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Akron, Good Times, Got Local?, House Show, Live Shows, Music, Music News, Pop, Punk, Rock, The Awesome

Daytrader & Mixtapes @ It’s A Kling Thing House – This Sunday!!!

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Screw you Valentines Day.  I never liked you.  You do nothing for me at all and I refuse to buy your stupid cards/flowers/crap to proclaim my love for someone special in my life on just one special day…  Granted I am flying solo this year, but still.  Screw you!

This weekend is going to be all sorts of red and pink and all lovey dovey and honestly, I am not into it.

Luckily for me (and those who are not suckers for V-Day) there is going to be a sweet house show this Sunday featuring two of my favorite newer acts Daytrader (from NY) and Mixtapes (from Cincinnati, OH).

The show will take place in the basement of the glorious It’s A Kling Thing House located on (you guessed it) Kling St. in tropical Akron, OH.  The fun starts at 8 p.m.  Local openers Northwestern will be performing their very first show, so make sure you get there early!

Daytrader features current and ex-members of Crime in Stereo, Latterman/Bridge and Tunnel/Monikers, the Motorcycle Industry and Divider. The band recently released an ever-so-addicting EP entitled Last Days Of Rome, a release that I have been listening to daily since it dropped.

I caught Daytrader just before Jesus Day last year at the Grog Shop and they killed it on stage so obviously I have high expectations seeing them again live.

Mixtapes, a band that just can’t seem to stop releasing songs (no, that is not a bad thing), hails from Cincinnati, OH and really have grown on me thanks to my other pop-punk loving friends who insisted I keep listening to them.  I started loving them the moment I realized I (at my thirty-ish prime) can actually identify with their lyrics as they sing about staying home and drinking Diet Coke.  Recently the band shared a two-song EP on Death To False Hope Records.  The first song is a cover to some Nickeldeon show and the other acoustic song titled “Hey Baby” bashes a Strung Out / Tim Burton loving lady who sucks.  Grab yourself a copy by clicking HERE.

It’s A Kling Thing House is a donation based DIY house so many sure you bring plenty of donation money to help out these hard-working bands.  Merch will be sold there, BYOB, and don’t be a jerk.

Looking forward to seeing everyone out there. Sunday can not come soon enough!

Akron, Eye Opener, Good Times, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, Pop Rock, Rock, The Awesome

They Are Called Fort Wilson Riot

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Earlier this year I had one of those evenings that made me remember why I do what I do.  Before you start thinking dirty thoughts, I am talking about my love for music and sharing it with all of you wonderful readers out there via this high tech blog.  I don’t get paid for this (yet), but I can tell you what, I will do this for as long as I can just because I love doing it…

Great, now where was I?

Oh yes, that one evening earlier this year when I remembered why I love music and my blog and blah blah blah…  Flashback time.

It was a warm summer evening and my favorite Columbus folk-duo The Electric Grandmother were playing a show at Annabell’s in Highland Square (a hipster rich area in Akron).  We arrived just before the show was to start and I remember helping them move their gear into a side room of the bar as there was another act scheduled before them.

Mary Alice & Pete (aka The Electric Grandmother) offered me a delicious tall PBR as a thank you for helping them get situation (who later in the night dedicated a song to me – how thoughtful).

As I sat there and enjoyed that 24oz. of goodness, there was a male/female duo getting set up.  I remember specifically stopping everything I was doing the second they started their soundcheck.  All I could think of was “who in the hell is this?”  Mind you I was dead serious and not sarcastic…

The band was called Fort Wilson Riot and they just so happened to fill in a last minute slot at Annabell’s as some unnamed venue in Cleveland cancelled on them.  They were not looking rushed but you could tell they were moving as fast as they could to get set up.  It was then and there they started that song that my attention was captured.

The song they played was called “Snakes & Scorpions” and featured the duo singing in a perfect harmony backed by an electric guitar and electric keyboard as well as a drum machine providing the beat.

It was a simple set up but the sound was not what I expected at all.  The duo consisting of Jacob Mullis and Amy Hager reminded me of everything I liked about acts like Dresden Dolls, Mates Of State, Matt & Kim, and even The White Stripes.  Why?  Because they complimented one another perfectly.  It’s like the ying and yang of music.

I liked what I heard and apparently so did everyone else in the bar that night as the entire basement of Annabell’s filled up after a couple songs in by Fort Wilson Riot.  They were indie rock, they were pop rock cabaret-style…they were…good.

No one was expecting to hear that kind of music that night.  I know I wasn’t.

I remember looking at Pete & Mary Alice and then looking around at all the people who gathered to see this mysterious band play.  It was one of those acts where we could see people mouthing the words “who are these guys” followed by “they are really good.”

When I see people do that while watching a band I can not help myself but smile.  That is why I love music and that is why I like to share it.  Chances are I am not the only one who decided to tell someone about Fort Wilson Riot.  I know I have multiple times, and here I am telling you all.

After their set I greeted them and throughout the night we chatted.  I found out that they were from Minnesota and once were considered an “indie-rock opera” before slimming down to the duo.  They were touring in a van on their own and had been touring with Ice Palace before making the stop in Cleveland.

Amy and Jacob hung out with us for the rest of the night and by the end of the evening they hooked me up with a copy of their latest album Predator Prey, a self-made album that once I listened to, turned me into even a bigger fan.

