Metro Times Blowout – Friday

Whalebomb and Scotter continue their adventures in Detroit Rock Radness at the Metro Times Blowout…

Child Bite (K of C Main Hall), to Blair (Whiskey in the Jar), to Black Jake and the Carnies

Whalebomb: I started the night out very tiredly at The Record Graveyard. We stayed long enough for me to drink a beer then moved onto the Knights of Colombus-Main Hall. We waited till 10:00 for Child Bite to start. Then we waited till 10:10. Then we waited till 10:18. Child Bite? Oh, thanks for coming out and playing. Other than their tardiness, they were awesome. I’ve only seen them once before, which happened to be last year’s 15 minute set they had at the Knights of Colombus-Lounge. Fast paced music with hidden melodies. Why have I only seen them twice?

^{Child Bite}

We then made our way over to Whiskey in the Jar to catch Blair. Blair is amazing. And I really can never find the right words to describe him. He seems like an awesomely nice, down-to-earth guy…but I’m always intimidated by his brilliance. He’s the one person on the Blowout bill that I’d love to sit down and talk with over come coffee. He’s got to be the most talented person playing Blowout…and not necessarily the most musically talented, but everything talented

But sitting down and talking was out of the question. Whiskey in the Jar was about to asplode from the amount of people there. Everyone was talking, which upset me because I couldn’t make my way up front to appreciate Blair’s performance. I stayed in back and added to the noise by complaining about it and complaining about how I had to pee but there was no way I was going to make my way through the crowd to get to the stage/bathroom. So I left.

I walked over to Baker’s Streetcar to urinate and stumbled upon Black Jake and the Carnies. I should have just went here in the first place. It was awesome country band jamboree style music. I don’t really listen to this stuff so it’s hard for me to describe, but the lead singer sang like Yosemite Sam and plucked the banjo, and the drummer wore a washboard. Amazing. I got to here about 2 and a half songs of theirs, including Swing Low, Sweet Chariot with plenty of crowd participation.

^{Black Jake and the Carnies}

Last Tourist (Jean’s)

Scotter: Started my night at Jean’s to catch Last Tourist. Unfortunately, I caught a pre-Blowout drink at the Painted Lady and got to Jean’s around 10:15, at which point Last Tourist was more than halfway through their set. So by the time Child Bite began playing, Last Tourist was almost done. I wish I would have been more punctual. Last Tourist is a sextet of Detroit music vets who have put together a tight band and play emotional songs about loving, losing, and letting go. Their sound is pretty contrary to the entire Detroit scene over the past decade but it’s great to have a band in Detroit skilled in playing mid-tempo, interesting rock songs that make you want to pay attention to the music and lyrics as opposed to bashing your brains out in a frenzied adrenaline rush all the time. The definition of a music scene isn’t just a cluster of bands playing the same kind of stuff. A music scene is a cultural locality that produces excellent bands with various and wide-ranging sounds. Thus, Last Tourist are definitely a great addition to our little Detroit-based scene here, and I hope they play out more often.

Note to movie producers of romantic dramas: Just about any Last Tourist song should be on your soundtrack. One close listen to these sorrowfully sweet tunes and it’s Niagara Falls for most of us.

I’d like to point out that Jean’s has trophies too. Belmont, why do wish to be so stubborn? Add some trophies. Be part of the Hamtramck gang. You’re not too cool for some cheap plastic trinkets to make your bar really feel like it belongs to the community.

Deastro (Painted Lady)

Whalebomb: I made my way back to Whiskey to meet up with my group and see Four Hour Friends. But it was packed, and they weren’t letting everyone else in. So after a few text messages we headed to the Painted Lady to catch Deastro. I’ve seen Deastro a bunch of times in the last 8 months or so. The kid is incredible and super talented. We only stayed for a few songs though because we wanted to check out the Terrible Twos at Small’s.

Scotter: I was planning on seeing Deastro two weeks ago when Randy was still slotted at midnight for the Painted Lady, but with Lee Marvin dropping out and the schedule switching around, I had to forego Deastro because I pretty much planned my Friday around seeing the Terrible Twos. Here’s why.

I know a lot of Detroit bands and music fans who were befuddled and a bit pissed about this Real Detroit Weekly review of Terrible Twos’ self-titled album, and I needed to see for myself how great these guys really are. There’s a lot of great talent in Detroit at this moment of time, evidenced by the Blowout itself, but to call a band “The future of Detroit rock n’ roll” is high, and dangerous, praise indeed. It’s the kind of review that can ruin a band. I had to see Terrible Twos with my own eyes and hears.

Terrible Twos (Small’s)

Whalebomb: I hadn’t seen Terrible Twos yet, and they lived up to their hype and expectations. Not too many bands can do the old punk rock right (or they can, but I just can’t get into them) and I think they stay true to a Ramones’ Scientology to music in that their songs are simple and only last about two and a half minutes. I was pleased to say the least.

Scotter: It took one song for me to realize that these guys are the real deal. Their sound is so tight it’s scary. How any band can be jumping around like that and play flawlessly is beyond me. But what really makes the band exceptional is Danny Bing’s keyboards. Without the keys, Terrible Twos would be a great punk rock band that sounds like a lot of other great punk rock bands. With Bing’s keys and synths, they are much more interesting to those of us who don’t particularly like music that makes us want to damage ourselves physically. Some of the syncopated patterns Danny played–particularly in the early songs in the set–were soaring above the distorted thrash of the guitars, landing on upbeats instead of the downbeat, offering much more texture to the songs. The Twos played a frantic show, produced a lot of sweat, and definitely delivered.

