Category Archives: Festival

2017 Punk Rock Bowling Lineup Announced

6 February, 2017 Brian Mc Leave a comment

The 2017 Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival looks beyond amazing this year. The lineup just dropped a couple weeks back, and I can not help but share it with everyone.

Heading into its 19th year, this lineup continues to impress the hell out of me. Its easy to see why punk rockers all over the world have no problem traveling to Vegas for a 4-day weekend of punk rock debauchery. The fun begins on May 26th and tickets are selling fast.

Under different circumstances, I probably would be trying to head out this year, but with another future punk rocker on the way, I will have to sit this one out.

If you’re even thinking of going, just go. I have had tons of pals who have hit up this festival over the years and I have never heard one bad thing about it.

Iggy Pop
Bad Religion
Cock Sparrer (UK)
Pennywise
FIDLAR
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
Choking Victim
The Adicts
Bouncing Souls
OFF!
Discharge (UK)
The Spits
The Dickies
The Interrupters
The Real McKenzies
Booze & Glory (UK)
Plague Vendor
Lions Law (France)
Drug Church
WolfPack (Australia)
Lost In Society
Mobina Galore (Canada)
Ten Can Riot
Roadside Bombs
New Trends (Australia)
The Quitters
Venomous Pinks

Alt Rock, Austin, Festival, Folk, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Good Times, Grunge, Hardcore, Hip Hop, Indie, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Music News, Pop, Pop Rock, Post-Hardcore, Punk, Ragtime, Rap, Rock, Solo, The Awesome

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012 Lineup Announced!

12 July, 2012 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Since 2006, Fun Fun Fun Fest has been nothing short of fun x 3. Every year, the music/art/food festival seems to turn it up a notch, so much, that last year I actually decided enough is enough and headed to Austin, TX, to check it out. The result, minus Danzig acting like a little bitch, was a killer weekend with friends fueled by amazing bands. In other words, I had fun. A ton of fun.

The festival was well organized, and all three days of music was well worth the $200 or so bucks I dropped on a wristband. By the want of the fest last year, I told myself and my friends I wanted to return the following year.

This year, the good people at FFF Fest have outdone themselves. Not only did they get RUN-DMC to reform, but they also had put together almost a dream lineup for this music lover. Refused, De La Soul, Seaweed, The Promise Ring, Bob Mould, Lucero, Lagwagon, Braid, OFF!, Against Me!, F’d Up, Superchunk, Minus The Bear…I can keep going…P.I.L., Explosions In The Sky, X, Turbonegro…

Seriously, check out all who will be playing this year:

This does not even include the FFFEST Nites, the nightly free (with wristband) concerts around the city.

I am planning on returning to Auditorium Shores in November to take in this festival. Since I have moved, I have not seen one live band due to a lack of venues, but this festival will make up for it. Not to mention Austin is one of my favorite cities and I am now only a 6 hour drive away…

For more info, visit FUNFUNFUNFEST.COM

Alt Rock, Columbus, Festival, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Music News, Progressive Rock, Rap, Road Trip, Rock

Rock On The Range 2012 Lineup Announced!

1 February, 2012 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Now in its 6th year, the ever popular Rock On The Range is taking over Columbus, OH, from May 18th to the 20th at Columbus Crew Stadium.

“If you thought last time was a blast, then this time we are gonna blow your f#@*ing mind,” – co-headliner Rob Zombie.

The current lineup for RotR 2012 is as follows: Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon, Theory of a Deadman, Volbeat, Down, The Darkness, Halestorm, Escape The Fate, P.O.D., Lacuna Coil, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Cavo, Attack Attack!, Trivium, Bobaflex, Falling In Reverse, Redlight King, Aranda, Emphatic, Otherwise, James Durbin, Black Tide, Kyng, 12 Stones, SOiL, Rival Sons, Eve To Adam, and Ghosts of August.

That’s a pretty healthy lineup! I do not know about you, but there a few bands playing this year that I would not mind checking out, including The Darkness, Volbeat, Mastodon, and Down.

