Category Archives: Acoustic

Concert Review: Hot Water Music, Quicksand, Tim Barry | House of Blues | Cleveland, OH | 06/14/2024

If someone were to ask me how old I was when I first got into Hot Water Music, I would tell you I have no idea because it feels like they have been with me for most of my life. The amount of times that band hits my ears is likely excessive, but if you are a fan, you totally understand why.

I was slightly thrown back when I learned earlier this year, they were playing Cleveland in celebration of being a band for 30 years. Three freaking decades of being one of the most prolific punk bands out there. Wild.

To make things even more amazing with their anniversary tour, they announced special guests Tim Barry and Quicksand would be playing Cleveland. There was no way in hell I was going to miss that. Thanks to an old pal, I even was able to snag a photo pass to make it even more memorable by capturing the night.

Seeing Hot Water Music, Quicksand, and Tim Barry on a Friday night in downtown Cleveland was the best way to start the weekend. Outside there were boomers rocking their Rolling Stones shirts a night early to the show they probably spent more than they should have and just tons of other people were enjoying their evening with food and music on Euclid and around E. 4th.

I can tell you through that they all missed out on the best time inside good ol’ House of Blues. The best part was that it was not overcrowded and there were people of all ages in attendance. Worst part was that there was one dude doing merch for all three bands – nice dude, but come on, nothing beats not waiting in line. Back in my day we cut people to get our merch because we had the cash ready… Ok, I am done being grandpa punk.

Tim Barry started the night off to a slew of adoring fans. Armed with his trusty guitar, he came out and did what he does best. I loved that he played “Dog Bumped” with fans singing along, but the best was “Fine Foods Market” when everyone shouting appropriately how fine they were. Storytelling folk punk rock doesn’t get much more entertaining than Barry. He had a great span of tracks from his solo career, but I personally would have loved to have heard more.

Did I wish I was seeing Avail? Well yes, but seeing Barry live is one of my favorite things as I adore this dude.

Now I have been a fan of Quicksand for a long time now, but never had the chance to see them play. Seeing them rip through songs like “Omission”, “Inversion” and “Brown Gargantuan” had me in pure awe. They sounded amazing and, for a brief moment while I was in the photo pit, I just stood there and stared almost forgetting what I was supposed to be doing there for the first three songs.

I love how happy Walter Schreifels and Sergio Vega were on stage. They were just getting into their songs and eating up the crowd’s reaction. They were certainly well-received by almost everyone there.

Walter, Alan, and Sergio had no problem delivering one hell of a set. I hope some of the younger generation at that venue who may had never heard of this post-hardcore band went home and did their homework. My only complaint is I wished they were able to play a proper set. I understand they were a special guest so their time was limited, but come on, it is freaking Quicksand. Hopefully they will come back again soon.

Chuck Ragan and the rest of Hot Water Music took stage just around 10p kicking things off with “Menace”, a new track off their latest release with Chris Cresswell helping with strong vocals.

I about lost my shit when they moved into “Remedy”, perhaps my all-time favorite Hot Water Music track. Once again, I may have froze in that photo pit for a moment as the 25-yeal-old me was freaking the hell out. Needless to say, I was loving every moment of that track.

One cool part of the night was when Ragan paused and offered thanks not only to his band and stagehands but also to the entire venue crediting it not possible to have lasted this long in the business without their help.

The band played “After the Impossible” after admitting they had not played it live yet. They all took a moment to look at one another and just tore into it. I am not sure about the rest of the folk in the house, but it sounded good.

A memorable part of the evening was when Ragan started talking about reaching out for help if you are in a dark place and admitted when he wrote the song he was about to play that he was in a very bad state of mind. He encouraged people to talk about it and not hold it in. Moments later he broke into “Drag My Boy” and I got chills.

I was thrilled they played “Trusty Chords” but it was their last song that just turned a great evening, into the perfect evening.

