Blowout 2009 – Saturday

Well, last night was the last night of Blowout. Unfortunately, Whalebomb didn’t make it (read yesterday’s post and guess why).

So I’m going it alone for Saturday’s re-cap, which is unfortunate since I was a bit fatigued and am at a loss for words right now. But duty called, and I always try to answer.

First to Baker’s for Old Empire. I decided to see this band after hearing their great song “Sweaterdress” on MySpace a few days before the Blowout commenced. I caught only the end of their set and liked what I heard a lot. The sound at Baker’s (as with most venues at this year’s Blowout with the exception of the K of C Hall) was excellent. Way to go Metro Times in getting good gear and sound persons. I thought the songs sounded even better live than on their MySpace page and look forward to the proper release of their upcoming album. As this band continues to play out, they’ll surely get even better. I’ll be walking away from this Blowout with Old Empire as my new-found band to watch this year, much as I did last year with Lightning Love, whom I was looking forward to seeing at the Belmont.

I think Baker’s and the Belmont, being so close in proximity, got a lot of traffic due to the rainy weather. I saw a lot of the same faces at both venues. Got to the Belmont to see the end of Leif Erikson‘s set, which was a joyous kind of hip-hop that I always welcome.

I’m the first to admit that I don’t have a critical right to judge hip-hop–I just haven’t had enough exposure to say whether someone is good or bad or whatever. I just know what I like, and I really liked Leif Erikson. When they chanted “How good do you feel?” I answered “Good!” because I did. And I love any show that ends on a positive note, so when the guys from Leif “waved goodbye to the folks leaving on a plane” as if they were standing on a tarmac to bid us adieu, I determined right then that I will be sure to catch these guys in concert again soon.

Lightning Love was next on the bill, and they delivered a solid performance, and looked strangely tall on stage. There’s something about the Belmont when it’s at capacity that makes the bands seem taller. I was standing with the crowd for most of the show, and from this vantage the sound was excellent. Since last year’s Blowout, this band has gotten better and better and rightly have received more and more good press. Hopefully 2009 will be equally as good to Lightning Love as 2008. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year they’re preparing for a trip to SXSW.

The rest of my night felt like it was moving toward vertigo without ever getting there. My friends and I felt competing drives to either go home and call it a Blowout, or to get in as many bands as possible in the final two hours. While our minds pleaded for the former, our hearts and bodies pushed us toward the latter. The result was a little bit of Smoke, then some chatting toward the back of the room of The Belmont, then some Friendly Foes (whenever I see Friendly Foes, I feel like each song has built-in parts that are the musical equivalent of the “BAM!”s, “POW!”s, and “BOOM!”s of a Batman fight with his weekly nemeses on the Adam West TV version of the show).

Then to Baker’s quickly for a few minutes of Swamp Sisters, only to have the idea to try K of C to end the Blowout. Caught the end of Carjack and the middle of Detroit Cobras, where I could see my own exhaustion and fatigue reflected in the faces of many at the K of C Hall. Which just goes to show that ending the Blowout on Saturday night might just be the worst possible slot your band can get.

And that, my friends, was that.

So another Blowout has come and gone. Reading back over this little re-cap of the night, I’m sorry and demoralized by the fact that “a re-cap” is all that it is. I wish it could’ve been more. But is it really possible to accurately convey in words (or even pictures, if we weren’t so lazy this year) what the Blowout is really all about?

First and foremost, Blowout is a time to reconnect to our excellent local music scene. Detroit doesn’t have as much to offer as it once did. But the one constant in our city has been music. Our metropolitan area–from the old streets of Woodbridge, the many clubs and bars that nightly host live music, to the suburbs and out to Ann Arbor–is full of talented, creative individuals and artists who love music as much as they love their families and spouses. They live through the songs they play and the songs they hear. It’s part of what connects all of us, and it’s one of the things that keeps us going at a time of economic and political hardship.

Our music is a way of forgetting about our daily troubles. It’s a bond that we all can share if we open our ears and our minds. And it’s ours, damn it, whether we’re playing it live or whether we’re there to witness an artist at work. This year, I revisited some of the bands I haven’t seen since last year. I got to enjoy and experience some of my favorite bands who I see on a regular basis. And I found a few new bands to follow over the coming months. But I also found a scene–a totality of like-minded people–giving themselves up to the music, and to the community, for four fantastic days.

After leaving the K of C for the last time until next year, my friends and I got into our car. The key turned; the engine started. The radio immediately began to blare as the battery sent its charge through wires and circuits. And as we pulled out of the parking lot, we calmly turned the radio off. Silence. A moment of quiet. A music-less ride back home.

After four days of experiencing Detroit’s true spirit sounding defiantly through the dense fog of tough times, I couldn’t think of a more fitting homage than a little bit of silence with which to think. And reflect.

Wristband #05557, signing off.

Other blohgings on Blowout 2009:

Detour
Eat this City
Detroit Gorilla
Deep Cutz
D-Tales

Related Bloggings:
Post-Rockist Blowout 2008 Pre-Party Thursday Friday Saturday