4/11/11
Wild At Heart
This week will see the 20th Annual Detroit Music Awards on Friday at the Fillmore. This is the third year that I have voted for the awards and I’m excited to see who the winners are. Having recently moved to upstate New York, I can’t start to impress you with the dearth of excellent bands in upstate NY compared to Detroit. There is no comparison in any way, shape or form. Detroit has a very high quality scene and should be supported. When you look at the Blowout and other festivals that cater to just the local scene that I have enjoyed in my 6 years in Detroit, we have nothing here to even come close. This year’s awards will have a nice variety of performers ranging from hipsters ICP to country’s Annabelle Road along with the Motown girl group the Vandellas, funk brother Dennis Coffey, the ever fun Polish Muslims along with Mayer Hawthorne and Jessica Hernandez. That should be a nice show for any hardcore music fans in the area. My favorite local band of last year was a band I discovered at the Concert Of Colors. Led by Japanese born Toko Shiiki Santos, the October Babies bring a high every night that is very infectious. I have always had a thing for female Japanese bands (like Shonen Knife, Puffy Amiyumi, 5-6-7-8’s and Ureskaband) so it is no surprise I latched on to them as quickly as I did. With vocals in Japanese and English, this is a great band so I am hoping that they win their category (sorry about the bias). However, any way you look at it, if you are a music fan, there are few other cities in the US that are even as close to being as vibrant as Detroit, so support!! Fans of the Detroit Jazz Fest can check out a free Jazz Forum moderated by Festival Director Terri Pontremoli, along with DSO Fred and Barbara Erb, Creative Director Jazz Chair Michel Camilo and renowned jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. The Detroit Jazz Festival in partnership with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present this forum which will focus on the role of improvisation in jazz with live performances by students of the DSO’s Civic Jazz Orchestra. Once again, this event is FREE and open to the public. For more information, visit detroitsymphony.com or call 313-576-5111.
April 14th through the 17th will see the return of the Michigan Pinball Expo at Oakland University. I went to this last year and played until my fingers bled. If you enjoy pinball, this is a great opportunity not only to play some new machine but to play some of the classic machines of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. I loved checking out how some of the older machines were radically different that some modern machines and it was always nice finding that machine that just felt right to the touch. I tilted a few machines also, but I have always preferred pinball to other types of video games esp after a certain summer in Cape Cod where I played this High Speed machine with a very hot girl from Boston. That’s besides the point!! I find that pinball just has a certain flair most games don’t from the lights and sounds to the general feel of the game. The following video doesn’t really capture most of the games but it does show the variety. I know when I was playing I wasn’t standing still like those people. Pinball is almost a contact sport for us diehards. If you want more information, go to http://www.mipinball.com/tickets.shtml. They will also have some Thor swag for those that come to the show on Saturday.
Here are some concert recommendations for the week:
Tuesday (4/11) – Wayne State University Big Band w/Jeff “Train” Watts @ Cliff Bell’s
Thursday (4/13) – Iron & Wine @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, LMFAO w/Girl Talk @ Meadowbrook Theatre, Loretta Lynn @ Stranahan Theatre (Toledo)
Friday (4/14) Detroit Music Awards Show @ Fillmore
Saturday (4/15) – 30 Seconds To Mars @ Fillmore, ? and the Mysterians @ Magic Bag
Sunday (4/16) – Peelander-Z @ Pike Room, Rush @ Palace Of Auburn Hills, Black Angels @ Magic Stick, Child Bite @ PJ’s Lager House
Monday (4/17) - Black Lips w/Vivian Girls @ Magic Stick
Have a good week and I’ll catch back up with you next week.
