate House revival, I would gladly see her again.

I checked out The Kopecky Family Band at The River Stage. Man, they are just really great. There was a trombone war. There was some dancing. If they come around Cincinnati again, I will be going to see them. This was my favorite performance of the day.

I saw a bit of Robert DeLong. I like his music. I’m not so fond of watching one or two dudes with a bunch of technology. Robert DeLong does a great job of trying to make that entertaining, but it’s just not my thing. I saw Baths at Midpoint Music Festival last fall, and had a similar experience. It was two dudes with technology. I loved the record, but I didn’t enjoy the concert experience.

I headed off to The Warsteiner Stage for Bear Hands. Their stage presence wasn’t anything special. But they sounded fantastic. I had an excellent conversation with Alex, someone who works on Midpoint Music Festival. I’ve talked about that fest, here, here, and here. It’s the best music festival in the city. It’s an adventure in exploring downtown, and an adventure in seeing new music. I love the way downtown hums with bicycles and music fanatics. We talked about the fest for a bit, and it was super cool to hear about how it’s managed.

After hearing just a bit of Young the Giant, I headed to Holy Ghost! at The River Stage. I was pretty excited about an 80’s throwback dance party. Can that’s what happened. There was a conga line. Then the audience made of their own line dance, and coordinated everyone up front to dance together. The band sounded just like the recording. Their stage presence was ok, but the audience participation made it a really fun show.

Last up was The Flaming Lips on The Main Stage. Spectacle is a good word for their show. It was very visually stimulating. They sounded good, and provided plenty of entertainment. The thing that really struck me about them was how much fun Wayne Coyne seemed to be having. Playing on that stage seemed to be the only thing he wanted to be doing at that moment in this world. It made for such a great concert experience. Oh, and yeah, he got in his hamster ball and rolled/walked around the crowd.

Sometime in the next week, I will post another blog where I talk about my VIP experience and me experience with a media pass. I will also reflect on the experience as a whole. What I can say now is that in spite of my exhaustion, I was so bummed it was over.

The Flaming Lips on stage.

The Lighthouse and the Whaler

The Kopecky Family Band

The VIP stage. This is where all the VIP performances took place.

ZZ Ward

Robert DeLong

Airborne Robert Delong

Bear Hands

Holy Ghost!

That’s a woman dressed as a mountain. There were a couple of mushrooms and a rainbow on the stage too.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. You may ask yourself if he’s wearing a body suit. Why yes, he is.

July 13, 2014
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Bunbury 2014: Sweat and Joy

The day started a little rough because I forgot my most important successory. Ear Plugs. I stopped in to just a bit of Miner, but then I had to run back to my place to get the cilia-saving foam devices.

After an additional trip to and from my apartment, I turned up to Big Fresh complete with a sweat-soaked shirt. Big Fresh was fun. They had a couple of brass players on stage. In the venn diagram of bands with horns and bands that I like, the circles are nearly on top of each other. If you aren’t a nerd, that just means that I almost always like live bands with horns. Of the lyrics that I could understand I got, “you’re such a hotty totty, I want to touch your body”. So, lyrics might not be their strong suit.

Bronze Radio Return wins for having my favorite song of Bunbury with “Shake, Shake, Shake”. These guys sounded great. They took a little time in their third to last song to jam and feature solos from the harmonica, guitar, and piano players. They are all great musicians. When they played “Shake, Shake, Shake”, it was clear from the crowd’s participation that they were already familiar with their music. Anytime you come around here, Bronze Radio Return, I will be coming to see you.

I peeked in on the Bonesetters before I headed to The River Stage for Kishi Bashi. I’ve been waiting to see Kishi Bashi since I missed him at Midpoint Music Festival last fall. Of all the Bunbury acts, I know his music best. It was worth the wait. He was spectacular. He did a solo version of “Manchester” with live sampling and looping. It was gorgeous. He covered “Live and Let Die” during which he dove into the crowd. After being passed around for a bit he was returned to the stage to close out the song. He’s travelling with a bassist, a drummer, and a banjo player. They all brought creativity to how they used their instruments. The banjo player was playing with a bow at one moment and then using mallets on his banjo for percussion. We got an excellent surprise at the end of the show. Kishi Bashi is coming back in late August to The 20th Century Theater. There’s no way I will miss that.

