Straight up this week was amazing! Not only has this been one of the busiest weeks all year, it's been one of the best with some of the coolest bands rocking their way through Baltimore and showing us all how it's done. Really no need to dottle up front with the intro, so jump on in and check out all the killer music that went down this week -
9/5/17 - The Miami Dolphins // Mock Identity // Invincible Summer
Tuesday I got to hang Downsquares for a night of awesome indie rock featuring The Miami Dolphins from Minneapolis. They were joined by DC's Mock Identity who offered up a set of raunchy post-punk, and Baltimore's own Invincible Summer who ended the night with some lo-fi new wave.
The Miami Dolphins
Mock Identity
Invincible Summer
9/6/17 - HOOPS // June Pastel // James and The Giant Peach
When I heard members of local band Joe Biden were performing in James and the Giant Peach, I was expecting a much louder show than what happened on Wednesday. Turned out to be a much mellower night as the bands all played their way through some awesome lounge grooves, funky dance rhythms, and alternative slow jams. Bloomington's HOOPS ended the night with a great set of throwback synth-pop and dance-a-longs.
HOOPS
June Pastel
James and The Giant Peach
9/7/17 - WTMD First Thursdays - The Mavericks // The Marcus King Band // Nicole Atkins // Hall Williams Band // June Star // Super Doppler
I was invited to be a part of the stage crew for the final First Thursday show of the season sponsored by WTMD. I hit Canton by 8am and spent the whole day helping unload gear and unfold the stage, run lines and get things ready for what was sure to be a packed house. Headliners The Mavericks brought along their own FoH and Monitor setup, so we helped them schlep their stuff too and plug in for sound check before gearing up for the rest of the bands. It was a beautiful day so although it was a ton of work, I had a blast hanging out and seeing everything come together, and every single band was fantastic. Finally 2am rolled around and the crew celebrated getting the trucks packed with a round of beers we snagged from VIP. It was one of the longest work days I've had in a while, but it was totally worth it.
The Mavericks
Marcus King Band
Nicole Atkins
Hall Williams Band
June Star
Super Doppler
9/8/17 - A.P.F. // Faith In Jane // Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols // Crooked Hills // Asthma Castle
I spent most of Friday sleeping, but I was able to recharge enough too tag along with my roomies to catch Sean K. Preston play a gig at Guido's in Frederick. I had no idea what kinda lineup it was going to be heading in, but fuck yes it turned out to be a ton of killer stoner and doom metal. Matthew "Mule" Mckinley opened the show, but we got there just as he wrapped. Fortunately, he jumped in with Sean when they hit the stage, offering a nice break halfway between the sludged out madness. I mean seriously, the back room filled with riff after fuzz powered riff the whole night as the dedicated bands provided the finest in Sabbath-worshiping goodness to the delight of the people on hand to bear witness. Holy shit what a mouth-full... It was fucking insane, with Baltimore's Asthma Castle closing the show with the Satan-loving insanity of a cosmic funeral bong.
A.P.F.
Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols
Crooked Hills
Asthma Castle
Faith In Jane
9/9/17 - Hampdenfest - Holy Fingers // Snakes // F // PLRLS // Quitter // The Stents // The Woolly Bushmen
I didn't get back from Frederick until way late, but there was no way I was going to miss seeing Holy Fingers play Hampdenfest at noon. I hadn't seen them since they played Joe's over a year ago, and I've been dying to catch them ever since. Holy shit Hampdenfest was awesome! It was gorgeous outside, and there was just so many killer bands performing this year. Snakes threw down on the Atomic Books stage, and I was finally able to catch them play "Young American" live which was pretty fucking awesome. Caught the tail end of PLRLS set. Of course I had to make my way over to catch the Stents perform on the Hidden Volume stage to wow the unsuspecting crowd with their guitar-wielding antics, and one of my favorite bands from last year The Woolly Bushmen escaped Orlando to offer up that special dose of garage insanity only they can provide. I kept bumping into all kinds of friends and it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. On top of that there was a show at Joe's I had to get to. So...