Future of Detroit rock n’ roll? No–the scene is too diverse and fantastic for any one band to be the future of Detroit rock n’ roll. Destined for national attention, tours all over the US and Europe, and other big things? You betcha.

P.S. Best sound for the Blowout definitely goes to Small’s. Way to take the time to make all these bands sound great!

Mazinga (Atlas)

Whalebomb: I wasn’t sure what we were up to next. Lots of choices and I really didn’t have a prefere>nce after the Terrible Twos experience. Somone mentioned catching Mazinga at Atlas, so that’s where we headed. To be honest, I wasn’t excited to see them…I really didn’t want to. I think I even tried to explain this to their guitarist after their set too. But HOLY SHIT were they great! Their music was full of energy and they were they only thing I think I could have possibly gotten into after a Terrible Twos set. Maybe it was the beer, or the adrenaline, but Mazinga seemed to kick some serious ass. The lead singer walked through the crowd and across the bar singing while the band rocked out. You have to see this band. They were the best thing I’ve seen all night, maybe all of Blowout this year! And another reason to like them: they were prompt, fast, did what they had to do, and finished. It was great.

Mick Bassett and the Marthas (New Dodge)

Scotter: Although no one band can be the future of rock n’ roll, some can point Detroit rock in new directions, and one of these pathfinders is definitely Mick Bassett. Here’s the obvious description: Mick Bassett produces sounds and writes songs in the manner of ’65-68 Bob Dylan. Obvs, Bassett and his band, The Marthas, are much more than that, but Bassett certainly does more to cultivate that idea and image than to subdue it. He sings with a Dylanesque nasally howl, writes lyrics full of Dylan-like imagery (which is always impressive), and even looks like Dylan, particularly in profile and from behind (see below pictures). The back cover of his new EP, “Here’s the Whirlwind,” features a picture of Bassett displaying overgrown fingernails on his finger-picking guitar hand, one of Dylan’s most telling physical traits from that period. (By the way, there used to be a great review of Bassett’s EP on recordreviews.org, but it has vanished. Gorilla, perhaps an archive site on Blogger is necessary!)

Given these similarities, Bassett’s music truly is all his own and his talent as a songwriter and performer will only get better the more he writes and plays. His band is great, featuring a multi-instrumentalist guitarist who also plays second trombone on a few songs, giving Bassett the only two-trombone attack in Detroit that I’ve ever known. Bassett and the Marthas have lots of shows on the horizon, so be sure the czech them out.

As a side note, isn’t the New Dodge a really weird place to see a show? I like the second floor bleachers and stuff, but the bar protrudes too close to the stage and there’s hardly any room on the ground floor to spread out. The place would work better as a dance club than a rock bar. Luna’s in Hamtramack anyone?

Wildcatting (Paycheck’s)

Whalebomb: After Mazinga, we were out of ideas. So we headed to Paycheck’s to catch Wildcatting. This was another band I wasn’t too exited to see, but that’s what Blowout is all about. You have to see things that you normally wouldn’t see. And more often than not, you’re completely impressed as I was with Mazinga and Wildcatting. Wildcatting is a great band, with melodious music to keep you interested. But I think they did need “more vocals in their monitors, please!!!”

The Sugarcoats, then The Hadituptoheres (Painted Lady)

Scotter Walked from New Dodge to The Painted Lady to catch the end of the Sugarcoats, the Lee Marvin Computer Arm-membered replacement band for the soon-to-be-defunct Lee Marvin, who cancelled their Blowout show two weeks previously.

We at the Post-Rockist vow not to write anything negative–it’s just not worth the time when you can write about bands you love. I’ll just report that at one point the lead singer of Sugarcoats said “Well, fuck you too” to the audience.

If there are two punk bands in Detroit that are always praised but never mentioned in the same sentence or article, it’s Terrible Twos and The Hadituptoheres. They’re both high-energy punk bands, but they sound so different. I’m not really versed in punk history–I know my CBGB bands, some Dead Kennedys, and some Detroit punk bands. That’s about it. But I must say that the Hadits always put on a such a great show and possibly the only real difference between their style of punk and Terrible Twos style of punk is that you can sing along with the Hadituptoheres. Where Terrible Twos are more frenetic, the Hadituptoheres are more anthemic. Such lines as “We come to hate the ones we hurt even if we loved them in the beginning” demand to be shouted back at the singer with fists in the air. If Terrible Twos has an electrocuting effect on their audiences, The Hadituptoheres have a magnetic effect, drawing you in closer without annihilating you. This band offered all the energy you needed to burn brightly at the end of the night in order to burn out at 2am and go home tired and ready for bed. Great way to end Friday night.

[Full disclosure: My brother is in the Hadituptotheres. However, if you think that makes me partial, then screw you. You wish your brother was in a band this great.]

Reflections on Friday Night

Whalebomb: Overall, great night. If I had to do it over again, I would. It had a late, rough start but a great finish.

And where are all these people coming from? It’s all so crowded.

Scotter: I wish Blowout was every weekend. I think it should be extended to Sunday. Too many amazing bands for Saturday.