I stopped in for a moment to see Modoc. They sounded excellent, but I needed to cross the park to see part of Cults. Modoc is booked for Midpoint Music Festival, and assuming no critical conflicts I will see them there. I was expecting to like Cults more than I did. They sounded good. Their performance felt impersonal. That might be partially due to the fact that I was pretty far away, given that I arrived late. I would give them another go because I really like their music.

I headed back across the park to The Warsteiner Stage to see a few songs by Little Daylight. Then I continued on to Paramore. I actually didn’t intend on covering them. But I figured it would be the only time I would see that band, so why not see a song or two. I feel the same way about Paramore as I did about all my ex-boyfriends. I’m just not that into them. A couple of live songs didn’t change my mind.

The Pass and Andrew W. K. were next on my list, so I hiked across the park for the 4th time. The Pass got a tough billing. They were up against Andrew W. K. and Paramore. They deserved better than the sparse attendance they got. They sounded excellent.

Andrew W. K. was big dumb fun. His fans were engaged and very energetic. There was crowd surfing. Even the stoic photographers in the pit couldn’t help but smile. Is his music my thing? No. But it’s impossible to watch him and not smile. Andrew W. K. you win. I would totally see you again.

Foxy Shazam was excellent. Does that even need to be said out loud? Those guys have such a unique and big energy on stage. They packed The River Stage. No surprises there. It’s interesting to note that the other musicians came to see Foxy. Kishi Bashi and Patrick from Fall Out Boy were spotted in the back stage area watching their show. Seriously, if you live in Cincinnati and you love live shows, you must see Foxy Shazam.

Then Fall Out Boy happened. Their music isn’t my thing. I saw almost all of their show, and their music still isn’t my thing. I got some good pictures though.

*Note: I will have to edit this a little later. Sorry for the spelling and grammar problems. Cranking these out on a daily basis is challenging.

Miner.

Big Fresh. I know I said they had a horn section. I promise they are there. The shots that I have of them didn’t make my favorites. I will post them at some point in the future.

Big Fresh

Bronze Radio Return

The Bonesetters.

Kishi Bashi

I want those sunglasses. Banjo player from Kishi Bashi.

Kishi Bashi

Cults.

Little Daylight.

Paramore rocking out.

Yep. Boxing shorts.

The Pass

Andrew W. K. is getting ready to party.

Andrew W. K.

Foxy Shazam

Foxy Shazam needs water.

This is how Fall Out Boy entered the stage.

Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

Fall Out Boy.

Fall Out Boy

July 12, 2014
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 2 Comments

Bunbury 2014: Friday Review

It’s a nice feeling when things go according to plan. It’s a wonderful feeling when things go even better than planned. At work, I was assigned a project that was running off the rails the day before the weekend of the 4th of July. Practically, I had 5 business days to get the project back under control and re-plan it.

I had planned to take yesterday off, so I could have a leisurely morning getting ready for Bunbury. Once I got this flaming project tossed in my lap, taking the day off was out of the question. After roughly 40 meetings and what felt like a zillion emails, and hundreds of problems solved this week, I was able to get a half-day off.

By some miracle, I was able to close out all of my pending work, and keep my four meetings of the morning on schedule. By noon, I was headed to Sawyer Point to get my press credentials. This task went quickly, and I had enough time to change out of work clothes and head back to the fest.

I bought my VIP passes at the fest last year. I had a good enough time that I felt confident about the purchase without knowing the line-up. I had since lost that email receipt. At will call they looked me up, and printed my tickets in less than 5 minutes. Then I headed to the media tent to get my camera sticker. This also took about five minutes. Getting into the fest on time: Success!

I headed to the River Stage to see Royal Teeth. They were just as adorable as I was expecting. They were shiny pop goodness with a dash of hipster. They sounded great, seemed happy to be there, and were really chatty with the crowd.