As they were thanking everyone for coming out, a stagehand ran out with a mic stand and picked up the mic that was on the ground. They broke into “Simple Song” with Tim Barry. I am fairly certain everyone in attendance sang along. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to hear Barry sing that Avail song. Looked like I got some of that wish that I wanted.

No lie, this was one of the best nights of music I have had in a while. Three of my favorite bands playing their hearts out. It does not get much better than that.

Here are a few photos I was able to take. I love I get to do this. Enjoy.

BHP Best of 2022

If you know me at a personal level, you know that this year was a wild one and full of challenges and accomplishments. Needless to say, I have made the best of it and can tell you I have managed to take time for myself to enjoy it.

I went to more shows this year than ever and rekindled my love for live music. I reconnected with friends and even started a side gig making lamps with some of my fav people.

Even with all that has been going on, I still have listened to music on a daily basis. I may not have done as much as I had wanted to with the site here, but I am still going to take a moment to share with you a random ass list of albums that dropped in 2022 that caught my attention.

There are plenty more I am sure I overlooked. I am sure I will add to it here and there, but the following were amazing according to me:

BHP BEST OF 2022 LIST

STS x RJD2 – Escape from Sweet Auburn

This is one of those albums that just blew me away from the moment I checked it out. I am a huge RJD2 fan, but I had no idea of the talent that is STS. These two joined forces for a reason and the outcome is amazing.

SACK – Ripper!

This band rips so hard that I caught Covid at their show when they played Cleveland. No joke. Certainly, one of my fav punk albums of the year.

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum

Per Spotify, this was my most listened to album of this year. There is a reason for that. I absolutely love what this band has turned into. This album exceeded all expectations as a fan.

Curtail – When the Sway Sets

This album is like dipping back to my teenage years. So much 90s flair with a lo-fi sound that easily sucked me in. Added bonus, this band is comprised of some amazing humans.

Pool Kids – Pool Kids

This right here is the #1 album to not listen to when you are having a relationship change. It brought me to almost tears the moment I heard it, but honestly, I needed it.

Dream Widow – Dream Widow

This album was made specifically for the cult slasher flick Studio 666 starring everyone’s fav rock band the Foo Fighters. The movie was amazing, but this album is just insane.

Frank Turner – FTHC

This album was a little harder then the last few and carried some pent up angst that I fed on during tougher times this year. “Haven’t Been Doing So Well” seemingly was my theme song this year at times.

No Trigger – Dr. Album

Easily one of the best punk rock albums to drop this year. Do not sleep on this one.

Signals Midwest – Dent

I adore this band and everything they stand for. It was no surprise how much I got into this release. I will sound like dad here, but it is what it is: I am so proud of how this band has grown as musicians. This album is a total testament to that.

Cigar – The Visitor

It’s not every day a band busts out an album 22 years after their debut. With a slight lineup change, the band sounded as amazing as ever.

Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems

This band has certainly had some challenges over the years but haven’t let anything stop them. In fact, I think they just got stronger because of it.

The Flatliners – New Ruin

Cresswell and crew simply can do no wrong. Full of anger and angst, this release at times pointed back to the younger years of the band with heavier moments.

Gospel – The Loser

17 years after their debut, Gospel dropped this album. I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to this prog heavy masterpiece.

City of Caterpillar – Mystic Sisters

I am not complaining at all how many bands from years back dropped albums after an extensive period of time, but City of Caterpillar dropped a follow-up 20 years later and needless to say, it rules a lot.

The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention

Comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and as well as Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, this album really reached back to a younger Radiohead sound, something I absolutely adore.

Viagra Boys – Cave World

Viagra Boys are like Ween and Electric Six on a cocaine bender. This band is a new level of fun and this album helps prove that.

Vein.fm – This World Is Going to Ruin You

This is a post-hardcore / nu-metal release that may be my favorite thing this band has done to date.

