Blowout 2013: Night 6

Night 6 of the 2013 Blowout, , Saturday, May 4th, 2013

After driving to Ferndale as fast I could from the derby bout at the Masonic, I came across food trucks in the lot behind the Rustbelt Market. They were packing up and leaving around 10 o'clock though. I'm not in Ferndale often enough to know if this is a regular thing, but with so few late night food options there, they need more of this.

The night club scene in Ferndale didn't forget about "May the fourth be with you", and Princess Leia was working the door at Grasshopper. Metro Times, how could you not incorporate this?

First thing I saw that night that I liked was Odd Hours at the Ferndale Library. I only caught a portion of it, so I'm not sure when those backup singers actually participated. I left wondering, how much thought should one put into crafting lyrics, when the vocals will be so distorted that no one can make them out?

After circling around to find something else worth listening to, I came back to the library for Rogue Satellites. I think I've seen them before, but they didn't make much of an impression on me. This time I was digging their catchy lo-fi electro backed pop-rock. (Does that jumble of words make it sound like I know what I'm talking about?)

The Detroit Party Marching Band piled into the library after Rogue Satellites finished their set. They're not just about showing up unexpected any more. If you got to see them years ago, you can tell that they actually rehearse now.

One of the best acts of the weekend was Fur at the Loving Touch. The last time they played there the lead singer broke his wrist. This night was turning out much better than the last two.

Jeecy and the Jungle were doing a Detroit music history retrospective at Rustbelt Market. I heard a John Lee Hooker song, something from the Motown era, a few bars of an Eminem song, and a song from the Stooges.

You know what's better than Alexis doing their synth-pop thing at the Garden Bowl? Alexis doing their synth-pop thing alongside Lightshow Bob. Every performance is better with Lightshow Bob.

Another great performance that night was Electric Fire Babies at Como's. They had the room about 3/4 full. The best turnout that room had all weekend.

Amy Gore and Her Valentines had the Rustbelt Market about half full, after playing at the derby bout earlier that day. I'm getting more in to this band as I harbor less resentment for Amy for not reuniting the Gore Gore Girls.

The marching band piled into the Rustbelt after Amy Gore finished. This was the best night of the Ferndale leg. More hits than misses, and everything is better when the Detroit Party Marching Band shows up.

Bands I saw that night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: Briscoe County Vultures, Dolfish, Luddites, Touch the Clouds, and The A-Gang.

Despite moments here and there of a band playing to a congested room, turnout for both the Hamtramck and Ferndale weekends felt low overall. For the five minutes that I watched Sponge at PNA Hall, it was 1/3 full, and that was the largest crowd I saw in that room this year. At last year's Blowout, The Dirtbombs had that room packed.

While I can't dismiss that some people were boycotting the whole Blowout because of the expansion, I think that part of the problem is that there weren't any big "can't miss" acts on the lineup. I think Sponge is scheduled to play another show before the month is even over. Meatmen reunions won't be that rare, since the band is going to release new material again. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas are awesome, but they played at St. Andrew's Hall less than a month or two ago. Amy Gore and the Valentine had another performance the very same day.

Even though the expanded Blowout only ventured about a mile into the suburbs, it still played into the narrative of urban disinvestment. Metro Times Publisher Chris Sexson didn't make it any better when he said, "But I've found, even among some of the younger music and creative people, that some people don’t want to go down there, the same as some people might not want to go into downtown Detroit".

Brett Callwood of the Metro Times has been more tactful, saying, "The Blowout had to change to survive".  He would make a stronger case if he would give out wristband sales figures from the last several years, but I doubt that's going to happen.

The Metro Times could try to make the case that since bar patronage across all of Hamtramck is declining year after year, that a partial move to the suburbs was inevitable. If they had expanded to Corktown instead, the outrage would have been about gentrifying neighborhoods. Is there some way to restore three full worthwhile nights to Hamtramck, while still recreating what happened Saturday night in Ferndale? Does an event in Ferndale need to tie into the Blowout to get noticed?