Not only is it the duo on the CD but they also enlisted a bunch of their talented friends to put together one great listen.  I highly recommend checking out “Forgotten Language”, “All My Friends”, “Snakes & Scorpions” and cabaret-heavy “Diamond Blues”.

Have you found yourself interested in this band Fort Wilson Riot I speak of?  Fear not you can check them out by heading over to their Bandcamp page.  The album is only $8.  What are you waiting for?

Fort Wilson Riot “Snakes and Scorpions” from Fort Wilson Riot on Vimeo.

Fort Wilson Riot “All My Friends” from Fort Wilson Riot on Vimeo.

Akron, Cleveland, Folk, Live Shows, Music, Music News, Rock, The Awesome

The Avett Brothers To Play w/ John Mayer @ Blossom Music Center

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Looks like my summer will be that much more enjoyable thanks to The Avett Brothers (TAB) who will be making a stop at Blossom Music Center this summer.  Having seen them once this year already I have no problem seeing them again.

Just announced, TAB will join John Mayer on his Battle Studies World Tour for a couple of dates and Ohio happens to be one of them.

A message from the Avetts:

Hey Everyone,
Just announced: We are hitting the road with John Mayer this summer!

We are joining John as special guests on The Battle Studies World Tour, for the dates listed below:

Jul 31 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
Aug 13 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
Aug 14 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Aug 15 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center

Thanks,
The Avett Brothers

Tickets go on sale April 17th through Live Nation

Akron, Electronic, Experimental, Good Times, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, Photography, Pop, Punk, Review

Polysics @ Musica – Akron, OH – 02/12/2010 – Concert Review

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Culture was shocked in Akron last night thanks to Tokyo, Japan’s Polysics making a special appearance at Musica.  The orange jumpsuit wearing foursome traveled half way around the world to perform their Devo inspired music to a packed club on what normally would have been just another regular Friday evening.  Scenesters as well as a couple punk rockers and plenty of proud geeks piled into the quaint club in downtown Akron with perfect knowledge of what would soon progress.

Polysics is best defined as a pop power punk electronica experimental new wave outfit or “technicolor pogo punk” as they dub themselves.  Think heavy synthesizers and guitar matched over insane voice altering vocals as well as a very energetic male lead vocalist Hiroyuki Hayashi (Hiro – and yes, he sounds like Hiro from the TV show Heros) who blasts out English, Japanese, and gibberish lyrics.  Formed in 1997 out of the pure love for Devo as well as The Tubes the band is an underground sensation thanks to their extremely energetic live shows and of course their orange jumpsuits and straight bar-style sunglasses.

Opening the evening was a band called Stiletto hailing from Kent, OH.  The band reminded me of Bedlight For Blue Eyes and Roses Are Red with their slight heavy rock sound.  The lead singer had a good voice and when the band had it together they sounded fine.  They sadly kept having issues starting their songs and it became apparent that they needed some more practice as it became downright annoying to some of the crowd.  Still, they did well and get props from me when the lead signer quoted Tupac but really did not match up to the headliner at all.

Armed with my trusty camera I really thought upon entering Musica that I was going to grab some photos during Polysics’ set but while inside the venue I saw this:

That really was something I did not want to see.  I respected the artist though and did not shoot anything until the very end of the show because who am I kidding…I need at least one shot.

Good thing I did not take photos as there was a dual braided memory card deleting bandit who was part of the Polysics crew.  I understand the premise of his doings but you should have seen this guy.  He stood upon a stool and the moment a flash went off he was bolting over to that non-sign reading schmo and erasing any Polysics related photo from their camera.  Seeing what this guy was all about I really did not want him touching my gear so I parked the camera to my side and just enjoyed the show.

Hands were about the entire evening. It was a party.
Hands were about the entire evening. It was a party.

You know a crowd is excited to see a band when they cheer insanely as the band is setting up their gear on stage.  Things just got better when the band actually took the stage and just started hammering out songs.  The songs they played ranged from almost industrial heavy pieces to absolute insanity jump-all-over-the-place songs.

Still a novice to this band I just started with amazement throughout their set not having any idea what was going on other than a damn good time. The couple songs I did recognized were “Young OH! OH!”, “Fire Bison”, and just amazing “Shout Aloud!”

As entertaining as Hiro was throughout the night (especially when he screamed “you gruys awre awresoooooome!!!”) I absolutely adored the straight faced Kayo on the synthesizer and vocoder.  I could not help but envision the scene in Revenge Of The Nerds II when the nerds played the concert at Hotel Coral Essex.

According the band’s MySpace page Kayo will be parting ways with the band after the tour so I am pretty psyched I was able to the original line-up.  The whole night was a party with Polysics controlling it.  Fans danced and tossed their hands about to the music.  It was indeed a interesting and fun evening.  If I had to describe the evening I would have to say just imagine Daft Punk, Devo, and the Teen Titans humanized and in orange jumpsuits and you might have some idea what happened.  It was amazing.


Polysics – Young OH! OH!

POLYSICS | MySpace Music Videos


Pretty Good

POLYSICS | MySpace Music Videos


Polysics – Moog Is Love

POLYSICS | MySpace Music Videos

I had to throw this in too…