Cincinnati | Kate's Queen City Notes

March 17, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Music Now Festival: Perfum Genius and The Lone Bellow

There isn’t really a formula that can be used to derive a wonderful performance. Performers can seek to engage the crowd. They can bare a piece of their soul. They can execute their craft flawlessly. Most of the best acts I’ve seen have some measure of all those things.

I went to Music Now intending to take pictures, but once there I wanted to enjoy the music. I love shooting, but when I am in a visual head space, I can’t properly enjoy what I’m hearing. Doing the technical work in my head to get the camera to capture what I see takes me to a different place mentally than listening. I did manage a couple shots below.

I bought the ticket to see Perfume Genius. I listened to him when he was booked for Midpoint 2013. He dropped off the billing a couple of weeks before the show. I was thrilled to see he was making his way back to Cincinnati as part of the Music Now Festival. His work is difficult to describe. His lyrics show a degree of vulnerability that’s rare. His songs digress off the verse-chorus-verse-chorus path. From song to song the textures vary intensely.

Perfume Genius shared the billing with Mina Tindle and Lone Bellow. These acts were vastly different. Mina Tindle was charming, and her music was accessible and enjoyable. Listening to her was like a lazy Sunday morning. Perfume Genius is a power house performer; I was unprepared for this pant-less, porcelain doll-faced, cherry red lipstick wearing feminine man to overwhelm me. He was energy restrained on the stage. When he let out a primal scream in one of the songs, it was a brief window into his raw power.

Lone Bellow felt like an old time church revival sans talking, guilt, and fleecing. They stepped away from the microphones and amplifiers and filled the hall with their harmonies. It was beautiful.

Having such dramatically different, but excellent in their own right artists on one stage demonstrated the power that Music Now has over most other fests. Music Now brings out all the music lovers who are prepared to go on a journey. And the people in that room couldn’t have been happier to ride along Sunday night.

Mina Tindle

Perfume Genius

March 13, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Magnolia Sons and The Church

I fell behind. It happens. But in the interests of catching up, I am just going to share these shots and offer little to no commentary on these shows. Magnolia Sons were at The Drinkery, and The Church was at The Woodward Theater. Both shows were really spectacular in different ways.

Magnolia Sons

The Church

March 6, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Photography Success: Smoking The Ohio River

I have been trying to shoot The Ohio River all winter when the stars align for the river to let off water vapor at dawn. I have only captured it accidentally with my cell phone, but I was dying to get my SLR out to shoot it. The best I can make out, the over-night lows need to be very cold, and the skies need to be clear enough at dawn for the sun to warm the surface of the river water. It was 5 degrees when I was shooting this morning, and I suspect this is the last time the river will smoke this winter. The vapor coupled with the jubilant early morning light is at once eerie and magnificent. It was worth losing feeling in my fingers.

February 28, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Nobody Expects The Ridges or Final Friday

Last night was crazy at MOTR. I don’t know if spring fever made everyone hungry for a bender. I don’t know if Final Friday attendees finally succumbed to all their complementary wine tastings throughout the night. Maybe the agressive drunken crowd fell victim to a frothy mix of both of these things. I do know that last Saturday at MOTR wasn’t off the rails like last night was.

Now then, the music. I heard Automagic for the first time. Essentially, any band that brings melodic synth sounds is going to win my heart, and win my heart, they did. I got the sense that they are still figuring out their stage presence, but I am happy to watch their evolution.

Although The Ridges were struggling with sound issues for too many moments for the impatient crowd to endure, they opened their act with a fire in their bellies. This effervescent energy is what keeps me coming back to their shows. Of course it helps that they are well rehearsed and have rumbling Americana songs that resonate with any Midwesterner. Here’s what I saw.

Automagic at MOTR Pub

Automagic laying down their pop goodness.

The drummer from Automagic is killing it.

The Ridges at MOTR

Who doesn't love banjo?

Sound check blues.

MOTR is packed!

February 27, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Talk, Talk, Talk, About It: Bunbury 2015 Line-up

True story: I have been disappointed by the Bunbury line-up in the past. Last year’s line-up was lackluster. Of the headliners, I was unpassionate about Empire Of the Sun and Flaming Lips and don’t enjoy Fall Out Boy and Paramore. Turned out, Empire Of The Sun was one of the best live performances I have ever seen. And the Flaming Lips, although not my thing, put up a really fun show. All in all I was satisfied with my experience regardless of what was, IMHO, a bummer booking in Fall Out Boy and Paramore. I am rarely at the fest for the headliners, and there were plenty of mid-tier acts that I enjoyed. Kopecky Family Band, Kishi Bashi, Wild Cub, Cage the Elephant, Holy Ghost!, The Lighthouse and the Whaler, Bronze Radio Return and more, made my ticket well worth it. For my past Bunbury thoughts check these out.

This year? I was concerned when the fest was sold to Promowest. The line-up was anyone’s guess. Given that I purchased my VIP tickets right after Bunbury last year (pro tip: they are cheapest then, but clearly it’s a risk as there’s no line-up announced), I had some skin in this game.

I am thrilled that Promowest put a line-up together that is better than my highest hopes for this fest. Granted the bar was a bit low, given that last year’s line-up was not my favorite. Check out the full announcement here.