EDIT (6-JAN-2023) Shocking….I totally forgot these few too:

A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion

Easily the catchiest punk album of 2023. I listened to this probably too much. That opening track alone…

The Interrupters – In The Wild

Solid release by a band that certainly deserves all of the attention. I almost wish Rancid would have just recorded this for themselves. Not dismissing the band at all, but def has that Hellcat love.

Cory Branan – When I Go I Ghost

Cory is easily one of the best song writers out there. This album confirms that statement.

Arlo McKinley – This Mess We’re In

Sad and emotional songs sometimes are the best. Arlo has really taken a few steps forward with this amazing release.

Birds In Row – Gris Klein

I was sucked into this album instantly. Powerful and moving I think is the best way to describe it.

Big ups to the bands, the labels, and the readers of this blog. I feel like I say it all of the time, but if it wasn’t for y’all, this blog would not be here.

Special thanks to my friends and family who have gone above and beyond in a time of need. You have no idea how much I value you all. Detail not needed, but I offer my eternal gratitude for helping me get though the low times and keeping me going.

Here’s looking at 2023. I can sit here and say this and that about the blog, but we will see what happens with it. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Concert Review: Kali Masi, Sam Russo, Tane Graves [Tightwire] @ Hatfield’s | Cleveland, OH | 22-OCT-2022

A strange series of events led to a very chill, quaint punk show last night at Hatfield’s in Westpark.

Flashback to a couple of days ago when my pal Nick reached out to me asking if I was still going to see Kali Masi and Sam Russo still. I responded that I would not miss it for the world, and he was quick to tell me the show was sold out and they were not able to get tickets.

I jumped online to see what I could find out, because no offence to the bands, but this was not a show I was anticipating to even come close to selling out. Do not get me wrong, the three acts on the bill are some of my favs, but I was expecting to just snag a ticket at the door.

Sure enough, Hatfield’s had posts saying the show was sold out and that they were actually moving it from upstairs to the main floor. I was floored to see this and highly excited too, but still was wondering what was going on so I reached out to not only Kali Masi, but also Toby at Red Scare to see if the show really was sold out.

Kali Masi pretty much asked me what the hell I was talking about and laughed. Toby said he would get back to me, and he did as promised soon thereafter. Both confirmed with me the show was not sold out and to head up to the venue as planned. Hatfield’s even responded to my pal’s wife saying they had opened up some tickets so they were able to grab a few.

Apparently, bots bought all of the tickets being sold by Hatfield’s online. This is a common trend these days where tickets are bought up by bots and then resold for more money. One might think this is a good thing overall, but the inconvenience and slight stress this put on Hatfield’s and even the acts was a true bummer.

Hatfield’s staff scrambled thinking they were going to have a full house and rearranged their business to accommodate. A vacation was cut short, staff was bulked up, and a lot of time and effort was put into preparing for the show. Sadly, a lot of this was not necessary at all.

In the end though, I think it was a nice shift from expected calamity to an intimate evening of amazing music. The fans that showed up were truly stoked to be there and Hatfield’s accommodated the hell out of everyone in the house.

Ken Hatfield, the owner of the venue/eatery, kept joking all night about the bots in the house. He even took a moment to show me the list of names on his phone who bought tickets and just laughed at how crazy the whole experience was. He credited the whole bot experience likely with the Kali Masi rockumentary that has been getting a lot of attention on YouTube lately.

The result was almost 200 tickets bought by bots, and a handful of fans showing up to take in the show. I have to give it to the staff at Hatfield’s, they took it in stride and handled it well.

So yeah, that was a little odd, right? The show was far from sold out and I am hoping to hell all those tickets that were purchased by the bots are not disputed down the way because this whole ordeal caused a ton of work that was not exactly necessary.

Anyways, felt I should share that given how unique the situation was.

Bots or not, the show was great. It was certainly not a late one, but enjoyable by everyone who attended.

Tane Graves of the amazing band Tightwire took the stage and also was the first person to play on the venue’s new PA system. Blasting through a handful of songs and even a proper Blink 182 cover, he performed like there was a full house in front of him and showed gratitude to this tourmates and also the venue.

