Tag Archives: House Of Blues

Concert Review: Frank Turner / Flogging Molly / The Architects – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH – 03/05/2010

It was a sold out kind of night last night in Cleveland thanks to a couple of events that were going on.  First there was the sold out Cleveland Cavaliers game going on at the Quicken Loans Arena.  It was Sunggie night after all so you know everyone and their mother wanted to get a glorified Cavs robe and cheer on the hometown team.  Apparently a new Guinness World Record was set for the most ridiculous looking people all in one place at one time. I’m sorry but being part of “largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets” is not something that I want to think about in Cleveland on a Friday night.

Luckily for me and many other folk there was something much better going on just around the corner at the House Of Blues sans the Snuggies.  UK artist Frank Turner and some Celtic punk rock band called Flogging Molly were playing a sold out show and I was a part of it.  There was Guinness there too, the kind that is best served in pint glasses.

With many shows I attend I usually focus on the headlining act.  Where I am a fan of Flogging Molly and always will be, this night was all about me seeing Frank Turner live for the first time.  I am pretty sure I am the only person who was more excited for the one time punk rocker turned folk rock musician over the Irish punkers.

Opening act The Architects from Kansas City, MO started off the night with a bang.  Having never heard of them before they grabbed my attention with their straight forward rock n roll styles.  The foursome had great stage presence and the crowd rewarded them with constant approval.  I later learned that three of the members of the band used to be in the ska act The Gadjits. featuring the three Phillips brothers.  After hearing the Architects’ set I never would have fathomed them being in a ska band prior.  Great set by a great band I hope to hear more from in the future.

To say I was excited when Frank Turner and his nameless band took the stage would be an understatement.  With smiles on all of the band member’s faces they broke into “The Road” which just sounded amazing live.  I am sure it is safe to say not a lot of the people packed into the House Of Blues knew who Turner was but after just a couple songs in the crowd soon learned about the UK sensation who openly admitted that it was his first time in Cleveland as well as offered apologies if the set sucked at he was fighting a nasty cold.

Pointing to the crowd for a volunteer Turner chose a young fan to play harmonica on “Dan’s Song” knowing fully that the kid never played the harp in his life.  With a quick lesson Turner played the song alone on acoustic guitar and gave the honorary band member of the night “the look” when it was time for him to play.  Sure it did not sound like the recorded version or anything close to it but it was hilarious.

Armed with his acoustic guitar Turner continued the night along with his band playing like it was his most important show of his career.  He proudly yelled “Hello, Cleveland” to the crowd and fought his illness through each song.   It was apparent how ill he was feeling but he kept trucking along through the set that included “Poetry Of The Deed” as well as “Love, Ire, & Song” as well as “Back In The Day”.

From where I planted my feet the fans around me all seemed to enjoy Turner who let many in on a little secret telling them all that is was not actually a folk artist but a punk rocker who plays folk music.  Closing the night out with “Photosynthesis” I could only hope for a headlining show the next time Turner and crew come back to Cleveland.  They put on a great show and I am thrilled to be able to say I saw Turner live finally.

Without a doubt everyone was Irish for the night as Flogging Molly is notoriously known for spreading the Irish cheer around with their likable Celtic punk rock sing along jams.  Once the seven-piece took the stage it was clear how many people were packed into the venue to see them.  Fueled mainly on Jamison and Guinness the crowd showed no sign of calming down throughout the set.  Entertaining as always, Dave King pranced around the stage with Nathan Maxwell slapping the bass and the rest of the crew just playing a solid strong set.

I stayed for about the first half of the set and will try and post Flogging Molly’s set list on here the moment I find it.  Remember, I was there for Frank Turner, so once things started getting really crazy I packed up and headed towards the exit.  I have nothing against Flogging Molly at all but I have seen them multiple times and really am used to the good times they exhume.  Being a proud Irishman myself I know all too well what an evening of Irish music and stouts can do to my body so I chose to play it safe.  I am pretty sure not many followed my idea and are still battling the Irish flu today.

Speaking of flu it was reported by Frank Turner himself on Twitter that he had to pull from the Detroit show tonight so I am even more pleased I was able to see him last night.

Here is his Tweet he posted:

@fthc – MotherF***ER. Very sad to say I’ve got to pull tonight’s show in Detroit. Sick as a dog, no voice. A thousand apologies.

Get well soon Frank Turner and thank you for fighting through your amazing set last night in Cleveland.  It was a highlight to my year.

Frank Turner Set:
The Road
Try This At Home
Dan’s Song
Reasons Not To Be An Idiot
Sons Of Liberty
Poetry Of The Deed
Love, Ire, & Song
Back In The Day
Photosynthesis

(I may have missed a song or entered the wrong one.  Corrections always welcomed.)

