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Murder By Death, Bars of Gold, Flatfoot, The Fencemen @ The Loft 4/13/12 (Review
The Fencemen –> http://thefencemenband.com/ Flatfoot –> http://www.flatfootmusic.com/ Bars of Gold –> https://www.facebook.com/BARSOFGOLD Murder By Death –> http://murderbydeath.com/news.php Capital City Film Festival –> http://capitalcityfilmfest.com/ Lansing’s The Loft received a good turnout for their Capital City Film Festival on Friday the 13th with Murder By Death, Bars of Gold, Flatfoot and The Fencemen. Any band that is playing a show with Murder By Death is worth learning more about. After hearing them praised by the other bands and listening to their song, “Knives,” opening locals, The Fencemen, deserve our attention. Their sound and style is comparable to Spoon, but The Fencemen hold their own and have a down to earth vibe. Check out their new full length album…
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An Interview with Larry And His Flask
Larry And His Flask are: Dallin Bulkley on vocals and guitar, Andrew Carew on vocals, trombone and banjo, Ian Cook on vocals and guitar, Jamin Marshall on vocals and percussion, Jeshua Marshall on vocals, double bass, baritone and harmonicas and Kirk Skatvold on vocals, mandolin and trumpet. They’re a six piece rock and roll band from Redmond, Oregon who were born to travel and play music. Their live shows are incredible and the sounds they omit are striking: strings played so fast that you wonder if the instruments themselves are alive, forceful beats from a double bass that will kick you in the face, percussion that ties all of the…
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Stewed, Screwed and Tattooed Tour: Reverend Horton Heat, Larry And His Flask and The Goddamn Gallows @ The Machine Shop 3/13/12 (Review)
The Goddamn Gallows (http://www.goddamngallows.com/) Larry And His Flask (http://www.larryandhisflask.com/) Reverend Horton Heat (http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/) Flint’s The Machine Shop hosted Reverend Horton Heat’s “Stewed, Screwed and Tattooed” tour for their upcoming album, “25 to Life,” to be released on March 27th. Each band stood out with incredible performances, and made a Tuesday night anything but ordinary. If you don’t feel a bit of wanderlust after seeing The Goddamn Gallows, you might not be listening hard enough. Touring at least 200 days a year, this gutterbilly band from Lansing, MI, would probably play until their fingers fell off. The Goddamn Gallows play roots-oriented trickster melodies with solid, dark beats, spirited strings that pound…
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The General Strike Release Tour: Anti-Flag, The Flatliners, Have Nots and Wilson @ Magic Stick 3/12/12 (Review)
We arrived at the The General Strike Release Tour just in time to feel the floor of the Magic Stick vibrating from Wilson’s last song. Their rock ‘n roll sound was filled with strong metal elements backed by enthusiastic, shredding vocals. Wilson was an ideal local group to start off the night which was evidenced by an enthusiastic mosh pit. Wilson Have Nots The Flatliners Anti-Flag It was good to see Boston’s Have Nots play Magic Stick again–the last time was in September 2011. This band has substance and seeing them play live is a must. Their take on ska punk is filled with honest, intelligent and satirical lyrics, backed…
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Black Coffee White Knuckles Tour! Voodoo Glow Skulls, Authority Zero, Skyfox and S.N.A.F.U. @ Blind Pig 2/6/12 (Review)
S.N.A.F.U. = https://www.facebook.com/#!/SNAFUPUNKS?sk=info Skyfox = http://www.skyfoxmusic.com/ Authority Zero = http://authorityzero.com/ Voodoo Glow Skulls = http://www.voodooglowskulls.com/ S.N.A.F.U., out of Ypsilanti, was a good opener to liven up a Monday night. They’re a hardcore–thrash-metal band who play powerful beats and melodies that make it sound like the end of the world is near. Their primal energy was infectious and easily got the crowd to jostle about and participate in circle pits. S.N.A.F.U. was on par with one another, playing as a brute force with a strong bass, thrashing guitar, screaming vocals and battering drums. Their set included songs, “Graves” (menacing, heavy tunes) and “W.D.G.A.F.” (fast and dark with plenty of attitude). Towards the end of their…