After a brief stop in the VIP tent for a 2 dollar beer, I headed to The Main Stage to see X Ambassadors. They’re music isn’t exactly my bag. But, my spidey sense told me that they would put up a solid performance. Plus, they have been regularly selling out their shows on this tour, so that’s got to count for something. They didn’t disappoint.

I wasn’t feeling particularly drawn to any of the bands in the time slot following X Ambassadors. I checked in on a couple of songs by Let It Be and Panama Wedding. Let It Be made me think of every pop punk show that I saw in the late 90’s. I think that could be interpreted as an insult, but that’s not what I intend. I like pop punk. I really like it when it’s tight, as they were. I was drawn off because I had to get back to The Main Stage, but I would happily go see them again.

Wild Cub was just as excellent as I expected. They were great the other two times I saw them, so there were no surprises there. The singer said that Ohio was special to them because a dj in Columbus was the first to play their song on the radio. This spawned a conversation later about how Ohio radio stations are less tightly controlled and thus makes Ohio a bit of a trend setter. I have never heard this before. When I have 5 minutes to blow this will be googled.

I stopped by at J Roddy Walston and the Business and Family and Friends. J Roddy was rocking. I will be seeing them again. Like X Ambassadors, their music isn’t my bag, but I always love a stellar performance.

I heard great things about Cage the Elephant. That great lip service is justified. At this point I thought, ah this will be the best performamce of the day. That turned out completely wrong.

I missed Bad Suns, but my friends that made it said they were great. Next up was Fitz and the Tantrums. I saw them this past fall. They have been touring for more than 7 months. They are great performers, but I have to say their vocals were a little worse for the wear. Fitz was clearly struggling. Their only option would have been to cancel, and I commend them for powering through it. Regardless of sounding a little rough, they were just as engaged with the crowd as they were early in the tour. The band sounded excellent. Net, not the best I’ve seen from them, but they get big ups for not disappointing their fans with a cancellation.

I am sure it’s nostalgia that makes so happy to see Heartless Bastards play in Cincinnati. I think of the many times I saw a then slightly different lineup playing the claustrophobic basement of the CAC, the original Southgate House, and Northside Tavern. It was around their inception and early shows that I started engaging in the local music scene. Zero regrets there. Erika Wennerstrom said it was good to be home, and it made me feel sappy and thankful for how good Cincinnati has been to me.

Last up for the evening was Empire of the Sun. When they were booked, I had thoughts. Thoughts like, what idiot booked this? I kept these thoughts to myself, because I wasn’t familiar with the band. I did some listening. I liked their sound. For the most part, feedback on social media was similar to my first thought. But there were sporadic dissenters suggesting that this booking was a huge win. “They never tour in the states”, they said. “They have an amazing live show”, they said. I skipped checking out any YouTube videos because, I do most of my listening via Spotify and can’t stream video at work.

The photography pit was packed. Empire of the Sun hit the stage. My mouth was agape. It took minutes for me to recover my wits from the awe I was experiencing. My words just aren’t good enough to describe what happened there. The pictures aren’t really either. But they’re all I have. I will say this, their show blew my expectations out of the water. If you can see them, MY GOD YOU MUST DO IT. I DON”T CARE IF YOU DON”T LIKE THEIR MUSIC.

In summary, Bunbury day one, you win. I freely admit, I wasn’t feeling your line-up this year. But, damn, if Saturday and Sunday are even half as good as yesterday, I am calling this fest a massive success.

Royal Teeth! Aren’t they cute?

See? Even cuter in this picture.

X Ambassadors

Not the instrument I thought he would play.

Let It Be rocking out.

Panama Wedding

Wild Cub!

J Roddy Walston and the Business

J Roddy Walston and the Business, and for some reason they remind me of Soul Asylum. Visually. They sound nothing like Soul Asylum.

Cage the Elephant

These guys put up an amazing performance.

Fits and the Tantrums.

Heartless Bastards!

The Warsteiner Stage

Empire of the Sun. I have so many more pictures of this show, but you will need to wait a few more days until I can process all of them.