To make things even more fun, the Friday Night 4Play returns, which is an absolutely FREE with every RotR weekend ticket purchase. The May 18th party will be featuring performances from Hairball, Foxy Shazam, Hells Bells and more… Did someone say Foxy Shazam???

Tickets go on sale on Friday Feb. 10th at 10am.

This has proved to be a fun weekend festival year after year. Don’t miss out!

Acoustic, Akron, Alt Rock, Austin, Cleveland, Country, Festival, Folk, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Garage, Good Times, Got Local?, Hardcore, House Show, Indie, Kent, Listing It Up, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Personal Entry, Pop, Pop Rock, Post-Hardcore, Punk, Review, Rock, SXSW, The Awesome, The Suck

Best Of 2011 According To BHP

27 December, 2011 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Well it would appear that 2011 is coming to an end. With that said, it’s time for a “Best Of…” Broken Headphones 2011 edition.

There were a ton of amazing releases throughout the year as well as live shows that I was able to attend. Below is just a various list of bands that caught my attention, be it a recording or live show, over the past 12 months.

I should add that some of my favorite releases were from local Akron/Cleveland acts. I am not just dropping their names because we are pals or anything, they all worked hard and put out some excellent releases. If you have not heard of any of them, you really should check them out.

I may have missed a band here or there, but the following were the ones that stood out over the rest.

Albums of the Year:

Seahaven – Winter Forever

*Hands down this is one of my favorite albums to drop this year. They just have this indie punk rock sound that is ever so likable – trust me on this. The first time I listened to it, I was hooked. I see big things happening with this band in the near future.

Nothington – Borrowed Time

*This is another album I favored over the rest this year. Catchy lyrics layered over wholesome punk rock is what this album is all about. To make matters even better, they kick ass live. They are coming back to Cleveland next month and I can not wait to see them again. Listening to this band brings me band to the punk rock 90s I grew up on.

All Dinosaurs – Paranoid Indigenous

*So maybe the music was released in 2010, but the LP dropped this past Spring so I consider it a 2011 release. This Cleveland act is beyond fun to listen to plus they put on one of the best live shows ever. They are funny, quote 80s movies and are in it for the fun. It helps they are also all super cool dudes. If you are a Cleveland native, you should already know how amazing this band is.

Dave Hause – Resolutions

*I was a little late checking this album out as it was released in early 2011, but am glad I did not pass it up. Hause (The Loved Ones) is an amazing musician and proves it in this killer solo release. With help from his friends, he put together one hell of a release. Do me a favor, if you like music, listen to this.

Living With Lions – Holy Shit

*Words can not really describe how impressed I was when I heard these guys. All I know is I will have this album playing regularly for a long long time.

Deer Tick – Divine Providence

*The boys in Deer Tick changed it up a bit and put forth a bitching rock album that I really dug.

Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong

*Oh Dawes…you’ve done it again. What a solid release. You guys are on your way to being huge. Keep it up.

Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose

*The girls and Lynwood dropped a impressive follow-up to their debut this year and I adore it. Still kicking around the country-punk attitude, the foursome toyed with a more indie / garage rock sound and did a fine job doing so.

Old Man Markley – Guts n’ Teeth

*This self-proclaimed “New Grass” band was one of the more fun releases I had have the pleasure of checking out this year. I can not wait to see what happens next with these guys and gals.

Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific

*Impressive release by a great punk rock band. They need to play Cleveland soon.

White Wives – Happeners

*This was the surprise release of the year for me. Featuring members of Anti-Flag, this album is far from a pop-punk rock album. On the lines of indie rock, White Wives needs to be heard.

A.A. Bondy – Believers

*This guy really outdid himself. You really have to check it out for yourself to realize why I appreciate it so much. It’s a really beautiful release to listen to.

Bon Iver – Bon Iver

*Not normally something I would listen to, but holy shit – it rules.

The Black Keys – El Camino

*Yeah yeah yeah… The former Akron, OH boys once again put out a release I admit I love. I do not love the fact that the next time they hit Cleveland, they will be playing an arena. It is safe to say they made it big time. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.