Bunbury 2015 Line-up

I haven’t checked out the Avett Brothers, Tame Impala, Atmosphere, and Matt & Kim, so I am excited to see them. I’ve seen The Black Keys, The Decemberists, Twenty One Pilots, Walk The Moon, and Manchester Orchestra, and I am trilled to give all of them another go. While Twenty One Pilots aren’t exactly my bag, their show was really fun to watch. And while Walk The Moon’s fans are little rambunctious for this 38 year-old, the band is so thrilled to play their hometown and with their sound reminiscent of The Talking Heads (if you know me, you know 80’s pop is my catnip), combines to me enjoying their shows. What’s not to love about The Black Keys and The Decemberists? Top it all off with ticking Snoop Dogg off my bucket list, and I am a happy, happy ticket holder. So, cheers to you Promowest!

One other wonkish thing to note, Promowest “leaked” the line-up to Cincinnati local media early. Nice marketing move there. My Facebook feed exploded when that happened. I was a little concerned that a Columbus company might misread the Cincinnati market in terms of line-up and media. This is one of those rare circumstances in which I am happy to be wrong. In a couple months, I will start my Bunbury music reviews, so check back in April. Happy listening!

February 23, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 2 Comments

Snowfilled Vistas

I saw ice in the river for the first time this winter. Of course, I had to shoot it.

The river looked incredible with the large chunks of ice floating buy.

This is inside one of my favorite places to eat in the city. Pho Lang Thang.

There were a few brave souls that managed to leave the house.

Don’t worry everyone. The city couldn’t manage to get the major interstate plowed, but Paul Brown Stadium is perfectly cleared. So, that will be a big help when the Bengals play next August.

Evidence of other people braving the weather.

The Findlay Market snow removal team had their work cut out for them.

A building on 4th Street during renovation.

The building two doors down is under renovation. That means there’s lots of decay to ruminate on.

The Ohio River facing west off the Roebling Bridge.

Watching the ice float by made me enter a meditative state. It was accidentally a practice in being present.

Bell’s beer tasting was delightful as was the CSO’s performance of The Planets.

February 23, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong 1 Comment

Low Cut Connie Blew Up MOTR with Old Style and Jean Jackets

This was my third time seeing Low Cut Connie. They tore through MOTR pub on Friday the 21st in a style that Jerry Lee Lewis would appreciate. They’ve revived a retro rock and roll sound with all the stage energy to deliver it in a brain sizzling wallop. The best way for me to convey the energy of this show would be to describe one of the audience members behavior there. A middle aged man took a shot, mysteriously lost his coat, equally mysteriously gained a Domo toque, and then held the toque aloft as though enticing the audience to engage in battle on behalf of Domo. Here’s a few shots.

The piano was really well tuned. I don’t know how your roll a piano over the Midwest’s pothole riddled highways and keep a piano in tune.

Low Cut Connie’s drink of choice seemed to be Old Style tall boys.

His very shiny jacket said nads on the back.

This piano seems to be equipped for rough treatment.

That’s probably not ergonomically correct.

The only problem with Low Cut Connie’s show was that it was a little short. More! More indie rock!

February 17, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Swan Song For Day Camp

Chuck Cleaver is a compelling person to watch on stage. So, when I saw that he was opening for my friends’ band at The Drinkery it felt like ice cream on pie. Pie is super, and there’s little than can improve upon it aside from ice cream.

This was Day Camp’s last show, so if you missed them you’re officially screwed. But I snagged some photo evidence. They sounded great, so here’s to going out on a high note. Pun intended.

Chuck Cleaver, of Wussy. Also, Grammy detractor, but he’s got a point.

Chuck played Grand Champion Steer, which basically made my night.

The Ready Stance at The Drinkery

Day Camp with guitars at the ready… stance. I’m sorry, I had to.

Um, in another blog I am going to take a picture of the Day Camp cassette that I purchased. It has a cat on it. That’s all you need to know to understand the full awesomeness of this purchase.

The Drinkery is a really cool venue. I keep forgetting about how much I like the lighted window as a back drop for the band. Plus, the band sort of advertises for themselves in the window. I like it when two problems get solved at once.

Day Camp was great. They coupled dissonant guitars with melodic bass lines.

February 11, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Bellvue Street Walker

We took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday to explore Bellvue by bike. We had lunch at The Elusive Cow, and had a walk about the neighborhood. I took some shots.

The Marianne Theater is adorable. I want someone to show old movies there.

We stopped in at an antique shop. Oddities abounded.

Was this movie out the last time this theater was in operation?

Juxtaposition.

I bet this toy would really disappoint today, given that most kids are playing games on iPads.

February 9, 2015
by allthenamesaretakensothisisreallyreallylong Leave a comment

Who Needs Clothes? Automagik Doesn’t

I checked out Automagik on Saturday night at MOTR. I didn’t know much about the band, so I didn’t have expectations. They have a bombastic sound and stage presence. Their high energy reminded me a bit of Cincinnati’s own Foxy Shazam. The vocalist enjoyed the show so much that he stripped down to his boxers for the last half of the show. Everyone deserves some privacy, so I decided to keep the pictures of that to myself. One could argue that all the fans with cell phones have already posted pictures. I’m sure they have. But that’s on them.

Automagik working out out.

Grand pronouncements!

Kate's Queen City Notes

Blundering through Cincinnati, laughing all the way

Tag Archives: Cincinnati