The context matters when I am introduced to music. Much like a first impression, it’s like nicotine in walls. They never quite leave. They only fade, but never quite disappear.
I worked at a bar for some years; it was sort of place that wait staff would gather to drink away their nightly tips from midnight to last call. At mealtimes it was a wholesome family environment. In the wee hours of the morning, people were drowning their loneliness and making small an steady steps to heart failure and lung cancer.
I was introduced to “Wagon Wheel” in those wee hours of the morning. Fatigue was nipping at my heels while I struggled to find humor in jokes only funny to those three shots in. Inevitably, “Wagon Wheel” was the center of a “Crazy Hand of Poker” and “Ants Marching” sonic shit sandwich. And so, Old Crow Medicine Show got shoved into the malice-filled corner of my brain reserved for people who wear patchouli and like jam bands.
Regardless of my past impressions, I researched Old Crow Medicine Show as I have all the other bands in the Bunbury line-up. I was surprised to find that they are legit. I am delighted to be wrong. Now, my only concern is all the people turning up to see them that only know “Wagon Wheel” and will most likely be wearing patchouli.
Old Crow Medicine Show plays on Saturday of Bunbury 2015.
Three cheers for local music going national! Cincinnati loves their hometown band as much as the band loves Cincinnati. Their last show at Bunbury was high energy and loads of fun to watch.
And congrats to Walk the Moon for having a radio hit right now. I’ve seen these guys numerous times before, they were signed to a major label. They always put up a fun show. While many might complain that their fans are rambunctious, I like to lean into their exuberance. FYI, this video was recorded here in Cincinnati; the building they are in is The Mockbee in OTR.
There’s no plausible explanation for why at twenty years old in 1996 we were listening to The Mama’s and The Papa’s constantly. Mama Cass’s sweet harmonies would emanate from the boom box in the living room of our house in Clifton. AM Radio blared in our kitchen for all of my first 18 years of life. All of this primed me to fall in love with Temples.
Temples bring all of the things that I love about 60’s pop without the acid-soaked lyrics. I love them. Check out the visuals in this video; they say it all. The Mamas & Papas would dig it. Temples play on Friday at Bunbury.
I find it difficult to write about anything when I am going through personal upheaval. It squelches my creativity. And although my random musings might appear off-hand and thoughtless, they require quite a bit of work on my part. Trust me when I say no one would want to read what comes off the top of my head.
This is the context for my delay in producing my posts describing my favorite Bunbury 2015 acts. I have been listening plenty. I just haven’t been able to formulate words about it. Yet, I am running out of time. I must accept that creativity probably won’t come back to me in a timely fashion and power through some posts. Power through it: my mantra for 2015.
Royal Blood. Holy two-piece-band-that-rips-my-face-off-with-gutwrenching-rock-and-roll Batman!! That was awkward, but let’s power through it. If the sexy, crunchy guitars of The Black Keys were layered under Muse’s bombast you would have Royal Blood. These guys have enormous buzz behind them, and I can’t wait to check them out.
I am behind again. I saw several shows and went on several shoots and failed to upload and process my shots. When they pile up, I know my time at the computer grows exponentially.
This particular group of shots were 400 strong when I finally shifted them onto my hard drive. Just culling out the unnecessary duplicates can take a couple hours. Then I battle my inner critic and indecision in post processing.
Let’s not even get into how hard it is to find words to accompany my visuals. The Sonics deserve more words than what I have. These guys brought all the intensity of a freight train barreling through the country side. From my vantage point to the right of the stage, I could feel the wooden floor throbbing with hundreds of feet pounding out their rythm.
Bright Light Social hour is sexy southern rock with a hearty dash of blues. They bring a more subtle energy to the stage, but it feels earnest. They seem most at home jamming, and even while playing tunes off their recording it feels fresh live.
Aside from the music pictures, I explored a bit of Newport, KY. It’s impossible to spend any length of time in Cincinnati and not hear of The Brass Ass. It’s exterior visuals have escaped me until just now. It’s perfect. I also got a few random shots of spring on the Cincinnati side of the river.
Random plug: Trailhead Coffee in Reser Bike Shop is delicious. They have O Pie O pies on Saturdays, and this has become my Saturday morning routine. In the spirit of Agent Dale Cooper, you must experience this goodness. Also, many thanks to Reser for an excellent tune up. I didn’t realize how out of wack my rode was. Well done, friends. No more words. Just pictures.
Yikes. I am behind. My Rubblebucket pictures have been inprisoned on my camera’s memory card for nearly two weeks sans my attention. In the interests of keeping things moving, I’m just going to leave this pictures here. Also, if you have a chance to see Rubblebucket, do so just to watch the fun. It really doesn’t matter if their music is your bag, you will enjoy their energy and performance.
Vacationer at The Woodward. They opened for Rubblebucket.
Rubblebucket at The Woodward
Rubblebucket at The Woodward. This show was so fun.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kate's Queen City Notes 