Whatever conclusions are drawn about this year's Blowout, I just know that I'm going to catch a bunch of shit from my Hamtramck friends for openly admitting that I enjoyed the last night in Ferndale.

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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera

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Blowout 2013: Night 5

Night 5 of Blowout 2013, May 3rd, 2013

The night started for me with a smattering of downtown Ferndale stereotypes. After I parked my car a nervous cougar (for real) asked me to walk her to Boogie Fever (for real), where her sister was having her bachelorette party (for real).

The first performance I saw was the last few songs of Almost Free's set at Rustbelt Market. Is that Love Meets Lusts' old lighting set up?

On that same block Michael Mars and the God Particle was playing at Found Sound. This band is comprised of one of the guys from Marco Polio and the New Vaccines. They don't quite meet the bar that's set by Marco Polio, by I was still in to it.

Pewter Cub of course had to be fashionably late at the Ferndale Library. I didn't stick around long enough to see if they would play their "radio" song, but they did do a great Pixies cover.

After circling around and sampling sounds that didn't impress me, it was back to the Ferndale Library for Pupils. The lead singer is the other guy from Marco Polio. This band just didn't do it for me, so it was time to look for something else.

Crane Wives have been getting some hype lately in anticipation of the Blowout performance at the Loving Touch, and they've also been cited as an example of too much "nu-country folk" bands on the lineup. I liked these guys, but I didn't love it.

Lightshow Bob has given his endorsement of the Ferndale expansion. He was running the lights from his self-made "lightar" at the Loving Touch. I never made it over to Kelly's Bar last weekend, but he was probably there too.

The last act of the night at Rustbelt Market was Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. A great show from a band that I've been able to catch sporadically over the last few years. The Rustbelt was packed by this time. It was nice to some place other than the Loving Touch get a big crowd.

Back to the Loving Touch to see the Ragbirds. When I came into the room the fiddle player was doing an impressive sort of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" type thing, so I . In comparison to the Crane Wives, they can do the whole indie-folk thing better (or whatever you call folksy music that isn't being made for the country music crowd).

Bands I saw last night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: White Shag, Joshua Davis Trio, Chris Degnore and the Black Drops, Palaces, and Pupils.

Downtown Ferndale doesn't have anything like Campau Tower, but it does have this food cart behind the WAB.

For those who might be worried that downtown Ferndale might be losing too much of its character this weekend, the cheesey night clubs were still open. I spotted the shiny shirt and garish jewelry crowd at John D. American Bistro, among other places.

Recommendations for Saturday night:
Fur, 10:50-11:20, at the Loving Touch
Electric Fire Babies, 11:50-12:30, at Como's

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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera

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Blowout 2013: Night 4

Night 4 of the 2013 Blowout, May 2nd, 2013

The first band playing anywhere Thursday night was The Philter over at Found Sound on west Nine Mile. I felt let down by a band I had recommended just a day earlier. All the percussion came from a drum machine, and it just sounded tinny and overly repetitive.

Over to the Rustbelt Market for Carjack. This an act I was introduced to years ago at a previous Blowout. Whatever was happening at the Columbus hall was boring me, so I walked over to the lounge and into a Carjack performance. It was the highlight of that year's Blowout experience for me, and a great example of why you have to try as much new stuff as you can at these things. At Rustbelt the room just seemed too big. The crowd and the energy needs to be bottled for it all to work.

Next was Ciccarelli at Woodward Avenue Brewers. I was digging the their instrumental stuff, but not the space. The upstairs at the WAB doesn't seem suited to host bands. At least not in the place where they were stationed, just behind the walkway that everyone needs to pass through.

