Greetings true believers! Welcome back for another exciting chapter of music and mayhem as I recount tales from Baltimore’s Artscape festival. This week was simply incredible! It’s the type of week that really reaffirms that music is something special, that magic is real and when a band can lock in and channel that it's unlike anything else. All week artist after artist showed me something new, and as I sit here writing on Monday drained by these events I look back feeling lucky to have been a part of them. So, let me take you back to where it all began and see what I can remember. *Cue Flashback Stinger*
Wednesday June 13th, 2016 - Colora // Jared Leibowich
I had never heard of Austin, TX’s Jared Leibowich before Wednesday so I had no idea what to expect. The show was added somewhat last minute to accommodate the touring band’s schedule, and I’m very glad it was! Colora graciously returned to open the show before a somewhat quirky Jared Leibowich and his band took the stage. Song after song I realized there was something different going on. This dude was good. Incredibly well crafted songs that spoke with an honestly and vulnerability I was seriously impressed by. There wasn’t many people there, but the band walked away with new fans none the less. Seriously my friends you missed out on Wednesday. As a consolation though definitely check out his album “Welcome Late Bloomers”, you won’t be disappointed.
Thursday June 14th, 2016 - Jacob Panic Trio Duo // Thee Commons
Thursday kicked off with the always fantastic Jacob Panic, who along with percussion yogi Dan Cohan performed a two piece set of lightning-chop pop grass. Did you know Jesus plays sax? I didn’t either until Los Angeles’s Thee Commons hit the stage. Holy crap, these dudes were awesome. They turned the energy up to 11 and DownSquared became a full on party! All over the place on stage, this incredible group of dudes play a punk-infused version of “Cumbia”, a type of latin dance music that originated in Columbia and Panama (Hey, I learned something!). They also happen to be a part of the Burger Records family, which for me caused a bit of a fanboy moment as I’m a HUGE fan of the Burger stuff. As modest as it may be, I’m grateful that I get the opportunity to feel connected to music like this, and should Thee Commons ever return I’ll be sure to tell EVERYBODY!
Jacob Panic w/ Dan Cohan
Friday June 15th, 2016 - Kerra Holtgren, The Swedish Fist // Z Plan // Illiterate Light // Shagwüf
Artscape is finally upon us! I knew better than to try and drive over to North Ave, so me and my roommates split an Uber and hit Joe’s early for some grub and to scope the place out. It was bonkers in there! Between the Scapers hiding from the sun and the zombies hoping to catch a few Pokémon the place was packed. Kerra Holtgren, The Swedish Fist set the mood for a night of bizarre rock and rolling with her kazoo laden set of original tunes that left the crowd dumbfounded. Think Wizard of Oz if it were directed by David Lynch and starred Jolie Holland. Illiterate Light returned DownSquared to lay down their brand of fuzzed out indie rock and I was happy to have them back, those dudes rock! Huge shout out to Shagwüf who threw down like turbo-banshees to close out the night with a killer mix of sludge and punk. The band was then gracious enough to offer me a ride out of there and we made our way to an epic Okay Recordings after party. Seriously, these dudes were so chill I looked up how to type an umlaut so I could spell their name right! It was really shaping up to be a fantastic weekend!
Saturday June 16th, 2016 - James Von Lenz // Tool Shed // Tom, Hanks
Saturday was mostly spent engineering a recording session for some friends so I didn’t quite get a chance to trudge around Artscape, but that’s ok cause I knew Saturday’s show would be a party! Tom, Hanks is a tribute band of Tom Waits and Hank WIlliams songs, and when they come to town people go crazy. Backed by local heroes James Von Lenz (of the infamous Voodoo Pharmacology) and Tool Shed, the night was filled with folky romper stompers that had people either on their feet, or hitting the bar to drink themselves numb. Unruly banjo-men bent on the destruction of our livers which always leads to good times! Members of Shagwüf from the night before returned to join Tom, Hanks on stage, and it was awesome to have these new friends back for a second night in a row! The drinking, the dancing, new friends and familiar faces, Saturday was quite boss indeed!
A few shots from the afternoon's recording session
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Sunday June 17th, 2016 - ScapeScape presents The Cool - DownSquares - Blackistone // Maxine // Holographic Sticker Club // Holy Fingers // Frenemies // Eze Jackson
Rock & roll can take a lot of you. Between the late nights and all the heroin it can be tough to make it through a week. I was definitely feeling the affects of Friday and Saturday during this rare Sunday gig, but just because I was tired didn’t mean we weren’t going to rock. In fact, all the bands brought it for Sunday’s Artscape wrap-up show. Between IDM artists Blackistone and Holographic Sticker Club, indie-punkers Maxine, gloom/ shoegazers Holy Fingers, hard pop-rockers Frenemies, and hip-hop artist Eze Jackson, the nights was packed to the gills with diversity and talent. Artscape concluded with a bang, and left everyone in the audience satisfied. With that I grabbed an Uber back home and crashed out like a mug. Cheers Artscape, and I'll definitely see you next year!
Blackistone
That does it for now. Thanks again for checking in and as usual I’ll be back next week with plenty more music to discuss. See ya!
Bonus: Hey y’all real quick I just wanted to share with you that I spent the Tuesday prior to this week’s shows performing at my first comedy open mic! Hosted by my friend Archie Jamieson of North Avenue Podcast, the Windup Space is starting to do comedy open mics once a month, and I figured that this would be the perfect time to give it a shot (It was a resolution of mine this year to attempt comedy so why not right?). I was incredibly nervous, but the crowd was understanding and stuck with me. I got some big laughs and walked off that stage feeling super accomplished. It was incredible actually, a rush I had never felt before! I’ll definitely be trying again in the future, stay tuned!
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