We have a busy weekend coming up next week. Happy Spring, all.
First thing’s first: Record Store Day is next Saturday, April 18!
Just as record stores started closing at an alarming rate across the country and a generation of listeners began rejecting the synthetic sham of CDs as a format for their favorite albums, an international movement began (back in 2007) to celebrate the important role of independently-owned vinyl record shops and, perhaps, save them, before it was too late and we all got lost up there in our proverbial Cloud(s).
Spend your days in the shops, shuffling through some classic wax and keep your eyes peeled for some special deals. Encore, Wazoo, Underground Sound, PJs Used Records & CDs… Check ‘em all out!
Find a store near you: https://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues
Okay, a lot of shows to get to this weekend
FIRST: Beezy’s Show!
Beezy’s offers exquisite food, laid back ambiance and live music with Chris Dupont, Abigail Stauffer and Frances Luke Accord (the latter coming to us from Chicago). This is an ideal way to break out of the static stigma of bar shows where we all go, drink too much beer and worry about whether our jacket looks cool enough or if our posture is slacker-chic enough to impress… No. Let’s just gather together, gnosh on some tasty food, ya know, break bread together, as the sun is just starting to set and listen to some superb modern folk songs; an ideal way to start your weekend.
More info: https://on.fb.me/1Cu5Fhp
April 17 – 6:30 PM at Beezy’s (20 N. Washington St., Ypsilanti)
SECOND: Wych Elm at The Club Above
One of my previously selected local “Bands To Watch in 2015” will be performing at The Club Above; so, you know…you should go actually “watch” them. Wych Elm are stretching the preconceived stylistic boundaries of a whole stew of genres, from roots music, to indie-folk, to psychedelic bluegrass.
Wych Elm – “Ypsilanti”
Wych Elm are joined by their allies in this local renaissance of neo-country tinged acoustic jams, Cold Tone Harvest from Plymouth and Salt City from here in Ypsilanti.
April 17 – 9:30 PM at The Club Above (215 N. Main St, Ann Arbor) – info:https://on.fb.me/1Cm5Wmj
Wych Elm https://www.facebook.com/wychelmband
Cold Tone Harvest https://www.facebook.com/coldtoneharvest
Salt City https://www.facebook.com/saltcitymusic
NEXT: Flint Eastwood at The Blind Pig
Detroit-based powerhouse rock outfit Flint Eastwood is coming to the Blind Pig. The group’s been busy traveling around the state to make sure they’re not just playing their own hometown haunts. If you never seen Flint Eastwood…well, then… Those who hesitate are lost. Experience a style of cinematic pop rock that fits an arena-aimed blast of swagger and style seamlessly into a more intimate club space. Ann Arbor’s own ebullient indie-rock quintet San Cristobal are joining this bill, along with Lansing-area Wayne Szalinski’s beautiful and bittersweet post-rock. Jack And The Bear, meanwhile, are coming up from the southeastern coast, just a bit north o’ Toledo and they’re songs really caught my ear this week; a blend of rustling baroque ditties with some soaring Americana, sweet strings and whipsy twangs, dazzling pianos and just a bit of rust to the rasp: “Jack’s Flying Theme” streams below.
April 17 – 8 PM at The Bilnd Pig (208 N. 1st St, Ann Arbor) – info: https://on.fb.me/1bUz2E9
Flint Eastwood: https://www.facebook.com/FlintEastwoodMusic
Jack And The Bear https://www.facebook.com/JackandtheBear
Wayne Szalinski: https://www.facebook.com/wayneszalinskimusic/
San Cristobal: https://www.facebook.com/sancristobalmusic
And then: Spring Flea at The Yellow Barn
There’s a Spring Flea Market being hosted by the Yellow Barn on Saturday. Come experience this groovy kind of bazaar stocked by your neighbors and soundtracked by some of the scene’s most talented singer/songwriters, featuring various items of merch and handmade goods. There’ll be books, vinyl records, vintage clothes and crafts as well as baked goods, coffee. You may even find some music gear, if you’re in the market!
The Market will be hosted from 12 – 5 PM and musical guests include Annie Palmer and Avery F. There’s a new batch of songs that Bonny Doon put up online a month ago, including the jam we’re streaming below. Bonny Doon rounds out the trio of groups soundtracking this Spring Flea, check it out: https://on.fb.me/1xK0gqO
April 18 from 12 – 5 PM: Spring Flea at The Yellow Barn (416 W. Huron St)
FINALLY: Jamaican Queens / Ritual Howls / Human Skull
This is an ideal way to close out your Record Store Day… An excellent line-up at the Blind Pig hosted by The Bang! Jamaican Queens bring their gritty techno-raps and interdimensional-funk-folk along with Ritual Howls’ neo-industrial shoegaze glory. Human Skull, meanwhile, is one of my new favorite’s around the scene, cresting, caustic surf-riffs revved up to a punk-ish tempo, take a listen:
April 18 at 9:30 PM at The Blind Pig (208 S. First St., Ann Arbor) $8 ($11 if under 21)
More info: https://on.fb.me/1DGxz0y
Jeff covers music for Current, posting weekly show previews and highlighting new bands in the area.