The only thing weirder than going to a library to see a band, is having to prove that I'm over 21 at the door because that library is serving booze. The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre likes to provoke more than they like to perform. I once saw the lead singer, Bryan Metro, wearing a skirt of raw bacon while the swine flu outbreak was in the news. This time it was placing a pressure cooker on the floor. I left to peruse whatever else was happening. Tunde Olaniran was late setting up at the Loving Touch, and so was Duende at the WAB. I figured I might as well catch more of the JCM spectacle. At least I got to see the library staff frantically try to contain beverage spills. That library completely a huge renovation just a few years ago. (Disclaimer: This band was kind of affiliated with this site years ago. It was before my time here.)

Tunde Olaniran finally got under way at the Loving Touch. After hearing his name for a few years and thinking "who is this guy?", I see him take the stage and finally realize that I saw him at last year's Dally in the Alley. Normally the more backup dancers there are, the worse the music is, but Tunde could have 12 and it would still be fun. It's kind of an electronic R&B thing. I wouldn't listen to it in the car, but it's great live.

They brought everyone on stage for the last song, and it became obvious that the Loving Touch was the most happening venue that night.

A little bouncing around to other places and it was back to the Loving Touch for Flint Eastwood. The lead singer is still furious at people who don't move around enough. She called out someone in a denim vest in front of me, and I decided to move farther back to stay out of her field of vision. I love when they use spaghetti western riffs, and I wish they would use more of them. They're all wearing bolo ties anyway, so why not go all in?

It's strange to see a band at Como's. If you go in the front door you have to pass through a mostly empty and depressing bar area to get to the stairs in the back. When you get upstairs you think you've entered a 70's era Turkish hair salon. I wanted to see more of Phantasmagoria there at the end of the night, but my cold symptoms kept getting worse, and I desperately needed sleep.

Bands I saw that night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: The Philter, Eleanora, The Salt and the Sea, and At Willoughby.

After the first night of the Blowout in Ferndale it seemed like there was a low turnout. When Hamtramck had a Thursday night for the Blowout, the turnout was was always lower than the weekend, but this felt worse. The only place where it felt really vibrant and alive was at the Loving Touch. Maybe I was wrong, and the Chris Johnston Ferndale Illuminati conspiracy is true after all.

While Blowout defenders say that evolution is necessary to survive, people in Hamtramck are eager for you find out what's also going on in Hamtramck this weekend. Personally, I'm trying my best to keep an open mind until the weekend is over.

Also, I learned last night that I confused Sakana Sushi Lounge with Inyo Sushi across the street. I guess sushi restaurants that I don't go to all look the same to me. The Boogie Fever and Blowout collision won't be as pronounced as I was hoping for.

Recommendations for Friday, Night 5
Pewter Cub, 10:10-10:40, Ferndale Library
Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, 12:10-1:00, Rustbelt Market, part of the "Hangin' with Navdo" Showcase (Another Disclaimer: Navdo is kind of affiliated with this site, I think)

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Preview of the Blowout 2013, Night 4

Here's my list of recommendations for Thursday night:

Philter 9:00-9:30 Found Sound
Carjack 9:50-10:20 Rustbelt Market
The Flint Eastwoods 12:10-12:50 Loving Touch
Phantasmagoria 12:50-1:40 Comos

Can you guess which one is MY favorite?

EDITOR PICKS: 

Satori Circus and Jesus Chainsaw Massacre at Ferndale Public Library

St Zita , FLATFOOT and Bobby Electric over at the NEW New Way Bar (nice changes so far!)

I Love Lightning Bugs at One Eyed Bettys

Carjack & The Prime Ministers at Rust Belt Market

DUENDE! over at WAB

Skeleton Birds at GO COMEDY!

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Blowout 2013: Night 3

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Loretta Lucas didn't impress me at Thursday's preview, but it was the first act of the night, and no one else was playing. The 9:00 performance didn't start until 9:30, even though everything was set up by about 9:15. I listened to just one song, and even though I was pleasant surprised at how much I liked it, I was too annoyed to stick around.

