Hello again! I return once more to deliver news of rock music in the great city of Baltimore, and while this week was on the lighter side it nonetheless featured some of THE BEST new music I’ve heard all year! No need to keep on babbling so my friends please come on down!
Thursday 8/6/2016 - June Star // Calgrove // Herd of Main Street // Two Cow Garage
I hit up the Ottobar Thursday to check out a night of twangy roots rock and Americana. June Star started things off with an excellent set of pop sensible tunes complete with great hooks and killer guitar freakouts. For a trio those guys can really make a lot of noise! The Ottobar’s such a cool venue and I appreciated having the balcony to take some pics from. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch Melvins there in a few weeks, though if I do I doubt i”ll have the luxury of the balcony for pics, the last couple times I’ve seen them there it’s been packed. Shout out to Herd of Main Street’s lead guitarist who played some excellent slide guitar and to Ohio’s Two Cow Garage who closed things out with some high energy rockers.
Friday 8/7/2016 - OKAY Recordings presents Females of Folk - Farida Shourbaji // Maura Tull // Mama Cara // Lilli Jean // Isabel Stone // citizenlala // The Twanger Sisters
Friday was the highly anticipated Females of Folk show presented by my friends at OKAY Recordings. It was an incredible showcase of amazingly talented ladies, each one brining a unique energy to the stage that kept the evening diverse and interesting from top to bottom. With Farida Shourbaji’s haunting and psychedelic performance of original music, Maura Tull’s Incredible harp playing, Mama Cara’s powerful set of Appalachian standards, Lilli Jean’s unique vocal style and excellent trumpet accompaniment, Isabel Stone’s auto-harp, citizenlala’s killer piano rockers, and the Twanger Sisters amazing harmonies, the evening was through-the-roof stacked with talent from start to finish. Special shoutout to the Twanger Sisters who as a friend of mine would say were pro gear on Friday; well rehearsed with an incredibly charming stage presence that closed the night out with a bang. I really hope this is just the first of many showcases like this DownSquares!
Farida Shourbaji (w/ Kevin M Gillespie)
Maura Tull
Isabel Stone
Saturday 8/8/2016 - Grayling Skyy // Tha Raw // Not Blood Paint
I had no idea what to expect with Saturday’s show, and even now I’m trying to think of ways to describe what happened. It was impressive. Starting things off was Grayling Skyy with some of the more interesting hip hop I’ve heard in a while followed by Tha Raw from Annapolis who laid down some excellent stoner/ doom metal. But it was Brooklyn, NY’s Not Blood Paint that stole the show. Taking the stage dressed like foppish drag queens, the four piece band began their show with thick four part harmony before diving into some incredibly well crafted and heavy tunes that mesmerized the audience on hand. I’ve really never seen anything quite like it, it was truly fascinating to see how each member was dedicated to their characters as well as how seamless their banter weaved into their music. The band was gracious enough to give me a copy of their new CD Believing is Believing, but somewhere between Joe’s and home I lost it… I don’t think I could give a higher recommendation to check these guys out, It was one of the coolest things I think I’ve ever seen, and I felt lucky to be there.
Such an incredible weekend of music has once again come and gone, and I made it out to the water on Sunday for a much needed swim with some friends. Weekends like this remind me just how special music can actually be, and I can’t wait to see who else will be stopping by Joe’s in the weeks to come. Cheers friends!
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