Signals Midwest – Latitudes & Longitudes

*And yet another local act. These guys are a big deal though…to me at least. The dropped a really good record. For serious.

EPs of the year:

Luther – Siblings & Sevens

*Folk / Punk / Rock awesomeness. I was caught off guard by this band. They rule. Sadly they had to cancel their Cleveland show after the band was involved in an accident in Chicago. Luckily no one was seriously injured. I can not wait for their full-length to drop.

Harvey Pekar – Thirty Ghosts

*Dear Harvey Pekar (the band), thank you for existing.

Worship This! – Demo

*I normally do not mention bands that I am really good friends with the members, but I adore this band. That’s all I have to say about that.

Two Hand Fools – Believeland

*These guys better get signed in 2012 or else I am going to fight someone. Another Cleveland act with plenty of talent.

Cherry Cola Champions – EP

*I remember the first time I saw these guys live. I was not into them during their first song, and once their second song started, I was blown away. Looking forward to seeing what this duo has up their sleeves next year.

The Awesome:

-Going to SXSW and seeing bands such as The Dead Milkmen, Flatliners, Dead To Me, Eyehategod, and tons others at various venues in Austin, TX earlier this Spring. It was one hell of an experience to see so many bands cramped into such an amazing city. Sadly when you have that many bands, you tend to miss out on some great sets by amazing bands. Regardless, it was just awesome. Plus…I saw Dale Watson play at Ginny’s. That right there made my trip.

-Hanging out with Ninja Gun for a few days. These guys are some of the best dudes I know. They wanted to play shows on the East coast and I was able to lure them to Kent to play a show in September. We all enjoyed hanging out so much that they kicked it for a couple more days where I took them up to Melt for some cheesy deliciousness.

-Getting Dave Hause to play a house show in Akron. After seeing that Dave Hause was not playing a show in the Cleveland area just 2 weeks ago, I threw him the idea of a house show and he and tour mate Cory Branan were totally down with the idea. The result was a show to remember with Hause and Branan trading off songs all night long.

-Hanging out with friends, new and old, at the Inner Sanctum Pier show on the E. 9th pier. More people could have showed up, but regardless, I had a killer time that sunny day and got to watch Pat The Producer turn into a human tomato.

-Hanging out with Rise Against and doing some charity work them at the Malachi House in Cleveland. The guys were super cool to hang with and really did not have that “rock star” attitude built from success. Props to 92.3 for making that happen.

-Making the trip back to Austin, TX early November and attending Fun Fun Fun Fest. I got to see some of my favorite bands all in one weekend including Murder City Devils, Hot Snakes, Hum, Slayer, Eyehategod, The Damned, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and Russian Circles. This was one of my favorite festivals of all time. It was a festival I had wanted to attend for a a few years now and I decided to go for it. I am so glad I did.

-It’s A Kling Thing House & Girley House. Both houses put on some amazing shows in 2011 with local acts as well as touring bands. Seeing Jeff Rowe over the summer as well as Mixtapes just a month or so ago in a basement is as good as live shows get for this guy.

-Daytrotter’s Barnstormer Tour. What a great evening of music that was. The show was in a freaking barn. Yes, I do not remember much as the beers were going down like water, but I know I had a blast with some pretty special people.

The Suck:

-Ben Weasel’s SXSW blowout. Sadly I was on the other side of town watching Cleveland’s very own Ringworm in a ghetto ass bar. Don’t ask me why I skipped out on seeing Screeching Weasel live, I was under the influence of many ice cold Lone Star beers. Honestly, I am kind of glad I missed Weasel acting like a little girl on stage.

-Danzig’s Fun Fun Fun hissy fit. One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Fun Fun Fun Fest was because the Danzig Legacy was playing it. I was stoked to finally see Danzig sing some Misfits songs with Doyle on stage. Instead I witnessed a diva take the stage late and get their set cut as they played past curfew. I only heard two Misfits songs and left with a bad taste in my mouth. People can think what they want about Danzig and that night. I was in the crowd watching heater being pulled on stage as well as the side of the stage tarped up so that little Glen would not get cold. It was over an hour until the stage met his needs and the dude was fully aware of the curfew. I will say that the two Mistfits songs had me feeling like a kid all over again. Shame I could not witness the entire set that he had planned. Lucky for me Ted Leo did a TV Casualty set the next day and made up for the Danzig drama.