Concert Review: Alkaline Trio / Cursive – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH – 03/04/2010

Pop punk rockers Alkaline Trio paid the House of Blues in Cleveland a visit on Thursday with special guests indie rockers Cursive as well as rock act The Dear & Departed.  This was the second stop for Alkaline Trio who just started touring in support of their new release This Addiction.  The line-up of the evening was an interesting mix but still it looked to be a great evening of music for all who filled up the venue.

Most commonly known as the guy who tattoos along side Kat Von D on the reality show LA Ink, Dan Under and his band did their best to warm up the crowd with their straight forward rock music.  The crowd gave them the respect they deserved but it really did not look as if too many were really getting into them.  A couple fans sang along and gave support but the energy level was still rather low.

Nebraska’s Cursive on the other hand played a solid, yet interesting, set  that eventually caused a lot of cheer by the set’s end.  Hammering through “Some Red Handed Sleight Of Hand” as later playing “Art Is Hard” the band threw on an absolutely amazing show.  I especially enjoyed hearing “From The Hips” off their latest release Mama, I’m Swollen.  Digging deep into their catalog the band even played “Mothership Mothership, Do You Read Me?” which absolutely floored me.  It was clear though that not everyone around me was enjoying the indie, almost experimental, performance with a very vocal Tim Kasher but I will admit that there are some folk out there today looking into who exactly this Cursive band is.

Alkaline Trio took the stage in full force and started the night off with “This Addiction” off their latest release.  The band looked so comfortable on stage and Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano shuffled about on stage as Derek Grant beat the hell out of the drums.  Skiba announced in the middle of songs that he was at a photo shoot earlier in the day for some magazine called High Times admitting that “if it seems like I’m really stoned, it’s because I am.”   Needless to say the crowd went berserk.

Adding to the energy of the night the band carried onward with an amazing set playing old and new songs.  Seeing Andriano pick up the horn on “Lead Poisoning” was one of the highlights of my night for some reason.  I really enjoyed that track off their new album but seeing it live just made me appreciate it even more.  If that was not good enough, once the band finished that more poppy track they jumped back a few years and played “Mr. Chainsaw” only to return to new material again with “Dead On The Floor”.

Throughout the night I was continually impressed to see what song the band would play next.  Hearing “Fuck You Aurora” and later the Manson inspired “Sadie” the set list just kept getting better and better and the band just hit every song head-on with almost everyone in the house singing along.  Just when I thought think things could not get better the band played “’97”.  At that very moment I was completely contempt with Alkaline Trio’s set.

The band exited the stage with fans pleading for one more song.  I decided this might be a good time to make way to the back of the venue and to call it a night.  As I was walking back the crowd exploded in cheer as the band did a little switch up with Skiba on drums, Andriano on guitar, and Grant on bass and vocals.  The band appeased me by playing one of my favorite Misfits songs ever, “Attitude”.  All I could say was “are you kidding me” and stopped dead in my tracks and started singing along with everyone else.  It was the perfect way to end an amazing performance.  I was a happy concert goer.

Alkaline Trio’s Set List
This Addiction
Armageddon
Emma
Dine, Dine My Darling
We’ve Had Enough
Lead Poisoning
Mr. Chainsaw
Dead On The Floor
Fatally Yours
Crawl
Fuck You Aurora
Goodbye Forever
In Vein
Continental
100 Stories
Sadie
Nose Over Tail
’97
Encore:

Attitude

Concert Review: The Avett Brothers – House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH – 02/27/2010

It’s really not a secret anymore, The Avett Brothers are kind of a big deal these days.  Not even a year ago brothers Scott and Seth Avett along with bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon brought their folk act to the Akron Civic theater to a decent sized crowd.

That show was just months before the release of the Rick Rubin produced I and Love and You, an album that would change their status as a band forever putting them in the spotlight they so deserve.

Last Saturday night the North Carolinian foursome returned to Ohio and played to a sold out crowd at the House Of Blues in Cleveland.  With tickets being sold out months prior, it was pretty apparent that this was a show many folk were looking forward to be it new fans or long time followers. Looking around the venue as I arrived it was clear that the attendees of the night were a fine mix old and young.  There were frat boys pounding Miller Lite’s as well as a dread-locked couple hanging back against a wall and even a couple punk rockers loitering by the bar.  It would almost seem as if the night was all about bringing people together at the expense of music.

Folk act The Low Anthem from Providence, Rhode Island had the pleasure of being the opening act.  Starting off with a couple slow folk songs off their latest release Oh My God Charlie Darwin it was clear that most of the crowd was not interested in them at all.  Lead singer Ben Knox Miller did not let that bother him one bit though and continued playing songs to the packed house along with Jeff Prystowsky primarily on the stand-up bass.  Joining them as well was Jocie Adams who took care of most of the percussion duties, and Mat Davidson.  The band all played multiple instruments throughout their set showcasing their talent.