Holy Fingers
Snakes
F City
PLRLS
Quitter
The Stents
The Woolley Bushmen
9/9/17 - Pandas // Body Spray // The Mostly Dead
...I somehow managed to wobble into the Pizza Basement and setup shop for some killer east coast loud n' heavy stuff. DC's The Mostly Dead opened it up with some post-punk and hardcore before handing it over to Philly's Body Spray and their self-described "hoagie-core". Baltimore's Pandas, who were playing their penultimate show together, ended things with some psycho-intense flailing and wailing. I thought the night was over for me I was so spent, but it turns out my roomies had different plans we hit up Holy Frijoles for some beer and pinball, Asian Taste to check out a terrible DJ playing Skrillex, and finally a house jam that almost went to dawn. Holy shit Saturday, you were incredible.
Pandas
Body Spray
The Mostly Dead
9/10/17 - Happy Haines // Polka Pachinko Clown Crew
After all the stuff that went down this week you'd think Sunday I'd just take it easy. Instead I got shitty drunk on Bloody Marys and tequila with a friend of mine before convincing my roommates to join us for a clown performance by Worcester's Polka Pachinko Clown Crew happening at the free farm. God it had been such a long weekend, and this was a bizarre way to cap things off. Before they sent in the clowns, Happy Haines opened the show with some country tunes which I was super happy to catch... and then the clowns came in. To be fair I don't think the clowns were ready for us either. We were sloppy, and if you've ever tried to keep your composure around a gang of clowns while on the verge of blacking out, I can assure you it's not easy. The heavily improvised performances involved props, crowd interaction, and a vast assortment of buffoonery, antics, and hijinks. The troop certainly left an impression on us, but I'm sure they'd say the same... who were the real clowns that day?? We eventually made our escape unsure of when the whimsical antics would cease, thinking it best to quit while we were ahead.
Happy Haines
The Polka Pachinko Clown Crew
All right that's it. I gotta get up for a gig at UMD so until next time, see ya!
9/5/17 - The Miami Dolphins // Mock Identity // Invincible Summer
Tuesday I got to hang Downsquares for a night of awesome indie rock featuring The Miami Dolphins from Minneapolis. They were joined by DC's Mock Identity who offered up a set of raunchy post-punk, and Baltimore's own Invincible Summer who ended the night with some lo-fi new wave.
The Miami Dolphins
Mock Identity
Invincible Summer
9/6/17 - HOOPS // June Pastel // James and The Giant Peach
When I heard members of local band Joe Biden were performing in James and the Giant Peach, I was expecting a much louder show than what happened on Wednesday. Turned out to be a much mellower night as the bands all played their way through some awesome lounge grooves, funky dance rhythms, and alternative slow jams. Bloomington's HOOPS ended the night with a great set of throwback synth-pop and dance-a-longs.
HOOPS
June Pastel
James and The Giant Peach
9/7/17 - WTMD First Thursdays - The Mavericks // The Marcus King Band // Nicole Atkins // Hall Williams Band // June Star // Super Doppler
I was invited to be a part of the stage crew for the final First Thursday show of the season sponsored by WTMD. I hit Canton by 8am and spent the whole day helping unload gear and unfold the stage, run lines and get things ready for what was sure to be a packed house. Headliners The Mavericks brought along their own FoH and Monitor setup, so we helped them schlep their stuff too and plug in for sound check before gearing up for the rest of the bands. It was a beautiful day so although it was a ton of work, I had a blast hanging out and seeing everything come together, and every single band was fantastic. Finally 2am rolled around and the crew celebrated getting the trucks packed with a round of beers we snagged from VIP. It was one of the longest work days I've had in a while, but it was totally worth it.