The funny thing about Sam Russo is that he was supposed to play Hatfield’s well over a year ago with Brenden Kelly, but Covid had other ideas and forced him to sit that tour out. I thought it was only proper that he was able to play the stage in time and honestly, I have been looking forward to that moment for a long time.

I’ve been a huge fan of Russo since he started playing music almost 10 years back. His folk/punk, storytelling is what captured my attention and I was not the only one. I saw a few other fans singing along through Russo’s set and taking it in.

Hearing “Sometimes” and “Runaways” pretty much made my night. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you need to probably change that. This guy is pretty damn talented. He also learned that what he called fence-talking is called shit-talking here in the states.

Russo was easily the most humble musician I have had the pleasure of meeting. We chatted briefly after the show and the dude was just as real as they come. He was so excited to be on tour with a couple of his favorite bands and was excited to head down and play Fest. I really had hoped more people showed up to take in this amazing Englishman, but there is always next time.

Kali Masi took the stage and Sam Porter was quick to make mention he was not feeling hot and the set was going to be less than what was planned. He credited his illness to possible gas station food that he grabbed on their commute from Chicago to Cleveland. Poor guy looked like he was hurting and I was impressed he even decided to play a few songs.

In a sense, a six song set was a bummer, but also looking at things differently, if by taking it easy for one night so Porter could rest and feel better meant a cut set, that honestly is acceptable. I know these guys will be back again soon.

I was happy to hear them play “Sputter”, “Powerline Days”, and “Some Friends”, and they sounded killer, so zero complaints here. I was just happen to have even had the change to check them out finally.

After the show I decided to snag merch from everyone to just help kick off the tour and give them a bit more room in their van too. Everyone was friendly as hell and not an ounce of disappointment was seen. I think having that relaxed evening did everyone some good.

I will say I had an old man moment and could not remember if I have [LAUGHS] already on vinyl. I even made mention to John Garrison, the drummer that I for the life of me could not remember if I had it. He was quick to reminder me I can always hit up their Bandcamp, Well, I checked this morning, and sure as hell I do not have it. So looks like I will need to be securing a copy of that soon.

It certainly was a night that will not be forgotten anytime soon. I am just glad the show went on and everyone enjoyed themselves. That is what it is all about, right?

BHP Best Of 2021 List

Oh look, the year is about up already. Guess that means it is time to drop my fav releases of yet another messed up year.

The good news about 2021 is that I went to exactly one show, but it was a great show with amazing humans all around.

Anyways, I am busy as shit with the paying gig and that dad life, so I am going to try and keep things short and sweet this year. With any luck, I will add to this some content on why these hit me the most. To be continued I suppose.

Check out the albums in no particular order that caught my attention throughout the year:

BHP BEST OF 2021 LIST

Turnstyle – Glow On

Heart Attack Man – Thoughtz & Prayerz

Lars Fredericksen – To Victory

One Step Closer – This Place You know

Johnny Dynamite and the Bloodsuckers – Sleeveless

Kali Masi – [Laughs]

Haunt – Beautiful Distraction

Neighborhood Brats – Confines of Life

Shitty Neighbors – People I Know

Heart & Lung – Twistin’ The Knife Away

Joystick – I Can’t Take It Anymore

Descendents – 9th & Walnut

Jeff Rosenstock – SKA DREAM

Lucero – When You Found Me

Jonathan Richman – Want To Visit My Inner House?

Sincere Engineer – Bless My Psyche

Juice Newson – Suburban Soul

Needles//Pins – Self-Titled

Brain Cave – Log World

Section H8 – Welcome to the Nightmare

Fiddlehead – Between The Richness

Bands: Thanks for doing what you do.

Labels & Promoters: Thanks for helping out the bands to their thing and release their music be it physical or digital and for supporting them while trying to tour in these most uncertain times. Also, thanks for the consideration when pimping them out. I am a lucky guy for this opportunity.