On to the New Dodge Lounge for Blair Alise and the Bombshells. Also late, but not ridiculously so. Blair is kind of a throwback crooner, and her band sounded tight. The problem was that the lyrics just didn't seem cultured enough, and this is coming from someone who still laughs when he sees Amy Poehler farting in a rerun. Once she's older (she's 16) and lived a bit more, I'm sure she'll get there, and I can tell everyone that I saw Blair Alise before everyone knew who she was.

Back to PNA Lounge for Craycrays. I must be late to catch on to how awesome they are, because the room was nearly full. The lead singer didn't like it when the crowd was too stationary. He would charge into the people in the front row to get them to move around. The guy that ended up spilling half of his beer as a result didn't seem that bothered by it.

The Oscillating Fan Club wasn't having trouble filling up the room at Small's either. Another good reason to go to Small's was that the Detroit BBQ Company was set up there. Their sauasge was greasier than I would have liked, but their coleslaw was awesome. It was the only time that I didn't think of coleslaw as just a cabbage and mayo slurry.

I ran into the Detroit Party Marching Band at Joseph Campau and Yemans. I don't see why some people get all bent out of shape about the marching band. Oh, you and the same boring people were having the same boring conversation about the same boring bullshit, at the same boring venue you always go to, and the unexpected arrival of the marching band is the reason your night didn't turn out so well? I think you need to have more surprise tuba blasts in your face.

PNA Lounge again for Mexican Knives. The band that was supposed to go on before them, Boy Wonders, didn't show up for some bullshit reason. Mexican Knives decided to start early. Maybe that's not a good thing to do when music fans are trying to maximize their itineraries. Since I thought they wouldn't go on until 1 AM, I only saw their last song. Speaking of maximizing, this night's schedule didn't utilize the concept of staggering set times. Most bands of the night were started on the 00's. How am I supposed to get "blown out" if there's always dead time that can't be filled by running over to another bar?

I was never super into Sponge when they were getting massive radio play, and I sure as hell don't want to try whatever their new material is. I went over to Whiskey in the Jar for Sunlight Ascending. It's spacey instrumental music without that whole masturbatory vibe that Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor give off.

Before Sunlight finished I could hear the marching band again. They were playing in the alley behind Amicci's Pizza. The crowd starting flowing out of the Whiskey to check them out. A couple of dog-walkers got caught up in it, to the point that they didn't notice that their dog had run off. It's just a living being that's become dependent on you. No big deal.

After several songs, including one by R. Kelly, the marching band, the revelers that had accumulated, and even the dog all crammed into Whiskey. This was around 1:55 AM. To me this a great example of the unexpected that can happen in Hamtramck during the Blowout.

Bands I saw that night that I'm putting in the "whatever" category: Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, 500 Club, Beekeepers, and Sponge.

I just can't call myself a fake journalist if I don't address some of the ill will in Hamtramck about the partial move to Ferndale. On Friday night the place to be for Blowout abstainers was the Outer Limits Bar, a long ago venue for the Blowout. Before Saturday night got under way, someone printed up stickers, stuck them on to old empty album sleeves, and passed them out to some of the bars. If you can't make out the writing at the bottom, it says "METRO TIMES WHITE FLIGHT FEST 2013".

While some Hamtramck residents simply said that they wouldn't be going to the Ferndale leg next weekend out of resentment, others were more vocal in their opposition. "It was our thing, and yes some sponsorship was always involved, but it was called the Hamtramck Blowout, and then suddently it became the Metro Times Blowout. I take exception to that fact.", said Tony (Topcat) Liggett. "Nobody else would do this when it started. We were the perfect place. We had the venues, and we had the people willing to cooperate to make it happen."