Just about half way into the set they switched gears and started rocking out heavily with Miller and Adams belting out vocals and Prystowsky beating the crap out of his stand up bass ever so passionately.  Adams really caused some jaws to drop when she sang in full force as she was just a small framed thing.  Many of the crowd soon quieted down and gave them the respect they deserved and by the set’s end the whole place was cheering for them.

It was clear that The Avett Brothers have reached that “rock star” level once the curtains were drawn introducing the Avett brothers, Bob Crawford, Joe Kwon, and a new touring drummer Jacob Edwards (of Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers) to the crowd that night.  The entire place cheered and sang along as they opened up with the ever appropriate “Salina”.  When the lyrics “Cleveland, I ain’t never felt nothing so strong” were recited the entire crowd went crazy and that would not be the last time that happened.  In fact the boys kept the momentum going following the opening song by playing “Slight Figure of Speech”.

Continuing for the hour and a half set the band played a few songs off their latest release but also dug deep into their catalog as well as even hammered out “Where Have All The Average People Gone”, a Roger Miller cover.   Not surprisingly the touring drummer entered and exited the stage when the time came for Scott Avett to get behind the drums.  It was also nice to see a very energetic Joe Kwon stay on the stage for the entire show.  The last time I had the please of seeing the Avett’s the celloist walked on and off the stage throughout the night but this time he stood his ground and played his heart out.

There was no “Kick Drum Heart” or “I and Love and You” played during their as many might have wanted to hear but “January Wedding” as well as “And It Spread” was suffice to all as everyone sang along when each was played.  I myself was most thrilled to hear “Murder In The City” as I just had listened to the song the other day on my record player.  Still fresh in my mind I sang along with everyone around me just enjoying every second of it.

“Go To Sleep” was perhaps one of my favorite tracks to hear during the evening.  Joe Kwon took his cello and played the beginning of the song and in no time the entire crowd decided to help by screaming “La La, La La La La” throughout as the rest of the band sang and played the boot stomping jam.  Sure the song is not about the happiest of times but the energy exhumed out of the song from all was just incredible.  As the song came to an end the boys left the stage to an over-adoring crowd.

All I could think of in my head was “they get it”.  When I say “they” I meant the crowd, and “it” of course was the music.  Sure the place was sold out, packed, and full of people who had one too many but they all were there for a good time with good people thanks to good music.  Better yet I was overly pleased with the set list of the night as the Avett’s took and played songs from a whole slew of their albums and tried not to just focus on the new stuff and most of the fans around me sang along to every single song.

As the crowd continued to sing “La La, La La La La” in a rather collected harmony the boys returned to the stage and started their encore with a slowed down version of “Traveling Song”.  Ending the night with “If It’s The Beaches” off of The Gleam, the crowd was not ready to let the Avett Brothers call it a night but sadly they exited the stage and the lights were turned back on.  As those lights became brighter I could start to see more people’s faces with smiles reaching ear to ear.  It was proof of how amazing the night was and just how great of a time was had in the venue on a Saturday night in Cleveland.

Set List:
Salina
Slight Figure Of Speech
Where Have All The Average People Gone? (Roger Miller Cover)
Please Pardon Yourself
Distraction #74
Perfect Space
Murder In The City
Tear Down The House
At The Beach
Laundry Room
And It spread
Head Full Of Doubt
I Would Be Sad
January Wedding
Famous Flower of Manhattan
Colorshow
Go To sleep

Encore:
Traveling Song
If It’s The Beaches

Babble Blog: Ben Folds Han Solo

Today started out like any other day – I woke up.  I barely opened my eyes and absorbed the NPR that cancelled out the strange dream I was having and just zoned out until I got the guts to face this Friday.

Today is different than most days.  I have been thinking about going back to college.  It has only been 12 years or so since I last took classes and the time has come to finish up.  I made some poor choices in life when I was younger and never finished school like most right minded poeple do.  I was thinking of going to Kent State and majoring in Being Awesome.  What to do what to do…

In other news Ben Folds is playing the House Of Blues in Cleveland on April 15th.  Advance tickets are $35 and went on sale this morning. 

I actually had an extra $40 to spend today.  I was either going to use it on my application fee or use it to see Ben Folds make love to his piano.

Any normal person would not think twice about what is right but I for a moment there thought about delaying the admission process…

Let’s see, education and further my life or see one hell of a show?  An education lasts a lifetime and I am sure Ben Folds will come by again right?  Still sucks I could not do both.

I did the right thing and applied over the internets to KSU and dropped $40 on an application fee.  I was highly bummed out about this because some of me fought to use that money to get a Ben Folds ticket.  I better get accepted dammit.

After hitting the “submit” button cancelling out any hope of seeing Ben Folds I get an email:

You and I are going to Ben Folds. I just bought a pair of tickets. All you have to do is beat up Rad-am for me.

Seems fair.  I have great friends.  I will assault one friend to appease the other and in return will get to see Ben Folds after all.  Today is a good day.  Mr. Addicted To Vinyl made my day.

Thanks Matt and sorry Rad-am.