Finally: Thanks to YOU (yes, you). If you are even looking at this. I struggle every year if I want to keep blogging, and honestly I figure if someone out there can take some time to log in and look, then I can at least try and do my thing.

Here’s to 2022. See y’all soon.

Interview: Brenden Kelly (The Lawrence Arms, The Falcon)

It’s been a hot minute since I have been to a show, so when I learned that Brenden Kelly‘s Here Goes Nothing Tour was making a stop in Cleveland, I knew I had to be there.

The fact the “venue” was a mere 1.3 miles away from BHP HQ sealed the deal for me. The quotes, by the way, were purposely put there as he played at a BBQ joint called Hatfield’s Goode Grub in a strip mall in the Cleveland suburb West Park.

I may have questioned the choice, but honestly, it was perfect for an acoustic set as well as a ton of hangs with some great folk.

For a Sunday night show, it was pretty packed and I have zero complaints. I got to see Brenden play a slightly extended set and even hung out with Sir Toby of Red Scare as well as some of the Heart & Lung crew.

Where I could have done a full review of the show and probably taken much better photos, I honestly went as a fan. I slammed some beers, sang along, and didn’t worry about taking notes or building a set list.

Honestly, I really needed that night. I missed live music and the interaction so much. I had fun and I know I was not the only one. That is what mattered most.

Still, when I got home that night, I couldn’t help but tell myself how I should at least do something where I could talk about the show or maybe do more.

I decided maybe an interview was in order.

I caught up with Brenden exactly one day after the tour ended just to mostly talk about the month-long series of shows and whatnot. I guess the timing was right.

Check it out:

BHP: You just finished up your Here Goes Nothing Tour with your homeboy Toby from Red Scare.  For those who may have missed out on seeing you play, can you tell me about some of the highlights other than the Four Seasons Total Landscaping show everyone is still talking about?

BK: Well, the big highlights for me mostly involved seeing friends and just getting to be out there with everyone doing what I’ve (for better or for worse) dedicated my life to doing, ya know? 

A real highlight was at a brewery in Green Bay where Jack from Arms Aloft and I were just sitting there listening to the sounds of the brewery but we thought we were listening to a super ambient Godspeed! track.  After about a minute and a half (an embarrassingly long time) I was like, “Did you put that record on?” to the promoter who was just hanging out and he said “No, couldn’t get it to work.”  We had a good chuckle at that shit. 

We got a bag full of Krystal, Southern White Castle, but they also serve chili cheese “pups”…fifty bucks worth in Georgia, and Tane called his girlfriend and said, “I just got fifty bucks worth of Krystal!” and she replied, “Tane, I thought you weren’t into hard drugs?” and we had a chuckle at that shit too. 

The shows were all fun.  Some were sold out and some were barely attended at all and some were private backyard situations.  In every instance it was really just great to be back out there again.

I was lucky enough to hit the final show in Cleveland and it was packed and even a couple of alcoholic Browns fans who were looking to keep damaging their liver some more after a pre-season win showed up. 

Was the turnout about the same at all the other places you hit up?

If you looked at the routing, you could almost certainly guess within 10 people how many people were there just based on location and whether it was a private party or not. 

There was one that was weird because I got the distinct feeling that the guy who booked the show (this was a private party) didn’t like my music.  He left while I was on stage.  He was perfectly nice and accommodating, but it seemed like a weird move to pay to have me come to your house and not watch.  Right?  But the shows in places where I tend to do well, big cities in the north (also Tampa) were jammed for sure.  It was great.

Your initial special guest did not quite pan out as planned.  I saw there were a handful of openers who took that slot including Tane Graves who played about half of the shows.  Who were some of your favs?

Well at first we had Seth from Arms Aloft, then Tane, who rode with us and did most of the tour, and at the end we had Steveo from the Crippling Addiction, formerly of The Holy Mess, so there were only 3 guests.  I would say those three were probably my faves.

