I want to celebrate the day of the dead with friends on mopeds. At least, that’s what I think the director of this video was thinking. I wanted a moped when I was thirteen, and regardless of having a motorcycle, I still kind of want one.
If early U2, The Editors, and INXS had an improbably conceived baby, it would be this band. Lo and behold, they are on Island Records, U2’s record label. When I think about past music, I know that 80’s pop is my Achilles heel, but just now I am a bit nostalgic for early U2. Yesterday, I noticed that I wanted to pull out my Cornershop record. Today, I think I need to hear War by U2.
In two weeks, I will be seeing Empires play at Midpoint Music Festival. They play Saturday September 27th at Washington Park. Praise be to Monty, the MPMF Cyclops, that they are playing early that night, because there is an overabundance of band on my list.
In past years at MPMF, there was always at least one dance-filled show. Previous bands that made me lose myself to dance were Cut Copy and The Seedy Seeds. This year I am thinking that title will go to Chromeo. How fun is this song?
With a dash of 70’s with a pinch of 80’s, this show will be big fun. It’s difficult for me to resist anything that recaptures the basic premise of the movie Mannequin. The only thing this is missing is a reference to Hollywood. May Meshach Taylor rest in peace. Speaking of which, this movie needs to be added to my Netflix queue. Don’t judge.
Oh, hey, ET reference. At first I thought the diamond was meant to symbolize the innocence of childhood, but then there’s a spaceship at the end of the video. But then the spaceship turned up at the end of the video, so that seems to shoot down that idea. Maybe That’s a retelling of ET only with The Outsiders replacing the scientists in the original movie. Also this ET was considerably less animated.
I’m not sure how I felt about that video. I do know that I really like their casual 80’s feel. Anyone could dance like Molly Ringwald to this. I will be shuffling vacantly to this on Saturday September 27 at Midpoint Music Festival.
NPR really loves these guys. KEXP Seattle also really loves these guys. Check out their live session with KEXP below.
I’ve been investigating Midpoint bands for some months. Upon my first listen, I wanted to see this happen live. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen amazing soul done live. In fact, the answer might be never. His guttural voice reaching over the shiny brass instruments sounds thrilling. They guys will be playing Thursday September 25th at The Taft as part of Midpoint Music Festival. Their billing at The Taft couldn’t be better. Last year The Taft might have taken first prize in sound. I saw three considerably different bands there, and they managed it perfectly.
There’s a French horn player who doubles on accordion. There’s a cello players. What’s not to like? Few things ensure that I will enjoy a band’s live performance, like the presence of many interesting instruments. I like watching people play instruments. The more novel the instrument the more I enjoy watching.
Lost In The Trees did a Tiny Desk Concert with NPR. The textures that they weave, even in that acoustic set, range from soothing to intense all in the space of a few seconds. Is there such a genre as Folk/Radiohead? Lost In The Trees could find a home there. They play on Thursday September 25th at The Know Theater for Midpoint Music Festival.
Hooray for finding an act that’s playing on Friday as opposed to Saturday. Also, hooray for pop goodness. The only thing that’s not so much hooray, is the venue they are playing. Mainstay Rock Bar is an excellent venue for this fest, but damn is it off on its own. The venue is blocks away from any other venue. The Taft is about 5 blocks away from Mainstay. And then The Taft and Mainstay are about eight blocks away from the other venues.
I make short work of this problem on my bicycle, which in my mind is a must for this festival. So, note, are you coming from out of town? If you can bring a bicycle, you should. That will enable you to cut your trip to either of those venues in the downtown business district to 10 minutes or less. One foot that would take closer to twenty minutes, even if you are hustling. Also, enjoy this pop music.
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.
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.
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.
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”
Kate's Queen City Notes 