It wasn't all anger though. There was also some sadness mixed with pragmatism. "Well, I do wish more Hamtramck venues were available for the Blowout. Everyone is concerned about losing the festival to Ferndale, but there used to be a lot more options available when I first started coming to the Blowout in 1995. Lots of those bars are gone.", said August Gitschlag, a bartender at Whiskey in the Jar. "Besides that, I do try my best to make sure that Whiskey is a fun and entertaining spot for the large number of first time visitors the festival brings in, so that hopefully they see Hamtramck is safe and fun, and come back again another night."

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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera

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Blowout 2013: Night 2

April 26th, 2013, in Hamtramck.

First band of the night, anywhere, was Hunters from New York at the PNA Lounge (not Rugrats from Tallahasee, as some were led to believe). I know that the Blowout is supposed to be all local acts, and I'm a traitor for saying this, but they were the best performance of the night. I wouldn't call the music shoegaze, but these guys were staring down at their shoes most of the time. Maybe it's a tribute thing. I showed up ten minutes early for this set, and the building wasn't even ready to for the public to arrive. The band started with 20 people in the room, and ended with a little over 40. A shame they couldn't have had a later time-slot.

All The Wild Children at Whiskey in the Jar. Warbling vocals and a crew that seems to come from many different sectors of the population. A high intensity backing vocal on the last song was reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky. The cops showed to follow up on a noise complaint. You shouldn't even be allowed to make noise complaints on Blowout weekend.

Bleached at the PNA Lounge (they're from L.A., not New York as I first reported). Fun pop-rock from a California band, and they didn't have to go out of their way to imply that the rustbelt isn't cool enough. They fully endorsed 88 Avenue and their sixty-something DJ across the street, so I'm sure they can hang anywhere. I wasn't the only one digging this performance, as the room was nearly filled.

The Meatmen started with Tesco Vee dressed as the pope. A fitting entrance for someone who likes to shock. Did you know this guy is now 57, and an English teacher in the Lansing area? He of course later stripped down to his usual white overalls, emblazoned with the words "Dutch Hercules". I expected this to be the biggest act of the night. The hall at the PNA was only a quarter full, but the Meatmen still played like they had a full crowd.

The overall theme of the night must have been feedback. Every band complained of feedback, and none of them got the resolution they were hoping for.

Small's Bar finally knocked down part of a wall so that people can actually get to the stage. Now how will people signal to world that they're assholes by obstructing foot traffic? Don't worry, they can still create bottle-necks by the narrow passage way near the men's room that's closest to the bar. There's a good chance that this alteration was made years ago and I'm just now realizing it. That's how long it's been since I've been to Small's.

It's kind of well known that most of the bars in Hamtramck blatantly ignore the state's smoking ban. I can now confirm that Paycheck's and Jean's Lounge are amongst them.

Bands I saw that I'm putting in the "Whatever" category: Golden Torso, Twine Time, Electric Playground, Desolation Angels, Cloud Social, Greg McIntosh, Ronny Tibbs and the 305s, and Platinum Selection.

Stuff to see tonight
Loretta Lucas, 9:00-9:30, Polish National Alliance Hall. First act while no one else is playing. Hard to compete with that.
Blair Alise and the Bombshells, 9:30-10:10, New Dodge Lounge.
Craycrays, 10:20-10:50, Polish National Alliance Lounge. Killed it at the preview night.
Oscilating Fan Club, 11:00-11:40, Small's Bar. More than just the best band name ever.
Mexican Knives, 1:00-1:40, Polish National Alliance Lounge. (Disclaimer: This band has played an MCB show)
OR Sunlight Ascending, 1:00-1:40, Whiskey in the Jar.
Again, I'm sorry to leave some time gaps in my recommendations.

I wasn't going to recommend Amateur Anthropologist (Baker's, 10:00-10:40), but after seeing this savvy bathroom marketing campaign, I've changed my mind. This goes beyond viral. I'm talking multiple levels of microbiological marketing here.

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I'm a dork, I live in the Detroit area, and sometimes I take blurry photos on an outdated camera

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