-Seeing NOFX over Those Darlins. I regret that decision a lot. Two of my favorite bands played the same night and I had to choose one over the other. The good news was that I got to see and meet Old Man Markley. Sorry Darlins, I will not miss you next time you all hit up Cleveland. Please forgive me.

-Atari Teenage Riot’s Cleveland show getting cancelled. I was stoked to see these guys and was prepared to lose my hearing that night. Hours before the show, their promoter cancelled the show. Needless to say, I was pissed.

-92.3 and 107.3 changing formats. Cleveland is a lost cause with radio now that both those stations were yanked.

Wrapping it up…

2011 ended with a bang for this music lover. Thanks to all my friends from all over who made this year extra special for me. You all know who you are. From letting me crashing on couches to allowing bands to play in their basements you helped make this year what it was. Also to everyone who attended shows with me and shared the same passion I have for music, thanks.

Happy holidays everyone and thanks for taking a part out of your day to visit this site.

Ok 2012, let’s see what you have in store.

Austin, Festival, Music, The Dumb

Danzig Fun. Fun. Fun?

5 November, 2011 Brian Mc 35 Comments

One of the reasons I wanted to check out this years Fun Fun Fun Fest was because the Danzig Legacy was the closer for the first night. Sadly the night did not end how I wanted it to, or anyone else who gathered in front of the Black Stage at Auditorium Shores tonight.

Danzig, you ruined my night. I have lost all respect for you.

I am not going to go in great detail, but as many of you know, I am a huge Misfits fan. I was really stoked to be a part of a live show with two of the original members of the Misfits playing Misfits songs.

During the Misfits portion of the Danzig Legacy performance things took a sad turn. While playing “Vampira” from Walk Among Us (thanks to the few comments I got about this), the plug was pulled on good ol’ Danzig and band. I knew it was coming.

You see, Danzig was supposed to take the stage after Murder City Devils (which was AWESOME I should add) at about 8:30 but did not go on until after 9:00. In fact, most of the crowd was booing when Danzig finally took to the stage. I knew something funny was going on when I saw crew pull out two giant heaters to the stage after 8:30 and then throw up a tarp on one side of the stage. I could tell the crew was busting their ass to make it happen.

After a playing some Danzig and Samhain songs, the band switched it up some, Doyle came out, and it was time for some Misfits songs. Sadly the band ran out of time and were told they had 5 minutes left to play. Danzig was pissed and let the crowd know this but promised they would play a lot more songs. As the band tried to appease the crowd, mostly who all showed up to see the Misfits set, the backdrop fell behind the drummer and soon after and Danzig yelled:

“Looks like Wile E Coyote put this fucking stage together and he got all the parts from Acme.”

Yes, Danzig said that. I might have captured that magical moment (see the 2:26 mark)…

My friends and I all busted up laughing after he said that. He acted like a little bitch up on that stage. It was depressing and it was also the end of their set. Of course Danzig flipped his shit and tried his hardest to get his way. The dude even suggested all of the fans start a riot.

Douche.

The fact of the matter is that it was no one’s fault but Danzig’s and my friends and I knew that. People around me knew that. Danzig, apparently did not and blamed FFF Fest. I noticed a lot of people from out of town were blaming FFF for this mishap on FaceBook, it was not their fault at all.

I wish Danzig would have only played Misfits songs. That was the only reason I stood there and missed out on one hell of a set my Public Enemy from what I was told. As we walked away from the stage, Danzig continued his tantrum.