July 10, 2014
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Bunbury 2014: IT’S ALMOST HERE!!

This has been one hell of a week at work, which makes me extra excited about all the live music that I’m seeing this weekend. I’ve been blogging about my not-to-miss bands for the past few months. Check out those blogs if you like.

Fitz and the Trantrums and Young the Giant
Kishi Bashi and Wild Cub
Bronze Radio Return and Bad Suns
Cults and Holy Ghost!

Plus, I’m super excited that I got a press pass this year. I have a pretty spiffy camera, and I was hoping I could get clearance to bring it in. Success!! I’m thrilled about all the amazing pictures that I’m going to share in the coming days.

Here’s my agenda for the weekend. Agenda. It’s so corporate. Regardless, here it is.

Friday:

2-245 Divided between Royal Teeth and Snowmine – Both these bands sound great, so it looks like I start the fest by sprinting across Sawyer Point.
245-330 X Ambassadors – These guys are regularly selling out their venues on this tour. Their horizon is looking pretty bright.
330-415 Let It Happen
415-5 Wild Cub Seen them twice, love them. 500 Miles to Memphis gets an honorable mention. This Cincinnati-based band puts on a great show, but I’ve seen them quite a few times. Oh, the burden of being a local at this fest.
5-545 Divided between J Roddy Walston and the Business and Family and Friends – I enjoy the sound of both of these bands. More sprinting.
545-645 Cage the Elephant
645-730 Bad Suns – If I have it in me, I might try and catch a song or two by Meg Myers and Lydia Loveless between Cage and Bad Suns.
745-9 Fitz and the Tantrums
915-1015 Heartless Bastards – Erika Wennerstrom’s voice is just spectacular.
1015-1115 Empire of the Sun

Saturday:

2-245 Miner
245-330 Big Fresh
330-415 Bronze Radio Return
415-5 Bonesetters
5-545 Kishi Bashi – I would have gotten tix to this fest just for this show.
545-645 Cults – Their songs sound straight out of the sixties and have lyrics about, well, cults. What’s not to like?
630-730 Little Daylight – This band drew me away from my original agenda at Governor’s Ball with their sweet, sweet sounds.
730-815 Molly Sullivan – Formerly the lead singer of the Know Know Nots, she’s got stellar vocals. I’m excited to see what she’s working on now.
815-915 Divided between The Pass and Andrew W. K. – Oh god, why are so many good things happening in this time slot.
9-10 Foxy Shazam – Their music isn’t really in my wheelhouse, but they are super performers.
10-1115 Fall Out Boy – They aren’t really my thing, but they have no competition. So, thks fr th mrms in advance.

Sunday:

2-245 Brick + Mortar
245-330 The Lighthouse and the Whaler – So much pop goodness. It’s marshmallow fluff for your ears.
330-415 The Easthills
415-5 Kopecky Family Band – Are they sure they aren’t a subset of Cults?
5-6 ZZ Ward
6-7 Robert Delong – This is dance-your-pants-off hour.
630-730 Bear Hands
7-8 Young the Giant
8-9 Holy Ghost! – They are so 80’s, and I love it so much.
9-1015 Flaming Lips – Thank Jeebus this thing ends at 1015. I will be beat-down by that point in the weekend.

Bring it Bunbury! I’m ready!

June 27, 2014
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Bunbury 2014: Must See Fitz and the Trantrums and Young the Giant

I’ve seen both these bands before. They both put up solid performances. If you are looking for pop-candy goodness head to Fitz. If you are looking for indie rock with a slightly unapproachable sound head to Young the Giant.

See? Pop goodness. Prepare yourself, the woman that does backing vocals puts on one hell of a show.

See? Indie rock that is melodic yet slightly unapproachable. I will be seeing both of these bands again at Bunbury.

Next week, I will share my picks for the local bands that are book at the festival. I’ve seen most of them. Let me take the next few days to consider whether I will consider Heartless Bastards a local band given that they are currently out of Austin but started here in The Queen City.

Kate's Queen City Notes

Blundering through Cincinnati, laughing all the way

Category Archives: Music