The Mavericks
Marcus King Band
Nicole Atkins
Hall Williams Band
June Star
Super Doppler
9/8/17 - A.P.F. // Faith In Jane // Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols // Crooked Hills // Asthma Castle
I spent most of Friday sleeping, but I was able to recharge enough too tag along with my roomies to catch Sean K. Preston play a gig at Guido's in Frederick. I had no idea what kinda lineup it was going to be heading in, but fuck yes it turned out to be a ton of killer stoner and doom metal. Matthew "Mule" Mckinley opened the show, but we got there just as he wrapped. Fortunately, he jumped in with Sean when they hit the stage, offering a nice break halfway between the sludged out madness. I mean seriously, the back room filled with riff after fuzz powered riff the whole night as the dedicated bands provided the finest in Sabbath-worshiping goodness to the delight of the people on hand to bear witness. Holy shit what a mouth-full... It was fucking insane, with Baltimore's Asthma Castle closing the show with the Satan-loving insanity of a cosmic funeral bong.
A.P.F.
Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols
Crooked Hills
Asthma Castle
Faith In Jane
9/9/17 - Hampdenfest - Holy Fingers // Snakes // F // PLRLS // Quitter // The Stents // The Woolly Bushmen
I didn't get back from Frederick until way late, but there was no way I was going to miss seeing Holy Fingers play Hampdenfest at noon. I hadn't seen them since they played Joe's over a year ago, and I've been dying to catch them ever since. Holy shit Hampdenfest was awesome! It was gorgeous outside, and there was just so many killer bands performing this year. Snakes threw down on the Atomic Books stage, and I was finally able to catch them play "Young American" live which was pretty fucking awesome. Caught the tail end of PLRLS set. Of course I had to make my way over to catch the Stents perform on the Hidden Volume stage to wow the unsuspecting crowd with their guitar-wielding antics, and one of my favorite bands from last year The Woolly Bushmen escaped Orlando to offer up that special dose of garage insanity only they can provide. I kept bumping into all kinds of friends and it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. On top of that there was a show at Joe's I had to get to. So...
Holy Fingers
Snakes
F City
PLRLS
Quitter
The Stents
The Woolley Bushmen
9/9/17 - Pandas // Body Spray // The Mostly Dead
...I somehow managed to wobble into the Pizza Basement and setup shop for some killer east coast loud n' heavy stuff. DC's The Mostly Dead opened it up with some post-punk and hardcore before handing it over to Philly's Body Spray and their self-described "hoagie-core". Baltimore's Pandas, who were playing their penultimate show together, ended things with some psycho-intense flailing and wailing. I thought the night was over for me I was so spent, but it turns out my roomies had different plans we hit up Holy Frijoles for some beer and pinball, Asian Taste to check out a terrible DJ playing Skrillex, and finally a house jam that almost went to dawn. Holy shit Saturday, you were incredible.
Pandas
Body Spray
The Mostly Dead
9/10/17 - Happy Haines // Polka Pachinko Clown Crew
After all the stuff that went down this week you'd think Sunday I'd just take it easy. Instead I got shitty drunk on Bloody Marys and tequila with a friend of mine before convincing my roommates to join us for a clown performance by Worcester's Polka Pachinko Clown Crew happening at the free farm. God it had been such a long weekend, and this was a bizarre way to cap things off. Before they sent in the clowns, Happy Haines opened the show with some country tunes which I was super happy to catch... and then the clowns came in. To be fair I don't think the clowns were ready for us either. We were sloppy, and if you've ever tried to keep your composure around a gang of clowns while on the verge of blacking out, I can assure you it's not easy. The heavily improvised performances involved props, crowd interaction, and a vast assortment of buffoonery, antics, and hijinks. The troop certainly left an impression on us, but I'm sure they'd say the same... who were the real clowns that day?? We eventually made our escape unsure of when the whimsical antics would cease, thinking it best to quit while we were ahead.
Happy Haines
The Polka Pachinko Clown Crew
All right that's it. I gotta get up for a gig at UMD so until next time, see ya!
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