Music | Kate's Queen City Notes

September 23, 2017
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MPMF17 Saturday Schedule

How is it that The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene overlap? HOW? After a run through of the bands this morning I have to say, this is probably the most diverse mix of music they’ve had in recent memory. Cheers to that.

One observation, sounding like The Breeders, aka woman led 90’s guitar rock, must be a thing. So many bands in that neighborhood. Literally ran by Filthy Friends in my listen fest and thought HEEEYYYY Corin Tucker inspired vocals. HEEEEYYYYY.

2:45 Blossom Hall – Skyline Chili Stage
3:20 Even Tiles- Taft Ballroom
430 Kid Stardust- Taft Ballroom
5:05 DYAN – Skyline Chili Stage
6 Preoccupations – Masonic Cathedral
6:30 The Cactus Blossoms – Masonic Ballroom
8:25 Frightened Rabbit- The Taft
9 The New Pornographers – The Taft
10 Broken Social Scene – The Taft
1130 Citizen – Taft Ballroom

September 11, 2015
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MPMF15 Must See – Matthew E. White

Is it an accident, that Matthew E. White shares his last name with Barry White? Maybe, but I am going to continue thinking that it’s a natural inheritance of funk and soul passing across generations from a large furry black man to a large furry white man. Is this concurrence a thing? Maybe not, but it comforts me, so I am going to continue thinking it exists.

There’s a solid representation of Americana and Soul in this year’s MPMF line-up. My next pick (spoiler alert?) is another soul act, The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers. Who can resist gospel/soul backing vocals? And I have to concur that “rock and roll don’t have no soul… and everybody likes to talk shit…”

Warning: I can’t find him on the schedule so this could be a recent drop from the fest. The only weird thing is his tour stuff still says he’s coming. So, I dunno. I know that if he turns up, I am seeing him.

May 28, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See – Matt and Kim

There are a number of ways I connect with music, and specifically live performances. Sometimes I connect to the biting truth of melancholy lyrics. Sometimes I connect with the powerful energy that the feel of the music gives off. And sometimes, it’s just big dumb fun to listen to; think outrageous 80’s hits here. As much as I love my pensive Death Cab for Cutie lyrics, I also can’t help cranking up “Beat It” when it comes on the radio. It’s impossible to frown and listen to that sweet, sweet guitar lick.

Matt and Kim qualify as big dumb fun. This is gonna be the labrador retriever of Bunbury performances. Matt and Kim play Friday at 645 at Bunbury 2015.

May 27, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See: Jamestown Revival

Well this is just lovely. I want to be in that tent. I want to be on that shore.

True story, these guys play 630 to 715 on Saturday at Bunbury 2015. A time that completely overlaps with The Decemberists. As much as I enjoy this, in the battle between Jamestown Revival and The Decemberists, The Decemberists are clear front runners. If for some reason that show doesn’t grab me, Jamestown Revival it is.

And while I am thinking about it, the scheduling is one of the things that I don’t appreciate about Bunbury 2015. Matt & Kim have zero schedule competition, while Walk the Moon and Royal Blood overlap completely. Lucky for me, I’ve seen Walk the Moon numerous times, so I feel ok about putting that time to Royal Blood.

I also suspect that concentrating the entire Bunbury audience at one stage for in multiple time-slots is going to drive the feeling of the fest toward over-crowding. In previous years, only the headliners (the last show of each day) had no competition. For those final shows, the crowds were pretty unreasonable. I am curious to see how this works out.

May 25, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See: Multimagic

Huzzah for local music! I checked out Multimagic at MOTR pub this past winter. In the dark, packed bar they hammered out their indie pop tunes. Here’s a link to my blog about this event. That night ran off the rails, but that was independent from how great Multimagic sounded. The Cincinnati local music scene has those of us who are out many evenings of the week checking out shows. It also attracts weekend warriors who are just looking for lots of drinks and a good time. This latter group was out in full force that night, and rowdy is an appropriate word to describe their behavior.

I’ve already covered Wussy and Walk the Moon. If you preferred the pop sounds of Walk the Moon over Wussy, Multimagic is the show for you. They have just as much pop goodness, and less of a young and rambunctious following. They don’t have anything up for sharing on Youtube, so this Spotify link to one of their songs will need to suffice. They play at 3 on Friday of Bunbury 2015.

May 17, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See: Wussy

Wussy is a great local band. I often miss our local acts at fests because I have many opportunities to see them outside fests, and when I must choose between something I love but have regular access to and something unknown that I don’t have regular access to, I pick novelty. Wussy kicks off the fest on Friday at 2, and has no competition for the first half of their set, so I am guaranteed to catch part of their performance. I can’t think of a better start to a great weekend.

If you are traveling for Bunbury, here’s what you need to know. Wussy has been praised by Rolling Stone and SPIN. Their albums have achieved critical success in spite of Wussy’s sparse touring. The band members all have day jobs, and getting out of town for tours is a challenge. But here in Cincinnati, we’re lucky. We have them all to ourselves. If you want a little taste of the Cincinnati indie music scene, don’t miss this band.

Check out their performance on KEXP:

All the feels that I have about discovering music lives in this song. A voice comes through the speakers and grabs hold of your soul whispering that you aren’t alone. This unexpected connection wrenches hope and joy out of what can otherwise feel a mundane existence. NOTE: this is a subset of the video above.

Wussy – Teenage Wasteland:

(Verse)
Do you remember the moment? You finally did something about it.
When the kick of the drum lined up with the beat of your heart
Stuck in the corn with only a transistor radio
Making paths with the soundwaves and echoing Oh Babyloh-oh-oh-on(Chorus)
Yeah, we heard your beat real loud and clear on the last one
And we were pulling for you a thousand times a day
And it don’t take much to sound like a sleeping prophet
When your misery sounds so much like oh, so far away
Too far away, too far away

(Verse)
Do you remember the night you finally heard something about it?
When the kick of the drum went off like artillary fire
And if you’re wondering, man, oh yeah, say that it got to us
The shackles nd the (???) would scream like ohr, yeah yeah yeah

(Chorus)
Yeah, we heard you clear, real loud and clear on the last one
I must have listened to you a thousand times a day
And for one short breath, it sounds like the world is ending
It’s floating in space, but then it (???) so far aways
So far away, so far away

(Chorus)
Heard you loud and clear on the last one
We were potting for you a thousand times in a day
And it don’t take much to sound like a sleeping prophet
When your misery sounds so much like oh, so far away
Too far away, too far away

Wussy plays at Bunbury 2015 at 2pm on Friday.

If you wanna see my past experiences at Wussy’s shows check my past blogs out:

Wussy on NYE

Wussy at MPMF

May 16, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See: Old Crow Medicine Show

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.

May 4, 2015
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Bunbury 2015 Must See: The Black Keys

I love The Black Keys. I love that they are died in the wool Akron boys. I love their raw blues sound.

I saw them at the Madison some years back. The venue is small and sweaty and remains nicotine stained despite years of being smoke free. It was my ideal setting to see them. I was doubtful I would enjoy seeing them two years following at US Bank Arena. I couldn’t conceive of their sound translating well to that cavernous venue. I was surprised.

I also saw The Black Keys at Lollapalooza years and years ago. They were unknown at the time, and played bright and early. The crowd was patiently staking out their spots for Nine Inch Nails, and barely engaged. The sound was awful.

I am ready to have that unfortunate fest experience erased from my mind. This context will be different simply because The Keys are successful enough to headline a fest. Here’s to my second experience with the Black Keys.

Black Keys “Lonely Boy”

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 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.