The following comes from Graham, the man behind Fun Fun Fun Fest, who posted a very interesting and detailed timeline of what the hell exactly went down on the FFF Fest FaceBook page:

Hi. I book the fest. Those that are hating could NOT be more wrong. Yes, someone has your money and ripped you off. His name is Glenn. Stop by his house in LA with some kitty litter in trade for your refund, but we still had to pay him and he didn’t deserve it after what he pulled. Here is how it went down…check the timeline:

-glenn flies in this morning and says he has a cold and doesn’t want feel like playing the show. he demands french onion soup and vitamins brought to his hotel suite. he wants to soup now and wants it hot. we get it.

-glenn says it’s freezing in austin and he can’t go on. says it’s going to be 28 degrees tonight and he won’t perform (keep in mind, it’s currently 71 and sunny with a night forecast of maybe 50+). he says we have to move the show/festival inside if we want him to play (obviously, that’s not possible).

-we rent stage heaters (no other bands, public enemy, mcd, passion pit, etc need or want heaters on stage…it’s warm up there and not cold out) for glenn per demand, as well as bring in an onsite doctor to make him happy and be there if his cold doesn’t go away.

-agents and managers assure us he’s going to play now.

-glenn’s band/crew arrive before him in the afternoon and load gear. they said it all works, they get up the danzig banner, check lights, are happy.

-glenn arrives at 7:45 (half hour before showtime, they go on at 8:15 exactly and have a 90 min set…park curfew by the city/police is 10pm sharp)…when he arrives, he says he’s not going to play. says he doesn’t like how the banners are hung on stage and doesn’t like the lighting or stage size (all this was advanced in email and phone well in advance and the band/crew loaded in mid day and were happy with it and said it would work…stage wasn’t small at all). he wouldn’t leave his trailer to go look at the stage, though, so the lighting company drew up specs for him to look at of the stage lighting 50 feet from his trailer and brought it to him to look over and prove him wrong.

-in the meantime, glenn’s bodyguard gets pushy (literally) with murder city devils manager and tells them they can’t have their friends watch MCD from stage and wants them to cut their set. kicks them off stage and gets physical with the band and stafff….oh, also danzig says he’s just as big as slayer and slayer is playing a bigger stage on sunday and that’s bullshit and wants to play the same stage slayer is playing…or won’t play. makes him look bad.

-it’s now 8:15 and time for them to go on. the band is ready, corpse make ups done, guitars tunes. glenn says he’s not playing and that it’s too cold outside. he said big stages should have windscreen so wind can’t blow on him from the side. the stage managers then goes and gets tarps and tarp the entire side of the stage so now wind will hit him.

-it’s now 8:40. we explain that it’s cutting into the set and he’s going to have cut the 90 min set if he doesn’t play soon, as park curfew is 10. he says he doesn’t feel like playing. says “i got a deathbug. if i go on stage and get sick, i’ll die. i’m not getting sicker for this show” (NOTE: he totally looks and seems fine…no coughing, no paleness, no vomiting, just some balding and a gut, from what i can tell). we get the Dr and he says he can do a b12 shot or anything he needs if he feels bad…danzig says he only treats illnesses naturally, so won’t do that. we finally get him to agree to play and have already informed his crew that it’s only 60 mins (9pm at this point) and they start cutting some songs from the set list, so they can still do misfits, but obviously didn’t cut enough.

-they went on almost and hour late due to the HANDS DOWN biggest rock star moment we’ve ever dealt with and then he tries to start a riot and blames the fest, the city, the cops and everyone, but himself. goes backstage and tries to fight a few ppl and get in the van and leaves.
the end….

we’re bummed to. we wanted to hear Skulls.

This brought a whole new perspective to the table. I have nothing left to say about Glenn Danzig. I will still be a fan of his music, just not him. Give up dude. Your diva rockstar bullshit is not punk at all. What’s sad about this is that I stood up for Danzig earlier in the day only to be treated by this performance.

UPDATE: And for the record, I am a huge Misfits fan. I was also a huge pissed off Misfits fan at 2am when I wrote this. I am completely aware that Walk Among Us is an album and not a song. I do know that “Horror Business” was played during the Samhain set and that technically is a Misfits song but was rerecorded as “Horror Biz” by Samhain.

Even I make mistakes. Not nearly as big though as Mr. Danzig did.