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The Boogie Woogie Kid! @ Howell Opera House 1/27/12
The Boogie Woogie Kid! If you don’t know what boogie woogie music sounds like, think of an evil villain with a ridiculous mustache tying a damsel in distress to railroad tracks. The music in the background is played on the piano usually with a jaunty, upbeat, melody and elements of dooming suspense. Or, as Matthew Ball aka The Boogie Woogie Kid! describes it, “happy blues.” Howell’s Opera House swelled in numbers on Friday, January 27th. Set in a dimly lit room of icicle lights, Matthew Ball on piano and Victor Pruner accompanying on drums, took the crowd back to the early 20th century, when boogie woogie was in its prime.…
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The Loving Dead, Brutally Frank and Koffin Kats @ The Machine Shop 1/20/2012
Flint’s The Machine Shop hosted an exceptional psychobilly-charged show for the Koffin Kats CD Release Throwdown this past Friday, January 20th. The bands made sure that the journey through horrible weather and snow-coated roads was worth coming to see them perform. The Loving Dead Brutally Frank Koffin Kats To clarify a few things about psychobilly: it is basically a sped-up version of rockabilly that blends in certain genres of music like punk, rhythm and blues. Part of what makes it its own music genre is the specific usage of an upright bass, which ensures solid, dark beats. Also, the subject of the songs (girls, gore, death, sci-fi, and socially unacceptable topics) are expressed…
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Holiday Show: Flatfoot 56, The Parka Kings, Mustard Plug and The Suicide Machines @ The Majestic 12/29/11 (Review)
The crowd was spilling out of Detroit’s, The Majestic to see a sound line-up for Mustard Plug’s Holiday Show on December 29, 2011: Flatfoot 56 The Parka Kings Mustard Plug The Suicide Machines If Flogging Molly and The Tossers had a baby, Flatfoot 56, a Celtic punk rock bank from Chicago, would probably be their son. They were a solid opener and had no trouble getting people to dance. Flatfoot 56 amped the crowd up with their rapid, energetic music: a piercing bagpipe, a fury of drums, a driving bass, a harmonious mandolin, and a fast-paced guitarist with a gruff, Irish tinted voice. They played songs like, “Chinatown Jail Break,” and…
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Zakk Gallows, Cheerleader, Boom Swagger Boom and Rickett Pass @ Corktown Tavern 11/30/11 (Review)
Team Bacon Productions put together a solid show at Detroit’s Corktown Tavern this past Wednesday, November 30th despite The Goddamn Gallows canceling. The Goddamn Gallows’ guitarist Mikey Classic had stretched his tendons and nerves in his left hand. Since they tour almost two hundred shows a year, this was definitely understandable. They’ll be back this March with Reverend Horton Heat, so the extra wait will be worth it. Unfortunately, the potential crowd size was cut down significantly, which was a shame because people missed a good show. Zakk Gallows Cheerleader Boom Swagger Boom Rickett Pass Zakk Gallows was a pleasure to listen to. He played a country-inspired set filled with…
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Gunday Monday, Explicit Bombers, St. Thomas Boys Academy and The Toasters @ Small’s 11/4/11 (Review
Listening to live Ska and Punk music is a sure way to amp up your night. Hamtramck’s Small’s was a good venue for such an evening. Gunday Monday Explicit Bombers St. Thomas Boys Academy The Toasters Gunday Monday played with their usual amount of infectious energy despite the unusually subdued crowd. Lead singer, Alex Lee, noticed and playfully remarked, “Something’s wrong with this picture. I’m the one with a cast, and I’m moving more than you guys.” Recently he had been hit by a car, but that didn’t stop Alex from his never ending dancing and jumping about. Frankly, you shouldn’t be standing still at a Gunday Monday show. Their…