You forgot to mention Heart & Lung playing as Munford & Lungs!  Seriously I hope you’re as excited for this Cleveland band’s Red Scare debut as I am.  I love those dudes.

Oh yeah.  They’re awesome and the ability those three have to not only be a great punk band but also an amazing bluegrass band is pretty astounding.  I have heard the record and can confirm it’s radical.  What do you kids say these days?  It fucks?  It slaps?  It does all that stuff.

I have to admit, I was curious about how you playing at Hatfield’s Goode Grub was going to pan out, but it worked out well.  What did you think?

That dude is a trip and the place is awesome and the food is amazing.  I had a great time and I can’t say enough good things about it.  Was it a little odd?  Sure.  All shows right now are a little odd but that place was probably the coolest BBQ bar in a strip mall run by a real live member of a blood feud family that I’ve ever been to.

Your retort to the “fan” who screamed “Free Bird” when you were asking for requests was classic.  Were there any other folk throughout the tour that made comments where you just took a moment to educate?

Oh, I dunno.  I kind of have stage brain, which is to say that no matter what is going on in my life, if I’m sad or angry or whatever, I can get up there and think with an entirely different part of my mind and do the show the way it’s supposed to be done. 

The other side of this is that I don’t tend to remember the shows particularly well.  I know what you’re all thinking but NO, mother, it’s not from boozing.  Even when I’m stone sober this happens.  Also, even when I’m stone sober everyone thinks I’m wasted so whatever.  Throw your stones.

The fact you proved to the crowd playing “Shitty Margarita” was not a good idea by playing some of it was probably one of my favorite moments of the night.  Did you get any other requests throughout tour that you just had to skip the idea on?

That one came up a lot.  So did some of the faster or just generally screamier TLA songs, like “Cut it Up”, for example.  Some things just aren’t that good acoustic.  People think they don’t care, but then they have to sit through it and it really sucks for everyone, especially me.  So I try to take requests but I know what works and what doesn’t and I try to be a good steward in that regard for everyone involved.

Toby told me to ask you about the new Guardians logo and how you loved it.  I love the team name, but if I am thinking of the same logo as you are, it is rough.  What do you like about it so much?  I can tell you the ‘G’ that obstructs the baseball just looks off.

Oh, I was referring to the Guardians fastball (I think that’s what it’s called) and I think it’s just dope looking. It’s totally got being a tattoo first and foremost in its design and I just think they nailed it.  The G evokes a super classic rust belt factory industry logo which is very, very cool to me.

That’s what I was talking about!  I’m not really sure why it bugs me.  Maybe I’ll tattoo it on me and replace the “G” with “Beex” and while I’m at it change the baseball into a garbage pail lid.  Cool?

I think this is an excellent idea.

Tour’s over, now what?  We were lucky to have you play an extended set of sorts on the last night of tour, thanks for that.  I could tell you were not really looking forward to it to end.

Yeah.  I don’t know what to do now.  My family has passed down this uh…I guess it’s our family motto (even though that sounds weird to say) which is you need 3 things: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.  Right now I am 1 for 3, so maybe I’ll just get a beer and see how that works out.  For real though, I just wrote a page of lyrics I don’t hate.  This tour reignited my love for everything from my family to playing to exercising and on and on so I’m optimistic.  Also, Toby is talking about doing more runs, and I’d be into that for sure.  But for now I’m gonna call the insurance company and then go get my car washed.  The dizzying highs of rock and roll, am I right?

Hate to hear about the 33% family motto standing, but I’m stoked to see what those lyrics pan out into.  Was most of the writing done when traveling from place to place or just when it hit ya?

No, I just wrote one page this morning when I woke up in my bed for the first time in a month.  It’s time to dust off my dick and start working again, as the old maxim goes.

Thanks for giving me some of your time today, enjoy that phoner with the insurance company!

Now check out a video I found on my phone from that night:

Tweet from @RedScareToby